Laserfiche WebLink
Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,March 11, 2024 <br /> Page 16 <br /> is already an official City project, might give the Council the content guts of what <br /> the Council wants the Commission to do. If that is the case, the Council may want <br /> to find some type of modified rule structure for this Commission to operate under <br /> in order to do a particular kind of work that other Commissions are not called upon <br /> to do. <br /> Mr. Richard James, HRIEC Chair <br /> Mr. James explained he would like to correct a few things he heard tonight that he <br /> thought are wrong perceptions. Earlier, Councilmember Etten commented that the <br /> way the Commission is setup is not working, he thought that should be what the <br /> Commission had was not working. The Council does not know what the <br /> Commission has done since November.He indicated the Council does not have any <br /> idea and tonight was one of those nights that the Commission was going to tell the <br /> Council what the HRIEC has been doing, how the Commission has been <br /> restructured, how it organized and reorganized themselves in order to accomplish <br /> things, and things the Commission thinks are important. However, since he has <br /> been a member of the Commission, since 2019, the Council has not told the <br /> Commission what it thinks is important for them to do. The Commission has been <br /> coming up with what the members think is important and if it has not matched up <br /> with what the Council thinks is important,the Council has not told the Commission <br /> that. <br /> Mr. James stated he cannot believe that the entire Council decided at the end of <br /> January that the Commission is not working anymore and something different <br /> needed to be done with it. He explained if the Council had concerns about how the <br /> HRIEC is functioning, how the HRIEC can structure themselves, why didn't the <br /> Council bring that to the Commission and present it to them. The Commission <br /> would have listened, changed, helped, and done things differently but the <br /> Commission has not had that direction from the Council. He indicated the Council <br /> has not done their job as Councilperson Strahan pointed out. <br /> Mr. James explained the Council should be able to direct the Commission to focus <br /> on things every year so the Commission can work on a workplan and bring it back <br /> to the City Council for approval. That is not the way it has been happening. It has <br /> been the Commission coming to the Council to tell the Council what the <br /> Commission thinks the Council wants the HRIEC to work on. He explained that is <br /> not fair to the Commissioners. It is not fair to the Commission to be judged that the <br /> HRIEC has not done the right thing without the Council telling the HRIEC what <br /> the right thing should be. He indicated the Commission is left in limbo and does <br /> not know what the Council wants the them to do. <br /> Mr. James asked the Council what the HRIEC is supposed to do after March 31 St <br /> when people leave the Commission? He hoped the Council had thought about this. <br /> He thought that was a decision that needs to be made tonight by the Council, so the <br /> HRIEC has some direction going forward. <br />