tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235887.post1517948241256894696..comments2022-11-02T07:08:42.382-06:00Comments on Midnight Ramblings: Failure to AgreeMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17582948058268759961noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235887.post-7083799130208248462012-05-16T17:23:28.290-06:002012-05-16T17:23:28.290-06:00As a former Athabasca Councillor it sickens me to ...As a former Athabasca Councillor it sickens me to see this happen. When I was on council, we had major disagreements but never on procedure. Retreats are one of the most important things councils can do... they are not vacations... 8 to 12 hours locked in a room discussing in detail your issues and your vision is healthy. Talking after the retreat session over dinner is very good as well because it allows councillors to get to know each other on a personal level and discuss issues one on one in a more relaxed atmposphere. Comprimises can be found or at least a deeper understanding as to why a council member may take a certain position. The main thing with retreats is that there are no distractions... people need to be focused on the agenda at hand and everybody gets to have their say without playing it up for the media or not saying something for fear of it being repeated in the media. This council is a complete joke and administration must be besides themselves trying to navigate these rough waters... this attitude and uncertaintly flows down and it affects the attitudes of the employees and the public. Strong councils disagree, debate and make decisions then move forward as a team even if you don't agree. This council spins their wheels and are not a part of a team at all. Its just a big pissing match from what I can tell. Proper procedure is that councillors can only speak on an item after a motion is made. so if there was an item that majority of council didn't agree with it, the councillor would have been able to speak to his motion and then council could have defeated it after it was on the table "because they were administrative matters" or whatever. This way business could still get done and the meeting could move forward. I'm very disappointed in Athabasca council and they need to apologize for their behaviour. Sad to see how Athabaca has gone from a progressive community with people of vision for the future to people who can't see past themselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5235887.post-44062508323536853912012-05-16T14:19:28.293-06:002012-05-16T14:19:28.293-06:00I found this thoroughly entertaining. But very di...I found this thoroughly entertaining. But very diplomatic, too, and you don't name names. Though the newspaper does, with direct quotes, so that was fun, too.Kentenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05596085561010118437noreply@blogger.com