Staff writer
The culmination of a Marion planning and zoning commission meeting Sept. 30 resulted in little action.
Any action regarding an amendment on the table was illegal since the commission did not give the full 20 days notice in the newspaper.
Planning consultant David Yearout of Yearout Associates of El Dorado, representing board member Darvin Markley, who excused himself from voting in the meeting, notified the board that it only had been 19 days since the public notice was published in the official city newspaper.
City zoning administrator Marty Fredrickson said no one was aware the publication date and meeting date did not count toward the 20 days.
There was a motion on the table to put a definition in the city’s zoning regulations to allow an outside towing and salvage company a conditional use permit.
Markley’s Service, a towing and recovery operation owned by Darvin Markley, is eligible for business because it was in place before the city’s regulations did not allow a salvage company.
After Yearout notified the commission no action concerning the section 10 amendment could be taken, newly appointed planning and zoning chairman Nick Nickelson, who replaced Roger Schwab who recently resigned, asked city administrator David Mayfield to call city attorney Dan Baldwin to the meeting.
Approximately 30 minutes later, Baldwin came into the meeting and immediately singled out Nickelson to join him in a private discussion in another room.
Mayfield and Fredrickson eventually joined them.
Five minutes later Fredrickson came back in the room to ask Yearout to join them.
At this point Katherine DeFillips, a Marion resident, asked Fredrickson if this was a public meeting, why was there a private meeting going on in the other room.
Fredrickson said he would check with Baldwin.
Approximately 10 minutes later all parties in the private meeting re-joined the public meeting.
Baldwin then said he had figured out the problem.
He said there was miscommunication between himself and Fredrickson. He continued that Fredrickson thought there was to be a vote, while Baldwin said it was supposed to be nothing more than a public meeting with discussion.
After nearly an hour of public discussion, while Markley remained seated in the crowd and Baldwin took Markley’s seat, the board approved a motion from board member J.B. Miesse.
The motion stated Baldwin will write language in the zoning regulations that allows for a towing and recovery company within city limits by applying for a conditional use permit.
The planning board then will take the motion and its recommendation to a future Marion City Council meeting.
Fredrickson said a future public planning commission meeting will take place at least 20 days after a notice is placed in the newspaper.