by Christopher Caile

Supervisor James Pax told the Dispatch that instead of a pilot program he is just going to implement a public comment period as an agenda item at the beginning of Town public meetings. He had planned to put the subject on the agenda of the March 3 public meeting.

Last week the Dispatch reported that Pax had decided to try this added public comment period on a trial basis for several months. ‘But now I’m going to just implement it,” said Pax.

“My interpretation is that I can do this agenda change alone without Board approval, but if it’s needed I will ask for it. So what I’m doing is just setting a second time aside,” Pax said.

Councilman Jim Sharpe, however, told the Dispatch that “any change in a Town Meeting agenda item has to be voted on by the Board. We adopt meeting procedures at the beginning of the year this way.”

Sharpe has prepared an “Open Meeting Resolution” which has been placed on the Agenda for the ‘[own Meeting Tuesday. It was first presented in a Town Board Workshop meeting on Feb. 3.

The resolution grew out of Council members promise to Sandra Styka and other residents in a Town Board workshop meeting in January that they would look into changing meeting rules to allow added public input.

On Feb. 3, in a following workshop meeting, Styka had talked at length about the. importance of public comment in Town meetings. She had presented a survey indicating other area villages and towns which had a period of public comment at the beginning of their meetings. A petition was also given to Board members supporting the concept of added public comment at Town meetings.