inch X inch

   
Published in slightly edited form in the Foothills Sun-Gazette Feb. 20, 2013

     The morning after our last City Council meeting, I woke up singing "The Garden Song," which starts "Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow..."  It's an old Peter, Paul & Mary song from their album Around the Campfire, and it's a great song for agrarian activists to know.

    But as I sang it this time I saw it graphically, as a space 1 inch square that was made for public participation in this town's business, an opening that hadn't been there before.  And we have our new councilman Steven Mecum to thank for it.

     Now, I understand that not everyone would view it that way.  If you read the Porterville Recorder article written by (but not credited to) the paper's editor, Rick Elkins, who covered the meeting, the city's business was delayed by the questions Mecum asked and the discussions that followed.  But if you read that article, you got wrong facts:  Mr. Elkins reported that two motions were defeated by tie votes, since Mayor Padilla was home with the flu, and he also reported the $3M USDA loan for the Wellness Center as a grant.  But it was his first time covering our meetings - we can cut him a little slack.

     Mecum had done his homework.  He'd found that the so-called "Citizens Committee" (the one with only one citizen to be included) had been formed improperly, not following the rules in the City Charter and Municipal Code.  Those state that members for committees formed by resolution (which was the vote before them) should be nominated by the Mayor from names submitted to him/her by council members, not staff.

     He'd also found a provision stating that the city manager, while permitted to sit in on any committee, is not to be a voting member.  "Why waste one of the member slots when he can be there anyway?" Mecum asked.  After questioning why only one citizen has been included on a committee formed to address citizen participation, he said "Why only one member?  Why not 2, or 5?  There's no urgency on this - I'd rather do it right than fast."

     The city clerk suggested that Council members could email names of people who might be interested in serving on this committee to the mayor to expedite matters, and VOILA - suddenly the whole question of the committee was re-opened after the slam-dunk the city manager thought he had from the special meeting Jan. 30.  If you might consider serving on this committee, contact Steven at steven.mecum@yahoo.com or (559) 350-2250.

     Danny Salinas ran his first meeting as Mayor Pro-Tem very decently.  On two occasions, when he realized he might have tie votes, thus defeating the motion, he chose instead to have the items continued to the next meeting, preserving momentum while waiting for adjustments to conform to the rules.  When Councilwoman Rosaena Sanchez asked staff about fixing potholes in the streets, Danny asked them to bring a report on street repair to the next meeting.  When one citizen wished to ask a question of staff during an agenda item, he permitted it though he'd rather have kept going, and it clarified the discussion.

     So here's to progress.  Think of Lindsay as a garden project.  "Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow.  Someone warm them from below till the rains come tumbling down."  Next meeting is Tuesday, Feb.26 at 6 pm - join us!
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Trudy Wischemann is a writer with songs always running through her head.  You can send her your garden reports % P.O. Box 1374, Lindsay CA  93247