Final Round - City Council

Well, I hope it was the final round... I came home last night feeling pretty beat up. I had 5 friends/supporters attend the work session with me. We thought we had hammered out a fair contract. Both sides had made compromises and they conceded on the 3 issues I still had concerns about.

Then as they got to our part of the agenda during the city council meeting that followed, Lynn Durrant (friend, neighbor, and city councilwoman) made it clear that the contract the council had in their hands, was not the same as the one she had forwarded to me, which I had forwarded to those who were there with me. Reid Nelson and Bob and Judy Walton didn't stay for the 7:00 meeting, so I was there with 2 other piano teachers to start from square one again in our negotiations. In the end, I guess I have to be happy with my "victory." The city council vote was 3-2 in favor of the $100 price tag for a 4 hour event - NO cookies. :(

I remain amazed that the process was so difficult and prolonged. The mayor promised that the city will "watch" and re-evaluate in another year. I believe that they are not planning to make it any easier to retain the agreement that they voted on last night. But for now I am very glad to have a period at the end of the sentence.