Proposed amendments to the Fremont Municipal Code were discussed during a special meeting of the Fremont City Council on Tuesday night.
The meeting focused on amendments to the administrative section of the code. City Attorney Pat Sullivan proposed the changes to create a more efficient setting.
“You guys could very well say that you are happy with the way the meetings are moving and how they are conducted,” Sullivan said. “But I think it is my duty as your attorney to tell you at least what I see out there and what I interpret to be best practices and things moving forward. I think one of the biggest things that I see is the length of your meetings. If we want public involvement, I’m not sure how many people out there in the public necessarily have the stamina to sit through a four-hour meeting at nighttime.”
A proposed amendment under Section 2-103 of the Municipal Code stated that public comment will not occur on items on the agenda unless specifically designated to occur on a particular item, or at the discretion of the presiding officer, or as otherwise provided by law.
The proposed ordinance changes would alter the manner in which they move from first to final reading. Public comment and debate would not be included in the first reading of an ordinance under the amendment to Section 2-302 of the code.
“The idea here is to try to move things more efficiently along, to make sure certain things still get accomplished without — what I would say — beating an issue to death,” Sullivan said. “
A public hearing would be included in the second reading to allow for public comment. Following the public hearing, the second reading of the ordinance will be conducted without vote or discussion.
During the third and final reading of an ordinance, the council may discuss and debate it.
Several citizens voiced their concern for the proposals, including Linda Von Behren.
“Every Fremont citizen should be concerned, actually a little alarmed, over the changes the administration is asking you to make,” she said. “From the public’s view, this looks and sounds like the next step in deciding what we can see or not see, what we can say or not say. You already limit the time we can speak and you limit the number of times we can speak. The city has even limited the time you can speak as (members of council). Where is the transparency in all of this?
“Instead of being more transparent, these changes are one more step to shut out the public. We understand that these aren’t your changes as a council, but they will shut down full disclosure on what the council is deciding.”
Fremont Mayor Joey Spellerberg thanked everyone for their input.
“The goal tonight was to go over meetings and discuss things,” he said. “I think we’ve done that within the council, within staff and within the public. This was just a discussion tonight. No action is being taken. We all appreciate all the comments that were said tonight and I think it provided everyone with valuable input.”
In the regular meeting, the council approved Ordinance 5570 pertaining to the sale and conveyance of real estate owned by the city (Technology Park) to McGinn Holdings.
Laura England-Biggs was unanimously approved as executive director of Keene Memorial Library.
Spellerberg discussed England-Biggs’ accomplishments during her 16 years with the library. She was lauded for her work by councilman Mark Legband and councilwoman Sally Ganem.
Also approved was a resolution for a conditional use permit to convert a former nursing home into multi-family dwellings on property generally located at 2550 N. Nye Ave. The amended resolution included coming up with a fence plan for the location.
On Air Now
Steve
Mon- Fri: 03:00 PM - 07:00 PM
