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5 Florissant Councilmen Host ‘Meet and Greet’ at JFK March 1
3 Council Defend having the ward meeting
Five members of the Florissant City Council are holding a ‘Meet and Greet’ with the city council on Saturday, March 1 at 3 – 5:30 p.m. Hot dogs and light refreshments will be available.
The meeting is hosted by Tim Lee (Ward 1), John Grib (Ward 2), Joe Eagan (Ward 3), Jeff Caputa (Ward 4), and Pat Stinnett (Ward 6).
The meeting has not been without controversy. Tim Jones, who is running against John Grib in the April 8 election for the Ward 2 council seat, spoke at the last council meeting.
“It is not appropriate a few weeks before an election to have a taxpayer-funded political party,” Jones said.
Mayor Tom Schneider told The Independent News, “I wasn’t informed and I wasn’t consulted about the meeting.”
, three of the councilmen hosting the meeting defended it, saying it was not unprecedented.
“This event was planned as a result of the success of a ‘joint’ meet and greet open house for wards 5, 7, 8, and 9 last summer,” Lee stated. He said that residents enjoyed the informal nature of the event, rather than the usual ward meeting format with a set agenda.
Eagan agreed. He said that many people are more comfortable in a one-on-one conversation with a councilperson. At most ward meetings, they would have to speak in front of the entire meeting. Eagan said that he attended the joint meeting last summer, and learned a lot from informal conversations. “All of our current council members have been invited, and an invitations was extended to the Mayor, Judge, boyle and some or our key employees,” Eagan stated.
As for the funding, Eagan, Lee and Grib all stated that they were paying for refreshments from the City Council expense account. “This same procedure was followed last summer when the other council members held their event,” Lee added.
Council members from even-numbered wards are up for election in April. In addition to Jones running against Grib, Gerald J. Henke has filed to run against Stinnett in Ward 6, and Kevin O’Donnell is mounting a write-in campaign to oppose Caputa in Ward 4. Mark Schmidt is unopposed in Ward 8.
