Tuesday, February 4, 10:15 a.m., Eastsound Fire Station
— from Vacation Rental Working Group —
1. County Council will discuss vacation rental issues on 4 February at the Eastsound Fire Station on Orcas Island, beginning at 10:15 a.m. Read the agenda. PLAN TO BE THERE AND TESTIFY! Mark your calendar now!
2. The Vacation Rental Working Group will be presenting a Community Conversation on Lopez on Feb 8, at Grace Church, 1:30 to 3:30pm. Mark your calendar!
Everything you do helps move the needle.
1015 on a Tuesday, is not a good time for a meeting like this. I guess retired folks get to go. People with full time jobs….unable.
You can email comments to the Council through their clerk. ingridg@sanjuanco.com
Don’t just testify. Ask each commissioner whether they support a moratorium. Most citizens don’t understand they have the right to ask each commissioner what their position is and they should respond. The way their agenda has been posted as “discussion “ they have legally under the Open Public Meetings Act made it impossible to take action. But having posted the agenda as “discussion “ you have a legal right to A SK THEM what their position is. I suggest that as many people as possible ask over and over again addressed to each commissioner “Mr …….” do you or do you not support a moratorium? Don’t let anybody including our prosecutor
tell you you are out of order or don’t have this right. Atom Evans Olga
Good to know, @Tom Evans – that we have the right under the open meetings act to ask each commissioner their position on the moratorium. We citizens should start asking every chance we get, every commission meeting where an important “discussion” is taking place. Does this hold true only for County Council, or for all government and taxing district open meetings?
What recourse do citizens have under the Open Meetings and Public Records acts? Is there interest in having someone from the Attorney General’s office come and give the public a presentation on citizen rights under the Acts?
Here is a great description of the Open Meetings Act: http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/washington/open-meetings-laws-washington
Of note: “ The OPMA does not give the public a right to participate or comment during open meetings, but as a matter of practice the public sometimes participates in meetings. The governing body has authority to limit the time of speakers to a uniform amount or to not allow anyone to speak.”
Can Mr. Evans cite his source for “But having posted the agenda as “discussion “ you have a legal right to ASK THEM what their position is. I suggest that as many people as possible ask over and over again addressed to each commissioner “Mr …….” do you or do you not support a moratorium? Don’t let anybody including our prosecutor tell you you are out of order or don’t have this right.”
I cannot find any underlying RWC, or authority, that allows for the council to answer any direct question — or even mandates they take questions at all.
I am all about pinning down the council members, but just want to make sure that when laws are defined here — that they are accurate. I can’t find a source for Mr. Evans information — but he must have it and I’d love to have that info too.
It is not my understanding that the public has a right to ask questions during public comment or during the Board’s deliberations.
But that would be a good question to ask the Prosecuting Attorney if there is confusion about it.
I have asked from what the number of one million visitors a year was derived, and was directed to the main page of this group’s website. Anyone have a pinpoint cite?
Peg…yes, if there is a public comment part of the agenda…anyone can ask anything. But the open meetings act does not say public comment is mandatory. It is completely up to the chair to create an agenda w or w/o public comments. Just because something is described in the agenda as a “discussion” does not mean discussion w the public.
The comments here regarding the OPMA range from spot-on, to absolutely off the board.
Discussion as stated on the agenda is discussion amongst the commissioners. They may invite specific individuals to speak, but this is not an open invite to ask questions and expect responses.
Public Access time: This is your time to ask questions/make comments. BUT, the commissioners have no requirement to respond in any form to your comments. Note- Public access time is NOT required under the OPMA. Many entities allow it, but it is not required.
The “Open” and “Public” parts of the law simply allow you, as the public, to be there for the discussion, but not necessarily for you to participate in any form.
It is always a good idea to submit what you want to say in writing to the Chair of the meeting you are attending. In doing this, your exact statement and concerns become part of the record. If you simply speak, your comments may be only minimally noted in the record.
Janet–yes, I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. If agenda allows public comment, the public could ask questions but the Council does not respond generally and nothing requires them to. The discussion section is discussion among the Council members.
Thank you Janet, Peg and Justin for your comments and clarification about public comment time at public meetings. While the public comment time is just that, a time to make a public comment, it is an opportunity for a board or commission to allow the public to be able to speak there praise or discontent. I feel we the public have been spoiled over the years with some boards and commissions that have allowed dialog during public comment time which they do not have to do. As boards change their style changes and I remember years ago when one took public comment off their agenda and I questioned how could they do that “we the public have always been able to voice our praise and concerns” and discovered it was legal . It certainly doesn’t support the community involvement I have have always enjoyed here or look well upon public boards that don’t allow public comment. (That board did quickly go back to allowing public comment).
That being said I feel it is our responsibility as the public to be respectful and courteous to our elected officials and our many volunteers that sit on these boards and commissions and to discourage the bad behavior that we sometimes witness.
No board is legally “required” to take public comment, but I appreciate that they do anyway. It shows goodwill toward the community and builds bridges. Used rightly, public comment periods are a win-win for us all; it’s how positive change evolves, and I’m grateful that our boards are willing to hear our voices. Although we don’t expect our questions answered, I think asking them is valuable – it might spark later discussion and consideration by the boards. I often see them taking notes on things we bring them in our comments or questions.