After taking action at a meeting designed just for discussion Monday—the mayor’s appointment of committee members to examine medicinal pot issues—the Hollister council will reconsider the same matter in light of the apparent open meetings violation.
Council members next Monday will weigh the mayor’s creation of an ad hoc committee and appointment of two members for the medicinal marijuana issue.
Council members last Monday discussed current laws, actions by other communities in setting local ordinances before the March 1 deadline, whether to address cultivation as the only requirement or other issue such as zoning, and circumstances with the state that could lead to pursuing an urgency ordinance or a permanent one.
By the end of the meeting, there was action taken with the mayor appointing an ad hoc committee, despite the fact that the agenda merely called for reviewing of the city’s medicinal marijuana ordinance and to “Receive Presentation”.
Mayor Ignacio Velazquez, without anything on the agenda specifying the potential for appointments, appointed Councilmen Ray Friend and Karson Klauer to the committee directed to review a wide range of related issues.
The state’s Brown Act setting regulations relating to open meetings rules requires government boards to specifically inform the public on an agenda that action may be taken at a given meeting.
