Two times during Tuesday's town council meeting, longtime council member Mike Barber's comments were just swept aside.
First, when the new Aquatic Board nominations were read off and approved, (with the Mayor saying these members would be compensated a paltry $25 per meeting to cover their time and expenses), Barber suggested they begin meeting right away and on a regular, at least monthly basis. He's served on the town's Parks & Rec Commission, a similar body, and said when it was only done "as needed" nothing much happened. Once that group started meeting on a monthly basis, things started to click -- benefiting town residents who value those services. Sounded like experience talking.
With the aquatic center being an entirely new enterprise, you'd think the Director would welcome a group to help her maneuver uncharted waters for a start-up operation that already has multiple groups wanting access (in addition to waiting town residents). Council member Brad Stipes asked about adding other members to this board -- perhaps he was thinking about a Virginia Tech Swim & Dive Team liaison?
But Barber's comments weren't commented on. The Mayor and Town Manager just moved right ahead.
Barber later asked about the "low speed" vehicle regulations that council had agreed should be in place by Jan. 1, 2009. In October, he indicated wanting moped operations revisited, pushing it to where he himself did the research, again, on what State Code provides and what Blacksburg adopted. All council members agreed minimum safety standards, as provided by State Code, were appropriate, citing numerous examples that gave them concerns.
Previously, the Town Manager indicated council's vote should be run past the town attorney again, even though it was based on information provided by the police chief and aligned with State Code. When Barber asked for this on Dec. 16, the Town Manager stated he "hadn't heard back" from council's attorney. This made it a question in Barber's mind about whether the regulation could be placed into effect as planned on Jan. 1. If not then, when? Sounded like a good follow up.
Again, no response from the Mayor, Town Manager, or council's own legal firm (whose representative present at this meeting wasn't the same one who agreed to look at the regulations).
In a democracy, where elected officials act on behalf of those who put them in office, is this acceptable -- just brushing off requests? For now, it appears to be so, in Christiansburg, whether it comes from an elected official or citizen.