Mill Creek Park Board Meeting - Monday, July 14

[Towntalk]

I know that the park board is not the forum for education and crime, and I didn't mean to imply that they are, and if that is how you read my post, I'm sorry.
For 20 years of publishing my news newsletters, the two central themes that I wrote about were education and crime in Youngstown, and to be perfectly honest, I can not point to any significant improvements in eather our school system or our crime problem.
Business's seeking to relocate take serious looks at education and crime in the community they are considering locating in, and Youngstown is near or at the bottom in both catagories, and no side of town is the exception.
Right now, there is no local future for our children and grandchildren, and they will have to move out of the area to get meaningful employment and provide a better education for their children.
The sad part about it is that many Youngstowners close their eyes to the realities I'm talking about, butare more concerned about how many wards we're going to have, how we can drive  new businesses out of the area, and how we can support here today, gone tomorrow restaurants.
How many of the same people that preach that we should attend city council meeting bother to attend school board meetings? In all the years I've been here I haven't heard people calling on us to attend school board meetings, and for the record, no I do not go to school board meetings.

[cc4]

The Mill Creek Park board could not have addressed any of the problems that you list.

As to why this issue hit these citizens so strongly, that is not for me to judge. 

[Towntalk]

The proper rules of procedure -- ie Roberts Rules of Order -- call for the chair to run the meeting, not a police officer. What you said may be quite correct, BUT it does in no way excuse the police officers actions.
By the way, there are more important issues than a few geese being legally put to sleep that should be demanding our attention. Our school system is in shambles, our streets are in deplorable condition, our community is plagues with crime, the list goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on, yet the priorities of many locals are so messed up that nothing is being accomplished.

[cc4]

Actually, one of the board members informed an early speaker that the format was NOT Q & A  in that the

board would listen to the citizens who had signed up as they arrived speak but would not be taking questions

from the floor.  Several of the speakers called for a dialogue with the park board as a result of these ground

rules.  The citizens were also warned beforehand that anyone disrupting the proceedings or not following

the dictates set down by the board would be escorted from the premises by the police.  So your suggested

actions would have resulted in your being led out. 

[Towntalk]

 http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/jul/15/park-geese-cull-leads-to-outcry/

In none of the news reports covering that meeting were there any indications that the audience was out of order so that copper had absolutely no right or authority to shoot off his mouth to the person asking a legitimate question when given the floor. He is there to keep the peace and nothing more. His arrogance should have been called down immediately by whoever was chairing the meeting, and told to shut his mouth.

[jay]

The meeting video on WFMJ showed scenes of geese eating mowed grass which is their chief source of food.

[Towntalk]

What was the board afraid of that they needed police protection? They should have been bubbling over with joy that so many people showed up for the meeting ... oh, wait a minute, the board knows that there are a whole lot of people that are angry over the fact that they had all those geese murdered, so why didn't they have a closed meeting with "by invitation only" public attendance? That way they could follow the letter of the Sunshine Law and had only their strong supporters there with no question/answer session in respect for all the geese they has butchered (murdered for the linguistic purists amongst us.). Poor poor geese ... poor poor Mill Creek Park Board ... oh the pity of it all. I would have put a full 100 of these crying birds here in honor of all that attended the meeting but that would be pure unabashed silliness on my part, now wouldn't it?
And for those who would condemn me for not attending the meeting ... quite honestly I don't give a rat's you know what about Mill Creek Park, or Canadian Geese, so attending that meeting would be a total waste of my time or energy that can better be spent concerning myself about my own business which is more important,and interesting than sitting on my hands in a meeting that I can not have any meaningful input in.

http://wkbn.com/2014/07/14/emotional-crowd-packs-metroparks-meeting/

[jay]

A friend just sent these notes from the Mill Creek Park Board meeting.

The meeting is still in session.
About 100 people attended.  The majority were against the killing of geese.
The park stationed 4 MCP police cars at the meeting location.
A phrase often heard was, "We will never vote for another Mill Creek Park tax levy."

[jay]

Mill Creek Park Board Meeting

Monday, July 14, 6:00 p.m.

- Location -
D.D. Davis Building
Fellows Riverside Gardens
123 McKinley Avenue
Youngstown, Ohio

Many people who oppose the recent killing of 200+ geese in Mill Creek Park are expected to attend