By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
A Bronson Town Council meeting Monday night degenerated into yelling, angry words and multiple people talking over each other until Mayor Robert Partin was able to establish order by asking the combatants to leave if they couldn’t be respectful.
“If everybody wants to talk, just leave the building, okay, and we’re going to conduct this meeting and we’re going to conduct it right,” Partin said. “I can put Roberts Rules of order if I have to. I try to conduct this in a casual way when everyone can talk and walk to the podium.”
Partin said he could institute a rule allowing people to speak for a maximum of 3 minutes and no more. He said his casual way of handling meetings could come to a grinding halt if the audience couldn’t respect each other and the council members.
“I try to make this casual where everybody can have their time to speak. I don’t make you come to the podium every time you speak. I let you talk over people every once in a while, but I’ll stop that if I have to. We can have an armed guard in here if we have to. I don’t want to do that. We are all adults here. We need to respect each other and conduct it in a normal businesslike manner.”
Partin then recognized resident Elijah Williams.
“People in this town, they vote and pay taxes and I think they have the right to speak when they want to,” Williams said.
“Did I say they did not? Why did you say that?” Partin said.
“You’re trying to cut them off,” Williams replied.
“No, I’m not,” Partin shot back.
Williams said, “Okay.”
“Lord knows, we let you talk enough up here,” Partin said.
The debate in the audience arose from a proposal being considered by the council to recommend approval of a 50-unit RV Park in what is now a residential neighborhood.
Council members were seated as a planning board when the debate was raging the loudest. When the dust settled, the board approved a motion by Councilman Tyler Voorhees to recommend approval of the RV park and send it back to the town council on July 10 for formal vote.
The town has no planning board and so the town council switches hats when necessary and assumes that advisory role, and later switches hats again to become elected council members again.
Chiefland City Commissioners have similar procedures.
Several audience members, including former Mayor Beatrice Roberts, commented on the verbal combat among audience members and the inability of the mayor to gain control for stretches of time.
“I hate to say, you’re going to have to get tougher. You’re going to have to hurt people’s feelings,” Roberts said. “You may have to start having 3-minute speakers. It may be what you have to do, but this out-of-order, yelling, and using words it’s really sad. I almost got up and left.”
Legal Chaos
Making matters worse was the apparent inability of Town Attorney Steven Warm to hear the discussions. When Bronson businessman Ray Samec raised a legal question about the RV park, he asked Warm for a legal opinion. Warm wasn’t physically present but attended by Zoom internet connection. He has had problems in the past responding to what was happening in meetings because of poor internet connections or his inability to hear what is taking place in the council meeting or some other reason.
Samec wanted to know if the future RV park owner could sell lots in the park rather than just rent space, but Warm wasn’t responding.
Samec: “Mr. Warm.” Mr. Warm!!”
Williams: “He don’t hear.”
Samec: “Where is our attorney?”
Multiple people in the audience began talking over each other.
Deputy Clerk Wendy Maragh: “Hold on a second so I can show Attorney Warm is right here.”
Maragh walked over to the laptop perched atop the council’s dais (meeting room seating desk).
Maragh: “Look, Attorney Warm.”
Samec: “I move you cancel the entire hearing because you don’t have an attorney here.”
Maragh: “He’s right here.”
Samec: “He’s not saying nothing.”
Voorhees: “We had him on Zoom but he was getting feedback on his microphone.”
Partin: “Can I ask for some respect here for other people in the audience?”
Samec: “Absolutely.”
Williams made an inaudible comment.
Partin responded to Williams: “You asked for respect, didn’t you? You brought me down. You talk over everybody else in this room. Every time you get up here it’s abusive.”
Williams responded: “You’re abusive.”
Partin: “Okay then, you run for the city council.”
Voorhees: “Attorney Warm, can you hear them?”
Samec: “Attorney Warm, good evening. Are you here?”
Voorhees: “His speaker might be turned down.”
Maragh: “Mr. Warm, can you hear them?”
Warm: “I hear him fine but he’s looking at me and pretending I’m not here. He’s getting me a little (inaudible)”
Partin asked Samec what he wanted.
Samec: “What I want.”
Warm: “What do you want from me?”
Samec: “I want what the council wants. I don’t have to answer that question.”
Samec went on to explain that the owner of the RV park property says he can sell lots in the park. Samec wanted to know if the council could attach a condition to the approval of the RV park that says he can’t sell lots.
Voorhees: “Mr. Warm, if the town ordinance says he can sell those lots, can we turn around and put a stipulation on saying he cannot?”
Warm: “I’m not making any rulings for you, Mr. Samec.”
Samec: “I know. I didn’t ask you.”
Voorhees: “That was me. That was Tyler that asked that.”
Warm: “If the council wants my opinion, I’ll render it. Right now, my opinion is we’re having a second public hearing. We were only supposed to have one.”
Town Manager Sue Beaudet: “Attorney Warm, if the ordinance says something like he can sell these lots, but the council wants to put on a stipulation saying he cannot sell them, are we allowed to do that?”
Warm: “It’s within your discretion to do that.”
Samec: “Thank you.”
The council voted to recommend approval of the RV Park and send it to the town council for a formal vote at the next board meeting on July 11.
Previous Failures
The problem regarding Warm’s failure to respond as legal counsel during board meetings when he wasn’t physically present has occurred many times. The most notable incident was when the council voted to remove former Councilman Berlon Weeks from office for allegedly resigning during the council meeting. Warm wasn’t physically present for the council meeting. He was connected by phone internet to the meeting. He was silent through the entire discussion of Weeks. Weeks said at one point he was resigning, but then changed his mind and said he would serve out his term and wouldn’t seek re-election.
By contrast, Warm was present at a council meeting when then-Councilman Aaron Edmondson said he was resigning from the board. This occurred long after Weeks’ alleged resignation. After making the resignation statement, Edmondson got out of his seat and started walking out of the council room. Warm stopped him and asked if he was really resigning from the board. Edmondson said he wasn’t really resigning and walked out of the meeting room. Warm never gave Weeks the same opportunity he gave Edmondson.
Weeks remains embroiled in a lawsuit against the town, saying he was illegally removed from office by council members. He says the council had no legal authority to make such a decision. Weeks wasn’t allowed to vote against the motion that accused him of resigning from his seat. Warm remained silent until after Weeks walked out of the meeting room.
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Town of Bronson Regular Meeting June 26, 2023; Posted June 29, 2023
