In the wake of some heated discussions at city hall over parking and other issues, Mayor Steven Percival had a word to say about decorum at the start of Monday’s City Council meeting.

“Please direct your comments to the chair and not at each other – this is not a running argument,” Percival said. “If you engage out of line, both in your language and addressing other people, I will ask you to stop. If you continue, I will ask you to leave.”
If it still continues, a sheriff’s deputy will be asked to remove the speaker, he said.
“I believe some open dialogue is good, but you have to understand, too often it’s too heated and gets into a debate between people in the audience and other people in the audience,” the mayor said.
Members of city committees and commissions are mostly volunteers and should never be disrespected or yelled at.
“Or openly bullied, ever, whether at meetings or on the street,” Percival said. “We’re all neighbors. We need to handle disagreements appropriately and try to come to adult resolutions rather than discord.”

  mayor, steve percival