Agenda 11-07-19 Item 8-a - Minutes

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3 1 allow public comment prior to a vote. He said public comment can also be made even 2 when an item is not on the agenda. He said this situation involved a deliberate 3 misinformation campaign, and the Board should write something to provide a consistent, 4 clear explanation. He said the agenda abstract used to indicate if an item was public or not. 5 He said this did help to bolster what the Board is trying to do. He said if there is nothing 6 specific in the Procedures, the Board should set the expectations and manage them. He 7 said he values work sessions to brainstorm and share ideas; and there are not many of 8 them, and offering an hour of time for public comment takes away from the discussion time. 9 Chair Rich asked if this feedback makes sense to staff. 10 John Roberts said yes, and staff can put this in place if the Board so chooses. 11 Commissioner Marcoplos said it is important to make sure the work sessions are 12 defined, and the discussions that occur allow the Board to be ready to create items that can 13 be presented to the public. He said the public has many opportunities to talk, and this is 14 just a solution without a problem. 15 Chair Rich said she feels that while it is important to just be able to talk, allowing 16 Public Comment at that previous work session would not have been helpful. She agreed it 17 is important to manage expectations. 18 Commissioner Marcoplos said misinformation is a problem, and allowing people to 19 beat the drum on their favorite issue just creates a game. 20 Commissioner Bedford said she does not want to pick and choose issues to allow 21 public comment. She asked if the Board ever changes the amount of time people can 22 speak, to allow more people to talk. 23 Chair Rich said the Board has tried this, but the Board settled on three minutes per 24 person, and 1 hour in total. She said if there were more people to speak, the Board has 25 traditionally voted to extend the comments to over an hour, for that particular meeting. 26 Chair Rich said it should be done consistently, and the Board should not pick and 27 choose hot button issues. 28 John Roberts said the Procedures say the Board can suspend the rules, but he likes 29 Commissioner Dorosin's idea of not extending public comment to work sessions. 30 Commissioner Marcoplos said work sessions are essential, and should not cater to 31 a certain desire. 32 Commissioner Dorosin said a work session should be defined in writing, and it made 33 clear that public comment is offered only at regular meetings. He said this paragraph 34 should be put at the top of the work session agenda, along with the date for the next 35 opportunity for public comment. He said the Board should not get hung up on what people 36 want to talk about, as the Board offers more opportunities for public comment than other 37 counties in the state. He said people have the chance to talk with the Board, and the Board 38 wants to hear what the public has to say; but work sessions are intended for a different 39 purpose. 40 Commissioner Marcoplos said work sessions are not private, and the public can 41 attend and listen. 42 Commissioner Price said the booklet already says that, and asked if the Board can 43 add an explanation that the Board does not conduct regular business at work sessions. 44 Commissioner Bedford said she has received requests to provide childcare at 45 meetings to allow better access. She said currently comments can be made about items 46 not on the agenda at the beginning of a regular meeting, but one must wait until later to 47 comment on items that are on the agenda. She said maybe the Board should also allow for 48 comment on items on the agenda at the beginning, so that parents with young children can 49 go home and get them to bed. 50 Chair Rich said the Board tries to be flexible if someone mentions they have 51 concerns with the agenda and timing.