Friday, April 4, 2008

FW: PELU Task Force

Katherine, in the interest of full disclosure, I feel it is only
appropriate that our full email exchange be provided. I don't want
anyone to get the idea that we did not try to accommodate your schedule.
Unfortunately, with few exceptions, task force members were not
available to meet during the day - Although I would have been happy to.

Sincerely,

William E. Erskine, Esquire
Reese & Carney LLP
10715 Charter Drive, Suite 200
Columbia, Maryland 21044
(Office) 410-740-4600
(Fax) 410-730-7729
(Cell) 443-864-8844
Email: WEE @reese-carney.com


-----Original Message-----
From: William E. Erskine
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 9:17 AM
To: Katherine L. Taylor, Esq.
Subject: RE: PELU Task Force

Katherine, we will work the schedule thing out. You can't quit. We
need your input.....And yes there is a Daddy track with sensitivities as
well. Family first!

William E. Erskine

-----Original Message-----
From: "Katherine L. Taylor, Esq." <ktaylor@taylorlegal.com>
To: "'William E. Erskine'" <wee@Reese-Carney.com>; "'Howard Weinstein'"
<st.white@comcast.net>
Sent: 1/24/2008 8:45 AM
Subject: RE: PELU Task Force

Bill,

When you said you had a 4th grader to put on the bus at 9:00 AM, I was
glad,
because I also have a 4th grader to put on the bus, and I am still
sensitive
to the whole "mommy track" sterotype! I guess there is also a "daddy
track."

Since the last few meetings have been informational, I suppose I have
not
missed much that I do not already know. That's good.

The best time for me is during the period from 9-5 daily. I can be
available in the evenings, but typically only when my husband is in town
and
his travel schedule is unpredictable. The 7-9 AM slot is virtually
impossible for me to make at any time. I hope that when we break into
smaller groups, the groups can schedule meetings that best accommodate
those
folks.I also am not opposed to an occasional weekend meeting, especially
if
we are inviting public participants.

Last but not least, thank you both very much for volunteering to chair
this
task force. It is a huge commitment and your efforts have not and will
not
go unnoticed!

Best,

Katherine

Katherine L. Taylor, Esquire

From: William E. Erskine [mailto:wee@Reese-Carney.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 6:30 AM
To: Katherine L. Taylor, Esq.; Howard Weinstein
Subject: RE: PELU Task Force

Katherine, you are not alone. I have to put my 4th grader on the bus in
the
morning, which doesn't come till 9 AM. Others have expressed similar
difficulties with the scheduling of the meetings. Part of what has
influenced the scheduling of the last few meetings is the desire to
accommodate the schedules of DPZ staff. These sessions have been
informational and have involved presentations from DPZ staff. We are
nearly
through with the purely informational meetings and I anticipate that the
meeting schedules will be varied in the future in order to better
accommodate the schedules of the task force members. What is your best
time? Personally, I would not be opposed to having a few of our
meetings on
weekends, maybe at a library if we can. Howard, what are your thoughts?

-----Original Message-----
From: Katherine L. Taylor, Esq. [mailto:ktaylor@taylorlegal.com]
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 8:16 PM
To: William E. Erskine; Howard Weinstein
Subject: PELU Task Force

Bill and Howard,

I have not been able to attend the last two meetings of the PELU Task
Force
due to the time of day they were held. I have school-aged daughters and
my
husband travels frequently, so the 4-6 PM time frame is almost
impossible
for me to meet with any consistency. I would like to be involved, but
if
the meeting times remain, I fear that my involvement will be so limited
that
I may as well simply withdraw from the task force.

I would like your views as to whether other members have difficulty
making
meetings at this time during the day, or if I am an exception.

Thanks!

Katherine

1 comment:

Katherine L. Taylor, Esq. said...

My comments in the PELU blog were in no way meant as an attack on or criticism of the chairs or any committee member, and I sincerely apologize if anyone took them that way. What I was trying to communicate was how easily a person can become “apathetic” and the importance of making sure that we do not write the rules so that they promote apathy by making it difficult for people to provide input. If I was the only one who had issues with the meeting time, I certainly did not expect for the time to be changed just for me. It is an example, however, of how a process issue such as a meeting time can affect a person’s ability to participate.

I also wanted to make it clear that I thought that we should not be looking at this as Developer vs. Citizen, and that all of us have an interest in making sure there is public participation as well as rules that are clear and consistently applied.

I applaud you all for spending the time on this project and keeping it going.