BENTONVILLE -- Residents still have to keep their comments at City Council meetings related to an agenda item, but adding items to the agenda is now something council members can do.
The council decided to make two motions Tuesday regarding possible changes to its meeting procedures, instead of combining them as initially requested.
Council action
Bentonville’s City Council met Tuesday and approved:
• A $35,000 agreement with ESRI for software applications.
• Spending $217,000 to update planimetric GIS mapping features.
• Fire Department Standard Operating Guidelines.
• Accepting the Emergency Medical Services agreement with Benton County.
• Paying $31,740 for Emergency Services Group International to provide continuing education for active shooter and rescue task force training.
• Declaring several Police Department items surplus.
• A lease for the hangar at 2420 S.W. Aviation St.
• Hiring Morrison Shipley for $20,540 for the design, bidding and construction observation of a parking lot, pavilion and amphitheater stage at Citizens Park.
• Hiring Challenger Sports to run the soccer summer camp at Citizens Park.
Source: Staff Report
Council members unanimously agreed to allow members to add an item to the meeting's agenda with majority approval of the quorum present.
They also voted 6-2 against removing the limitation requiring public comments be related to agenda items.
Council members James Smith and Tim Robinson voted to remove the limitation. Council members Octavio Sanchez, Stephanie Orman, Bill Burckart, Jim Webb, Chad Goss and Chris Sooter voted to keep it.
Sanchez said he requested there be two votes instead of one Tuesday as the two changes are different.
Council members approached by residents can add their issues on the agenda, which will in turn allow residents to come speak on those issues during the public comment portion of the next meeting, he explained after the meeting.
It's a win-win as it allows residents to speak while the public comment time is protected from becoming inefficient, Sanchez said.
Becoming more approachable through a period of public comment has been an issue council has discussed on and off for the last few years. Members agreed in 2015 to create a public comment time limiting comments to agenda items.
A few situations over the past two years -- namely preservation of historical buildings and the Bella Vista Lake dam -- have come up where the limited public comment procedure prevented conversations coming before the council during meetings.
Smith requested the 2015 policy be revisited, recommending removing the limit and/or making it easier for items to be placed on the agenda.
Eight people addressed the council Tuesday, five of whom encouraged the council to open its public comment time. A couple of people spoke appreciation of the council, mayor's and city staff's work over the years. A few spoke about other concerns -- a rezoning downtown and traffic hazards on Rainbow Curve.
Public comment time can still be limiting as it doesn't allow council members to talk with those who speak, Orman said after the meeting. Public forums and interactions with council members directly can be more productive in understanding the issue and finding solutions, she said.
During the meeting, she said she received 11 emails from people in favor of changing the policy and 18 against it. Orman made the point that wasn't what was represented by those who spoke at the meeting.
She encouraged people to contact council members with concerns and allow them to work with them.
"When I'm voting on this tonight, I'm voting to be your representative," she said. "And I will do that for you if you come to me."
Those advocating policy change said the votes Tuesday were a step in the right direction, but doesn't fully address the issue of the council being approachable as a whole.
Smith said he felt like he ran out of options last year trying to bring constituents' concerns before the whole council. Now there's an avenue, he said after the meeting.
"The change to get items on the agenda was probably 80 percent of the equation, but I think the public forum was the catalyst to make that part happen," he said, adding it would be beneficial for the city to still consider opening up the public comments at some point.
"I feel like we've made a huge step in progress in the that the items on the agenda do not just filter down to one person," resident Cherie Clark said after the meeting. She was referring to the mayor having control over what is placed on the agenda and what isn't.
She said she was still disappointed the public comment time wasn't opened.
"I need my city to be approachable," she said.
Clark was one of the leaders when residents protested the demolition of historical homes on West Central Avenue last year. She recalled the difficulty it was for historical preservation to be addressed at a meeting.
Ani Marathe, resident, said he had two reasons he thought the public comment time should be changed.
The first was simply a good reason for it not to be wasn't ever given, he said.
He likened City Council members to employees of the people they represent for his second reason. An employer in the private sector doesn't have to seek permission to talk to an employee, Marathe said.
"We as employers have every right to speak to our employees who are the council members," he said after the meeting. "There is nothing wrong in giving one of your employers two minutes to talk about an issue about the city for which he or she cares. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it."
Mayor Bob McCaslin said after the meeting it was refreshing to see a government body entertain opposing views with civility.
"I don't see winners and losers here tonight," he said. "I just see that the council chose a couple of directions that they wanted to confirm or change. That's the way we move. May we all be very collaborative, respectful and demonstrate good teamwork going forward and handle the city's business in the most noble of ways."
NW News on 03/01/2017