BROOKFIELD TOWN BOARD MEETING - Dec 8 Regular Meeting....
The DECEMBER 8, 2014 REGULAR MEETING of the BROOKFIELD TOWN BOARD covered a number of issues. Below are some of the "selected highlights" ....please refer to Waterville Times for more coverage and details....
BROOKFIELD TOWN BOARD – December 8 2014 – REGULAR MEETING (Town
Hall) - Attendance: John Salka (Supervisor); Jeff
Mayne, Dewitt Head, Joe Walker, Clint Abrams (Council Persons); Sherri Perretta
(Clerk); Bob Piersma (Highway Superintendent). Approximately 15 members of the
public attended.
PART 1: “THE BAN” & "RULES OF CONDUCT"– DEMOCRACY IN
BROOKFIELD – DOA
BOARD STOPS COMMUNITY EFFORT TO BAN
HYDROFRACKING IN THE TOWN OF BROOKFIELD: A Ban against Hydrofracking in the
Town of Brookfield has been a topic of heated discussions among the Board and
the Community. Finally, after YEARS of discussions, moratoriums and
promises, a Town wide
straw poll was taken during this past November’s general elections. By an
overwhelming margin of 3:1, TOWN residents voted AGAINST
HYDROFRACKING in the Town of Brookfield.
YET, Three BOARD MEMBERS VOTED AGAINST moving forward to institute a BAN ON
HYDROFRACKING: Jeff
Mayne, Joe Walker &
Dewitt Head. While clear that Walker
& Head will never vote to support a ban (Walker has a lease; Head says
neither he nor his family has a lease); perhaps most disappointing was
Mayne’s “NO” vote
because “he didn’t know
enough” about the topic.
Opponents of the Ban claim it
is a form of “land use regulations” and therefore violates their
private rights to do anything they want with their property; the welfare of neighbors and
the Community are not their responsibility. They see zoning and land use
regulations as a form of control by the liberal “mobs” to bring creeping
communism to Brookfield. Ironically, many of these PRIVATE
PROPERTY RIGHTS advocates are among the largest benefactors of land use in the
form of AGRICULTURE DISTRICTS.
Despite Salka’s efforts
to rush past the subject (allowing less than TWO
MINUTES of Board time to the subject) the “Public
Comment” period re-opened THAT CAN
OF WORMS -- requesting a poll of the Board --- something the Supervisor was
UNWILLING to do.
After the results and excuses given, the
Board received from the audience an overwhelming message of disappointment ,
frustration and disgust with the outcome. No wonder Salka had the new RULES OF DECORUM for the Public to conduct itself during
Board meetings.
RESPECT is EARNED -- a four page list of
rules for the public isn’t going to do it. Several requests for copies of the
NEW RULES & POSTING ON TOWN WEBSITE were DENIED BY SALKA until AFTER they
are APPROVED ! If we want to see them, he has directed the TOWN CLERK to send
us to the TOWN OF DERUYTER WEBSITE.... so here you go.....talk about political
cowardice. ! Go to DERUYTER WEBSITE to see them: http://www.deruyternygov.us/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/rulesfordecorum.pdf
SUGGESTION: we have started a list of RULES OF
DECORUM for THE BOARD!!! and already received NUMEROUS
SUGGESTIONS!!!
