A dear friend recently broke the news to me that not everyone finds city council meetings as fascinating as I do. Fair point, I suppose. And, actually, in the spirit of full disclosure, some of them can be pretty tedious.
But hold on to your hats, because Tuesday’s meeting might be doozy. Here are some highlights that may be in store if you do decide to march up to the city administration building next week, or flip to channel 16 at 6:00 p.m.
Mayor Lioneld Jordan will kick off the meeting with his State of the City address.
Then, at the behest of Alderman Matthew Petty of Ward 2, the permitting and funding procedures for events will be a discussion item. This issue was spawned out of opposition to the Bikes, Babes and Bling event.
At the agenda session, Petty said he dropped his opposition to the festival because no legislative grounds exist to deny the permit. However, addressing concerns such as traffic and noise nuisances is possible with legislation, he said.
I remember back when this came around the first time, and there were a lot of people who felt very strongly about it not being used for operations.
“If you look at any other process in the city, the neighbors have input, and they have input for a reason,” Petty said, “but when it comes to event permits, there is no public input at all.”
In the Unfinished Business category, we have the Oakbrooke rezoning issue. At the last meeting, the issue was left on the second reading, after round of public comments from the Bridgeport constituency who are concerned about adding density to the neighborhood. You can brush up on the issue by reading some comments generated from the last meeting.
Also, aldermen could set a limit of how many vehicles are allowed in single-family home driveways. This was a complaint-driven ordinance, sponsored by Council members Shirley Lucas and Sarah Lewis, both of Ward 4.
The ordinance allows up to “four motor vehicles to be parked on a property, not including within garages,” and a maximum of 40 percent of the front yard to be utilized for parking, among other stipulations.
The council will again pick up the issue of holding a special election to specify that money generated from the Hotel-Motel-Restaurant (HMR) tax can be used for park maintenance.
After hearing concerns for the ordinance, Petty said he would be interested in amending it to include a maximum percentage that could be used for maintenance in order to garner more support on Election Day.
Council member Brenda Thiel, who represents Ward 1, said she would support such a measure.
“We do want it to pass,” Theil said. “I remember back when this came around the first time, and there were a lot of people who felt very strongly about it not being used for operations,” she reminded the council.
So, see you there? Or not. Up to you.
View the complete agenda.
Mary Robbins is a guest contributor for the Fayetteville Flyer. She declared Fayetteville as her hometown upon moving here for college. She is a Journalism graduate who enjoys live music, the outdoors and attending city council meetings. For more of Mary’s contributions, visit her author page.
