Last week during the County Council meeting, Councilman Jesse Bohannon told members he did some extensive research with the help of local media to try and determine what night might work for moving their meeting to an evening meeting.
At a previous meeting Bohannon said some constituents had commented during recent Republican conducted Town Hall Meetings that morning meetings were not accommodating to tax-paying citizens who work.
Bohannon said he believed the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month were open days and would be a good choice for an evening meeting. He told the council he promised a constituent that he would have a vote on his recommendation but said it didn’t have to be that day. Councilman Bohannon said, “I’d like to see us change our regular meeting times starting in February to Thursday evening at 6 p.m.”
Councilman Jim Masterson said the council voted in September or October to set their meetings for 2022.
Council President Mandy Campbell said she looked it up and the Council voted in July to conduct their meetings the 2nd Monday of each month at 9 a.m. for 2022. She said Jesse Bohannon made the motion to accept the morning meetings and Jim Masterson seconded the motion. It was unanimously approved by the County Council.
Campbell said this problem with changing the meetings now is that several council members are involved in other organizations that conduct monthly evening meetings and have already committed to them.
Bohannon asked if the County Council could debate the meeting dates and times this July instead of just accepting what is presented to them.
Councilman Heath Thornton said the council can debate or discuss the meeting dates and times any time before making a decision and publishing it for 2023.
Bohannon made a motion saying, “When it (meeting dates & times) are presented to us this next time, I would like to be presented with a 6 p.m. Thursday time for the following year.”
Councilman Tim Harman questioned the motion and when explained that in the summer of 2022, when the council is presented with a list of meeting dates and times for 2023 the schedule be Thursday evening at 6 p.m. Harman seconded the motion and there was further discussion by the council. The motion to have a discussion of when the county council meetings will be held in 2023 was voted on by a unanimous vote of the council.
Kathy Bottorff told Councilman Bohannon that the 4th Thursday of each month the County Plan Commission meets in the same chambers so the room would not be available for the council meetings.
