About two years ago, Gilroy put into motion an Open Government
Ordinance aka
”
The Sunshine Ordinance
”
it reads:
”
All aspects of the Gilroy
”
Open Government Ordinance
”
will be monitored with the oversight of an Open Government
Commission.
About two years ago, Gilroy put into motion an Open Government Ordinance aka “The Sunshine Ordinance” it reads:
“All aspects of the Gilroy “Open Government Ordinance” will be monitored with the oversight of an Open Government Commission. This Commission consists of three members of the Gilroy City Council with the support of the City Administrator, the City Clerk, and the City Attorney to ensure that all facets of the “Open Government Ordinance” are implemented. Overall, this new legislation allows the citizens of Gilroy to be more informed and involved in the processes of local government.”
The Gilroy City Council discussed the importance of open government and passed “The Sunshine Ordinance” requiring open meetings. However, on Dec. 15 2010, Gilroy and Morgan Hill’s City Council members will be holding a closed door meeting with the head of the California High Speed Rail Authority.
The agenda of this closed door meeting have yet to be revealed. The issues surrounding the CHSRA, a major public works project, have stirred up a large number of people in our community. However, the local politicians think it is OK to hold a private meeting behind closed doors so the public won’t be able to hear what is being said or what decisions are being made?
Why close the doors?
The community’s concerns include, land being taken by eminent domain, the loss of homes and businesses, the devaluation of neighboring properties to the rail and traffic impacts. There’s also the looming issue of how city of Gilroy will pay for a $300 million parking garage required by the project.
Furthermore, if the rail is routed through the downtown, there is the astronomical unknown cost of either trenching the rail or creating an elevated rail. I would say, these are topics that deserve an open meeting.
Mayor Al Pinheiro and Councilman Perry Woodward along with Gilroy’s City Administrator Tom Haglund will be attending this meeting with the CHSRA CEO Roelof Van Ark along with two members of the Morgan Hill City Council and their city manager.
Mayor Pinheiro has stated that his reasoning for a closed meeting is to avoid a potentially disruptive environment which would impede open and honest discussions regarding the concerns of the communities and the local governments.
Gilroy’s Council passed a “vote of no confidence” a few months ago regarding the CHSRA driven by the lack of communication and the inconsistencies in the information that was eventually received. The city requested information earlier this year about details of the project but only received a letter – many months later – stating answers will be provided some time in the future. Why would it take months to provide such a response?
It is known that Gilroy is not the only city requesting information to receive such a response and is not alone in sending a “vote of no confidence.” The list of cities sharing this sentiment is growing every week.
“We never said we didn’t want a station,” said Pinheiro. “The vote of no confidence was about how information was presented to the City of Gilroy.”
Although these may be a valid concerns, it does not supersede the right of the community to know what happens in this meeting. Maybe a middle ground can be achieved by having the meeting video taped and posted on the city website just as the City Council meetings are currently made available. Another alternative may be to hold the open meeting with the public as observers only. Either of these two alternatives continue to support the intent of the Open Government Ordinance.
When there has been so much public outcry from the community about this project before the City Council and in the paper, how can anyone think it is a good idea to keep this meeting private?
“As far as I’m concerned, everything is on the table: From the frustration, to … how we’re going to pay for it,” Woodward told the Dispatch recently. Good question. Why can’t the community hear the answers from the CEO himself?
This project could cost Gilroy taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
It is not too late to make this meeting an open meeting and let the public sit in attendance or have access to the meeting via video tape and hear what is being discussed and decided upon. The next mayor’s coffee is Saturday, Dec. 11 at 9:30 a.m. in the Council Chambers. Maybe this would be a good time for people to talk frankly with the mayor about this private meeting.
Just something to think about …
Craig Gartman is a local businessman and former member of the City Council. Reach him at
Gi***********@ya***.com
.
