HILLIARD, Fla. – A public workshop concerning the fate of a recreation center in Hilliard three weeks ago caused a stir among people who attended. They said the city's mayor made some offensive remarks, even calling the director of the facility a liar.
The minutes from the meeting haven't been made public yet and some people want to know why.
City officials have held a series of workshops to bounce ideas around about what to do with the Hilliard recreation center, now that the YMCA has ended its financial partnership with the city to fund it. But according to some residents, a meeting held in Hilliard Jan. 26 was more like a he said-she said argument than a productive meeting.
Cliff Capriola, a member of the Hilliard recreation center, described the tense atmosphere at the public workshop as childish.
"Very petty. Flashbacks of junior high school," Capriola said.
He and more than 20 other people showed up at the Hilliard Town Hall to discuss the fate of the rec center and present ideas on how to make it more sustainable.
But Capriola said what happened at the meeting was far from useful.
"The meeting started out with the mayor of the town calling the director of the rec center a liar, and things went down hill from there," Capriola said.
Capriola said the mayor started saying offhand remarks that were offensive.
"One of them was about Texas, saying the only thing Texas is good for is queers and steers," Capriola said. "There were a few other comments, off-color things that everyone has heard in normal conversation but you wouldn't expect to hear it at a town official function. I know this upset quite a few people."
Mayor David Buchanan (pictured) said his comments were taken out of context and that the remark about Texas was a quote from a movie. The line from "Full Metal Jacket" is "Only steers and queers come from Texas, Private Cowboy..."
Letters from the public were sent to the Westside Journal, saying the mayor, "told another citizen to sit down and shut up." Another letter said the writer was, "Appalled at the actions, language and rude behavior." Another person wrote that "they found themselves in a situation they no longer wanted to be in."
Capriola said he wants to see the minutes taken at the meeting, but they haven't been posted to the city's website: townofhilliard.com. City officials said they post workshop minutes once a month. According to constitutional law professor Rod Sullivan, the controversial comments would most likely not be included in the minutes.
"That's more in the form of discussion and not action, and therefore it doesn't need to make it in the minutes," Sullivan explained. "A lot of times it depends on who's taking down the minutes as to what they'll include, but it would not be a violation to simply not include those comments."
City officials said they plan on holding more meetings to discuss the rec center and already have made changes like cutting the hours of operation. The next public meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 19.