Planning commission special meeting nixed amid process concerns

One special meeting has canceled another.

The La Conner Town Council Friday afternoon at a special Zoom session adopted procedures for calling planning commission special meetings that in effect nixed a special meeting the advisory panel had scheduled for Nov. 1.

The rationale was process.

A council majority objected that a short-handed commission had scheduled a special meeting for last night during a regular meeting not attended by chair Marna Hanneman and only had three members present at its close.

Councilmembers Annie Taylor, Rick Dole, Mary Lee Chamberlain and Mary Wohleb voted for a provision specifying that planning commission special meetings must be called by its chair, chair-pro tem, or a majority of three commissioners.

Councilman Ivan Carlson abstained.

“Process is important,” said Mayor Ramon Hayes, “and extremely important in this case.”

It was Dole, a former planning commissioner, who requested a new mechanism for calling special planning meetings.

He said some items that had been listed for discussion at the Nov. 1 special meeting were “outside the planning commission’s purview.”

When asked to identify those proposed topics, Dole said they included term limits for elected officials and splitting the town attorney/administrator position.

“We need a do-over agenda-wise,” said Dole. “We’d be going down a path that could get us in trouble.”

Town planner Michael Davolio said the Nov. 1 special meeting agenda had been submitted by a member of the audience at the commission’s Oct. 18 regular meeting.

“The commission did vote to hold a special meeting on Nov. 1,” said Davolio. “But later, when I looked at the agenda, I saw some things that were outside the purview of the planning commission.”

Dole said that general discussion topics are not grounds for calling a special meeting, contending that their agendas should be limited to specific action items.

Hanneman reiterated on Friday that she was not present Oct. 18.

“When I got back and found out about it,” she said, “I was concerned. This wasn’t the normal process. It wasn’t the proper process. This isn’t the way this town should be going.”

Hayes said the Town remains committed to open dialogue.

“’We have a long track record of welcoming ideas,” said Hayes, now in his fourth term as mayor. “The issue is process. This was a failed process. That’s why these issues became concerning for several council members.”

Hayes said the format of how the special planning meeting was scheduled is at the core of the matter.

“This was proposed with only three (planning commission) members (present), without the chair and with a vague agenda,” said Hayes. “Council member Dole alerted Town Hall and said there’s an issue (and t)hat there were multiple issues here.”

Chamberlain suggested the planning commission explore other options, such as a study group or public forum, for general discussion meetings that allow more than three-minute comment opportunities for attendees.

Ironically, questions arose concerning the makeup of the council’s Oct. 28 special meeting agenda.

“I thought the topic would be for the continued discussion of the (municipal) code,” said former planning commission member Linda Talman, among a handful of residents who logged into the meeting.

“We just want to have a conversation,” Talman said, noting limitations imposed by a three-minute public comment rule.

“Let’s just all work together for the future of La Conner,” she implored.

The Oct. 25 council meeting was canceled less than three hours before it started. Town Administrator Scott Thomas sent out an email broadly, notifying “that town hall staff had been exposed to COVID-19” limiting the option of running the Zoom camera. For safety, the meeting was canceled. Friday’s special meeting had two agenda items: approving the consent agenda, which covers paying bills, and “Planning Commission procedures LMC Chapter 15.130.”