FAIRHOPE – Public participation at Fairhope City Council meetings is the latest shut-down during the COVID-19 outbreak as council members voted to discontinue the practice until Gov. Kay Ivey lifts her shelter in place order.
The council voted unanimously on April 13 to end public participation at meetings. Meeting agendas have included two public comment periods. Residents could comment at the start of the meeting on items on the agenda. At the end of the session, people can also comment on any other issue.
Council President Jack Burrell said Ivey’s order limits gatherings to 10 people or less. That includes public meetings, such as council meetings. The City Council has five members.
“We can’t allow more than 10 people in a room. “There’s five of us. There’s two IT guys. There’s a clerk. A policeman and the city attorney. The way I count it. We have 10 people in here right now and we’d be violating state orders if we tried to do that,” Burrell said. “We’re not trying to cut out public participation forever. We’re just trying to keep everybody safe.”
The council also voted to postpone public hearings by the City Council and other municipal boards.
“This is not to eliminate forever any of the public hearings of the council, Planning Commission or Board of Adjustments, but to postpone these until we can hear from the citizens,” Burrell said. “I know a lot of people were worried about things that were on the agenda that would require a lot of public input and I have made a promise to the people of Fairhope that we will not do that.”
Burrell said any issues that residents might wish to comment on will be postponed until the coronavirus orders are lifted.
“We won’t put anything on there that we know is a hot-button issue or that we know that we’re going to receive a lot of public participation and that includes public hearings,” he said.
The City Council voted in March to postpone meetings of the Planning Commission until May. The council also cancelled public events, such as the Fairhope Arts and Crafts Festival and closed some public areas, such as the municipal pier, playgrounds and organized sports areas.
