What is Going On with Georgetown's City Council?

To those who follow the City Council, it seems it has taken a turn for increased secrecy. The City has long kept information about the electric company secret, but now we are seeing "sweetheart deals" with Citibank for electricity . Another tactic being employed to keep the public in the dark is to schedule votes on potentially controversial issues at the end of council meetings when the public has gone home.

Another secret deal seems to be the placement of the proposed downtown parking garage. The city plans to build the garage at the southeast corner of Main and Sixth streets on the site of an existing city parking lot behind the old council chambers building. The existing lot has 50 parking spaces and the multistory garage will have 200 spaces.

There has been no traffic study conducted to assess the impact of the additional traffic on Main Street and the surrounding streets. Why not?

The City has already signed a contract for the garage design and they has been no public hearings on the current need for a parking garage and where it should be placed if needed now.

This location requires the closure of 12 feet on Sixth Street and will eliminate six on-street parking spaces.

There are other issues, including conflict with the Downtown Master Plan.

What is the rush many citizens would like to know?

Council Persons Jonrowe and Triggs voted against the taking of part of 6th street and said they were very disappointed in the secret and incomplete process used to select the location for the garage.

What is going on with the other Council People? Don't they want to engage the public on this issue? Are they hiding something, or is it a bad case of ignorance? Where is the transparency?