HOW THE PENDULUM SWINGS

Well, Wonderful Wednesday had some very interesting commentary.

Let me set the record straight on a few issues. First The Ripp Report is written by myself and sometimes does not get any grammatical edit. I apologize. Had I known 60 years ago that I would be writing the Ripp Report, I would have paid more attention in English class. I hope you get the message.

The mayor extended an olive branch to the council and the council accepted the opportunity to make peace. This should not be interpreted as a sellout by the mayor or the council conceding in positions they have taken. This was a necessity in order to move the city forward from the reverse course it was on. The wounds inflicted by both parties will be opened again in the future as the same subject will come up again and again.

The mayor will not sell out to the GOB, good ole boys, or the 1%. Nor can she be bought or will she be flying in any jets for free. She is, however, the mayor and must put the city before any of her personal feelings. Mayor Wilson is working 10 to 16 hour days, sometimes 7 days a week, while the council is part time. The mayor is also grossly underpaid and the council has done nothing to try and bring that salary to a “fair” amount.

Please do not forget Mayor Kant did not participate in any transition nor did he attend the swearing in ceremonies. In fact he made it as difficult as possible.

Is the Ripp Report giving up on exposing corruption in Baldwin County and Fairhope? You gotta be kidding, with such a target rich environment of corruption, I think not.

“The council approved $32,510.97 in payments to Walcott, Adams, Verneuille Architects for exterior repairs and maintenance on the Fairhope Public Library, although no paperwork could be found showing the work had been authorized.

The work took place during the administration former of Mayor Tim Kant. The city received bills for the work, but current city staffers could not find evidence of a contract or any other form of agreement between Kant, the city and the firm.

The council voted to pay the bills, with Burrell saying however the authorization was handled, it seemed clear the work was actually performed. The 10-year-old library building has been plagued with problems, including a leaking roof.”

The architects discounted the bill by 10,000 dollars. So the total was close to 45,000 dollars.

This was a handshake deal between the former Mayor Kant and the architects while Mr Burrell was council president and Mr Boone was on council. Many people got handshakes from Mayor Kant. Some got paid and some got spit. What did Boone and Burrell have to say to Mayor Kant about his handshake deal? Not a damn word. The airport scandal, triangle lawsuit, and the “gift” were all on their watch. They elected to put 13 million dollars into a sewer plant that still dumps processed sewage in the bay while neglecting sewerage infrastructure. The airport scandal and Mr. Boone’s multiple conflicts of interest will come back to haunt them.

The consensuses of the present council is that they cannot investigate themselves. That the Ethics Commission has that responsibility. Is that transparency or accountability? However, they are also ignoring the ethics commission directive that requires the council to inform the commission of wrong doing.

The county commission, mid-term elections, Baldwin County Cottage Industry of Divorce, municipal corruption, and many other subjects and elected officials will be featured on the Ripp Report this year.

The Ripp Report has been around longer than any elected official holding office today in Fairhope and we most likely will be here when they are gone.