I repeated the point of order against the chair, I was told to shut up! Or he (Mr. Baker) would call the police. I again called a point of order, and immediately explained to the chair the proper procedure that should take place. Hoping that he would recognize the point and we could maintain a proper atmosphere in the meeting room.

This only infuriated Mr. Skip Baker. In fact it enraged him to the point that he jumped up and hurriedly left the room to call the police.
Shortly thereafter several local policemen entered the meeting room, I heard the numbers to be as many as seven. What was their reason for calling the police? Was I disrupting the meeting? Causing a scene? Inciting a riot? ABSOULTLY NOT!

All I wanted to do was to help a citizen who was not sure of meeting protocol, to have his voice heard and his questions answered from the board. I went about it in the proper format and procedure. The villain here is City Planner Skip Baker. Baker's actions prove with out the shadow of doubt that he does not care about the rights of the citizens, which are guaranteed by the United States of America. Allowing us to speak openly and freely in public form with out the fear of prosecution.

I guess my only crime was exercising my Constitutional Rights as a AMERICAN. I believe Bakers actions intimidated many in the room. I for one was not intimated one iota, and believe that we must not be afraid to stick up for our rights no matter how we are threatened. 

After all the drama, the police never confronted me; I stayed at the meeting, waiting my turn to add public testimony for the record, against the application of Victory Outreach.

I would like to add that the room where the meeting was held had a capacity limit of 60 persons. The amount of attendance at that meeting far surpassed the fire code's capacity limits. More importantly, one would think that City Planner Skip Baker would have opened up another room if available, which could of accommodated the number of people attending. Or Baker could have postponed the meeting until appropriate accommodations could have been made elsewhere. Instead of violating Oregon's' fire code ordinance.

I guess calling the cops on a citizen for asking for a point of order is far more important than the safety of persons attending the Planning Commission Meeting for the City of St. Helens.



                                                      Tammy


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