Here's the NCTV coverage of the city council's 07-09-09 discussion of the initiative(s) to place the question of the landfill expansion on the ballot. Two sections. Final vote--to send the issue to the ordinance committee, 7 in favor, 2 opposed--Bardsley and M. LaBarge.
Lots of brou-ha-ha about whether this is a citizens' initiative or a councilors' initiative and what that might mean from a legal perspective. Lots of discussion about the wording of the initiative.
According to Councilor Dostal, the BPW/Stantec "options study" is due out within the next week. This long-delayed study is supposed to look at what the city's options will be if the landfill is not expanded.
Special city council meeting, July 30, 7 p.m., on the issue.
Video courtesy of Northampton Community Television.
Showing posts with label city council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label city council. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Public Comment, City Council, 070709
Here's public comment from Thursday night's city council meeting.
Big questions: Should the landfill expansion go to the voters? Should the city of Northampton impose a local option meals tax? This is more fun to watch than to read about, so here y'are. Have chopped it into 4 sections.
Many thanks to NCTV, who were happy to have me hang about the studio and extract web-quality video from their raw file this afternoon. The transcode took about two hours, which provided an opportunity to catch up w Al Williams, Bryn Francis, and their new access coordinator, Ben Brown, who seems, as we used to say up in Maine, wicked smaht.
In general, lots of unhappiness about the city council gag order (the city council has been told by the city solicitor not to speak with Northampton citizens about the landfill expansion), and a generally-expressed wish for transparency from city hall and the council. Watch Alex Ghiselin at the beginning of clip four; he makes an interesting proposal.
Lots of restaurant and hotel people--owners, managers, and workers--came to speak out against the local option meals tax. The best comment was made by the owner of Viva Fresh Pasta, who suggested instituting a therapy and lawyer tax if the city is going to tax restaurant meals. "We're all in the same service industry," she remarked. She noted that restaurant owners are under pressure to pay a living wage, and described the plight of a dishwasher slogging away till one o'clock in the morning, whom she would love to be able to pay more than eight dollars an hour.
Tax and fee advocate Pamela Schwartz, who's running for city council, spoke in favor of the proposal. "Northampton does not have a spending problem, it has a revenue problem," she opined. The city council apparently agreed, as it approved the meals tax proposal later in the evening.
There was a great music scene happening at Sam's on Thursday; several who left the meeting after public comment ventured across the street to buy a slice of pizza, hang around on the sidewalk, and listen to the local jazzers play. What a beautiful town.
above: suzanne beck, dan yacuzzo, mansour ghalibaf
Big questions: Should the landfill expansion go to the voters? Should the city of Northampton impose a local option meals tax? This is more fun to watch than to read about, so here y'are. Have chopped it into 4 sections.
Many thanks to NCTV, who were happy to have me hang about the studio and extract web-quality video from their raw file this afternoon. The transcode took about two hours, which provided an opportunity to catch up w Al Williams, Bryn Francis, and their new access coordinator, Ben Brown, who seems, as we used to say up in Maine, wicked smaht.
In general, lots of unhappiness about the city council gag order (the city council has been told by the city solicitor not to speak with Northampton citizens about the landfill expansion), and a generally-expressed wish for transparency from city hall and the council. Watch Alex Ghiselin at the beginning of clip four; he makes an interesting proposal.
Lots of restaurant and hotel people--owners, managers, and workers--came to speak out against the local option meals tax. The best comment was made by the owner of Viva Fresh Pasta, who suggested instituting a therapy and lawyer tax if the city is going to tax restaurant meals. "We're all in the same service industry," she remarked. She noted that restaurant owners are under pressure to pay a living wage, and described the plight of a dishwasher slogging away till one o'clock in the morning, whom she would love to be able to pay more than eight dollars an hour.
Tax and fee advocate Pamela Schwartz, who's running for city council, spoke in favor of the proposal. "Northampton does not have a spending problem, it has a revenue problem," she opined. The city council apparently agreed, as it approved the meals tax proposal later in the evening.
There was a great music scene happening at Sam's on Thursday; several who left the meeting after public comment ventured across the street to buy a slice of pizza, hang around on the sidewalk, and listen to the local jazzers play. What a beautiful town.
above: suzanne beck, dan yacuzzo, mansour ghalibaf
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Jesse Adams Kicks Off Campaign
Jesse Adams' campaign kickoff speech, June 24, 2009, at the Northampton Country Club.
Adams is running for the at-large seat on the Northampton City Council currently held by councilor Michael Bardsley, who will abdicate the seat in his run for mayor. Born and raised in the Pioneer Valley, Adams completed a bachelor's degree in English at UMass Amherst and graduated from law school at Western New England College. Having passed the bar in 2007, Jesse Adams is a practicing member of the Northampton legal community. He currently serves on the Forbes Library Board of Trustees.
There are two at-large seats up for grabs this year, and three candidates: Adams, veteran councilor James Dostal, and Kathy Silva.
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