Guest opinion: 'Good Ole Boys and Girls' turn town council meeting into sham
Many citizens, after reading through the contract and believing you sincerely wanted to hear from them, attended the Nov. 17 meeting with prepared comments. They presented very good and actionable points regarding improvements to the agreement. They and I believed you would seriously consider such comments and make necessary and reasonable modifications.
It was all a charade, however. A sham. A bait and switch. False advertising. It was more of a Chamber pep rally than a serious exchange of ideas pertaining to the contract.
Even before the public comments began, Mr. (Bill) Harkins made a lengthy point-by-point account of why he approved of the contract in its current form. After the comments by citizens, Mr. (John) McCann told everyone that he decided at 10 p.m. the night before to vote for the agreement in its present form.
Similarly, Ms. (Kim) Likins read aloud a prepared speech that she had written prior to the meeting of why she was voting for the contract in its current form. She told us her decision was based significantly on the fact that many of the chamber employees and board members were her friends. Her children grew up with their children, they work and worship together and they have been in each other's homes.
That sounded a bit like cronyism to me. And as for Mr. (Tom) Lennox, all I can say is … bless his heart.
Individually and as a group, the four of you had no intention of considering any public comments.
Several of you stated that your vote for the contract was based upon the quality and integrity of the board of directors. While the board of the chamber is composed of some impressive community business leaders, a solid board, all too often, has no bearing on what happens in the bowels of an organization.
If you think this board is impressive, you would have done backflips for the boards of Lehman Bros. and Enron and Arthur Andersen.
Mr. (Marc) Grant, Mr. (Lee) Edwards and Mayor (David) Bennett, I commend each of you for truly listening to the many citizens who offered meaningful and valuable suggestions for the agreement. You were each very impartial in your statements, and you seemed to have the best interests of the community in mind.
The rest of you should have been embarrassed by your prejudiced and emotionally led decisions. If you are not embarrassed, please know that many in attendance that day, including myself, are embarrassed for you.
The demeanor in that room, led by the "Good Ole" Boys and Girls Club, desecrated the sanctity of the public's devoted participation in that meeting. Trust in this council is forever diminished. I leave the four of you with the same level of respect you afforded the citizens that attended that meeting. With a deaf ear, a blind eye and a turned back.
Peter Buonaiuto, a veteran of the telecommunications industry, has lived on Hilton Head Island since 2001.
This story was originally published December 6, 2015 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Guest opinion: 'Good Ole Boys and Girls' turn town council meeting into sham."