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To further helpeed things along, the chairman sho"k at the start of each property if the reading of the report could be dispensed- with, and the reading should be dispensed with unless there is an objection or the report was circulated just prior to the meeting. It is the job of the chairperson of the meeting to keep it moving. This may involve asking a member to get back to the subject or conclude his or her comments. It is always a thankless task, not arising out of any animosity towards any member, and in the long run it will force all of us to concentrate on the issues. The public comments section does not necessarily mean a public debate. A simple "Thank you for your thoughts" could be sufficient. For example, the South Bend Common Council has incorporated into its rules a requirement that no questions may be asked of the council members during the public comments sessions and that matters which were on the agenda cannot be addressed either. Since an item brought up at the public discussion is not something you are necessarily prepared to deal with in detail like the speaker wants, a written response or a phone call the next day, when you have your facts in order (and, perhaps, when tempers have cooled down) is often more appropriate than a two-way discussion at that hour of the evening. Finally, please remember that you are not being graded or paid by the number of words you utter, nor are you paid by the length of the meeting. People don't go out of the meeting saying "Commissioner X must be pretty dumb because he or she hardly said a word." It is late, -dark, and will soon be cold when our meetings end. The Commission and the public would be well served if meetings consistently ended earlier. The purpose of this memo isn't to stifle debate or to criticize anyone in particular. I sit there and try to put myself in the shoes of the property owners who are being asked to give up a night of their lives because they happen to own an historically important house or live in an historically district, a hardship to them which they would not endure if they lived in other parts of the community. I reiterate that I will be available to questions from any of you at 235-5868. H:\WPDATA\Tt"=oMWorkPmfim