On March 5th, 2020, I was quietly waiting outside the Closed Session meeting room at the Town Hall when Becker got it into his head that I was eavesdropping on what the Board was talking about on the other side of a six inch thick wall. BTW, I was sitting 6+ feet away from the wall. Now, if I'd brought along a drinking glass and was holding it up to the wall with my ear pressed against it, he might have had a point. But I didn't have a glass and more importantly I wasn't eaves- dropping. I had my earbuds in listening to a Nature sound track on my Kindle while reading a novel. On the agenda for the secret Closed Session was a discussion regarding Ranger Power, the company planning to surround my house with 20,000 solar panels. Apparently Don Becker is worried about me finding out something but what? Wouldn't it be lovely , not to mention Democratic, if every citizen of the Town of Holland could know.
Let's backtrack.
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| Our Intrepid Leader |
Before going into Closed Session Becker urged me to
go home saying nothing was going to happen today. However, I wanted to
be present for any public vote by the Board after their secret
discussions regarding Ranger Power.
The reason why is in Dec. of 2018 representatives
from Ranger Power attended a Town Hall meeting to formally inform the
Board of their intention to press into the Township with the express
purpose of exploring the possibility of installing a massive solar farm
(1000 acres plus to be exact). Presumably, the Board didn't see the
need to inform the citizens of the Township. Oh yes they can take out a
one quarter page ad in the Lakeshore Weekly to announce they are writing
up a new ordinance and ask for public input but somehow a project of
this magnitude didn't warrant a box ad announcement nor public input.
He replied, "There may or may not be a vote."
I asked, "Well then, if I do go home, can you assure me there will be no public vote taken today?"
He said, "No."
I told the Board I would wait outside until they came back into Public Session." I wasn't taking any chances that the Board was going to slip something else past me and the rest of the Township.
So I'm sitting in the designated public waiting
area, by the way, the same area as the one I and a group of attendees
had gathered to wait on the night of Feb. 10th when the Board went
into Closed Session that night as well to discuss Ranger Power.
Strange, at that time Becker wasn't worried about
people being able to hear what the Board members were saying. Hypocrisy
anyone?
When I pointed this out to Becker today he said,
"But we didn't discuss anything during that meeting!" Hmmmm, if that was
true, and if people can hear through the wall according to Becker's
paranoia, I should have known that already without him telling me,
right? Because I heard it through the wall, right? And yet, this was the first
time I'd heard this information!
So what were the Board Members talking about for
the twenty plus minutes they kept us all standing and waiting outside
the meeting room at 11pm, each of us drop-dead tired?
What's Don Becker's problem? Chip on his shoulder
because I've been publicly vocal about the Board's sub-standard
handling of the Ranger Power project? Is this his way of handling me?
Silencing me? Call the police and have me thrown into the slammer?
When I first stepped outside to wait, within
minutes the Board secretary was sent out to encourage me to wait in an
isolated room at the far end of the building saying it was better
heated. I thanked her for her concern but that I was fine waiting where I
was.
Next Mr. Becker came out and told me if I didn't
leave he would call the police. I didn't know that a publicly elected
official could order a person who came to participate in a public
meeting could be ordered to leave. Especially when she'd done nothing
unlawful.
To his threat I respectfully replied, "I have to
say, that is one experience I've never had!" He gave me two minutes to
"get out of Dodge", so to speak, otherwise he was calling the police.
I put my ear buds back in to listen to my
soundtrack and tried getting back into reading my novel after being so
rudely interrupted by Becker.
Eventually a police officer came rushing into the
public waiting room anticipating serious trouble. I greeted him warmly
and said, "I think I'm the person you're looking for."
Dan Becker immediately appeared and promptly started
disparaging me to the officer. Finished, Becker re-entered the Closed
Session meeting room forgetting to close the door behind him. I gently
suggested to the police officer that he close the door so the Board
Members could have their privacy. I explained to him that the public is
not allowed to hear anything.
I then told my side of the story which the officer
could find no holes in. I apologized to him for Don Becker taking up his
time with this nuisance call. I said, "I'm sure the Sheboygan County
Police Department has more important crime to tend to then being called
out on a person who was braking no laws or rules."
I could tell the officer was caught between a rock
and a hard place and my heart went out to him so I said, "Let's work out
a win-win. I'll move my chair back farther which should lower Don
Becker's paranoia. The officer thought that was a workable solution. The
police officer (and BTW, he couldn't have handled the situation more professionally) and I shook hands before he departed and I returned to
listening to my soundtrack and reading my novel.
About an hour later, one-by-one, the Board members
started leaving and heading for the Exits. Don Becker eventually came
out of the meeting room and headed for a side door to depart the building. My gosh, I could've been locked inside. I called out to
him and asked,"Aren't you reconvening into Public Session?"
He appeared rattled to see I was still waiting and
that I knew he hadn't followed Robert's Rules of Order, a guide for
conducting meetings which I'm very familiar with. My father was a Town
Board Chairman for 45 years. (I've noticed Don Becker is a stickler for
running his meetings by the rule book but apparently not today.)
Mr. Becker said nothing had been decided and
everyone was going home. I said, "Don't you have a professional
responsibility to inform the waiting public that that is the case?"
Mr. Becker had no response. I guess my showing up for a public meeting doesn't count in Becker's rule book.
I picked up my things and
headed for the door thinking... the entire time we've all been here the
Board Members have been paid for their time while I was not.
Yes, yes...I know life isn't fair.
