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[Live Blogged] Surprise, surprise! Cobalt's Community Survey contract has made a surprise appearance on tonight's Agenda. Supervisor Engstrom announced this less than two minutes after opening the meeting.

Because Engstrom appended this discussion to the end of tonight's agenda, most of us won't see it. We will excerpt the video of the discussion and post it on our YouTube channel, Northfield NewsCam.

[Later that evening] Here's the video. From start to finish, it's 3 minutes 28 seconds. 30 seconds of that is Supervisor Engstrom adding Cobalt to the agenda. Another 57 seconds splits between Trustee Dockett pleading the Board's non-responsibility for the process and Township Manager Fink saying the Board is responsible for everything. 25 seconds are Video Titles I inserted for background info. 51 seconds contain Fink explaining the involvement of Township Attorney Burns, which Fink follows by disavowing any statistics expertise. This doesn't stop him from saying that he's comfortable with the Contract's statistical assumptions, for a contract whose sole purpose is to produce statistics.

All in all, the Township Board devoted only 41 seconds to discussing and voting for this.

[Editor's Note] We shortened and reposted the above Youtube video clip. We also reduced the temperature of the accompanying explanation. You can judge the situation for yourselves.

The other news from tonight's meeting regards a change in Township policy regarding FOIA requests. Since his arrival in Northfield Township, Manager Howard Fink had been maintaining open books and free access to all Township documents. This was for Howard a matter of personal ethos. The FOIA requests that revealed both the parties to and the extent of the attempt to subvert our Master Plan were actually handled free of charge by Fink and his staff.

That was then; this is now. At this meeting, Howard Fink asked the Board to approve a replacement policy. Township Attorney Bradford Maynes provided a 32 page thicket of rules, regulations, forms, fee structures, payment schedules, and deposit requirements outlining Fink's new FOIA Policy. From now on, you'll pay for the truth, and you'll pay by the page.

Tuesday, June 9 Board of Trustees: Public Hearing: Fiscal Year 2015-2016 Budget