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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2021-02-16 Chat and FAQsFrom To Sent 2/16/2021 Q&A and Chat Super Grover CRC Tuesday, February 16, 2021 10:22 PM Q&A 2/16/2021 Pi 06:03 PM Is video active? Mark Sideris would like to answer this question live. Elodia Thomas 06:22 PM Could we please deal with the fact that we are a city? Daniel D'Amico 06:24 PM What is the purpose of leaving it as Town of Watertown? Purely symbolic? Elodia Thomas 06:37 PM Can the Town Auditor serve two masters? The TM and the TC? Plus the Retirement Board? Elodia Thomas 06:39 PM Please check my Chat comments. I had my hand raised - no recognition. Elodia Thomas 06:42 PM 4,000 per district. Six district Councilors? Two at large? Daniel D'Amico 06:48 PM It was mentioned that there was one city in which the Mayor is the councilor who wints the most votes. Does that mean all councilors are at -large? Elodia Thomas 06:57 PM Did Councilor Donato jump ahead of the discussion on the table? Pi 07:10 PM I'm confused. It appears the Charter is being discussed here. So this is the Charter Review Zoom mtg that was announced on Watertown Forward, yes? Merle Kummer 07:16 PM Could member Hecht draft new language for the charter for the changes he has suggested, to elevate the role of the council in policy -making)? Rita Colafella 07:18 PM What about hiring power? Should the legislative body make policy and do the hiring? Or should those powers be separate? Emily Daman 07:23 PM Can we find an alternative to the forum for the public to provide reactions to the discussion? appreciate the challenge of avoiding distraction and also opening the very interesting discussion to public input Emily Daman 07:25 PM that comment from Emily Daman is in fact from Nancy Hammett -- sorry, somehow our input has become linked. Yikes. sorry Emily Janis Hudson 07:30 PM I like the idea of requiring CE's of the councilors. It's a hard and imporatnt job and we should treat it as such. It might also inventize other residents to run for office if they felt like they would be supported in their learning process. Rita Colafella 07:32 PM My question was prompted by Jon H's comments. Rita Colafella 07:33 PM Just something to think about if we increase powers or change powers. Ilana Mainelli 07:33 PM Will you call on anyone from the audience or only read from the Q&A? Janis Hudson 07:34 PM incentivize*, thank you Jacky vanLeeuwen 07:45 PM Maybe for a future meeting, I have a request. Can we ask Mike Ward and CRC to suggest a way - within State legal limitations - that Town Council can hold Town Manager accountable for his performance evaluations of his Dept Heads? Rita Colafella 07:48 PM The new website has a commnets/feedback section. Is the committee going through the comments/feedback? Chat From Chris Penland to All Panelists: 06:08 PM I am not a panelist and should not be in this list. Please return me to the attendee pool. From Marcy Murninghan to Everyone: 06:18 PM Online link to Watertown charter here: Town of Watertown, MA: Watertown Home Rule Charter Town of Watertown, MA: Watertown Home Rule Charter Ch C [HISTORY: This Home Rule Charter is as amended through Chapter 98 of the Acts of 2001 and acceptance by th... Town of Watertown, MA: Watertown Home Rule Charter Ch C [HISTORY: This Home Rule Charter is as amended through Chapter 98 of the Acts of 2001 and acceptance by th... From Elodia Thomas to All Panelists: 06:29 PM Two years for Councilors. Let's step into the 21st century - we are a city. I had my hand up on this issue. From Me to All Panelists: 06:31 PM in 2021 I see no reason to keep the city known as the town language I think that we have trouble getting people to run for the 8 council seats & President From Elodia Thomas to All Panelists: 06:31 PM Regarding the Council President - YES! All Voters should be able to elect the TC President. From Me to All Panelists: 06:33 PM I think 2 year terms should be kept School Committee is too much for Council President if we don't change forms of gov't this should change From Louise Enoch to All Panelists: 06:35 PM who is Steve who is on the phone? From Me to Everyone: 06:35 PM In 2021 I see no reason to keep the city known as the town language I think that we have trouble getting people to run for the 8 council seats & President I think 2 year terms should be kept School Committee is too much for Council President if we don't change forms of gov't this should change From Elodia Thomas to All Panelists: 06:35 PM Questioning this ... the TC President provides a link to the TC. should this maybe a position for the VP of the TC given the work load? This is the budget buster/largest appropriation in our town budget. Accountability is important to the taxpayers. From Me to Everyone: 06:35 PM Steve is from the Collins Center From liana Mainelli to Everyone: 06:38 PM I strongly agree that it is time to get rid of the "city known as the town language." W'town has outgrown that by pop. size and budget. From Me to Everyone: 06:39 PM Should the town attorney report to the TC? not TM From liana Mainelli to Everyone: 06:39 PM This is going too quickly for me to give my opinion on each of these issues. We need time for public input on these individual items. From Elodia Thomas to Everyone: 06:50 PM Thank you Councilor Donato. From Me to Everyone: 06:51 PM Mark you won't read anonymous comments, now you don't want us to use chat to share/record thoughts & feedback How are we doing to discuss anything? Also seems like we need to SLOW WAY DOWN, let's go back to the city known as the town & let people share feedback, otherwise when do we & the public provide feedback/have a discussion? From Tla Tilson to Everyone: 06:55 PM Thank you, a Thank you, Anne. If we were in Town Council Chambers we would be able to see all the participants and have sidebar conversations with the people we were seated next to. Zoom prevents this. I believe the chat creates transparency for the participants and provides added benefit over having the meeting in Chambers. I think it is unfortunate that this avenue of participation has been silenced. From Marcy Murninghan to Everyone: 06:56 PM What Mike's talking about can be viewed here, pages 12 and 13: https://www.watertown- ma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/30530/2020-12-01-Charters-Authority---Staff-Ad min -I of From Marcia Ciro to All Panelists: 06:56 PM Tia, I agree. It may be better to put your comment in the Q&A From Elodia Thomas to Everyone: 06:58 PM All our At -Large Councilors are in Districts B & C. Is this appropriate representation for our community? From Chris Penland to All Panelists: 07:00 PM Are panelists on a clock for their time recognized by the PResident? From Elodia Thomas to Everyone: 07:01 PM Many of us would appreciate a pause after each section for an exchange of ideas and COMMUNITY INPUT! From Marcy Murninghan to Everyone: 07:05 PM Sorry, Mark, for this comment, but I just learned this today and thought worth sharing: According to a document I found put out by Amherst (link here) that describes other Council — Manager forms of government, Watertown is the only one that requires that the TC President serve as a voting member of the School Committee. According to the chart, Randolph and Chelsea have provisions that provide more discretion. They state that the Council president (or another designee of the town council) is a school committee member. In Randolph's case, that person is a voting member of the school committee. In Chelsea, s/he is a non -voting member. (In Bridgewater, the Bridgewater- Raynham Regional School District district is separate from town government.) Link to Amherst document, entitled "Expanded Council -Manager Charters Comparison" (no date) https://www.amherstma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/40798/Expanded-Council-Manager- Charters-Comparison From Elodia Thomas to Everyone: 07:11 PM This conversation is all over the map. could we p,ease adhere to some kind of methodical process as we go through the Charter. Yes - vision comes from the TC i.e., the community. From Sarah Ryan to Everyone: 07:17 PM Agree that the chat is essential in this forum. I would be very interested in hearing more discussion about council oversight of appointed boards. As we know, Watertown relies heavily on appointed boards with considerable power over policies that affect our town. Planning and Zoning especially. From Daniel D'Amico to All Panelists: 07:18 PM I also agree with the chat being useful. And that having some committees appointed by the TC would help shift power back to elected officials and away from an appointed TM From liana Mainelli to Everyone: 07:23 PM Thank you Anne!! From Jacky vanLeeuwen to All Panelists: 07:23 PM thank you Anne From Marcia Ciro to All Panelists: 07:24 PM Someday maybe Watertown will graduate to the 21st Century and learn how to use technology to enable participation. I hope so. From Chris Penland to All Panelists: 07:24 PM What is the process for *actual* public input into this process? From Elodia Thomas to Everyone: 07:25 PM Thank you Anne! There is no room for those attending to get into the discussion. From Me to Everyone: 07:25 PM Thank you ladies, I'm trying From Daniel D'Amico to All Panelists: 07:27 PM Thank you Anne. Though not Charter related, I believe that the ability to attend Town Meetings via Zoom should continue after the pandemic as it makes it much easier for people to participate. Disabling the chat would take away from that in my opinion. With so much discussion about public engagement, it seems like that would be contrary to that aim From Jacky vanLeeuwen to All Panelists: 07:32 PM VERY important question! From Marcy Murninghan to Everyone: 07:33 PM Okay, I'm not seeing all the questions that Mark is reading in the Q+A. Only see a handful. Why is that? From GuruAmar to Everyone: 07:34 PM They might be addressed directly to the "Panelists", and not both the "Panelists and Attendees" From Marcy Murninghan to Everyone: 07:37 PM No, I think he's reading from the Q&A function, not the Chat. In "my" Q&A, I see four questions, but there are many many more, apparently, as Mark Sideris has read quite a number. From Me to Everyone: 07:37 PM I see 18 From Daniel D'Amico to All Panelists: 07:37 PM I only see 6, 4 of which are mine From Tla Tilson to Everyone: 07:38 PM In the public QnA I see 4 questions From GuruAmar to Everyone: 07:39 PM Ah gotcha (I see 2, but I joined late). And I agree with keeping it simple, make it as clear as possible: "City of Watertown" From Marcy Murninghan to Everyone: 07:42 PM @Elodia: Thank you. Would be helpful to have more of a preview that's specific, not just a generalized outline of what's on the agenda. We need something that's a blend of "agenda" and "syllabus" so we know better what's coming up, and are able to prepare ourselves to use the short time productively. From Ilana Mainelli to Everyone: 07:46 PM Thank you Elodia and Michael Ward for that clarification of this process. From Marcy Murninghan to Everyone: 07:47 PM It would be helpful to have more advance knowledge of what the upcoming meeting will entail, including prompts/questions to ponder, so we can do "homework" and reflective thinking, without feeling so rushed when the meeting starts. From Me to Everyone: 07:48 PM Thank you Mike, very much appreciate your clarification on tonight's goal being a macro view zoom walkthrough of the charter to highlight many areas to consider as we deliberate & discuss changes From Elodia Thomas to Everyone: 07:51 PM No doubt everyone - this is a difficult process given the Covid dynamics and variance in baseline knowledge among all participants. Thank you to Bill Oates for directing us to Section 3-2 Powers and Duties. From Jacky vanLeeuwen to All Panelists: 07:59 PM I'm also in favor of a straw poll as one way to understand my own decision From Sarah Ryan to Everyone: 07:59 PM Straw Poll?? Has there been a full discussion of any of the issues posed today? Seems that this meeting has raced through topics with no discussion and no conclusions. From my perspective, we are no where near ready to discuss Mayor vs TC. From Marcy Murninghan to Everyone: 08:00 PM You can't determine the remedy without diagnosing the problem[s]! From Sarah Ryan to Everyone: 08:01 PM ^ Yes!! From Jacky vanLeeuwen to All Panelists: 08:04 PM you can do both; hear from public and get straw poll next meeting From Chris Penland to All Panelists: 08:06 PM Councilor Woodland, with all due respect your comment was flippant and disrespectful after many of your fellow councilors are wanting to wait. From Marcy Murninghan to Everyone: 08:07 PM I think going through the Charter section by section (article by article) is a very useful thing to do. But it would be well worth knowing ahead of time key issue to be considered, and views that are already coming forward through different platforms. Let's say, for the next two or three sessions, two Articles will be considered, much like today. We could take Mike's points today as a guide. His "macro view" already has been created. It's a partial road map for the next few sessions. (This is like a pro -seminar!) From Rita Colafella to Everyone: 08:07 PM Yes Anne. From Daniel D'Amico to All Panelists: 08:07 PM The public is already having difficulties being heard/participating. The only thing the straw poll will do is eliminate an option (assuming Mayor or TM gain a vast majority/unanimous vote) before getting more public involvement. From Marcy Murninghan to Everyone: 08:07 PM It IS a learning process for everyone!!! Thank you, @Anne! From Rita Colafella to Everyone: 08:13 PM And John. My thoughts exactly Vinnie. Time was noted last time by different people. From Daniel D'Amico to Everyone: 08:14 PM The public is already having difficulties being heard/participating. The only thing the straw poll will do is eliminate an option (assuming Mayor or TM gain a vast majority/unanimous vote) before getting more public involvement. From Rita Colafella to Everyone: 08:16 PM Thanks John. Please amend From Daniel D'Amico to Everyone: 08:17 PM This was incredibly poorly done From Sarah Ryan to Everyone: 08:18 PM What a disaster! From Jacky vanLeeuwen to All Panelists: 08:23 PM can we also get some idea of what feedback you are getting from website comments and polls? From Me to Everyone: 08:25 PM OPEN REQUEST TO ALL ATTENDEES: I am working on the FAQ for Charter Review, if you have questions, please email me afitzpatrick@watertown-gov.ma From Rita Colafella to Everyone: 08:25 PM Thanks Anne. From Me to Everyone: 08:27 PM I collect this chat & the Q&A They were going to be added to the meeting minutes From Daniel D'Amico to Everyone: 08:32 PM Thank you Marcia and Elodia for getting us an organization chart!