While the theater meeting to accommodate a large crowd when presented with information on proposed uses for the Mother Theresa property was a great idea and well run, in retrospect there are several negatives with the program.
It appears, even though this was a legally advertised special meeting of the Mayor and Council, and the borough clerk was apparently taking minutes which will be available sometime in the future, something was definitely missing.
No Recording
There is no recording of the three hour long meeting packed with questions and answers.
No recording of a meeting, although it is the routine of the governing body to record every one of its open meetings.
Presumably, and I am no techie expect, the council, when meeting in the meeting room which is also the municipal courtroom, uses the court recording system for its meetings. It’s understandable that equipment can’t be upped and moved someplace else.
But let’s be reasonable. Is that the only possible way this meeting could have been recorded? The Borough administrator could not have spent a few borough bucks for a handheld recorder?
Nobody could have simply opened his phone and begun the recording? There could be no possible solution on how to let ALL the taxpayers have the opportunity to hear everything that went on in that meeting they could not attend?
No Notice
For that matter, would it not have been courteous to announce at the beginning of the meeting that it would not be recorded? Could not that information have been included in the legal advertisement? Couldn’t something have been done in advance of such an important meeting so that individuals who just might not be able to grasp every word could bring their own recorder and listen to the recording again to ensure they got all the facts correctly? Is the public wrong to ASSUME the governing body will record just as they always do?
There is no doubt the borough clerk is first class, efficient, capable, and pretty close to perfect. But to expect her to take down every person who spoke, every comment made, every detail of information given to the public is not only unfair, but totally unreasonable in the 21st century. Especially since the solution is so easy and so cheap.
Crowley
Which brings up another question. Was Councilman Jon Crowley really in attendance virtually? Crowley did not respond at the roll call. Councilman Crowley was not in the audience . Mr. Crowley did not speak during the public portion. Yet Jon Crowley said on Facebook he was there. What will the minutes show on the attendance of the councilman?
