by David Miller, Publisher
Loveland, Ohio – Apparently Tuesday’s City Council meeting will take place, however, there may be no business conducted. On Thursday, September 21 Loveland Magazine received the following email from Loveland’s Vice Mayor Angie Settell:
Never before receiving a press release from an individual member of the council, Loveland Magazine proceeded cautiously on reporting the press release. In this highly charged election season, it seemed prudent to verify Settell’s message and verify that it, in fact, came from her. Press releases are almost always either sent out from the City Manager’s office or the Clerk of Council. Add to that, the release sent by Settell referred to “We” as if it was being sent on behalf of others or from City Hall.
After receiving the “Press Release” we looked on the City Web site to see if in fact the meeting was canceled as the release might suggest. It was not. It was still listed as a public meeting and there was no “Press Release” on the website such as the one Settell sent out, the City Facebook page, or the City Twitter page. Looking at the City Facebook page also confirmed that there was a council meeting on Tuesday, September 26.
An email was sent to the Clerk of Council and the City Manager asking for clarification. We asked two questions. Did it come from Settell? Is there a meeting?
City Manager Dave Kennedy answered at 2 Pm on Monday simply saying, “There will not be enough members for a quorum at tomorrow’s meeting.”
Clerk of Council Misty Cheshire responded at 5:43 PM on Monday by saying, “The press release did not come from the City and was independently done by an individual council member. The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow night and will take place if a quorum is present.”
After the recent resignation of former Mayor, Mark Fitzgerald there remains six members of Council. A quorum of Council would be four. Settell’s release would suggest that three of the six council members do not plan on attending Tuesday’s meeting. She did not say which members would not be attending.
Not on the meeting agenda, but a decision that could be made at any future meeting is a vote on who will take Fitzgerald’s seat and serve the remaining two years of his vacated term. It will require at least four members to agree on a replacement. A 3-3 split council as it is today is a delicate attendance balance.
You can read the Agenda for the meeting where apparently none of the business listed will be conducted.
LOVELAND MAGAZINE TV will be at City Hall tomorrow night at 7 PM and be broadcasting live on our Facebook Page.
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Excellent due diligence. I think the magazine should go anyway to make sure the Vice Mayor is not tying to pull a “Fitzgerald”, and prevent any press coverage from some sudden public business if you catch my drift. These days these tactics have become stale and the players need to stop playing transparency shenanigans.
It seems like a variant strain of the blue flu has infected city hall.
Not showing up for work is cause for firing. Give them a pink slip Nov. 7th.
So true. And how is it that these three do not understand the oaths they took when sworn in? We know there has been deliberate disregard of the charter by MF while in office, and I assumed it was just blatant arrogance on his part. A assumption he could get away with anything he wanted to because he really had pushed every boundary he could get away with. But for these three to act in direct defiance of their SWORN OATHS is tantamount to dereliction of duty. It’s pretty clear they don’t want the jobs they were elected to hold or they would at least show up.
The remnants of the Fitzgerald voting block, (Angie Settell, Pam Gross, & Steve Zamagias) once more have decided to stand up residents, tonight by abandoning a required-by-law, City Council meeting. It only takes 4 council members to make the required quorum for business to proceed, but tonight, not one of these 3 can make it to ensure quorum is met and city business may proceed? (And they couldn’t reschedule for a special meeting Monday, Wednesday, or Thursday?)
BUT WE THE RESIDENTS ARE STILL GOING.
Loveland Charter requires two meetings a month on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday. The business of the city demands council show up and do their jobs they were elected to do. To not be able to attend occasionally happens, but three council members on the same day? What are they doing that is more important than the business of the city? None of them can put the city first?
Pam Gross and Steve Zamagias are up for re-election this year, and Loveland Community Heartbeat asks that you do not vote for them. They have shown repeatedly that they do not serve the residents of Loveland. We can see it in their votes to move quickly to a single public hearing on the city hall project, their staged walk out on 6/27, the Mark Fitzgerald attempted transfer of power that resembled a coup on the day he resigned, and now this. If none of these 3 show up tonight to ensure quorum is met, Pam Gross and Steve Zamagias will prove yet again that they are not worthy of your votes.
Halie Rebeccaschild, Secretary
Loveland Community Heartbeat
Political Action Committee
#LCHPAC
Comments made by Halie Rebeccaschild are representative of more than 60 Loveland resident stakeholders. Paid for by Loveland Community Heartbeat Political Action Committee.