Ordinance 2020-029 was passed at the most recent Soldotna City Council meeting.
The ordinance was brought forward to address the fact that City Council doesn’t currently have a specified time that it must adjourn. It would amend the Soldotna Municipal Code Title 2 Chapter 4 – City Council, by enacting a new subchapter 15 titled Meeting Time Restrictions – uncompleted agenda. It would also amend subchapter 30 paragraph A to include a place on the agenda for uncompleted agenda items.
Vice Mayor Lisa Parker, who introduced the ordinance, said, “Here, a month or so ago, we had quite a long meeting that lasted for 5 hours and everybody was getting tired. It had been a long day. Many places around the state have limitations on when meetings need to adjourn by. In talking with the City Clerk after the meeting and I asked if we had anything in our city code that addresses that and she said no. That’s why I’m proposing that we place into the city code that meetings adjourn by 10 o’clock at night. We start at 6 o’clock, so that’s a four-hour meeting. Lots can be discussed and conveyed during that time. Putting a deadline on when the Council must adjourn assures the public can attend and participate in our meetings during reasonable hours.”
The ordinance unanimously passed.
Soldotna Municipal Code 02.04.015 – Meeting Time Restrictions – Uncompleted Agenda is hereby enacted as follows:
- That the council shall take no official action after 10:00 p.m. and before 8:00 a.m., actual time. The Council shall adjourn or recess any regular or special meeting at 10:00 p.m. This time for conclusion of business and adjournment or recess is mandatory, except that the council may by motion extend this deadline by no more than thirty minutes once per meeting. Any such motion is not debatable and must be approved by a majority of the total authorized council before the 10:00 p.m. deadline. In the event that business has not been completed by the time set herein, the council may recess the meeting to a time consistent with this section, call a special meeting to complete the agenda and adjourn, or adjourn.
- If the meeting is adjourned without making other provision for completion of the agenda items, then such uncompleted matters shall be acted upon at the next regularly scheduled council meeting under the agenda section for uncompleted from prior agenda. Except for consent agenda items no other item of legislation on the agenda may be considered until these uncompleted items have been considered by the council.