City Council meeting discusses agenda

for coming to a unanimous conclusion on all the 38 recommendations.

He said, “This is what Walnut Creek is all about.” Consensus and working with differences of opinions.

Justin Wedel wasn’t giving his consensus. He said the council has shown willful disregard and disrespect to people and mismanaged its own finances.

Council members said they are open for future spirited discussions on each of the 38 points.

Mayor Cindy Silva handed out certificates to the committee members and recognized their hard work in understanding the city finances. “The yellow brick road to Oz looks easier in comparison.”

Other topics on the meeting’s list were Pancreatic cancer awareness month, year of the volunteer Community Emergency Response Teams CERT, acquisition of 23 acres of Muir Heritage Land Trust and a long presentation by District II Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema on her work including mobile system for fingerprinting by the police, shifting resources across counties; and finally a proposal to install single space high tech parking meters that will allow the parker to pay with a credit card or an app.  Sensors placed in the pavement for the city will track the pattern of use for each space.  But the multi-space parking stations will remain in some places.  They are most efficient used in parking lots, city engineer Rafat Raie said.

Simmons expressed his disappointment in the parking infrastructure change. “It will impact the walkability and aesthetics of the downtown.” I was in downtown Portland and had an enjoyable walk. “Why pay stations work there and not here?” he asked the city engineer.

Kristin Anderson, executive director of the Walnut Creek Foundation stated the various upcoming events such as arts and crafts activities, talk on genealogy, Emily Chang of the downtown business association talked about the opening of the skating rink which is ‘bigger this year.’

Thus, the meeting that started at 7pm ended at almost 10 pm without any fireworks.  A councilmember on his way out complimented my staying awake.

Flashback to 1980s, when I was 9 and inside the beautiful and majestic Parliament in New Delhi, the capital of India: I fell asleep into deep slumber inside the Lok Sabha (House of the People) that was in session. MPs, Black Cat Commandoes, AK-47s, fleets of white Ambassador cars and filmstars-turned-MPs kept me interested outside. But inside was another story.

Nothing unparliamentary was happening that day.

Routine discussions without fist pounding, shoe throwing and even jumping on the desk, talking without turns were not fun. The biggest democracy’s supreme forum for public debate was hardly civil on some TV sessions that I saw. 

Dean E McHenry Jr. from Claremont Grad School has actually studied this phenomenon.

I was nudged by the guard whose square built 6-foot frame, brass buttoned red vest and turban were enough to keep my eyes open throughout the day.

Here at the City Hall meeting, the policeman guarding the door smiled and even said hello to an old gentleman.

Now that is so civil, so American and so Walnut Creek. Isn’t it?