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City staff removes open "community items" from board & commission agendas after open‑meetings concerns; commissioners push back
Summary
City staff said it will remove a recurring "community items of interest" agenda item from board and commission agendas to avoid open-meetings violations; commissioners objected and asked staff to provide regular updates in the meeting packet instead.
City of Lake Jackson staff told the Planning Commission the city will remove a recurring "community items of interest" agenda item from board and commission agendas, citing potential violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act when unscheduled discussions develop during public meetings.
Modesto Mundo, speaking for staff, said removing the open-item would reduce the risk of unintentional, substantive discussion that should be noticed in advance. "We're taking it off. Members, if there's anything that you'd like to discuss on the agenda, tell us, and we'll put that item on the agenda," Mundo said, adding that staff will continue to provide updates when commissioners request specific projects to be listed.
Several planning commissioners pushed back, saying the change would reduce informal updates they found valuable. Commissioners argued staff attendance at meetings had at times been inconsistent and asked for regular written updates. Mundo and other staff said they would instead publish a list of previously discussed planning projects each month and include the city manager's (Eddie) report and council updates in the packet so commissioners can ask about them at meetings if they have given staff advance notice.
Staff clarified the process for adding items: provide a specific item by mid-week (the presenter said "by Wednesday") to allow staff to place it on the posted agenda. Mundo said staff will continue to answer simple questions by phone but will not allow substantive, unscheduled deliberations during a public meeting. He also said the city will send packet materials and post updates online.
During discussion, commissioners requested recurring updates on previously approved planning projects, asked for more consistent staff presence, and suggested that some items such as a safe-exchange drop-off for police be reintroduced as specific agenda requests. Staff committed to listing previously discussed projects monthly in the packet and to include Eddie's update in meeting materials.
The change to remove the generic community-update item was announced as a staff policy change rather than a commission directive; staff said the intent is compliance with state law while still providing commissioners with the information they need if they request specific items ahead of meetings.
