As it happens, we had a little Commission meeting this past Wednesday, June 12. It was a throw-back meeting, held outside at the log cabin. Maria Camara used the usual name placards for the Commissioners, but she also put out name placards from our very first Commissioners. A tent was set up for the resident audience, and refreshments were served. We had special guest speakers, including State Representative Daphne Campbell and County Commissioner Sally Heyman. If this is beginning to sound like it was some sort of rah-rah, feel-good exercise, yes, that's what it was.
There was no real and meaningful agenda. The one agenda item was the second reading of an Ordinance to approve a budget from last year. '11-'12. Done. Over. In the rearview mirror. But statutorily necessary to rubber-stamp.
And because this was a formal meeting, it was necessary for the usual attendees to be there. The Village Attorney, the Manager and Assistant Manager, the Finance Director, and the interim Public Works Director were there. The Police Chief was there. Our three administrative employees, the building clerk, the finance assistant, and the general clerk were there. (Usually, these last three don't come to Commission meetings, but this was one was a special one, for old times' sake.) Four of our five Commissioners were there. (I know you're not wondering which Commissioner couldn't be bothered, or was way too busy with other things, or had much bigger fish to fry.)
The meeting took just over an hour, which is not bad for a meeting with one agenda item, that was approved without contest or even comment, and was worth maybe five minutes. After all, we did have to listen to Daphne Campbell talk about something or other, which was mostly herself and how much help to us she intended to be. But wasn't. We would also have wrapped up sooner if we had not had to wait for Sally Heyman, who was about an hour late. For a one-hour meeting. She would have given us a proclamation for something, no doubt to do with our 80th year, except she found a "typo," so she'll send it to us when it's been redone. Charming.
Most of the meeting was taken up with chatter, from the Commission and the Village Manager. Noah Jacobs spoke nostalgically, which is sort of weird, since he has no relevant perspective, and he pointed out two themes that sustain him and provide direction for him. One is that his wife had part of her upbringing in Biscayne Park, the significance of which was unclear, and the other was that he said he likes being Mayor. Roxy Ross and Bob Anderson had confirming and feel-good things to say about the Village. Barbara Watts had a bit too much jet lag. But she showed up.
An interesting topic was Village history, specifically the log cabin. The labor was provided by the WPA. Materials were paid for by the several residents of the new Village of Biscayne Park. Yes, the Village needed an administrative home, and its residents bought the materials to build one. Now, we need very substantial maintenance on our log cabin, and the ongoing question is, who's going to pay for it. That's a stumper, all right. Roxy Ross suggested we don't have a "fairy godmother" with deep pockets. So who could it be? Hmm. Here's one thought: it costs a lot more to maintain the building if we call it a historical structure. So if one of our options is to ignore it until it falls down, maybe instead we could surrender the "historical" designation, and just make it solid and to code. It's a lot cheaper. But it still leaves that sticky question: who, in the wide world, is going to pay to maintain the Village Hall of the Village of Biscayne Park? A stumper, indeed. In the good old days, the ones for which we have such nostalgia, it was Park residents who paid. Hmm.
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