Three meetings in one night, each with a Knickers-twist

Dedication of the YMCA lobby to Jo-Ann Sloane
was one of several events last night with a Knickers-twist.

As I have said before, the time in Plainfield is long-gone when one could singlehandedly attend all the important events going on. Last night is a perfect example.

Besides the Council's and school district's town hall meetings, there was the NJTransit fare increase hearing (there are about 900 commuters a day out of Plainfield), a United Way planning committee meeting for the May house tour, Plainfield's Cable TV commission, and a dedication in honor of the late JoAnne Sloane at the YMCA.

I decided to try and do three, each of which turned out to have a little Knickers-twist.

Arriving late (for reasons noted below) for the WARD 2 TOWN HALL MEETING, at which last week's hosts (McWilliams, Reid and Mapp) were joined by Storch and Burney, I found the room set up in a huge open horseshoe with a mike at the center, a double row of chairs with about sixty in attendance (which gradually grew as the meeting went on), and the Councilors at a table in the front.

The seating arrangement seemed odd, and I noticed that latecomers took chairs off the stack in the corner and formed a further outer ring at the far end of the room rather than take the plentiful empty seats near the front of the horseshoe. Just a little odd.

While I was there, several speakers rose to address the Council, offering questions, suggestions and points of view on taxes, the city's budget process, the relationship between the schools and the city's image and possibilities, travails with the PMUA, and economic development.

Speakers were polite but concerned, with an underlying edginess: the news from Trenton has tax implications for Plainfield that are not reassuring and the threat of ever-spiraling taxes has folks stressed out.

Councilor Burney was expansive on the topic of economic development, recalling Mayor McWilliams strategic planning effort of a dozen years ago, saying the problem was that it didn't come up with a plan (wrong!) and thus languished. Saying that the current Visioning process (which he and Storch have pushed, and which has a public workshop tomorrow) would take about a year to develop a plan, then 6 months to get agreement on it (among whom not exactly spelled out -- Council and administration? Business community? Community organizations?), and then four or five years to implement. We shall see.

Jim Pivnichny wanted to know if there was any way the Council could get the Robinson-Briggs administration to submit its budget earlier, noting the lateness of the last two years' budgets and the limited savings thus achieved. He reiterated that he thinks planning should go forward AS IF there were to be NO EXTRAORDINARY AID (a thoroughly sensible suggestion). McWilliams responded that the Council expects to take up a resolution in April that will spell out its expectations of the budget process in a timeline. (I was set to wondering whether the Council couldn't go to court to compel a budget be submitted, if it comes to that. File that thought.)

As I was preparing to leave for my next meeting, Council President McWilliams, noting the large number of Board of Ed candidates in the room, allowed as how she intended to keep the evening focused on City of Plainfield issues, and not Board of Ed issues.

And that evidently became the Knickers-twist of the evening. Writing later on her personal blog, BOE candidate Renata Hernandez takes McWilliams to task (see here), citing the opportunity given Dr. Gallon to take the floor at last week's Ward 1 Town Hall. (For Dr. Gallon's take on that meeting, see here.)

What do you think? Was it a mistake for McWilliams to give Gallon and Assemblyman Green the floor the week before? Should forums designated for resident input to the Council be highjacked as vehicles for BOE candidates to campaign? Or should everything just be a free-for-all?

Arriving at the CABLE TV BOARD meeting, which was well under way, I was surprised at the turnout. The table at the City Hall Library was nearly ringed with Board members and a Verizon rep as they discussed rolling out Verizon's Plainfield PEG channel.

This was a complete contrast to the last CATV meeting I attended, at which Dottie Gutenkauf presided (the Mayor's husband had had to step down as chair), which was poorly attended and seemed dispirited.

The Knickers-twist here was on the table as I took my seat: Where would the Verizon equipment be housed and how would training of residents in content production be handled? The Verizon rep allowed as how the Board of Public Utilities (BPU), the state agency which oversees cable franchises, wanted to see COLLEGE facilities used. The Cable TV Board is plumping for the school district's PAAAS (Plainfield Academy for the Arts and Advanced Studies) facility, located at the former National Starch headquarters building a stone's throw from the Dunellen line. Stay tuned.

My evening kicked off at 6:30 with a DEDICATION CEREMONY AT THE YMCA dedicating the Lobby in memory of the late Jo-Ann Sloane, who died two years ago.

A dear friend and political collaborator, Jo-Ann was a patient care rep at the Lyons VA hospital and tireless advocate for better, fairer and more extensive treatment of our veterans. She also worked part-time at the YMCA, where she helped coordinate services for the homeless shelter. She was an indefatigable Democratic activist, serving as the late Mayor Al McWilliams' campaign treasurer. She was generous and enthusiastic, with a razor sharp wit and a ready smile and hug. We all still think of her daily and miss the boost her presence gave to everything she touched.

So the parlor of the YMCA was full to bursting with family, friends and co-workers as executive director Ravenell Williams emceed a program that featured reminiscences by those who worked closely with Jo-Ann, and opening and closing prayers by Elder Diane Hathaway from the Christian Fellowship Gospel Church, Jo-Ann's congregation.

The Knickers-twist?

As the program was drawing to a close, we could hear through the doors the building's fire alarm sounding -- and watch as karate students, wellness-center jocks, residents, staff and United Way planning committee members all began to exit the building.

Pushing to bring the event to an end before the fire trucks arrived, Ravenell urged the remaining speakers to be brief -- managing to close up ceremony just as the fire trucks arrived to check out the building.

As everyone gathered on the sidewalk outside, we shared a laugh over the fire alarm -- false alarms are a not-uncommon occurrence at the YMCA, as Jo-Ann would have attested -- and decided it was her way of pranking us and thanking us for the ceremony and recognition.

I'm sure it was.

Loveya, Jo-Jo!

And miss you forever.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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