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With the summer nearly half over, the Mayor gets the word out. |
Belatedly, schedules for reduced pool hours have been posted on the city's website (see here, with the PDF flyers here). As you can see from the screen capture at the top of the story, the flyers were composed on July 23, nearly a month into the summer season -- and well after confusion about pool hours and openings were cited by Plainfield Today and Olddoc.
This, after Mayor Robinson-Briggs especially requested $100,000 for summer Recreation help (including the lifeguards) in May. The request raised a discussion at the time about why the Robinson-Briggs administration needed the money early, instead of waiting for the budget which was being worked on at the time. The Robinson-Briggs administration prevailed and the $100,000 was funded through a resolution.
So, how come we are finding out at this late date that Mr. Wynn does not have enough life guards -- in fact so few that our kids are getting about HALF the pool time of normal years?
Once again, I suggest Mayor Robinson-Briggs is 'Exhibit A'.
Robinson-Briggs simply refuses to hold Mr. Wynn and the Recreation Division to any reasonable standard of accountability -- whether in regard to making room for the Queen City Baseball League to have access to public fields or successfully recruiting enough life guards for a full pool season.
In the private sector, such continual failures to meet expectations would have dire consequences for the employees involved. But this is your taxpayer dollars, where the Mayor evidently sees it as her prerogative to reward her 'friends' (...and punish her enemies?), so don't expect any accountability.
My apologies to Ms. Nesbitt for once again laying the blame at the feet of Mayor Robinson-Briggs, but if she's the chief executive isn't she the responsible party?
As President Harry Truman used to say, 'the buck stops here (at his desk)'.
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President Harry Truman kept this sign on his desk. |
- Website: "City of Plainfield"
- Flyers: "Pool Schedule(s)" -- PDF.
-- Dan Damon [follow]
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13 comments:
Dan there are no telephones at pool sight. The lifeguards are forced to use personal cellphone if there is a situation at the pool. Very often when there is a situation, it is difficult to get an answer from Recreation. What responsible parent would let their teenager work in such a precarious environment?
I wonder why they cannot employ enough lifeguards. PHS swim coach certifies many students every year. Where are the students going to work?
Glad you mentioned QCBL, there is a playoff championship game tonight and when we had practice last night, in both bathrooms the toilets, stall doors and sinks were removed...remodeling was due to begin in August because our Summer season was still on going, now who could have arranged that..hmmmmmmmm; The sprinklers were on and flooded BOTH fields..Sprinklers haven't been used in years. I could go on and on, but I'm not.
No lifeguard will work under Dave Wynn, ask anyone who has worked there for a summer and its no wonder they don't return next summer. Part time hours and a budget for full time, im sure it wont be surprising to see all the money spent reguardless. Only question is where will the money really go? Who if anyone is responsible and will they be held accountable? The real victims are the community youth once again. Rev. Tracy Brown wants more after school programs and activities to keep kids out of violence, yet we fund a recreation dept that cant even do its job and noone gets held accountable so why should taxpayers keep funding these programs when the community youth will never see the benefit of them with the irresponsible people we have in charge.
Dave Wynn and this mayor need to go. Once again, they put our kids and citizens at the bottom of their concern list. I hope the city council gets to the bottom of this and asks why phones can't be turned on at the pool sites during the summer when the pools are open. I want to know where the $100,000 went and who's stealing our money! People need to write their council people and the mayor, not that she cares or will answer any emails or calls.
Plainfield High School was contacted also for lifeguards. I wish you people would get your facts straight. it is such a shame how you find a way to put out something other than the facts. Get your information straight then post.
And yet the mayor will sing wynn praises every chance she gets. I wonder what it's like to have no conscious at all.
Life guards require special certification so they can go anywhere to find a job. They don't have to work for someone like wynn who only bullies and/or manipulates his staff and then leaves them in unsafe working conditions.
Dan...With unemployment 9% in Union County I can not believe that Recreation Dept can not find Lifeguards! What did Dave do with the $100,000. of tax payers money? He should be fired for not providing the citizens pooltime during the summer. He had all year to prep the pools and hire the staff to run the pools. If he can not do this simple task then he should be FIRED ASAP !!!!
To 6:53AM. If you know that lifeguards use their cellphones, please contact the administration and Adrian Mapp - council president, to let them know.
As a member of the CBAC, we questioned the expenses in recreation, one of them being cell phones. We were told that seasonal cell phones were used to give to the lifeguards expressly so that they would NOT use personal phones.
Please let this be known, as it yet again indicates that the recreation department has issues within it.
Jeanette Criscione
Don't bother going to the mayor. She'll do NOTHING AGAINST WYNN. Please make your case with the State. The more they hear, at some point they're going to have to step in.
to anonymous @ 10:47 am - so what they contacted the high school for lifeguards, it's obvious they didn't hire any or many otherwise there wouldn't be a shortage of lifeguards now would it. while you diehard supporters of the mayor and her cronies are always so quick to point out people don't get their facts straight and rush to support them, it's amazing how you never see the true and big picture. recreation received a $100,000 advance to make sure their summer program was up and running to meet the needs of the so called "thousands" of kids signed up, so why aren't you upset that the summer is half way over and the pools have just opened and not even full time at that. recreation claims they have a summer baseball program, yet they are tearing down the bathrooms, flooding the fields and locking qcbl out of the concession stand once again in an attempt to destroy not only their summer season, but the league as well, simply because their season ended weeks ago and they are not using the field. so why don't you find out all the facts and stand up against those who want to deny our children the opportunity to play ball and swim instead of just jumping to the conclusions so that you can "get your facts straight before you post" just like you want others to do.
I think it’s a terrible injustice to all Plainfield residents. The actions or "lack thereof" of Mayor’s office and Dave Wynn are clearly in it for themselves. Its disgusts me the things I have heard and have read on this blog. I think a full investigation should be performed on these 2 individuals, not sure about the rest of the Mayor's administration but this is so sad. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth and the residents (taxpayers) and children are suffering because of it. I am shocked they can get away with this time and time again and suffer no repercussions
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