Tree Advisory Committee meeting Wednesday

The Tree Advisory Committee will meet at 1:15 pm Wednesday at City Hall, in Room 201, where they will discuss this five-year plan - but we're not invited. I am therefore going anyway.

When contacted, our 'citizen representative' (appointed by the Mayor) Cherie Cook denied the meeting was happening...then admitted it was happening, but refused to say when and where it was...and then she asked us not to attend. We declined. When alerted to the state law, Chairman Cason Carter said he believed it did not apply to his committee, but that he would have the City Attorney check. Another committee member said that the issue of open meetings would be discussed...at the committee meeting.

No discussion is needed. The Open Meeting Act is explicit: All meetings of "all committees or subcommittees of any public body" must be "preceded by advance notice" and "open to the public." There is no gray area. Willful violations are a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine and imprisonment.

Mayor's Executive Order 07-119 places the "maintenance, trimming, and removal of trees under the authority of the Tree Advisory Committee", which was formed in 2006 by then-City Councilor Susan Neal.

Two weeks ago, we said 'we did it.' It looks like there's still work to do.