1,141 Signatures as Dec 12

That's pretty darn good considering the short notice and the time of year. In fact, it's good for any time of year and I am very grateful to all the people who have turned out to support this effort.

The bad news is that the commission will not hear the item on the strip club and has refused a special presentation of the petition at tomorrow night's meeting. So I have digitized these and will hold back the originals until such time as the commission sees fit to accept the petition. In fairness to the commissioners, I will provide them the digitized copies.

Tomorrow night though, at Good & Welfare, early in the meeting, residents are free to speak for 3 minutes on any topic of their choosing.

I expect there will be at least one person talking about how the city planner recommended the strip club plans for approval three times without verifying the measurements, didn't know there was a school across the street, had not reviewed the traffic studies, never requested a public safety study, and did not request an economic impact study.

The commissioners tell us how they are serious about the strip club. Tomorrow is their chance to get it right by ensuring that our city planner does not treat this loosely, for when it does come up.

I know I'll be talking about the need to hear the strip club proposal with full notice. You see, last year the commission tried to pass it at a "special" meeting, a function reserved for emergencies, with 3 days notice. The commission needs to be accountable to the people and not try this again.

If you have not spoken before, it's easy. Around 8:30 (best to be there at 7:30), the section known as Good & Welfare is opened to all residents who want to speak, on any subject pertaining to the city. for three minutes. You raise your hand, go to the microphone and state your name and address. Generally, the commissioners do not respond during the session, although they may. Obscenities are prohibited. I'd urge you to be there.

In a completely unrelated matter, there is an item on the agenda to institute a "Re-Occupancy" Certificate, which would charge home sellers $250 for a code inspection upon sale of their house. While not a bad idea, it is not part of an overall code review or amnesty program, which means that the sale could be blocked if you can't prove that work done on your house was to code. If you are thinking of selling your house, you may want to stick around for this part.

Again, thanks to all who have worked so hard. We need to keep vigilant. We are up against a well funded developer and a commission that has a history of trying to approve this club.

Hope to see you tomorrow.

Kevin Vericker