After repeated criticism during citizen comments regarding Commissioner Melissa Cribbins decision to hold a vote on the SCCF at a work session last Friday, Cribbins said the decision to join the foundation and accept the bylaws, etc… wasn’t yet final. Typically, she claims any vote taken in a work session must be ratified at a regular board meeting which sort of makes holding the vote out of the public view in a poorly advertised meeting even more curious. Her statement might be considered disingenuous if it leads people to believe the public still have any say because she later admitted it would simply be placed on the consent calendar which rarely requires any discussion. Cribbins did advise that “any commissioner” can take an item off of the consent calendar. You may want to call your favorite commissioner and suggest he or she remove the item for further discussion.
Bob Main informed the audience that David Koch told a group meeting to discuss the Bayfront Investment leg of the so-called community enhancement plan they had two years to decide whether or not to become a private nonprofit or to be an intergovernmental agency. Cribbins expressed shock saying she “had never heard that from Koch.” Again, what is the real rush to push membership in the SCCF?
Pulitzer Prize winning author and journalist David Cay Johnston attended yesterday’s meeting as research for an upcoming article for Newsweek about the community enhancement plan. Johnston’s article is expected to be published a week from Friday.
In other news, Main was on the Jim Bice radio program Monday and apparently complained about how notice of the SCCF work session did not indicate any action was going to be taken. Cribbins texted Main during the show telling him it was his own fault and Bice read the text on the air. From what I have been told, Bice became very critical at which point Main received yet another text to the effect of “Tell Jim to knock off the libel or he will face a civil lawsuit.” Bice again reacted strongly, and Main received yet another text from Cribbins. “Classy Bob!” I guess it went downhill from there.
