RAPID CITY - Next week's trip to the Big Easy for the National League of Cities convention will be two city council members short after Bill Okrepkie and Ron Weifenbach decided to not attend.

Rapid City is still sending a contingent of six to the Nov. 13-17 convention in New Orleans. Mayor Alan Hanks and council members Malcom Chapman, Tom Johnson, Deb Hadcock, Lloyd LaCroix and Bob Hurlbut will attend.

Three weeks ago, Hurlbut and Sam Kooiker raised concerns about sending so many people to the conference.

Weifenbach, who was elected in June, said criticism about the trip played no role in his decision not to go. He had considered not going for some time because of concerns with time and balancing work, family and his role on the council.

In December, Weifenbach is going to Oklahoma to visit his granddaughter, and in January, he'll be in Jamaica for a wedding, so he believed that taking another major trip in November would be too much.

"I can't go over the top. I can't take off another week of work, away from my family," he said. "There needs to be a balance."

Regardless, Weifenbach sees no problem sending seven to the New Orleans trip. He said sending one or two and asking for a report wouldn't be beneficial.

Okrepkie said family and career responsibilities also caused him to reconsider going and that the criticism, which he also believes is unwarranted, helped persuade him to remain behind.

"It's a little disappointing sometimes to see some of our efforts being challenged and questioned," he said.

The NLC is the oldest and largest organization representing municipal governments throughout the country. It advocates and promotes cities and towns and provides a variety of education programs and services for elected officials.

To attend educational seminars, council members take time off from work or use vacation days, Okrepkie said, something he is glad to do because he wants to become a better councilman.

But he views traveling to conferences as an investment in the community and believes the community should embrace council members who have the initiative and desire to become better decision makers.

Okrepkie said the main attraction of going to New Orleans was the opportunity to listen to New Orleans emergency managers and city officials talk about what they did right and what they did wrong during Hurricane Katrina, something from which he believes local elected officials can learn.

"The real value is after listening to the lectures, getting a chance to visit with people in that business or have passion for that subject, share success stories, things that didn't work, and that that's powerful stuff you can't get from a book," Okrepkie said.

Okrepkie said the council, as a group, agreed to set aside money in the budget for professional development. He is disappointed with some council members who choose not to go to conferences and then tear into members who want to go.

"If somebody doesn't want to go, they shouldn't try to stop others from going," he said. "Don't criticize me for going if you don't want to go. Don't criticize me for wanting to be better educated and a better city council member. I'm doing my best. I'm going the extra step for our community."

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com