Town Board Meeting Synopsis, Monday, November 17th. All 4 Town Board members were present at Mondays meeting. Interestingly, weve observed a clear pattern with regards to Supervisor Doles meeting attendance. Doles has missed a disproportionate number of meetings with public comment and is usually in attendance for the meetings without public comment. Last night there was no public comment, although, its safe to say the public were heard. There were many comments made by the citizens present during the course of the meeting since its almost impossible to watch and listen to this Board show such utter disregard for the will of their citizens without raising your voice. I arrived late to the Town Board meeting since Im an alternate member of the Village Planning Board and we had a meeting that evening. So, if I miss a few details from the earlier agenda items, perhaps someone can correct or supplement in the comments below. The Town Board voted to put out an RFP (Request for Proposal) for digital video equipment for the movie theater at a prior meeting on November 13th. This was a budget meeting. This Nov. 13th budget meeting was not listed on the Town website, on the calendar or on the announcements and was not in the paper of record (The Times Herald Record). And yes, the Board intends to invest in video equipment because they are NOT selling the movie theater. According to Councilman Colon, the potential buyers who were lined up backed away when they heard the process of purchasing the building from a municipality would be more complicated than they expected. No further details were given and I was left with many questions about the matter. It was further explained by Councilman Colon (yet not confirmed or supported by McQuade, Doles or Burke) that a third party, completely unaffiliated with the Town Board, would be managing the theater and would be showing first run movies. I found it strange that the other three Board members sat completely without expression or concurrence while Colon spoke. What we do know is that Harley wants to buy digital equipment. We also know that video surveillance cameras have been purchased for the movie theater building. Another agenda item that was brought up was the naming of three new streets in Monroe. These streets are part of a development at the site of the old Shea farm. Supervisor Doles mentioned the Town Historian, James Nelson, and how important it is for the Town Historian to aid in these decisions. Doles went on to list, one by one, the three names for the new streets. In true Doles fashion, it was designed to incite anger and to create a platform for his agenda. The first street name is for baseball player Roberto Clemente. Doles was quick to explain that Clemente is a trailblazer and a Puerto Rican and paved the way for other Latino people in the sport. It reminded me of the day our new Town Justice was introduced to the packed crowd at a Town Board meeting earlier this year. After Lurlyn Winchester won her seat (despite being suspected of living in Rockland County and after receiving the bloc vote) Harley introduced Justice Winchester in the most cringe worthy fashion. He expounded on how she is the first African American woman judge in the Town of Monroe. He used her as an example of his efforts for diversity. Im sure that Ms. Winchester is proud of her heritage, however, I would imagine, like most Attorneys, shes most proud of her accomplishments, which were not mentioned. The next street in Monroe is to be named after Malala Yousafzai, the recent nobel peace prize winner and remarkable young woman who stood up for a girls right for an education and was shot by the Taliban. A young woman well deserving of a street named for her. Malala Lane will be the name of the street. The third street name, and perhaps the most controversial, is Obama Way. The room erupted with several angry voices once this street name was announced. There were a handful of men in the room who are clearly not fans of Obama. Before you form an opinion about this- and everyone has an opinion of our sitting president, I will share my perspective. I voted for Obama twice. Dont hold that against me, my Republican friends. I personally wouldnt mind living on Obama Way, however, I am smart enough to understand that at least half of the people who live in Monroe would NOT be ok with that. Just as I would not be ok with living on GW Bush St., or Dick Cheney Avenue. Its divisive and it got the desired result. Doles is nothing if not divisive. Remember the flyers Doles distributed a few weeks ago, as one example. A sitting President, unless in a neighborhood with an overwhelming support for one particular political party, is not a good choice for a street name. In 30 or 40 years, Obama will be one of many US Presidents and any frustration about his many decisions will be a distant memory- thats when its appropriate to name a street after a President. Or, after their death. Not when theyre in office and not popular with everyone in your Town. Bad idea and it wreaks of manipulation. Not to mention, it will make the homes on this street harder to sell. Doles knew he would get a negative response and was hoping to get a negative response. Then he could prove to his supporters that the people of Monroe are nothing but a bunch of bigots, since, all of the people who he chose to be honored with a street are people of color. Doles contempt and manipulations know no bounds. Do not misinterpret, naming streets after people of color is wonderful, choosing three people only because of their ethnicity is insulting to them and to everyone. There were many shouts from the audience calling for Monroe Veterans to be honored with having a street named for them. We do have many WWII, Korean and Vietnam Veterans in Monroe. And it begs the question, was Town Historian James Nelson even solicited for his input? Another moment which elicited a negative reaction from the crowd was Gerry McQuades idea to give part time employees a paid sick day or personal day before the years end. Gerry gave no data, no specific names of employees, no calculation as to what this paid day off for part time workers would cost the taxpayers and Gerry went on and on about how hard these people work and how tough it is to have a part time job. The speech would have been funny if it werent so frustrating to listen to. Peter Martin asked What about the on-call part time workers in the highway dept? To which McQuade quickly responded with No, I didnt mean them! I meant the office workers! Of course, the office workers. The many people who Harley hired to work for him. Peter Martin then stated they dont really work on a set schedule, so it would be difficult to calculate a day off to which McQuade snapped at Martin yes they do! The crowd shouted questions such as how much will this cost? and How many part time employees are there? Gerry dug in his heels and insisted that this was the right thing to do. Rick Colon brought up the fact that the part time employees already enjoy benefits and a vision plan, something most people dont have. This decision, in my view, was tabled thanks to pressure from the frustrated crowd. The Dog Shelter manager was invited up to speak at the Town Board meeting. He introduced the six dogs via their photographs who dwell in the Monroe Dog Shelter. He spoke of the requirement for all dog owners to get their dogs registered with the Town Clerk and then he mentioned that there would be an effort to enforce this policy somehow by going house to house. Im no lawyer, but, I dont believe that a Town Dog catcher has any legal right to question a dog owner on their property about registration. It sounds like more of the police state that Doles is trying to create in Monroe. More intimidation. I agree with dog registration and ensuring that people are current with vaccinating their dogs, but, I do worry that Doles takes things too far. Ill give an example. During one of the Monroe Village summer concert series performances I was sitting with friends, enjoying the music when I noticed the Town dog catcher (I recognized him as one of Harleys hires who hangs out at Town Board meetings) who was going up to dog owners and harassing them. There was a lovely lab, calmly sitting with its owners on the lawn whose owners were being harassed at that moment by this Town Employee. It struck me, that knowing Harley Doles jealousy and constant vindictive shots at Mayor Purcell and the Village of Monroe, that Doles must have sent this guy to the popular Village of Monroe events to stir up trouble. And indeed, he was intimidating dog owners. Shortly thereafter a Village Trustee had a chat with Doles employee and he left. At a subsequent Summer Concert this same employee returned and was reportedly asked to leave by the Village PD. There are so many stories like this one. So many situations and examples of intimidation and abuse of power by this Town Board. McQuade was particularly foul last night in addressing the public and even repeatedly called out one citizens name on camera. This citizen was incensed over Obama Way and made his feelings known. The next Town Board meeting will be held on Monday, December 1st at 7:30pm . Public comment is allowed at the first meeting of the month. Please mark your calendars and attend. Its so important for us to ensure that this Board sees us whenever they sit down to do their business. And remember, were having a fundraiser on Monday, December 8th at the Captains Table. Important updates and info will be given that night. Stay engaged. Email us, donate, attend meetings, attend fundraisers- do whatever you can. If you havent already done so, please go to our website and sign up to receive our newsletter for important updates: unitedmonroe.org Thanks, Emily
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:39:00 +0000