| | Published September 14th, 2011
| Difficult Moment at Council Meeting
| | By Sophie Braccini | | |
The Town Council had to respond to public criticism on Wednesday night, August 24, regarding the appointment of Dr. Rodger Lum as the Town's representative to the County Library Commission. As Council Member Dave Trotter noted, it is very rare to have the public question an appointment decision made by the Council, or, in this case, a sub-group of the Council.
During the public comment period, representatives of the Friends of the Moraga Library (FML) indicated that they were never contacted by the sub-committee tasked with recruiting the new representative and that this failure to seek their input was very disappointing.
Council Member Howard Harpham and Mayor Karen Mendonca, who were the sub-committee members, stood by their decision.
Council Member Mike Metcalf said he was ready to support the decision of his colleagues because they had been entrusted to make that decision by the whole Council, "To second-guess you would tear apart our relationship and would do a lot of harm to the Town," he said. Mendonca indicated that should the decision be rejected she would recommend that no appointment ever again be made by a subcommittee.
The Council voted unanimously to confirm the appointment of Dr. Lum (Council Member Ken Chew was out of town). "The most serious damage from failure of the full Council to consider the appointment is the perception that community input is not sought, including input from the Friends," commented former FML president David Kruegel afterwards.
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | Advertisement | | |
| | | print story
Before you print this article, please remember that it will remain in our archive for you to visit anytime.
download pdf
(use the pdf document for best printing results!) | | | Comments | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA