FAYETTEVILLE -- Members of the public now have three minutes to speak their piece about City Council agenda items.
The council on Tuesday voted to change the amount of time speakers have during the public comment portion of meetings from five minutes to three minutes. The vote to amend the rules was 6-2. Council members Mike Wiederkehr, Scott Berna, Sarah Bunch, Teresa Turk, Holly Hertzberg and Bob Stafford voted in favor. D'Andre Jones and Sarah Moore voted against.
Berna suggested the change. He referenced long meetings in the past in which many members of the public wanted to speak and the council decided to shorten the public comment period to three minutes person. Berna said he felt keeping the rule to three minutes for all meetings would be more consistent, shorten the overall length of meetings and help speakers stay on point.
"I'm not trying to affect public comment," he said. "I think anybody can say what needs to be said in three minutes."
One person, Kyle Smith, spoke during the public comment portion of Tuesday's meeting. He said people uncomfortable with speaking publicly can feel intimidated by the council's many rules and the chamber setting. Giving them a shorter amount of time would stress them more, Smith said.
"Shortening meetings is a great goal, but this isn't the way to do it," he said.
Wiederkehr said he felt the issue wasn't about whether five minutes would be morally superior to three minutes or vice versa. He said he liked the idea of speakers being more focused and being more courteous to fellow residents waiting in line to speak.
"At the same time, I realize that we are probably the biggest offenders on people speaking perhaps too long or repetitively," Wiederkehr said.
Jones said although residents have multiple options -- such as email, text messages or phone calls -- to reach council members, some people have limited access to those means and need the full five minutes.
The council can grant members of the public additional time to speak with unanimous consent. If a council member objects to granting more time, the full council can vote and grant additional time with a majority in support.
Stafford said the council is always reasonable about granting more time but three minutes should be plenty to get a point across.
The change went into immediate effect after council approval.
In other business, the council voted 7-0 to rezone 3.2 acres north of Goddard School on Mount Comfort Road. The land will change from an agricultural to community services zone. The rezoning request was made to accommodate construction of an annex for the school, according to city documents.
A community services zone allows buildings up to five stories high, and buildings must lie 10 to 25 feet from the right of way.
Hertzberg recused from the vote, saying she has a family member with a financial interest in the school.
Council action
Fayetteville's City Council met Tuesday and approved:
An agreement with Springdale and the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad for a $576,000 federal grant to make railroad crossings safer in the two cities.
Renewing an agreement with Genesis Church and budgeting $100,000 for the Pick Me Up litter program.
A $119,400 contract with 7 Hills Homeless Center to provide services for unsheltered residents in the city.
A $76,421 agreement with Washington County to house Fayetteville residents at the jail. The amount is the same as the two years prior.
Source: Fayetteville