A EUREKA CITIZEN WEIGHS IN!

On September 10 the Town Board held a Public Hearing to address the three complaints submitted by Commissioners Butch Hansen, Phil Cleminson and Al Novacek. Citizens' statements were not accepted at the Public Hearing (reference previous blogs).         

 
Beverly Topp, a long time Eureka citizen and former Supervisor, has written and submitted the following statement:

"Township government, when it works well, is one of the best forms of American government. It can also be one of the most difficult because, when a board member or a planning commission member votes to take a position on an issue, it affects people they know, and often, even friends. But, as sworn Township officials, it is their job to ensure the Township ordinances are upheld, to advocate for change if they feel the ordinance is no longer useful or correct and to do their best to become well informed on any issue they are considering. It is always their job to make decisions that are for the best interests of the most people of the Township and for the public good.

I have known Carrie Jennings for many years and know her as a highly intelligent person who does her homework and does her best to represent the interests of the citizens of Eureka Township. As a former Eureka Township governing body member, I attended many training sessions and also understand the importance of being accused of breaking the Open Meeting Law of the State of Minnesota. It is a SERIOUS accusation.

As I understand the actions, Carrie took to provide pertinent and studied information to the Planning Commission for their meeting. She DID NOT come close to breaking this law and was merely doing what she always does to make good decision; gather as much information as possible for the whole Planning Commission to consider on the subject. This complaint is yet another attempt by self interested people to quiet bright, conscientious women whose objective, effective work for good government gets in the way of what they want. It costs the Township not only good energy that could be used for constructive planning for the future, but also wastes our tax dollars that could be used for proper training of those officials who don’t seem to have a good grasp of the rules of township governance.

It seems Carrie’s accusers will stop at nothing to bully and discredit good public servants and clear the way for their ego centered governing. This has become a pattern in this Township by the same people; that begs the question of who should be “up” for removal from their commissions so this behavior cannot be played out on one of our governing boards.

I hope enough people on the Board will judge this for what it is and not only continue one of our Township's finest on the Planning Commission, but find a way to chastise Carrie’s accusers for their contentious waste of Township time and money. It is TIME to return to conscientious governing and working TOGETHER to build and create a strong, cohesive and supportive community." 




DUE TO COLUMBUS DAY FALLING ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, THE OCTOBER TOWN BOARD MEETING WILL BE HELD ON:

                                             TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, AT 7:00 P.M.