Delegation unanimously approves four House local bills, including Wedding Cake Mountain pathway and local appropriations

The ROTA legislative delegation met March 4 and unanimously approved four House local bills, the chair said, moving the measures forward for local implementation and municipal administration.

Representative Fogel, the floor leader, introduced the first measure, House Local Bill 24-42, to amend the Wedding Cake Mountain Conservation Area and authorize the mayor of ROTA to plan, construct and maintain a pedestrian pathway and access to the grotto and to take actions necessary to qualify for federal grants. The delegation took a roll call on the motion; the clerk announced, “all 4 members voted yes,” and the bill passed.

The delegation next passed House Local Bill 24-43, which establishes docking and watercraft fees for a Derby event covering west and east docks and permitting vessels from kayaks to jet skis, exempts bona fide residents and educational activities, sets penalties for violations and directs that collected revenues be allocated for conservation and community programs. The vote was unanimous.

Representative Fogel then moved House Local Bill 24-51, appropriating $20,000 for the ROTA aging program and the ROTA DCCA Flame Tree Arts. After a roll call the clerk reported four yes votes and the bill passed.

Finally the delegation considered House Local Bill 24-49, an appropriation measure originally set at $99,625 for medical subsistence, municipal scholarships and operations. Representative Fogel offered an amendment to add $4,000 to the medical subsistence allocation (raising it to $24,000), provide $60,000 in expenditure authority to the mayor for sports-facility upgrades, allocate $5,000 for dog-control program training and operations, provide funds to the nonprofit Luta for community needs with expenditure authority to the organization’s president, and leave $9,625 for municipal scholarships. The amendment increased the total appropriation to $103,625. The amendment passed on a 4-0 roll call and the main motion as amended also passed 4-0, the clerk said.

Clerk Francis Joan Kaipat conducted roll calls for each bill and announced the unanimous tallies. No member recorded a dissenting vote during the session.

What’s next: the measures passed by the delegation authorize the mayor and specified local offices to carry out planning, appropriation and implementation steps; members did not schedule further committee hearings on these items during the session. The delegation adjourned at 3:06 p.m.