Thu
May 14 2009
10:00 pm
Long Term Recovery Meeting May 13
By: nomorelifeonswanpond

Long Term Recovery Committee Meeting

May 13, 2009

The meeting is blogged here: (link...)

The next meeting will include Reps from TVA

May 20th @ 4:30pm at the Roane County Courthouse

Topics:

Great report, Life

Submitted by WhitesCreek on May 15, 2009 - 5:55am.

Let's also note that the committee had received a proposed statement for them to issue opposing legal immunity for TVA, but that this was not mentioned at the meeting.

So far the main accomplishment of this committee seems to be choosing a PR firm that is supposed to trumpet the good news. What they haven't done is aggressively push TVA, TDEC, and the EPA to produce good news for a PR firm to trumpet.

Wow!

Submitted by randmart on May 15, 2009 - 8:24am.

So the bottom line here is that audience members are better informed than than the Recovery Committee???? Perhaps Farmer and his Group need to be pushed aside!
After attending several of their meetings it became very apparent that TVA was running them in circles. Mayors Mason and Farmer were obviously frustrated but Mayor Beets seemed content with TVA's actions and in fact publicly praised their efforts on the same day that it was announced that EPA was taking over. Now is the time for the community to use the $50K offered to us (in the EPA/TVA agreement)to hire an advocate to deal with these agencies in our behalf. I would like to put Steve Scarboro's name forth. Steve is an environmentalist, and an accomplished businessman who can function effectively at boardroom level. Since Rick Cantrell's group seems wired into the new EPA guy...they may be a good conduit to get the ball rolling.

Randy Martens for Kingston City Council
"Common Sense For Good Government"
(link...)

opposition

Submitted by nomorelifeonswanpond on May 15, 2009 - 10:32am.

during the meeting there was much opposition to the thought that another "group" would be the "approved group" that was mentioned in the CERCLA order....

Randy, and others

Submitted by RICK on May 15, 2009 - 11:15am.

I am not a memeber of any particular group. I started out in one. However, I thought it would be best for me to be independent and work with all groups to do what I thought I could do. I do work with a couple of the groups regularly, because there research is better, more detailed, and back up by more research. So, we all share our information with any group that wants it.
It was insulting to these groups when our County Executive said the committee should be "the core group". Much of the information they have about our disaster came from a community group.
Then, the committee turns right around and discusses curbing back their meetings from once a week to once every two weeks. Is that dedication?
So, no. That committee should not even be in the decision of being a core community group. I could go on, However, I am saving most of my comments for Wednesday afternoon when I address the committee, because frankly, I have been aggrevated about this since they puffed up and said what they did.
I will close with this. I could never have done what I have been doing without the help of some of the community groups. We share research, picutes, and documents. Then I speak about it. I am not a leader of any one group. And I am not a member. I just work closely with them.

It has nothing to do with dedication.

Submitted by RoaneBooster on May 15, 2009 - 11:57am.

"Then, the committee turns right around and discusses curbing back their meetings from once a week to once every two weeks. Is that dedication?"

Committees are sometimes necessary evils. This one probably ought to exist.

But NO committee needs to meet just for the sake of recording that they met. If they can't get anything done, if they have nothing new, if they're waiting for info, whatever. It's not necessarily a lack of dedication that can cause a committee to decide not to meet every week come hell or high water. If they can get more accomplished by meeting every two weeks, they should go for it. Unless you believe the members are untrustworthy (as a whole group) and have as their objective NOT doing the job or holding up the work, I don't see a need to cast aspersions on the body or to accuse them of laziness or anything else bad. Especially this far out from an incident, there's simply not always anything that has changed significantly in the space of one week. Changing meeting frequencies could be valuable if it allowed them to be able to have a more substantially productive process.

It seems as if some folks connected with this have the approach that anybody that is not them is out to do something wrong. Trustingnobody is not usually a productive way to live life.

I'm not on that committee, but I don't think talking about what a lousy committee they are will get much accomplished. If that is the intent...

RB

RB.. I think they are all dedicated and well intentioned.

Submitted by randmart on May 15, 2009 - 1:37pm.

The problem lies in TVA's failure to recognize the Recovery Committee as a major factor or participant in the cleanup effort. They have done exactly as they have pleased since the beginning with little or no influence by the Recovery Committee. I was told months ago by a TVA official that the group was dysfunctional. Whether true or not today,I don't believe that perception has gone away. Maybe a new start would be best for all.

Randy Martens for Kingston City Council
"Common Sense For Good Government"
(link...)

I think that's a good point, Randy

Submitted by RoaneBooster on May 15, 2009 - 1:45pm.

And we should not project onto the committee that they are the same as TVA - they're not. I think that IF they're "dysfunctional" a lot of thet dysfunction comes from being hamstrung by things projected ON them by folks disgruntled with TVA. The committee being unable to snap its fingers and make all well again is not a reflection that they are all a bunch of TVA lackeys. And to be clear, Randy - I don't think you meant that at all. But it seems that some here at least imply that the committee is essentially the same as TVA and out to "get us."

Come to think of it, if TVA is able to disable the committee by calling dysfunctional, doesn't THAT say something? It means people will trust TVA on THAT issue, but on nothing else. If TVA is really as untrustworthy as many believe it is, shouldn't a disparaging remark from TVA actually build MORE faith in the quality of the committee rather than make people believe TVA that it is dysfunctional?

RB

Well..

Submitted by RICK on May 15, 2009 - 3:43pm.

Again, my words have been taken out of context. Nobody I know in any community group has ever said that the Recovery Committee should not exist. Nowhere that I know of has it been printed that they are a "lousy committee".
It has never been that the community groups think they are always right and those that disagree are their enemies.
I have been to every LTRC meeting but one. I have meet with community groups. I urge critics to do the same. The LTRC is necessary. But so are those community groups; even more so. I've been there. I know. And that's all I will say on the subject.

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