Howell Councilman Called Out at Annual RetreatHowell Councilman Called Out at Annual Retreat

2/20/13 - Frustration was expressed by some during the Howell City Council’s annual retreat held last weekend. There have been disagreements and differences of opinion among members since the last election when a number of new faces joined Council. Planning Commission Chairman Paul Streng voiced concerns at the very beginning of the retreat with the direction Council is headed, saying members are elected to do the people’s work, but it's come to a standstill. Streng said he sees Council as being a leadership team that should embrace democracy but “one member wants to be a monarchy” and steer decisions. He directly called out Councilman Doug Heins, who was said to have made some comments during a preliminary retreat work session and has been pushing to resurrect old issues associated with the city's street improvement program. That prompted Councilman Jeff Hansen to also speak up and express his frustration at Heins' repeated efforts to revive the issue of swales constructed during the street improvement program. The retreat was being facilitated by Dr. Joe Ohren, but the debate ended after Mayor Phil Campbell expressed opposition to discussing Heins. He said in conducting council meetings, he has tried to set a policy of not calling out individuals by name and highlighting problems. The issue was then dropped and the retreat moved forward. (JK)