BURKEonBOARD

(Sept. 3, 2008) – Just as any new restaurant deserves a review when it opens, so does the Farmington City Council with its first meeting in its new city hall last night.

ISDWatch192.org’s Tom Herme obliges with a commentary that is exactly on target.

The fireworks erupted over Councilman Steve Wilson’s brave, one-man effort to pull back the curtain on the shenanigans cooked up by city administrator Peter Herlofsky and school district superintendent Bradley Meeks to hand over city recreation programs to the school district’s Community Education department without knowledge or consent of the city council or the school board. ISD192Watch.org reports on the main course:

“The mayor barely had the budget agenda item announcement spoken when councilmember McKnight (uh, that would be David McKnight) launched into a chilling, sanctimonious attack on councilmember Steve Wilson for Wilson’s prior attempts to gain information from the city administrator Peter Herlofsky. And the nature of Wilson’s information requests? It would be about the apparent secret discussions between ISD 192 Community Education’s Heidi Cunningham along with high school activities director Jon Summer and Randy Distad of Farmington Parks and Recreation, in which both Ms. Cunningham and Mr. Summer worked Mr. Distad over so as to get the youth basketball program. Mr. McKnight called Mr. Wilson “unprofessional” for the manner in which Mr. Wilson requested the information, meaning he had involved the press (gasp!).”

ISD192Watch.org has it exactly right.

Electeds like city councilman David McKnight and his sister-in-law, school board chair Julie McKnight (isn’t it nice here is cozy little Farmington?) and unelecteds like city administrator Peter Herlofsky and district superintendent Bradley Meeks don’t like their dealings (actually they’re our dealing, but they don’t see it that way) being exposed to the public.

Meeks has actually issued a Minnesota Data Practices Act request of the city to find out where the information leaks are coming from, he’s so upset. (He should actually be looking inside his own house for the leaks as all is not well there.)

Councilman Wilson has figured out that unless you take an issue public in Farmington, nothing gets fixed.

Meanwhile, the timid and meek (that would be the rest of the city council and the school board), cower and fret that a little controversy has settled around them, never mind that their hired guns, Herlofsky and Meeks have hijacked all of local government.

Bravo to Councilman Wilson for trying to put an end to the end run around our electeds.

Bravo to ISD192Watch.org for helping expose some very unsavory cooking at the city and school district.

Let’s hope the cooks repair to the kitchen quickly to redo their recipes. The opening night reviews are in and they’re not good.