KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Kayla Desroches/KMXT
At its last regular meeting, the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly discussed moving the beginning and ending times of its regular meetings and work sessions to an hour earlier than before. Instead of 7:30 p.m. the meetings would begin at 6:30 p.m., and instead of ending at 11:30 p.m., the meetings would end at 10:30 p.m. to be extended no later than 11.
Assembly members generally spoke in support of the change, but Assemblyman Dan Rohrer pointed out that he doesn’t want the time shift to lead to constant extensions.
“In the last little better than a year, we’ve only voted to extend the meeting one time. If a year from now I’m sitting here and we’ve extended the meeting time every single week or every other week, I’m gonna vote and push really heavily to change it back to 7:30pm, because my intent by voting it to be starting 6:30 p.m. is not to be here for 5 and a half hours instead of a 4 and half hours.”
The ordinance suggests changing the meeting agenda by moving public comments from after awards and presentations to before. Assemblywoman Rebecca Skinner saw the sense of keeping the agenda as is.
“I think when we get substantive presentations like the one we had tonight on the high school project and the landfill, I could see potential benefit in citizens being able to hear those presentations and then make comment immediately after. Their other alternative to comment on the presentations would be to wait until the end of the meeting or to make comment at a subsequent meeting.”
Assemblyman Larry LeDoux spoke in favor of moving the public comments to after the presentations.
“I was thinking of the old adage, eat your oatmeal, it’s good for you. That you say to a child that they need to stay and eat it because it’s good for them. If we have great presentations, and I hope we do, it’s really up to people whether they want to listen to them or not. And they can listen to them on TV. I don’t want to force people to do that.”
The ordinance will be up for public comment at the assembly’s next regular meeting on January 7. Assembly members request feedback from members of the public and ask them to step forward should they have an opinion in either direction.
