Friday, February 16, 2007

CREMATORIUM MEETING

Brenda & Larry Ryan have provided us with two detailed reports following the February 15, 2007 crematorium meeting. The notes are definitely worth reading.

We found the following most curious:

“There were attendees who tried to ask how the whole project got approved before they even received a meeting notice. And, were shocked, I think, to know the final decision on “analogous” use had been made on Jan. 10, 2006, a full five months before the first notices were sent out or published, and nine months before the first open meeting was actually held! When they [attendees] tried to ask questions on how [the project] was approved before they even received notice of the proposed land use, they were quickly told by Mr. Kovitz that that was in the past, and this meeting was not set up to address that issue! Even sadder is that no notice had to be given of the request for "analogous use", so CITIZENS WERE NEVER MEANT TO HAVE A SAY IN THIS MATTER! Can't believe the insanity of this whole "CITY PLANNING PROCESS", and I think we need to PUBLISH this to everyone in Rancho Vistoso.”

Again, we wonder: How can a project like this get approved with absolutely no citizen input? Who do the people in Town Hall think they work for?

4 comments:

Dawnelle Krouse said...

GREAT question! Per the STRATEGIC PLAN adopted by the Town of Oro Valley Town Council on December 21, 2005, they pledged to:
Under Organizational Mission,
* Act with OPENNESS, RESPECT, INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY, and QUALITY;
* Preserve and promote HEALTH, SAFETY, and QUALITY OF LIFE;
* Continue to provide exceptional services.

And, under Organizational Values, stated,
WE ARE STRONGLY COMMITTED TO:
*HONESTY
*INTEGRITY
*BUILDING TRUST
*CREATIVITY
*EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE
*TEAMWORK

So far as I can discern, the only commitment they have met is to be CREATIVE...in finding ways to circumvent the wishes and rights of the citizens of Oro Valley!

Richard Furash, MBA said...

Dawnele,
Thanks for bringing this to My attention. Based on the way the town council has acted, I thought the pledge was a commitment to:
-Stealth, behind the scene wheeling and dealing
-and to act in their own self interest.

orovalley611 said...

Too much to late...sorry folks.

bob k. said...

The February 15 meeting was held at a location that was actually closer to the neighborhood than Town Hall is, as a convenience to the neighbors.
The purpose of the meeting was to exchange information about the operation of a crematorium. Issues regarding notification, hearings, and the limits of the Council's decision-making authority had already been covered extensively in the newspaper and in the fact sheet that was distributed to the public on February 7 and posted to the Town's website.
At the meeting, ALL questions were answered completely, despite the fact that not everyone agreed with the answers.