Sorry, Dory, but I have to agree with Annie on this one. Having been observing the Park Board all year I can verify that there is a lot more to being a commissioner than attending 2 to 3 meetings a month. The meetings are the tip of the iceberg where behind the scenes work is discussed and decided on. Commissioners need to do a lot of research to keep up with what the staff is doing and respond to their constituents concerns and needs.
I have seen them attending City Council meetings and their own study sessions to deal with projects like Crown Hydro, PRT, updating the City Charter and the changing demographics of their neighborhoods and the city as a whole. Not to mention meetings with citizen and neighborhood groups as Park Board representatives. And don't forget that we have a very unique Park Board situation where the Park Board is actually a separate institution from the city council instead of an adjunct to it. Steven M Nelson Willard Hay http://citizenshipchronicles.blogspot.com/ Get UP! Get OUT! & GET INVOLVED!!! dorie rae gallagher wrote: I commend you if you are doing all that work in a week...but I don't believe you can speak for the productivity of others. Your meeting started at 5:00 and ended at 7:15 That's $200.00 per hour plus your benefits. For a mere 48...say 60 hours per year, you get good health benefits and according to what you said in an earlier post...you can miss 3 months of work...Still a sweet deal! dorie rae gallagher nokomis ----- Original Message ----- From: Annie Young To: Dorie Rae Gallagher Sent: Friday, September 03, 2004 5:16 AM Subject: Re: [Mpls] Park Board Meeting Highlights Not as sweet as you think. These meetings are not easy and there is lots of material to read if one is prepared for the meetings. I consider this a part-time job and between e-mail and phone calls, going out to park activities once or twice a week (sometimes more), interviews and general reading related to parks fills the time. There are some weeks when way more hours are put in when there is a "hot" topic (controversial) issue going on. There are more than two meetings a month if you consider the committee meetings and Full Board meetings along with preparatory meetings and sometime the committee of the whole. And please remember we all have appointments to various organizations like St . Anthony Falls Heritage Board, Water Quality Task Force, etc., etc. Most of the Commissioners do put in the hours above and beyond what the pay is. As a matter of fact I think almost all the Commissioners would say they are not doing this job for the money - it is for the kids, their love for this city and the honor of serving as a stewards of this incredible park system. I hope I am not wrong on that common thread amongst us... it is the only one we have these days! Annie Young citywide Park Commissioner At 11:19 PM 9/2/04 -0500, you wrote: ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Mpls Forum" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2004 11:21 AM Subject: [Mpls] Park Board Meeting Highlights > Highlights from the September 1, 2004 Park Board Meeting -- Part 1 > > This was the first meeting which was televised live on cable TV. > Thanks Chris for the notes. I for one do not have cable and appreciate the notes in detail. I want to know who shows up when and who is prepared or not. Two meetings a month...$410 per meeting plus excellent health benefits. I am sure there might be a couple of hours extra here and there for other meetings but yes, it is a sweet deal. dorie gallagher nokomis REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). 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Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
