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Council members debate revisiting downtown task force after public concern
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Summary
Council members split over whether to proceed with a nine-member downtown civic task force after public commenters and some council members urged a broader, professionally led public-engagement process; a motion was made to revisit the resolution but no vote was recorded.
Council discussion at the April 28 Boca Raton City Council meeting turned to how the city should select and run a downtown civic task force after residents said a small appointed body could exclude stakeholders.
Deputy Mayor Grau argued that everyone who signed the Save Boca petition "is a stakeholder and deserves a seat and a voice at the table," and said the task force approach risked creating division by limiting participation to a select few appointees. Grau urged letting a qualified planning firm leading the city’s RFP process run an inclusive engagement program of workshops, charrettes and online comment portals instead of relying primarily on a small task force.
Mayor Thompson defended the task force proposal as a different venue for public input, saying it would "have meetings that everyone is allowed to come and have an opportunity to provide feedback outside of a 3 minute public comment experience here," and that the task force could meet at various times to increase participation.
Council member Perlman moved to revisit the previously adopted resolution on the task force with a possible repeal, prompting a procedural response from City Attorney Koehler. Koehler advised that a city resolution "can be amended or repealed by the council" and emphasized that any reconsideration should follow due process, including public notice and an opportunity for community input.
The motion to revisit was made during the meeting but a vote on the motion was not recorded on the transcript. Councilmembers in the discussion said they would place any amendment or repeal back on a future agenda with adequate notice to allow public comment.
The mayor closed the item noting that if the council decided to pursue a change it should be done in compliance with due process.
The council did not take a final vote on the task force resolution during the meeting; council members said they expect any formal reconsideration to return with notice and opportunity for public input.
