Iaquinto's Trial in a nutshell: 

Darkness in Northfield trial

 

 [Perspective by james gunnard nelson]

The Board nixed Chockley's motion to open the public hearing. Chick moved to allow Iaquinto and Jim Kelly, Iaquinto's attorney, to respond to the allegations.  Sam and his attorney responded.  Kelly acquitted himself brilliantly. If you're ever in trouble, Kelly's well worth a call.

Chockley tried forcing Iaquinto to the microphone to answer "some pointed questions." 

Sam's attorney leapt to the mic. His follow through knocked Chockley's position to the canvas. She didn't notice.

Jim Kelly: "If you don't have enough information to remove Mr. Iaquinto, your vote should be no.  You should have conducted an investigation."

Chockley again demanded that Iaquinto answer questions.  Kelly said Sam declined to answer.  Kelly returned to his chair, no need to stick around.

Chockley plunged ahead. With Sam effectively a noshow at her show trial, Chockley ran down her list of facts or representations, the numbing pointillism of best practice internet conspiracy lawyering. But authority was not to be had. Instead, her arguments seemed plaintive, quibbles, nebulous nexus, temporal tangles, and in one exchange with the Board, textbook passive aggressive.

Eventually everyone was treating this as a trial, the public hearing that had not been convened. Even the Township Attorney dallied in that illusion. The electricity in the air was short circuited by Chockley's dour delivery and energy sapping verbal tic, "I guess."  Her accusatory litany arrived with the verve of wet socks hitting the floor, like the gray-white blobs plopping onto David Lynch's Eraserhead Radiator Theatre stage, uncomfortable to watch, uncomfortable to hear.

I'm snarking but this was peak ugliness, power and position abused. Hometown, USA, at its personal worst.

< /perspective>

Here's a portable, clickable version of the Trial segment LiveTimeline

2/25/2020 Northfield Township Board Trial of Sam Iaquinto LiveTimeline

Scroll down for the stuck-to-the-webpage version of the LiveTimeline 

This is a trail of breadcrumbs, not a complete transcription.  Three segments in particular were untranscribed:

  • Sam Iaquinto spoke in his defense beginnng at about twelve minutes in. 
  • Jim Kelly, his attorney, followed up, beginning about twenty minutes into this pseudo-trial phase.
  • Chockley's accusatory regimen commenced the moment Kelly left the microphone.  

 

[Darkness in Northfield Title Begins] [Cut to Camera 1] [Cut to Camera 2]

Motion to hold a special meeting on march 3rd to discuss offers for 75 Barker. That passed 5:1

Chockley: motion to adopt the balance of the Agenda

Chockley: Ok the next item on the Agenda is the Public Hearing to consider the removal of Sam Iaquinto [TRIAL TIMESTAMP] [00m56s] [= MEETING TIMESTAMP - 64m38s]

Chick: I'd like to make a motion to allow Mr. Iaquinto and his attorney to speak to the public

Otto: I would like to make a motion

Chockley: I would like to make a motion to approve the January 11th, 2020 Board of Trustees meeting minutes

 

Banner AFT COCS graphs large art only cropped 900w50pct

 

Cost of public services provided: water, sewer, roads, schools, fire, police,

medical rescue, etc., per dollar of tax revenue raised for each land use/zoning 

Cost of Community Services (COCS) studies are snapshots in time of costs versus revenues for each type of land use.  They provide a baseline of current information to help local officials and citizens make informed land use and policy decisions. In every study conducted during the past 20 years, farmland has generated a fiscal surplus to help offset the shortfall created by residential demand for public services.

These studies show that, nationwide, residential development is a net fiscal loss for communities.  Taxes on farmland, forest, open land, and industry generate more in tax revenue than they cost in services, while taxes on residential development fail to cover costs.

In other words, replacing farmland with residential development drives your taxes up.

The developers and a few businesses get richer.  You get stuck with the bills.

 Aynes COCS Interview 2017 05 30 v3

Northfield Township Manager Steve Aynes confirming this in a 5/30/2017 interview.  ( Watch the original Video )

 

Read the 2016 American Farmland Trust Cost Of Community Services Study

Read the 2010 AFT Costs of Community Services Study - viewable as an online slideshow

Read the 2010 AFT synopsis of the Costs of Community Services Study - viewable as an online slideshow

 

 

 

404:

http://www.communitypreservation.org/community_services.pdf