A portion of the Branson board of alderman’s meeting that took place on Nov. 13 was reminiscent of a scene out of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice and Wonderland.” Alice is having a conversation with Tweedledum and Tweedledee during which Tweedledum says to Alice, “I know what you’re thinking about, but it isn’t so, no how.” Tweedledee then says, “Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic.”
During the Public Comment portion of the meeting, Pamela Dapprich was attempting to read a timeline and make comments on the events and circumstances involved with the city of Branson’s aborted attempt to get her to drop the term “Branson” from the name of the not for profit corporation that she is involved with. The tapes of the meeting indicate that, about six minutes into the ten minute presentation she is allowed by city ordinance, a senior, unelected, executive level employee of the city of Branson, city attorney Paul Link, breaks in and says, “Mr. Mayor, I’m, I’ve let this go for quite a while but I’m going to have to call some sort of decorum ruling on this. I’ve, it has repeatedly been said that I am lying and misrepresenting.”
What kind of Tweedledum logic is that? Forgetting, for the moment, Link’s authority to “call” anything during the Public Comment portion of the meeting without a request from the mayor, the Ole Seagull gives up, “What “sort of decorum ruling?” What is its basis? Of course we’re not about to find out at this point because, as Dapprich says, “Don’t take my ten minutes,” and attempts to continue before her ten minutes expired, Link breaks in again and says, “Mam, I’m not taking your ten minutes but we’re not going to listen to this anymore.” Well, “pardone moi,” but who is Link to tell the mayor and board of aldermen what they can or cannot listen to.
Evidently, the board of aldermen and the meeting’s presiding officer, the mayor, the one to whom both Roberts Rules of Order and the city of Branson’s decorum ordinance give the authority to in such matters, didn’t respond to Link’s interruption of Dapprich quick enough or in the desired manner. The city of Branson’s senior, unelected, executive level employee, city administrator Terry Dody breaks in and says, “Mr. Mayor some kind of action does need to be taken she’s in violation of decorum rules, in violation of the ordinance.”
Now isn’t that interesting, the situation has progressed from Links “some sort of decorum ruling” to Dody flat stating that “she’s in violation of decorum rules, in violation of the ordinance.” Even Tweedledee and Tweedledum know how to call this one, “If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t.”
Assuming that even senior, unelected, executive level employees of the city of Branson have to follow city ordinances like the rest of us, in an Ole Seagull’s opinion, there were only two people in that room in violation of a city ordinance when Dody made his statement and one of them wasn’t Dapprich. Roberts Rules of Order and city of Branson ordinances, as governs the Public Comment Meeting, states very clearly that the presiding officer, in this case the mayor, has the responsibility for determining matters of order and decorum during the meeting and makes provision for requesting advice from others outside the board should he decide such advice is necessary.
The official tapes of the meeting indicate that, at that point, Dapprich had the floor. They also indicate that neither the alderman nor the mayor had called for a point of order regarding decorum or asked for any advice from Link or Dody. Instead, what the tapes reflect is that two of the city of Branson’s senior unelected, executive level employees delayed or interrupted the proceedings, disturbed a speaker, and spoke during the Public Comment Meeting of the board of aldermen without registering, all in apparent violation of one or more provisions of the Branson Municipal Code.
As Dapprich is attempting to continue, and the mayor and board continues to ignore both his and Links outbursts to this point, Dody again breaks in and says, “She needs to be called out of order, I’m sorry.” In the opinion of an Ole Seagull, “sorry” could describe the actions of two of the city of Branson’s senior unelected, executive level employees at the meeting and the boards continued failure to make them follow the rules like everyone else. As to anyone actually being “sorry” for the actions they took at the meeting, what did Tweedledum say, “…but it isn’t so, no how.”
