Runaround by the ‘Royals’

by L. Arthalia Cravin | High Plains Tree Keepers Association

A few weeks ago I called the City of Amarillo to inquire about the procedure for making a presentation before the City Commission. What I had in mind was a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation on a report that I was writing about Amarillo’s “bad” trees. I was told that I needed to get special permission from the Commission for such a presentation. I was told that I could otherwise make public comments during the citizen’s input “Public Forum” period after the conclusion of formal city commission business. I made plans to do just that. I made copies of the 16-page report entitled, “Amarillo’s ‘Bad’ Trees — A Call to Action-A Preliminary Report” on Improving the Condition of Trees in Amarillo” for distribution to the mayor and commissioners. My comments were to be about a seven-minute overview of the report with a suggestion for any necessary follow-up.

I showed up early for the 5:30, last Tuesday of the month, session on July 27, 2010. I ran into an immediate obstacle when I attempted to get the proposal to the commission body before the formal session began. A man connected with the commission, who shall remain nameless, took a copy of the report and went to a room behind the commission chambers. He returned shortly thereafter and said, “I have good news and bad news.” The bad news was that I could not make the presentation to the commission because I was not on the Agenda. The most that I would be able to do would be to wait for the citizen’s input Public Forum period and tell the commission that I had a report that I could not give them an overview of because I was not on the Agenda because I had been told that I could make comments during the citizen’s input Public Forum because I was not on the Agenda and could therefore make comments during the citizen’s input Public Forum because I was not on the Agenda because I had been told that I could make comments during the citizen’s input Public Forum. Well you see where this is going.