Say it A'int So. My beloved Takoma Park: Fiscal Urgency Tops Desire to be ‘Nuclear Free’
http://t.co/9m1Vnau1
There have been so many stories written about the recent vote of our Committee to not approve a waiver to allow the library to obtain computers from a nuclear weapons supplier: H-P. Most important it was the vote of the City Council to approve the waiver that stirred the most controversy. While some believe it signals a retreat from the progressive values and principles that make Takoma Park great, I think it was simply a pragmatic decision to unpack the computers because the librarian let them sit so long in storage before resolving the problem through a plea for a waiver. The Userful software system could have functioned fine using other computers such as DELL. But the librarian choose to stonewall the Committee and provide no specific estimate of the cost to replace the computers. This inevitably led to our vote against the waiver. Some of us on the Committee questioned why Useful, having falsely certified it was in compliance with the Nuclear-free ordinance, wasn't held accountable for those costs. I guess we will never know why.
One more thing. While it is true the list of nuclear weapons producers has not been updated in 10 years, it remains a useful guide as intended by the Ordinance. Coupled with the self certification and targeted research, the Committee and City Staff have never had an issue with determining if a company belongs on or off the list. That the Mayor and others would raise this issue is perplexing as it is a classic red herring and was not a factor in this vote since H-P is undeniably a nuclear weapons producer.
Posted by R. Rini
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Readers interested in learning more about the process and the issue are encouraged to review the detailed written responses from library and city staff and myself, all of which were provided on request to NFTPC (see www.takomaparkmd.gov/clerk/agenda/items/2012/061812agenda.pdf, p. 38 ff). As a former member of the NFTPC and Treasurer of the Friends of the Library, I was happy to be asked by Chair Levy to submit to my former colleagues written testimony on why the merits of the request and the language of the ordinance pointed to the appropriateness of the waiver request. That I was disappointed that the committee disagreed with my testimony, and with that of the librarian, is of course true; that I found no evidence in the written minutes of the NFTPC meeting that my written comments (or those of the Librarian) were discussed in detail is a bit more disturbing. But regardless of how individuals may differ about the wisdom or inappropriateness of the outcome, I hope that the level of debate and conversation can be somewhat raised as we move forward. Multiple written responses to requests for information, and multiple telephone conversations, can hardly be characterized as "stonewalling." Rather than impugning the integrity and professionalism of city staff providing essential public services at a time of economic hardship; and who complied to the letter with the ordinance in providing supporting information to the NFTPC, I would prefer we focus on the specific merits of the request and language of the ordinance. That is what I did in my own testimony; and as I see it, that is exactly what City Staff did in their own testimony. Let me just conclude by pointing out -- as a long-time anti-nuclear activist and long-time library advocate -- that I see a victory for both sides in this: this is the first time in Takoma Park history to my knowledge that a waiver was granted with an explicit expiration date. It is my hope that such "shelf lives" be written into any future waiver. And I wish the committee well in its future deliberations. regards, Jim (former member, NFTPC; Treasurer, Friends of the Takoma Park MD Library)
From the American heritage Dictionary:
Stonewall-- to refuse to answer or cooperate with, resist or rebuff.
The Committee considered the submissions from the Librarian and from you Jim and discussed them at our meeting. If the first draft of the minutes failed to note this fact, when they are adopted at the next public meeting of the Committee I will suggest they be revised accordingly. I disagree that this post impugned "the integrity and professionalism of city staff" because the fact remains that the librarian refused to answer our questions posed in email, by voice message and in real time by me to the librarian over the phone. To this day, we do not know the exact cost to have Userful swap out the H-P computers and load their software on some other computers such as are made by DELL and others not associated with nuclear-weapons proliferation. You know I regard you as a highly respected member of our community and your contributions and view were weighed heavily by our Committee. So too was the public testimony, at our meeting, of a member of the community who uses the computer resources at the library and urged us to vote against the waiver. I was initially inclined to support the waiver, until it became evident that it was unnecessary and predicated on some erroneous assumptions and concerns about unspecified costs. I voted against the waiver because the librarian failed to respond to my question about alternatives and costs after repeated inquiry and after promising me she would respond before our public meeting (see definition of "stonewall" above). This refusal to respond was what drove our decision and the resulting media coverage questioning the committment of the City to remaining nuclear-free. Not a good result and avoidable. R. Rini
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