HS Aldermen reorder public comment

Some members of the Holly Springs Board of Aldermen sought to change the order of public comment on the agenda because one alderman said it had become “a griping session.”

Vice-Mayor Dexter Shipp said he wants the public comment to appear on the top of the agenda, rather than where it has been in the middle of the agenda.

He said moving it up would prevent people who want to participate in the 3 minute public comment to not be able to make comments on what has taken place in the meeting.

Mayor Sharon Gipson, whose idea she said is hers to put the public comment on the agenda, said it “offers for us to get feedback.”

Ward 4 alderman Patricia Merriweather said public comment “lately has been a griping session,” but she thinks it is an opportunity to hear from the public.

“Lately, it’s been a series of mainly two (people) lashing out at the board for personal reasons, in my opinion,” she said. “My opinion is to take it off and provide another way to get concerns to the board members. It’s not a griping session and opportunity to lash out.”

Merriweather and other members of the board, or the board in general, have been the targets of negative or blaming comments.

She said moving comments up is a way to get matters resolved.

Gipson said the reason she put it on the agenda in the first place was to allow the public to take part in the process. She said she had been the target of the bulk of the attacks.

“There was no issue, as long as it was directed to myself,” Gipson said.

Indeed, the mayor did often take hits from the public who were having frequent interruptions in their electricity or for billing issues or inability to make contact with the Holly Springs Utility Department to report outages.

“People should be concerned about it as we go into the season (election) at hand,” Gipson said. “I stand by the decision.”

Merriweather suggested the public put their comments on cards.

“Cards don’t do the trick, especially if it concerns someone is not doing what they think. It’s a matter of being objective,” the mayor said.

“I don’t mind people expressing themselves, but not here talking of how stupid, how ignorant somebody sounds,” Merriweather said. “I agree it would be apropos to hear from constituents, but we can’t spend three or six minutes with arguing back and forth. It’s not appropriate for the decorum of the meeting. I think it should be at the top (of the agenda).”

Ward 2 alderman Andre Jones spoke.

“As for decorum, and the way it is conducted, if we had made certain in the beginning that people don’t come up and don’t slander. If we had been consistent in the beginning.

Things are being blown out of proportion, and attacks on people’s character and defaming. I have a thick skin.”

Gipson said there was no problem as long as there was a quorum.

“My position was to take care of business first. You are correct, alderman Jones, as far as being consistent,” the mayor said.

Shipp said all he asked was to move the comments up close to the top of the agenda.

Jones said name calling was inappropriate.

“We have to refrain from that as well, whether something is positive or as a critique.” Gipson said.

Shipp made a motion to put the public comment on the agenda as 2a.

Merriweather seconded, and the agenda was adopted by a vote of 5-0.