The June 6 council meeting became amusing when the issue of a contract for towing services was discussed. The request for bids for the service was for two companies to share or provide the services as needed. Council president Kneemiller attempted to insert a third company into the process. He wanted to include a company that provided AAA Auto Club towing. Our mayor endorsed this move. She spoke up agreeing with Kneemiller. She stated a third of our residents have AAA. Where she got this “statistic” is anyone’s guess.
This towing service is for the purpose of police tows. The mayor and Mr. Kneemiller apparently feel that if a drug runner, bank robber, drunk driver or other criminal is arrested while in their car, we should allow them the courtesy of using AAA to tow their vehicle. After all, they would have enough trouble. They surely don’t need the added inconvenience of not being allowed to choose AAA while being “cuffed and stuffed” into a squad car. Handcuff them. Read them their rights. Let them call an attorney. Then let them call AAA to arrange the tow.
The motion to cater to criminals and owners of abandoned vehicles was defeated.
This ridiculous attempt to insert AAA is just further proof that Greer, Gieseke and Koester have to be careful how they roll their chairs at council meetings. They wouldn’t want to sever the umbilical cord that attaches Kneemiller to the mayor. I have a mental image of him looking like a deer caught in the headlights with no clue as to what to do next.
I have a defense for the sacrificial lamb the Citizens’ Empowerment Committee has thrown to the wolves. It has been reported that in her sworn statement she claims she told her employer that she didn’t witness all the signatures. She reportedly was then told to sign them as if she did.
Those petitions could have been made into paper airplanes. They could have been tossed into the trash. They could have been recycled. Someone could have added a little “home grown”, rolled ‘em up, and smoked ‘em. At that point, there was no crime.
The crime would have occurred if and when a member of the Citizens’ Empowerment Committee who reportedly knew they were fraudulent turned them over to be validated. At that time, and not before that time, fraud would have been committed. Until that moment, they were just pieces of paper. At that moment, they became official documents.
Maybe the wrong person was charged with fraud. I don’t think Banas will ever charge the right one. (Or ones)
Of course, that’s just the view from the cheap seats.
