pages: CityCouncil/2018-05-15.pdf, 15
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CityCouncil | 2018-05-15 | 15 | Councilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated the proclamations should be scheduled accordingly; if people cannot be accommodated at a specific meeting, it could be moved to the next meeting. The Acting City Manager noted sometimes there is no choice because of the specific months or events related to the proclamations. Councilmember Matarrese stated that he is fine with the 15 minute hard limit but does not want a buzzer going off when an award is being accepted; suggested if four proclamations arise, the Mayor could request to suspend the rules to accommodate the proclamations and the Council will all agree; stated it is easy to try it out to see if it works. The City Clerk noted the four proclamations tonight took 26 minutes. Councilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated part of the solution is preparing the recipients so they are aware how many other groups will be receiving a proclamation. Mayor Spencer stated that she does not want to limit recipients to two minutes when they are accepting a proclamation; the proclamations are meaningful to the recipients and limiting their time may not give enough for them to tell their story. Vice Mayor Vella stated there is a way to handle everything being raised; it is not the Mayor's job to let recipients know how many proclamations there will be; staff could do so; staff could request that presenters or recipients have statements prepared and request they limit statements to a number of minutes; if additional minutes are needed, information could be conveyed by the group ahead of time; Council would be able to suspend the rule; addressing the time limit in this manner seems to be better than having a hardline cap. In response to Councilmember Ezzy Ashcraft's inquiry, Vice Mayor Vella stated the sentence that states recipient groups are limited to two minutes could be omitted and instead say staff will work with recipients ahead of the meeting. Councilmember Oddie suggested the language be changed to "recipient groups should endeavor to speak for a maximum of two minutes" and not say they will be timed. Mayor Spencer stated she that would not support the suggestion; she does not think there should be a hard rule; limiting recipients defeats the purpose of proclamations; it is a good-will gesture; she does not want recipients to feel rushed; recipients should be able to say what they would like when accepting the proclamation. The Acting City Manager stated instead of placing the onus on the recipient, the meeting could be started earlier to accommodate more than three proclamations, which could be memorialized. Regular Meeting Alameda City Council May 15, 2018 15 | CityCouncil/2018-05-15.pdf |