Park Board Moves to Squelch Public Comment
On Wednesday, February 2nd, the Standards and Conduct Committee of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted to move the open time for public comment from 6:00pm to 4:45pm at future meetings pending a full board vote on February 16th.
As Park Board meetings usually start at 5:00pm, the live and recorded cable TV coverage of these meetings is scheduled for 5:00pm to 8:00pm. Moving the open time so that it is "off the air" clearly attempts to diminish the usefulness of public commentary. Further, as most citizens have day jobs, getting to the Park Board at 4:45pm will be a hardship for many, further yet reducing the effectiveness of open time.
Clearly the intent by Commissioners Bob Fine and Walt Dziedzic is to prevent those who disagree with their heavy-handed, self-serving politics from being heard.
Having attended most of the meetings during the past year I feel that every issue brought to the podium has been specific to the MPRB and how they do business. If you feel that this move should be stopped please contact the commissioners at:
Rochelle Berry Graves Commissioner At Large Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227 612-230-6443 ext. 7
M. Annie Young Commissioner At Large Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227 612-729-3359 anniey@visi.com
John Erwin Commissioner At Large Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227 612-230-6443 ext. 8 erwin001@umn.edu
Walt Dziedzic Commissioner District 1 Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227 612-230-6443 ext. 1 waltdz@hotmail.com
Jon Olson Commissioner District 2 Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227 612-230-6443 ext. 2
Marie Hauser Commissioner District 3 Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227 612-230-6443 ext. 3 MarieH@visi.com
Vivian M. Mason Commissioner District 4 Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227 612-377-5238 vivianmason@earthlink.net
Carol A. Kummer Commissioner District 5 Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227 612-230-6443 ext. 5 carolkummer@earthlink.net
Bob Fine Commissioner District 6 Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board 2117 West River Road Minneapolis, MN 55411-2227 612-230-6443 ext. 6 yorkfines@juno.com
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Posted by anonymous | Thu, 02/03/2005 - 3:34pm | Login to post comments