Hi Friends,
First thing on my list is I promised a picture of something cute. Welllll, I've got it. Here's a picture of my baby doing what she loves. Cuddling in the warm towels right out of the dryer. Cute, huh? Also please click on and enjoy the music and the videos of cute kids. There are more videos at the bottom of funny animal antics.
My last post was very straightforward because I try to give accounts of the council meetings without injecting much opinion, but now it's my turn to voice my opinion one more time? Who's kidding who? This won't be my last opinion.
As I read the agenda item about the lawsuit on the automated water meters, my eyes I'm sure got round and wide. Somebody else besides us finally saw the injustice of what a handful of people did to a town and the people.
Today I'm going to list the documents that will be judged legal or not by a judge. This is a complicated issue and I don't have my head wrapped around all the details, but I understand enough to talk about it to you.
The documents listed on the agenda are:
1) "Wireless Communications Partnership Agreement"(with Addendum, and all other attachments, exhibits and related documents and "Lease Purchase Agreement"(and all other related attachments, exhibits and related documents: executed in or about May of 2006;
2) a certain undated "Lease Purchase and Sublease Agreement" (and all other related attachments, exhibits and related documents: which was purportedly executed twice in September of 2006; and,
3) a document executed on or about September 12, 2006, titled "Assignment of Wireless Communications Partnership Agreement" (and all other related attachments, exhibits and related documents).
I have seen a lot of these documents because they are public record and when you dig deep you can find some of the problems with these documents. Let me share with you some of my information.
The number 1 item above was never on the council agenda, but signed by the former mayor and city administrator. How in the world did this happen? I thought that is what attorneys were supposed to do, make sure all the details are in order.
On September 7, 2006 at a special council meeting number 2 on the list above was voted on and approved, but and this is a big one, this vote required a 2/3 majority vote of the total number of Vinita Council and there were only five council people present at this meeting. A simple quorum did not meet the requirement of law. On that very same date over $158,000.00 was released to Connex, which I think was still Cherokee Connex at that time.
At the next regular council meeting on September 19, 2006 the indebtedness to First Security Leasing was approved and also approved was a waiver of competitive bidding. The competitive bidding being waived is questionable in my estimation. The council always has to approve the minutes of the previous meeting, in this case there were two.
Regular council meeting on Sept. 5, 2006, then the special meeting on September 7, 2006. The special meeting on September 7, 2006 was attended by five council people, with three being absent, but on September 19, 2006 one of the council people listed as absent voted to approve the minutes. I'm puzzled by this, but is it legal? Also after the meeting was adjourned the VUA meeting was reconvened. I'm not sure if this can be done legally, but I'm not an attorney so I don't know these answers. Anyway the former city attorney brought before the council a Resolution (2006-3331) Lease and Sublease Purchase Agreement to procure broadband equipment and water meter reading equipment. My point on this is first, it should have been approved before anything ever took place and second point is, this wasn't on the agenda but yet it was voted upon. I'm almost positive this isn't legal because the public has to be notified of everything that is going to come to a vote and that didn't happen. It was more or less brought up as new business and that's a no no.
You talk about putting the cart before the horse! This agreement should have been approved and executed at the very beginning of the process, especially before any money was released. The fact has been labored over that all the money was released before the project was anywhere near completion, but that's like crying over spilled milk or closing the gate after the cow has got out. Now it's time to ask the courts to give us justice.
I hope you can catch a glimpse of what I've seen and realize how questionable this whole mess was from the beginning. Did the people that respresented the people and town protect us? Not in my opinion. Were some of them relying on the expertise of others? I think they were, but that's beside the point. Was the project wilfully misrepresented? You can make up your own minds on that question. When you accept the responsibility of a position of trust, then you better make sure the facts are correct or you should have to pay the consequences of malfeasance in public office.
Of course my opinion doesn't always count, but facts speak louder than words, so.......
Until Later,
Okie Girl @ Home
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