For the Record. September, 2013, Commission Meeting.

I was out of town and missed the meeting, which was held on September 10.  I asked around to see what happened.  Some responses follow, from three people.

Jacobs played the tyrant, and Cooper is a hero of the save Greynolds Park movement.  Watts was a wreck, completely lost all night except when she came in late, and she was armed with questions about the reasons for the ground shifting near the drainage project.  Clearly, they were Steve Bernard questions, because it became apparent after some time that she didn't fully understand her own questions, never mind the engineer's answers.

Watts pulled her tree silliness, Cooper egged her on about it, and she is supposedly bringing it back in October.  She was so damn arrogant: she actually said, in reference to the mural, that the Commission approved it 5-0, so she wanted to proceed with it no matter what residents said at the Commission meeting regarding using donation money only.  The Commission picked nine candidates to take to the next level for consideration for Village Manager.  Cooper wanted to take only the eight nominated by the residents committee.  Watts, however, had others she wanted and who were not preselected by the residents committee.

Jacobs no longer wants to hear comments from residents who are not present at the meeting.  He does not want them being read by the Clerk at Good and Welfare.  Cooper wants to consider only the eight Manager candidates chosen by the residents committee.  He and Jacobs agreed they did not want to hear about the review from the County managers group, which selected 11 candidates of those who applied.  "It smelled like Steve [Bernard] wanted someone from the group of eight."



The only thing to add to those comments is that it does appear that Steve Bernard has chosen the Manager candidate he prefers, and it fully appears he is preparing his stooges, Jacobs, Cooper, and Watts, to confirm this candidate for him.  Steve appears to have chosen Charlie Smith, who was at one time our Finance Director.  From comments Steve made at the one meeting of the residents review committee, it appears Steve experienced Charlie as someone who would provide him with whatever information and angle Steve wants.  Steve was completely unconcerned with a reply Maria Camara made to a question about Charlie, to the effect that Charlie was very unreliable when it came to leaving Village employment with inadequate notice, then getting himself temporarily rehired by the Village, then again leaving with inadequate notice.  For the record, I happen personally to like Charlie.  He's a very nice guy, personable, intelligent.  I always got along very well with him, as I think we all did.  He was in no way the strongest candidate among those who applied, however, and some others of us who like him are doubtful he would make a great manager.  But the rest of us only want a high quality manager, not necessarily someone we feel we can manipulate.  So our standards and requirements may be different from Steve Bernard's.

As for Jacobs' disdain for the opinions of Village residents, at least those not in attendance, I wonder if that will mean we will no longer hear him announce some new concern that was brought to his attention by some unnamed Village resident, who is not at the meeting.