A resolution to change the Kenai City Council’s regular meeting times from 7 pm to 6 pm passed Wednesday night.
Old town Kenai resident and former Library Commissioner Bob Peters testified that he does not believe changing the meeting time would increase public participation.
Peters: “People only come to the council meetings when there’s something they want or when there’s something that affects them.”
Councilman Tim Navarre sponsored the resolution, saying the council could at least give it a try to see if attendance increases.
Navarre: “The other aspect is there’s council people and administrative people that, as you stated, I did some of the same research that found that the average [meeting] time is two hours and if we start at six, everybody can be home at 8:00 and deal with it instead of having to go home, leave, come back.”
Bob Molloy said in his ten years on the council he has never heard a request from the public to move the meeting times and 7 pm worked better for Councillors such as himself who work full time.
Ultimately the council voted 4-3 to change the council’s regularly scheduled meeting times to 6 pm.
Molloy, Boyle, and Bookey along with Student Representative Hannah Drury(whose vote does not count) were the no votes on the resolution.