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the first meeting of the new police civilian review board is supposed to start in four minutes. 3 of 8 board members are here. i am one of 4 members of the public. there’s one local media outlet here with a camera + two people i believe are city staff.
where is everyone?
where is everyone?
five more spectators and another news camera, but still very short on members of the board...
the water street center where the meeting is being held is quite small — nearly all of the ~20 seats lining the walls are filled. we’re still short three of the eight board members.
the two city staff members here are the assistant to the council clerk and the city council outreach coordinator (a new position as of monday, apparently).
all 8 board members have arrived & the city staff are getting them started by recommending they elect a chair.
all 8 board members have arrived & the city staff are getting them started by recommending they elect a chair.
don gathers starts off by saying it is especially troubling to him that the meeting was scheduled by the city (not the board members!) with only a day’s notice. josh bowers concurs & says the board should set a standing meeting time to prevent this from happening again.
meeting is now underway with discussion about electing leadership positions for the board - don asks why they even need a treasurer. the asst to the council clerk says there is a $2500 budget and it will be helpful to have a point person to work with staff on expenditures.
board member sarah burke suggests moving these elections to the end of the agenda so they have more time to get to know one another before electing these positions. miss rosia will be taking notes.
now discussing setting a standing meeting time.
now discussing setting a standing meeting time.
the board is scheduled to deliver draft bylaws in seven months. they agree they’ll need to meet twice a month to meet that deadline.
they’ve agreed to meet the 2nd and 4th tuesdays of every month, with the next meeting being august 14th.
they’ve agreed to meet the 2nd and 4th tuesdays of every month, with the next meeting being august 14th.
the asst to the council clerk nervously offers that there will be very limited staff support available for an august 14th meeting, due to the proximity to the anniversary of august 12th. i’m not sure how that affects her ability to attend this meeting, though?
board member josh bowers says they should move to establish a “citizen advisory board” to tap into voices in the community.
“i’ve heard from people who are interested in helping us,” specifically names jeff fogel (whose appointment to the board was vigorously opposed by council)
“i’ve heard from people who are interested in helping us,” specifically names jeff fogel (whose appointment to the board was vigorously opposed by council)
reverend don gathers says they should consider appointing a ninth member to avoid tie votes.
(note that the board has the power to add a ninth seat to the board but council would actually appoint the person — the board does not get to select the appointee.)
(note that the board has the power to add a ninth seat to the board but council would actually appoint the person — the board does not get to select the appointee.)
ms katrina says everyone is agreement that a ninth person should be added and asks if there is agreement that the person should be jeff fogel. josh bowers tentatively agrees but is worried opposition to this would cause time to be wasted.
ms katrina says they were given permission “to add whoever we wanted.” this wasn’t my understanding the last time this was discussed at council, but i could be wrong! board appointments are typically done by council, though.
don motions to add a ninth member to the board, jeff fogel (pending his agreement). it passes unanimously.
in the event that jeff doesn’t accept, they say they’d select one of the other applicants who wasn’t selected. looking at that pool, only 17 applicants made it through the process, 7 of whom withdrew at that point. the only remaining unselected applicant is helen plainsance.
helen was the only applicant at the candidates forum that i remember finding outright objectionable 🤷♀️
here’s an excellent livetweet of that april forum, if you’re interested in looking back at the applicants
don gathers is stepping into the role of meeting chair quite naturally. he’s opened up the floor to public comment. board applicant joyce hillstrom is speaking now - she is concerned about the letter denise lunsford sent the city about the board.
board member sarah burke says they will have someone from the city attorney’s office at the next meeting (she was unable to attend tonight due to the lack of notice about the meeting)
more on lunsford’s letter here:
more on lunsford’s letter here:
board member josh bowers will reach out to the city attorney’s office to set up a meeting where they can discuss their FOIA obligations as a board.
a member of the public now asking how community members can report police abuse they may experience the weekend of august 12th. don gathers says they should file a complaint through “the proper channels” but also communicate directly with the CRB.
board member sarah burke says the CRB should have their own city email address to receive reports like this. city staff says IT can set up an email address that will go to any board members and city staff they choose.
now discussing what kind of city staff support they would need/have access to. administrative needs will go through the asst to the council clerk, but the board must decide if they want a representive from the police dept or office of human rights to attend their meetings.
the city staffer now directly asks if they would be open to appointing a liaison from the police department who would attend every meeting.
WHY. NO THANKS. FTP.
WHY. NO THANKS. FTP.
look i don’t wanna brag but i was the only person in the room who knew the name of the new city attorney.
(jesus christ i need a hobby)
(jesus christ i need a hobby)
i spaced out during some discussion about agenda formatting. sorry folks. back to talking about electing chair, vice chair, and secretary. josh bowers says he doesn’t see a need for a treasurer at this time. sarah burke is in favor of rotating meeting chairs.
most board members agree that they should NOT respond to denise lunsford’s letter, with don being the primary opposition to that idea. gloria says they should invite her here to address them directly.
don reminds the board that any time 3 members discuss board business, it constitutes a meeting that requires public notice. juan & gloria both try to repeat back their understanding of the rules & are incorrect. someone from the city atty’s office should be here for this.
(don served on the blue ribbon commission and has experience with the regulations re: city meetings & FOIA compliance.)
there was some confusion - they thought they had nine months from the date of their appointment (two months ago), but actually it’s nine months from the date of this meeting.
so the term of their appointment to the board is 12 months starting june 4, but the 9 month clock on the draft bylaws starts today.
their terms on the board, however, can be extended.
their terms on the board, however, can be extended.
this is murky as hell.
the city staffer says there is precedent for a board remaining in tact past its term for several months to finish a project.
the city staffer says there is precedent for a board remaining in tact past its term for several months to finish a project.
they’ve decided to push off elections until the next meeting. don says he will do the agenda for the next meeting. ms rosia will type up the notes she took and distribute them to the rest of the board.
discussing action items: someone will contact jeff about his appointment to the board, someone is going to contact the new city attorney, they’re all going to think about what they want the board’s mission statement to be.
meeting adjourned!
meeting adjourned!
here’s a look at the letter the police benevolent association’s lawyer, denise lunsford, sent the civilian review board yesterday. i love how she asks them to be RESPECTFUL 🙄
