North Adams Council Again Rejects Earlier Start Time
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — An attempt to change the start time of City Council again "went down in flames."
City Councilor Wayne Wilkinson has tried in the past to start the 7:30 p.m. meetings earlier and came to the council with a recommendation from General Government to move the meeting time to 6:30.
"I'm concerned that we have very few people in the audience," he said. "I think that starting at 7:30 kind of makes that thing happen."
He got backing from Mayor Jennifer Macksey, who saw an earlier time as a way to get City Hall staff "more engaged and being present in council meetings."
"When we've talked about it as a team, is about one thing is because they started late and we start early. So, in an effort to try to get my team more engaged in the council meetings, I'd like to see it moved to 6:30," she said.
Bona said he would oppose as he has in the past. Candidates ran knowing the time was 7:30 and it didn't seem right to change it at the start of the term, he said.
"We could be affecting people who are working a distance who are residents, and again family," he said, adding that the later time was convenient when his family was young.
"I found that very helpful to be able to go home, spend time with family, have dinner, and by the time I came here, they were typically already going to bed. We could be discouraging younger people with families."
He also didn't think the earlier start time would create more involvement since most residents watch meetings on television.
Councilor Marie T. Harpin recalled that the last time it was brought up, there were younger members who objected that it would eat into their family time.
"We always have the hearing of visitors in the beginning of the meeting," she said. "So if someone couldn't make it here for 6:30 they got here for 7 or 7:15 or whatever, they would not be able to address the City Council on issues that are on the agenda."
Harpin thought 7 p.m. would be an appropriate compromise.
Councilor Ashley Shade noted that the earlier time would make it harder for people who rely on public transportation, particularly if they work out of town.
She had suggested 7 p.m. at the General Government meeting and Councilor Michael Obasohan agreed with her and Harpin, saying he didn't think an earlier start would make much difference in gaining an audience. Councilor Bryan Sapienza said he did not mind a 6:30 start time but thought 7 would be more accommodating.
Councilor Jennifer Barbeau said 6:30 would be a hardship for her and that, as Bona had pointed, she had run for office knowing the time would be 7:30 p.m.
"Right now have most committee meetings start at 6 p.m. and I rarely see anyone attend so can't support the argument that an earlier start time will bring more people," she said.
Council President Lisa Blackmer said she understood the difficulty in working out of the city, having done so for some years, but also noted that the School Committee meets at 6 p.m. and has parents as members and most other committees meet at 5 or 6.
The feedback she had gotten from residents was that 7:30 was too late even for watching on Northern Berkshire Community Television.
"There seems to be this this disengagement after seven o'clock," she said.
A majority of the council seemed to be leaning toward 7 p.m. but Wilkinson declined to make the amendment himself.
"If they want to change it to 7 let them do it on their own," he said. "If I'm going to go down in flames, I'm going to go down in flames."
No one else motioned to amend the order and it failed 6-3, with Blackmer, Wilkinson and Councilor Peter Oleskiewicz voting in favor.
The council also approved new rules of order for 2022 and asked Shade to return with language she had suggested on the conduct of councilors.
The council also:
• Affirmed appointments by the mayor of Lawrence Jowett to the Windsor Lake Commission for a term to expire April 1,2024; Mary Lou Acetta to the Commission on Disabilities, expiring Dec. 1, 2024; City Assessor Jessica Lincourt to the Board of Assessors to fill the unexpired term of Ross Vivori, expiring Dec. 31, 2022; Barbara Murray and Stephen Betti, both to the Tree Commission, expiring Jan. 1, 2025; Carol Boucher to the Parks & Recreation Commission, expiring May 1, 2027; Paul King to the Traffic Commission, expiring Jan. 10, 2025; and Joanna Blair to the Council on Aging, expiring Jan. 1, 2025.
• Set a second joint public hearing on short-term rentals with the Planning Board for Tuesday, March 8, at 5 p.m. The City Council order was postponed until the second meeting in March.
• Postponed a matter relating to slowing traffic on Eagle Street also to the second meeting in March to allow time for the Traffic Commission to meeting.
