08162011 Regular Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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4. Consider adoption or direction to Staff on matters discussed in Executive Session. The San Marcos City Council reconvened into regular session at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 16, 2011. The City Council provided direction to staff to place the appointee evaluations on the September 6, 2011, Agenda. 5. Invocation. Packer Stevenson with HL Grant Catholic Student Center and St. Jude's Chapel provided the invocation. 6. Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Chris Jones led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance, and Council Member Fred Terry led the assembly in the Texas Pledge. 7.30 Minute Citizen Comment Period. John Thomaides, 813 Arizona St., thanked the City Council for taking the time to review the Open Government Resolution. He stated that many of the current Council Members had attended meetings as candidates and that thanks to their direction and the efforts of the City Staff there are several initiatives which have been implemented. Including the online check book on the City's website; for the first time Citizens and see what checks are written and for how much, the posting online of all votes taken by Council, and the City website is being upgraded and improved using many Open San Marcos suggestions. He stated that they are grateful for Council's efforts in this area and asked that the Council implement the remainder of their suggestions as soon as possible, and suggested that the first ten items they presented be attached as exhibits to the resolution for Open Government. Grace Neal, 128 S. Endicott, thanked the Council for their hard work and dedication, and spoke on behalf of Open San Marcos for agenda Item #22. She thanked the Citizens that worked and constructed the first ten, and asked that the City Council receive the resolution they have presented with a tolerant and open attitude. David Newman, 128 E. Holland Dr, stated that a lot of people have put a lot of work into what Open San Marcos stands and asked that Council give this their undivided attention and consideration. He stated that he believed this is something the City needs to have to refer to and that it will make the City a better place to live in the long run, and that Open Government is something that we need to adopt. Judith Aronow, 2001 Lancaster, stated that openness in government promotes fairness on both sides. If the public feels that the public servants and government is transparent then the people's judgment of these public servants will tend to be fair also. As friction diminishes, working together gets easier and more productive.