A writer named Hugh Prather wrote that he and his wife had learned to argue long enough to learn what it was they were really arguing about. I never forgot that thought and I wonder if it might be applied to the way our town government operates.
Last Thursday I attended a special commission meeting specifically about the beach. I thought the meeting would last as long as it took the commissioners to vote on the four previously proposed referendum items. Instead what ensued was a four and a half hour ordeal where no one appeared to be listening to one another.
Particularly baffling was a three-hour monologue by the mayor attempting to convince the other commissioners that Commissioner Younger's new beach proposal was the wrong answer to the question about what to do about our beaches. I personally believe that Commissioner Younger's idea is a doable compromise between doing too little and doing too much. As the town manager put it "an ingenious" concept. It now appears the town manager is having second thoughts and is unwilling to accept a 6-1 commission vote to adopt Commissioner Younger's proposal and no other proposals.
The town manager had his beach consultants tell the commissioners that Commissioner Younger's ideas were inadequate and that only a full beach re-nourishment a year ahead of schedule would do. I felt that neither the consultant's or the mayor's words had any affect on the resolve of at least four of the commissioners. In the end, six commissioners rejected the town manager's consultants' admonitions.
Still the mayor pressed on, hour after hour, unrelentingly, in his quest to defeat Commissioner Younger and champion the town manager's much more costly plan.
While I was watching the mayor's labored, perhaps over-labored monologue, I recalled all the times that the mayor has limited input from residents and commissioners alike to 3 minutes, when that person is talking about something that is not part of the majority agenda. I wonder if limiting dialog to 3 minutes, for all those who do not agree with the majority, serves the residents of this community well. Do as I say, not as I do it seems.
Of course the political majority of commissioners have the power to curtail input from residents and commissioners. Also there seems to be a generally accepted philosophy amongst our unpaid commissioners that commission meetings should not be allowed to "drag on". The shorter the better. I wonder if this is good for a community where the town government is faced with some truly daunting issues. Is it a good idea to allow people who have political cache, or are friends with the current majority faction of the commission, to have greater access and more time to advance their ideas, while restricting the general public and minority commissioners to only a 3 minute boogie, so to speak?
The present beach dust-up between the town manager and the majority of the commissioners, or should I say the majority of the commissioners at last count, appears to lack any sort of clearly defined parameters. Cost estimates have ranged from 7 to 50 million dollars. Sand quantities have ranged from 35 thousand to 1.5 million yards. Bond interest has ranged from 2.5 to 5 percent. Bond terms have ranged from 2 to 20 years. I doubt the commission fully understands the details of what they approved. I certainly did not and I have attended the meetings.
For the most part this has been a one-sided conversation. Opposing points of view have been limited to 3 minutes. Strangely the majority has swung a couple of times between the town manager's proposal for a high-priced replenishment to commissioners Brenner's and Younger's less ambitious plans. Nowhere have I seen a measured and balanced dialog that included commissioners and residents with differing views.
What I believe I have seen in the process that has ended up with a 6-1 commission vote to place Commissioner Younger's proposal on the March ballot, and the town manager's continuing refusal to accept that vote, is a lack of hard facts and information. Yes, the town manager's beach consultants have had many hours to advance their views. Unfortunately, no one else has been invited to the table. I think that is what commissioner Brenner is alluding to when we asks for some sort of evaluation process. I concur.
Three minutes is not enough time to explore alternative facts and views in a multi-million dollar conversation. I hope we find a better political path into our future. Political might may not always be right.
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