No hearing likely
As the council debates its lone vote on the project, it is unlikely residents will be given the opportunity to speak about it in a formal hearing.
No public comment period is scheduled for Tuesday and no formal public hearing has been set for the downtown project. As is typical, the council will have time for public comment April 24, but that may come after the vote on the project. No members of the public spoke about any topic at council’s last meeting.
Smith said there hasn’t been any discussion on having a public hearing. He said he believed a community meeting on the issue conducted by the Northeast Area Partnership last month served that purpose.
Councilman John Crawford, R-at large, said he doesn’t see a need for a formal public hearing on the issue.
“We’ve already had so many,” he said, referring to the dozens of meetings in the community about Harrison Square.
Crawford, who said he is still undecided about the project, said the council is not legally required to conduct a hearing. The council did have a public hearing before approving its smoking ban, but Crawford said that was because there weren’t already numerous hearings on the issue.
Mayor Graham Richard said conducting a public hearing is a council decision, although he also said there has been a “substantial amount of public opinion.”
Although the mayor said he doesn’t have a deadline for a vote on Harrison Square, he said it can’t just sit undecided for months. A public hearing could delay a decision by the council until mid-May, because the council doesn’t meet on May 8 because it’s Election Day.
Smith said he will seek a vote of the council to determine whether a majority supports having another public hearing.
The City Council only wanted to hear from their friends. No public comments. But you can write to them. No public comments
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