During the break between the Lone Tree City Council Study Session and regular meeting, I made my home structural integrity check (having left my children alone.) Returning to the Civic Center, I found nowhere to park in the lot. As shown by Don King's career, nothing brings out a crowd like a good fight.

Highlights of Public Comment included:

--A few "why can't we get along" statements, including suggestions that Council not pay an inordinate amount of attention to the loud (and other) side and a detailed recovering-from-and-avoiding-future-car-wrecks-by-working-together analogy from the tiniest notecard I've ever seen.

--A presentation favoring a cultural center.

--An expression of confusion about whether the Bunny Bench was approved then disapproved as a result of far-flung, absurd e-mails. (For what it's worth, my notes show it was not quite approved, pending public comment.)

--A pitch for recycling (complete with props) from an ousted Planning Commission candidate.

--A comment directed to Council that after their terms are up, they are "going to have to live with us."

--An expression of embarrassment over recent news reports regarding Council disagreements.

--A concern that committee appointments have become political.

Council noted:

--The last meeting was "not pretty."

--Representational democracy is sometimes messy.

--Glad to see the big turnout, hope to see you more often.

In Announcements, a presentation was made to honor our snowplow drivers with commemorative Lone Tree pins. An audience member commented to an attending journalist that the newspaper should report Lone Tree citizens applauded snowplow drivers. Unfortunately, Study Session discussion revealed that the actual snowplow drivers declined attendance, having other things to do, and the awards were given to supervisory representatives, who I'm guessing are better suited to appreciate such gestures, anyway.

My personal aside to snowplow drivers, who otherwise did an admirable job: Next time pile it up on the sunny side of the street.

Administrative Matters included annexation approval of Dillards and J.C. Penney, as well as the ordinance rezoning the properties as "Planned Development."

No spellings of last names were provided when Council filled in the blanks on commission appointment resolutions. As near as I could tell, the new Planning Commission member is (envelope, please) Tom Hanning. The Mayor restated he had another preference, but nothing personal intended. Reappointed Board of Adjustment members are Glenda Norblom and Bill Robertson. New Commissioner Mary Beth Sobel (sp?) joins them. The Arts Commission includes Emma Lou Wilson, David Williams, and Liz Greenberg, out of a field of five worthy candidates.