- April 25, 2024
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People who want to speak at Palm Coast's City Council workshops and meetings will have less of a wait in the future.
At its regular meeting Aug. 15, the council planned to move public comment periods to the beginning of meetings and workshops, rather than the end, so that speakers won't have to sit through hours' worth of other agenda items before addressing the council. Speakers will also have an additional chance to speak toward the end of the meetings. Each public comment period will be up to 30 minutes.
Currently, City Council workshops and meetings have public comment near the end of the meeting. The public is also given opportunities to comment on agenda items as they come up during City Council meetings.
The council also plans to start its evening meetings at 6 p.m., rather than the current 6:30, starting with up to 30 minutes of public comment. The time change is designed to prevent the night meetings from extending too late into the night.
The council opted not to move all of its meetings and workshops to the evening, a proposal brought by Steven Nobile, who said locals had told him the morning sessions are often impossible for working people to attend. At the council's Aug. 8 meeting, Mayor Milissa Holland said during a discussion of Nobile's proposal that local retirees had told her they liked the morning sessions because that time frame prevents them from having to drive after dark in order to attend.
The council did not hold a vote on the changes Aug. 15. City staff will write an ordinance outlining the changes, and the council will vote on them at a future meeting.
