Planning commissioners would have to be careful with what they post on Facebook under proposed bylaws discussed Wednesday.
The Planning Commission, City Planner Ken Kobe and City Clerk Kelly Delay spent Wednesday night’s meeting working on new bylaws for the body.
The commission does not have bylaws. Kobe said he looked at 11 bylaws of planning commissions in nearby cities to make a draft for Eudora. He said he mainly worked off the Basehor, Tonganoxie and Lenexa bylaws because they are newer.
Social media was one point of discussion. Kobe said commissioners can’t vote on issues they’ve already publicly declared a stance on, like making a post on Facebook or other sites.
“You’ve already previously expressed an opinion about this. You went on Facebook and said, ‘I hate this thing for this reason,’” Kobe said. “You’ve already publicly declared what your stance is on it, or that you have some kind of stake in the thing.”
Most of the meeting was devoted to the discussion about the “Removal” section of the bylaws, which states that commission members may be removed for issues like nonattendance, conflicts of interest or misconduct.
Commissioner Aaron Thakker asked if they should formalize a certain number of absences. The commission decided that three consecutive absences or four absences in the calendar year should trigger the removal process.
Commissioners decided that Delay will keep track of the absences and come to the Planning Commission if someone reaches the threshold. Then, the commission will vote and make a recommendation to the mayor. It is ultimately the mayor’s decision because members are appointed.
Commissioner Josh Harger said he wants to add some language to the bylaws about excused absences, like illness or another emergency.
“I do like adding some verbiage though, like, some nice language of, ‘Unless approved by the commission for certain situations,’” Harger said. “I think that’s important.”
Commission Pat Jankowski also said he would like the absence policy to only apply to regular monthly meetings because special meetings can be scheduled with little notice.
Regarding conflicts of interest, Kobe said he used common terminology he found across the bylaws. Commissioners would have a conflict of interest if they own property being discussed or if they are within the notice area for a new development.
The bylaws are currently seven pages long, and Kobe said he wants to keep it as concise as possible. The commission will follow Robert’s Rules of Order for anything not addressed in the bylaws.
Chairman Grant Martin said he thinks being comprehensive is a good thing, and would like the bylaws to serve as a quick reference guide during meetings.
Kobe will make the revisions to the draft of the bylaws and present them to the board at its meeting in July. At that point, the bylaws will be in resolution form, and the commission can choose to vote to approve them.
Martin said he thinks “it’s a really, really good start.”
In other business, Commissioner Lewis Cox, who started this year, has resigned. Delay said he is moving and no longer qualifies to be on the commission. It now has two vacancies.
Martin also recognized the Eudora Times at the meeting and congratulated it for receiving 30 awards from the Kansas Press Association. He thanked the Times for its coverage.
Reach Bella Waters at [email protected].
