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Resident objects to $2.2 million consent spending for Lindsey Davis Senior Center renovation
Summary
A resident asked the council to remove a $2.2 million expenditure from the consent agenda, saying such a large contract should not be handled as routine business; the consent agenda was adopted after debate and a recorded unanimous vote of council members present.
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. ' During public comment on Oct. 15, resident Jane Loosman urged the council to remove a $2.2 million expenditure for the Lindsey Davis Senior Center renovation from the consent agenda and place it on the regular agenda for fuller consideration.
Loosman told the council she supports rehabilitating the facility but argued that purchases in the millions of dollars are not "routine" and should not be bundled into a consent motion that typically covers routine matters without separate discussion.
"$2,200,000 expenditure is a lot of money. There's nothing routine about spending $2,200,000," Loosman said. "When you have anything over a couple hundred thousand dollars, that's not a routine matter."
Council members proceeded to call the question and the clerk recorded a unanimous vote of the members present to adopt the consent agenda. Staff and the chair noted one public comment card had been received on item 3c and that the public comment period for the consent item was closed.
Why it matters: Residents and advocates sometimes ask council members to remove high-dollar items from consent in order to permit public discussion and more detailed deliberation. The transcript records the resident request and the council's subsequent unanimous vote to approve the consent agenda.
