This was a very good council meeting (aside from the fact that we ended earlier than normal). What I especially liked is that we were able to have a vigorous discussion and share differing points of view without being disagreeable.
Agenda:
- Public Comment: Most of the comments (7 out of 9) were about the library. I will summarize at the end of the post. One of the other commenters wanted more info about the trail system and shared a trail safety item; the trail sign near Caddy Lane is too close to the bike trail and riders risk hitting it as they turn onto the trail.
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Highland Fling 2014: Ron Jewett discussed the upcoming fling. He pointed out that they expect to raise significantly more funds this year than last. They are already well ahead of last year in terms of ads for the Fling Booklet (Good job Emily!). One issue is that because the Fling budget only reflects net costs (expenses less anticipated revenues) when they try to spend more than the budgeted amount difficulties arise even though there are offsetting revenues from sponsors. Our finance director will look into how this can be resolved.. Evidently public accounting practices make this less than straightforward. Here is a video from last year’s Fling that was put together by one of the sponsors Color My Media:
- Approval of Meeting Minutes for March 18: Approved.
- Approval of Meeting Minutes for April 1: Approved
- Library Funding Option Discussion: See below
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New Ad HOC Committee Discussion:
The council discussed the proposed formation of 3 new ad hoc committees: Beautification, Economic Development, and Web & Social Media. Brian mentioned that at some point these should be turned into permanent committees as Ad Hoc Committees are supposed to have specific short term objectives and disbanded once the objectives have been reached. Dennis also discussed an economic development panel that Alpine has which meets monthly. It is composed of a council and planning commission member as well as other officials that could provide immediate feedback and feasibility answers.to anyone seeking to open a business in Alpine. Anyone interested in serving on these or any other committee should complete the volunteer form found on the city’s website and turn it in at the front desk of city hall. We will be taking a formal vote on the formation of these committees next council meeting.