HomeMy WebLinkAbout7/7/2020 Item 08, Root
Clerk, Intern
To:Wilbanks, Megan
Subject:
From: Allen Root <
Sent: Tuesday, July 7, 2020 2:01 PM
To: Wilbanks, Megan <
Subject: Letter to Council
Megan,
First, I want to say how much I appreciate your calm and reliable efforts
on behalf of the ARC. You are a big part of the successful meetings we are
having. I'm sorry to put another thing on your probably full-ish plate, I
tried the all council e-mail and could not make that work. Can you
forward this please? Thanks!
Good day,
The wires are all abuzz with the news of tonight’s consideration to
remove Mr. Papp, I thought I'd chime in.
I have known James for several years. I've actually stood toe to toe with
him on the sidewalk on Nipomo while yelling at each other as City staff
and developer reps looked on. I've only read his article in yesterday's
paper and some like material online, so can't presume to know the entire
situation. James can be prickly at times and does not recognize
boundaries like many of us do. He's also wicked smart and has a deep and
detailed knowledge of history and historical architecture. I hope there is a
way to fix whatever upset there is while still having his availability on
these important issues.
If you are intent on firing him, my strong recommendation is that you do
so in a more transparent fashion. I'm sure you all have heard and read
the same type of comments today as I have, regardless, the process
deserves more fairness and clearer process. I'm halfway through my
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fourth term on the ARC, and I can say from personal experience and
observation that there is a growing tide of discontent with developers in
general, and the City's process in dealing with development as well. The
optics on the firing of James Papp are really bad, do the right thing and
make this a more transparent process.
Thank you for your consideration.
Allen Root
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