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KGAL DEPARTMEN INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION DATE: September 11, 2001 FROM: THOMAS L. BODNAR ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY RE: MEETING PROCEDURES It is wise to remember that we are all public servants and that our bosses are the very people who attend our meetings, the public at large and those who reside in historic districts or who occupy historic landmarks. One way to serve them better is to make our meetings more professional and, frankly, shorter. . We can begin by starting promptly at 7;30 p.m., or as soon thereafter as a quorum is present.. My limited observation is that if a member is not present by 7:32 p.m., he or she almost certainly will not show, regardless of what Rhonda may have been told. It is insulting to ask members of the public who did show up on time to wait to see if anyone else comes. We should remember that our meetings start later than most (both the County Council and the South Bend Common Council begin at 7:00 p.m.), and many of the people with whom we deal have to be up early in the morning. We should take the COAs in the order in which the owners arrive, or at least hear all the COAs for which the owner is present first. This is common in local courts and Code Enforcement hearings in South Bend. Remembering that the owners are probably not that happy about having to be present, making them wait while matters are discussed concerning someone who didn't even bother to show up can be a further irritant. At the conclusion of the first COA hearing, the owner should be advised that he or she, (and all subsequent owners) at the conclusion of their hearings, are welcome to stay, but are certainly free to leave. In the long run we will avoid situations of someone saying "How come you gave the next owner more leeway on the kinds of windows to use than me?", or something to that effect. It would also reduce background noise throughout the hearing. While sometimes the staff reports are, for good reason, not available until the end of the. hearing, I know that a conscientious effort is made to circulate as many of these as possible prior to the meeting.- You have with the agenda most of those reports no later than Friday and have all weekend in which to review them. Reading the reports prior to the meeting is a good method of organizing your thoughts, thinking through any questions you may have, deciding if you need to drive by the property prior to the meeting, and otherwise being prepared to reach a sound decision. Asking the staff questions the day of the meeting is not forbidden and even encouraged. Grammar and spelling errors in those reports can be brought to the attention of the staff either before or after the meeting. Picayune comments about the reports bring disrespect to all who participate in the process.