RTP-area local music and culture

[<info AT durhamloop.org>]

(see Herald-Sun article below)


If you are as outraged as I am over Durham City Council's unprecedented
arrogance in their refusal to hear legitimate public comment from sixty of
their constituents, who respectfully and patiently waited four hours to
speak (while following due process) on a Council agenda item (proposed
4000-seat Durham Theater), I strongly URGE you to both write Durham City
Council and send a letter to the editor of the Herald-Sun.

Mayor Bill Bell and Durham City Council have insulted both the democratic
process and the intelligence of their constituents. This egregious behavior
cannot go unanswered.

Caleb Southern


Send emails to:

council AT ci.durham.nc.us;mconner AT ci.durham.nc.us;info AT durhamloop.org

and a letter to the editor at:

letters AT heraldsun.com

(250 word max, include name, address, daytime phone number)


Ps: It should be noted that the 60+ citizens who attended Monday's Council
meeting to speak on this issue (1) fully expected Council to vote for the
four-month extension, (2) wanted to express a wide variety of concerns about
this proposal, in order to provide input for Council to consider during the
likely extension, (3) included both proponents and opponents of the
four-month extension, and (4) are INSULTED that Council ASSUMED they knew
what people would say, and that they ASSUMED that public comment was limited
to only the issues surrounding Clear Channel.

HOW CAN COUNCIL KNOW WHAT THE PUBLIC WILL SAY IF THEY DON'T LET US SPEAK?




***
Council defends halting comments on theater 
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-489023.html

 
By BEN EVANS : The Herald-Sun
bevans AT heraldsun.com
Jun 8, 2004 : 10:16 pm ET 

DURHAM -- Facing angry criticism, City Council members defended their
decision to deny public comment Monday night on a key vote for a proposed
downtown theater, but some also acknowledged that they need to find better
ways to handle similar situations in the future. 

More than 50 people -- a mainly younger group opposed to the $42 million
project -- sat through a marathon council meeting to speak out about a vote
to extend negotiations with a development group that includes the
controversial media giant Clear Channel Entertainment. But by the time the
agenda item rolled around at about 11 p.m., four hours after the meeting
started, Mayor Bill Bell said the council wouldn't hear their concerns. 

The crowd shouted complaints, and several people ultimately were allowed to
speak, but only after the vote had been cast. 

"I have worked in the state-level policy arena for four years, and never
have I seen such anti-democratic behavior from an elected body that has
invited public comment on specific issues," one opponent, Rusty Haynes,
wrote later in an e-mail to the council. 

Nicole Quenelle, a writer and actor who works with local theater companies,
said the experience was her first introduction to local politics. "And I was
rather frustrated to say the least," she said. 

"I feel like they may be trying to wear us down, or seeing if this is just a
lot of hippie musicians who are upset," she said. 

Quenelle said she had hoped to address a variety of issues surrounding the
project, aside from Clear Channel's involvement, and she didn't appreciate
that council members assumed they knew the crowd's position. 

"I think there are a lot of other smaller reasons ... why people are pretty
passionate about this," she said, citing the potential effect on smaller
arts organizations. 

However, council members said Tuesday that the handling of the issue was
more a practical matter than a political one. 

"This was not a conspiracy against them," Councilman Eugene Brown said,
noting the late hour Monday and the lengthy list of issues still on the
agenda. "I think some people on occasion have to have a little empathy with
us sitting up there ... This was on the consent agenda because it was the
overwhelming consensus that we would vote to allow an extension for four
months. 

"Was it our finest hour?" he added. "Probably not, because there is a strong
and rich tradition of participatory democracy in Durham." 

Councilman Howard Clement and Bell said part of the problem was that the
crowd clearly wanted to end the theater proposal abruptly, which the council
members said wasn't a viable option after years of discussions and with a
state-approved hotel-motel occupancy tax in place to help pay for the
project. 

"Last night was not the time to get into that level of discussion," Bell
said, adding that he didn't make the decision to limit comment until about
11 p.m. 

"There are always exceptions to the rule, and this was an exception on my
part, given the lateness of the hour and the issue to be discussed," Bell
said when asked about the city's stated policy of taking comments from
residents who sign up to speak at meetings. 

Bell and others said they have heard from many opponents of the project
through e-mails or by talking to them at earlier forums. Others said they
didn't realize so many people were at the meeting to talk about the theater
because the room also was crowded with people interested in the annual
budget hearing. That hearing came at the beginning of the meeting and lasted
nearly three hours. 

Councilman John Best Jr., who generally opposes the theater and cast the
only "no" vote Monday, said he wished he had pushed to let more people
speak. 

"We have a procedure in place that allows citizens to come down to City Hall
and sign up to speak on an agenda item, and when they do so, we should allow
them to speak," he said. "Hindsight's 20-20." 

Councilwoman Diane Catotti said she also wished she had thought of a more
creative way to handle it. 

"I think the perception that we didn't welcome public input isn't quite
right. We've been dealing with this for weeks," she said. "[But] I think it
could have been handled better ... we should have heard from them before we
voted." 

Catotti said she has requested a meeting of the council's procedures
subcommittee to review how meetings are run. 

"In general, I think we need to be looking at why council is continuing to
meet until 12:30 in the morning," she said. 

Bell faced similar criticism last year when he walked out of a public
hearing on the budget after city bus riders shouted down the meeting. 

"This is part of the job. You're going to have to take the good and the bad,
but I did what I thought was the right thing to do," he said. 





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