In light of recent public outbursts during the Atlantic City Council meeting, and subsequent verbal sparring with the Mayor and Councilpersons, the Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, will review a Resolution pertaining to Public Forum Procedures. City Administrator John Lund says the Council passed a Resolution in Feb., 2002, which set the rules of procedure at Council meetings. The first rule states “THe Mayor shall preserve order and decorum and shall decide all questions of order, subject to an appeal to the Council.” Lund says the Council may choose to amend the current resolution, but until any changes are adopted, the Mayor is still entrusted to execute the Resolution.

Lund says the Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC), a non-profit organization that helps local governments better serve their citizens by providing legal and policy guidance on any topic, says “Limiting public comment time in a council meeting is not a violation of the 1st Amendment, as some have claimed. Meetings must be public, according to Iowa Code, which also outlines specific instances where a governmental body may enter into a closed session. The law does allow the public the right to attend those meetings, but does not require those bodies to allow a public forum. Most cities, however, allow audiences to speak at meetings, even though it not required (except in the case of published Public Hearings).

In other business, the Atlantic City Council will discuss and consider a possible Business Grant Program in the form of a CDBG, or Community Development Block Grant, specifically for downtown facade restoration. The City already has an Economic Development Revolving (EDR) loan fund for Atlantic businesses. And, the City contributes between $30- and $43,000 to non-profit entities, according to Lund, that are considered to be charitable. That doesn’t include contributions to their economic development partners SWIPCO, CADCO and the Atlantic Chamber.

The Council will act on an order closing certain streets for the American Legion Post #43’s “Welcome Home” event this Sunday, from 10-a.m. until 3-p.m. The event is designed to honor members of Company K, 168th Infantry Battalion, who served in World War II. Those soldiers did not receive a homecoming event upon their return from the War. The members of that unit all passed on, but the ceremony is fitting, according to City officials, in light of Atlantic’s Sesquicentennial observations.