Sunday, September 15, 2024
GREEN BAY – During its Aug. 27 meeting, the Green Bay City Council voted unanimously to hold consideration on a proposal brought forward by Alders Chris Wery and Brian Johnson and the Protection & Policy Committee to allow for a public comment section at the beginning of city council meetings until the Sept. 21 meeting.
The floor was yielded to Allouez Village President Jim Rafter — which is the current policy for handling public input — who weighed in on the matter.
“I think public comment is important here, or at least in Allouez. We have a public comment piece to every meeting. We limit it to, I think, five minutes or a reasonable amount of time; but, I would encourage you to incorporate that into your meeting agendas. It is something that we're here to do — to listen to the community and do so respectfully,” he said.
The framework for a potential public comment period was taken from the village of Ashwaubenon and includes the following guidelines: must be limited to items not on the agenda; must state name and address; limited to five minutes; board's role is to listen and not discuss the item; personnel issues cannot be discussed, nor individuals named; and the board is not able to take action at this meeting.
In other action, the council approved the purchase of parcels at 435 East Walnut, 512 Cherry Street, 503 East Walnut Street and 212 South Madison Street and to “direct staff to strengthen the language in development agreements with a claw-back provision if the property is not developed and that we prioritize the historic preservation of Fire Stations 1 and 3 with oversight by the city.”
The properties include the former Press-Gazette building, which is being considered as a future police department, which will now undergo an analysis for space needs.
