Bristol City Council, live, Part 1

Since at least some readers have never had the, um, unique pleasure of sitting through a City Council meeting, let me set the scene.
The council room is a big box with wooden wall, few windows and a drop ceiling that some years back actually did drop a big chunk of plastery-like material all over a section of the audience area. Fortunately, nobody was here at the time, and the ceiling has since been fixed, much nicer than before.
The councilors sit in wheeled, leather seats, quite comfy. Several of them over the years have managed to get so comfy that they drifted off entirely. I can't fault them.
The chairs are lined up behind a long table that's kind of a very stretched-out half oval.
The mayor, whose chair is slightly bigger, sits in the middle. The council sits on both sides of him. To the mayor's immediate right is Ellen Zoppo. Beside her is Craig Minor. Frank Nicastro fills out the right flank.
On the mayor's left is Kevin McCauley, then Mike Rimcoski, and, finally, Art Ward.
The city clerk and an assistant clerk sit on the mayor's far left.
On the back wall of the council chambers are photographs of all of Bristol's mayors in nice frames. That was a Stretch Norton project some years back, a nice one.
There are framed U.S. and Connecticut flags behind the council and an American flag in a flagstand behind Nicastro. A couple of times, I've seen it get knocked over. That always leaves someone feeling embarassed.
The seal of the city is painted on a big piece of plastic over the mayor's head. Someday, we'll have to analyze it since it's kind of a curious thing in itself.
The audience, by the way, sits in cushioned chairs sort of like movie theaters used to have. They're just comfortable enough that it's possible to fall asleep in them. I can attest to that.
The only clock on the wall is in the far back, directly in front of the mayor. It looks like a school classroom clock, which is sort of sad given the hundreds of thousands of really cool clocks made in Bristol over the years. There ought to be a nice one in here.
A cuckoo clock would probably be appropriate, but I'm not sure they were ever made in Bristol.
I should mention there is a podium facing the mayor and council where residents and others can address the city's leaders. It has a microphone but most of those who get up to speak there don't really need amplification.
Each councilor and the mayor has a microphone, too. Some of them are kind of quiet, sometimes. There are two entrances, or exits, depending on one's perspective. They're behind the audience seating on the sides.
Tonight's session is a special meeting, with only a few items on the agenda (see an earlier entry for details). Few will attend. Next Wednesday is the real monthly meeting, when the regulars will probably all turn out.
So far, nobody is here except me.
More later

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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com