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I just want to point out the great article by the WN’s Amy Porter on the Tuesday night marathon meeting. This article, and the results of that meeting, should put to rest any question about the integrity of those in the DPW and the intent of city officials to provide safe water. To those councilors who have been causing the delays, shame on you! That meeting clearly showed the amount of work DPW head Billips and his staff have put into this issue for quite some time. Take a look at the council liaison’s to the DPW and water commission for the current term and past terms and you’ll see those elected representatives of the residents did a disservice to us because everything that was presented Tuesday was presented to the water commission and I’m guessing none of those dissenters ever attended the important meetings. Just because you’re a loud voice on social media doesn’t mean you’re correct. Councilor Morganelli, who is the current liaison to the water commission and a member of the zoning board, still voted no against the bond especially with all the information presented. Did he attend any of the commission meetings? Probably not. He is not representing the residents. He won because of his name recognition. Sad how people vote. Here is Councilor Morganelli’s response to the above PulseLine that originally appeared online Thursday:
To whomever is calling me out: Thank you for paying attention to the matters of our city. I may not agree with how you choose to converse about it, but I am always pleased to see people engaged in the process. No, I am not on the zoning board and Yes, I am the current liaison to the water and sewer and have attended every water commission meeting since I took office.
Furthermore, I have taken it upon myself to also attend DPW meetings as well as police and fire commission meetings because I am the chair of the Public Health and Safety Committee. I would check on who was the liaison to the water and sewer in 2016 and 2017. That is where I am sure there was a lot discussed about the filtration plans. I recall the April meeting, when the commission questioned Dir.
Billips on this topic in depth.
Speaking of Dir. Billips and his department, I took time to meet with them on more than 3 occasions since January. I have been asking a lot of questions to make sure YOUR tax dollars are worth this type of filtration and that it is the best option. There is no shame in anything the ‘no’ voters did and in fact, every voting citizen deserves the diligent work each of them have done. Some councilors have done an outstanding job!
Shame? Far from it. In fact, if they had not dug deep into this, many questions would not have been answered. One thing I learned through this, is that there are some communication issues. The council and departments need to be more pro-active in sharing information and speaking with one another. This is especially true, as we have recently witnessed, when millions of tax payer dollars are at stake.
I have not criticized nor condemned anyone in the DPW. They have put together a well thought out plan and have done a lot of great work. We just happened to believe that other options needed to be brought back to the table for discussion. We are doing our job. If we just approved the $13M, I am sure you would take the time to rant here in this forum about our complacency with your tax money.
Take note that I have not participated in the social media back and forth. I have only posted what I am doing in order to find a solution to our water problem.
Lastly, I have no more name recognition than others. In fact, I’ve been called Rich Tettemer many times!
If you ask people, they know I was on the council for two terms prior and were pleased with my track record. They asked me to run for office then, and I was approached again about a year ago. I’ve even been asked to run for Mayor several times and for State Representative as well. So, I think that speaks for itself. I am not patting myself on the back, just pointing out to you, the criticizer, that some still think it’s a good thing to serve with integrity.
I am pleased that it makes a difference and I will continue to serve our city and it’s citizens, not my self interests.
This is my first Pulse Line entry! I have always said that anything someone says without putting his/her name on it is not worth responding to. I am making an exception in this case because you question my ability and integrity in my elected position and I was personally asked to respond. Feel free to contact me in person.
I will always make time to speak with constituents. [email protected] or the city address [email protected].
