Soldotna City Council members are thinking about moving their meeting time up half an hour – to 5:30 instead of 6 p.m.
Jordan Chilson is one of two council members proposing the change, alongside Dave Carey. He says the new meeting time would be consistent with the city’s other groups, like the Planning and Zoning Commission and Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. He also thinks an earlier meeting would make it easier for people to participate.
“This would potentially give people the opportunity to come in here, speak their business sooner, and get home for dinner and spend time with their families,” he said at last week’s council meeting.
If the change is approved, Soldotna’s city council would become the only city council on the Kenai Peninsula to meet at five thirty. Seward’s city council meets at 7 p.m., while the Kenai, Homer, Seldovia and Kachemak city councils meet at 6 p.m. The Kenai Peninsula Borough and Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education also meet at 6 p.m.
Council member Chera Wackler doesn’t support the change. She says the existing meeting time already isn’t always enough time for busy people to attend and, in her case, sit on council.
“There's enough barriers to being able to serve in this position,” she said. “I think it would be an additional barrier to some people.”
The council was originally scheduled to vote on the change last week. But Chilson successfully bumped that to the council’s next meeting on June 25.
“Given the feedback we're getting tonight, I'm finding myself a little bit more on the fence about this one, or at least would like to give it a little bit more thought,” he said.
The vote to postpone was unanimous.
