Attorney explains rules at Holton meeting
Clerk Treasurer resigns
Wanda English Burnett - Editor

The Holton Town Council meeting began Tuesday morning with Attorney Larry Eaton outlining the definition of public participation at council meetings.

He told the large crowd that any person or group who wanted to speak at a meeting would have to register their intent with the Clerk-Treasurer no later than 24 hours before the meeting and would need to include their name, address, group affiliation (if appropriate) and the topic they wished to discuss. It was further noted that the requests would then be approved by the town council president.

Also, those wanting to address the council would be limited to five minutes each with all statements being directed to the presiding officer, with no questions being asked of any individual members.

Eaton further warned that the presiding officer could interrupt, warn, or terminate a person's statement if it is deemed too lengthy, personally directed, abusive, obscene or irrelevant.

If someone is addressing the council and their time is terminated and they will not leave peacefully, it was noted they could be removed by a law enforcement officer.

Eaton told those in attendance that the meetings were actually private but held in public forum. He said the council has always been willing to allow participation and will continue to do so, but with the new rules that he had outlined. "It's sad we have to get to this point, but these are the rules," he noted.

Council member Wilma Myers made a motion to adopt the rules and Rick Holman seconded the motion.

Holman presided over the meeting in the absence of President Robert Furst, who was not in attendance due to health issues.

There were 13 citizens signed in to speak at the March 14 meeting. Frank Vanosdol's name was first on the list. He addressed the council about changing the meeting from a morning time to an evening time. He also questioned the money the town has and where it goes to. As he began to address the crowd, Eaton warned him that he needed to address his comments directly to the council. He then continued questioning the use of the town "car", saying, "we're not blind here in Holton." He talked about the town purchasing a breathalyzer test and discussing buying a sniffin' dog. He went on to say he wanted to know the mileage on the "car" and that "it (the car) ain't got no business in Versailles." He turned to Town Marshal Billey Moore, saying, "and I know about you."

At this point, Eaton stated to Vanosdol, "You're not going to start attacking people. You can leave the room." While Vanosdol was still making some comments, he did leave the room and the meeting continued.

Roseanne Mills was next to speak. She had concerns about the residency of Rick Holman. Eaton told her he didn't have to be at that residence in Holton every single night to be considered a resident there. She asked how a person was chosen to replace a board member who might leave before their term was up. That was explained with the knowledge that the next election for the Holton Town Council would be in 2007.

Tami Rees asked the council about the address change on 850W. She said an "open door policy was violated," by the council and said it would have been common courtesy to notify the residents on the road where the change was made. The road 850 W was changed to Derrick Street. Rees further noted that the property where the community building sits and the park had belonged to Wilbur Myers. She noted that she had contacted an attorney and felt conflict of interests statements were not properly filed by various people.

April McLaughlin requested an exercise class for children to be in addition to the one that is presently being held at the community center. Melanie Fields and Melissa Grigsby both also spoke about the exercise class and hoped the council would at minimum approve them to use the building. In other regards, Fields said the change of address on 850 W wasn't a problem for her. Grigsby said the name change was a "great honor for a great child who lived on that street."

Wilbur Myers was on the agenda and noted that he had never owned the property where the community building was, nor did he own the property where the park was built. He then said he had information about upcoming Chamber events and said he was involved in them. He requested a load of chips for the park and said he would like to open it on April 1, as it had been in past years.

Through her tears, Tammy Buell, read a prepared statement saying the lives of her family had been forever changed from the tragic death of their child, Derrick Buell, who lost his life on 850 W in a car accident. She noted that they were honored to have the road named after him. She said she knew many of the people in attendance, had attended church with some of them, and was truly disappointed to know they felt the way they did about the naming of the road.

The road controversy stemmed from a change that was made because a portion of 850 W is in the town limits. According to council members, they were told it should be changed to coincide with names of town streets, which are primarily named after people, i.e. Moore Street, Faulkner Street, Marion Street, Downey Street, etc.

Lisa McConnell asked the council if they would consider sponsoring or coordinating a community-wide yard sale day before heavy trash pick up.

Patrons concerns took up a good portion of the meeting that lasted nearly two hours.

In other business:

· The financial report was read by Deputy Clerk Treasurer Peggy Furst and approved by council members.

· A smoke test was run in the community building to check out sewer smells.

· Peggy Furst told Danny Beach the property he owns next to the community building had smoke coming from it when the test was performed indicating he could have a problem there. She asked him to check it out.

· Signs at the sewer department need to be replaced. Furst said she was concerned about people trespassing on the lagoon property.

· Town employee Billey Moore noted that repairs to the snow plows were made.

· Wilbur Myers was instructed to take out the older mulch at the park and put new in. He was also told the tables needed to be sealed and coated.

Wilma Myers made a motion to allow the exercise class to continue in the building with those in charge complying with requests made by the council. It was also discussed that the town would consider helping to sponsor getting the children's exercise class up and running.

Myers further commented that she was disappointed in the response to the emergency meeting the Red Cross held in the community building recently. She noted that only 16 people came.

Beaver Creek was approved to maintain the landscaping around the community building for the spring and fall at a cost of $950.

Before the meeting adjourned, Rhonda Tunny, present clerk-treasurer resigned. In a prepared letter, which was read by Peggy Furst, Tunny said her health was one reason for her decision to resign, but the other reason was that she simply would not deal with the rude and inconsiderate people she had to contend with in that position.

Holman regretfully accepted the resignation. Both council members noted that Tunny would be hard to replace, that she had done an outstanding job.

Cynthia Melton, vice-chairman of the Democrat Party for Ripley County noted that the clerk-treasurer position would be decided by the Democrat Party. She said the person would have to be a democrat, a citizen of the town of Holton, and would have had to vote as a registered democrat in the last election.

After council members signed claims, the meeting was adjourned.