City Council meeting II
Written by Phil Cerroni
In what was clearly an orchestrated move by those members of the Irving City Council opposed to the Entertainment Center, Mayor Van Duyne and Councilmen Spink, Putnam, Farris and LaMorgese did not show up at the Special Meeting called to discuss the latest proposal by the developer, Las Colinas Group (LCG) and TDI which would take over management of the project as part of LCG’s concessions to one of the critics’ demands. Due to the lack of a quorum, the meeting could not be officially held. The Council members who attended were Webb, Cannaday, Santoscoy and Gallaway.
All residents should be appalled at this action by Van Duyne, Putnam, et al. Is this what we expect from our elected officials? If they oppose the content of a meeting, they conspire to subvert the process by not showing up? This lack of transparency and sabotage of a publically-called meeting is nothing short of disrespecting the public these no-shows were elected to serve. And to refuse to hear the new information that satisfies all previously-voiced financing concerns seems to be a violation of their fiduciary responsibilities.
Because of the lack of a quorum, the meeting was turned into an informal meeting that allowed the Las Colinas Group and TDI to make their presentations and for residents to make public comment. And because it was not an official meeting, ICTN did not broadcast the “gathering.” (The PowerPoint presentation and video of the meeting will be available online at forirvingsfuture.com early next week.)
At about 3:30 p.m., Mayor Van Duyne issued a press release e-mail canceling a separate 5:30 p.m. meeting she had previously called. However, that press release was worded in a way that made it sound as though no meeting would take place. This misled many supporters who had planned to attend the 7:00 p.m. meeting, but there was nonetheless a strong turnout in favor of the Entertainment Center who were able to hear the new financing plans. The mayor’s reason for canceling the meeting cited legal reasons; however, the City Attorney had given Council the go-ahead for the meeting and he was present throughout the informal meeting.
It appears that another special hearing will be called for Monday evening. Please be prepared to attend if it is called (I will let you know as soon as it is officially called). And let the Council know, by e-mail messages ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ) that you want the Entertainment Center AND let the five no-shows know how you feel about their refusal to do their jobs.
Thank these members for their support:
Rose Cannaday: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dennis Webb: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mike Gallaway: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Roy Santoscoy: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Let these members know how you feel about their actions that circumvented the legal process:
Mayor Beth Van Duyne: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Gerald Farris: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Tom Spink: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Joe Putnam: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Brad LaMorgese: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
