John Clark, chairman of the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC), appeared before the city commission to ask for the repeal of City Code 1975 Section 26-76 which prevents a committee member petitioning the city for funds for economic development if that member remains on the committee and up to one year after. While Clark said he understood and agreed with the original intent of the section, he said it should not apply to the EDAC given the fact that members of other committees and boards, including the city commission, often recuse themselves from voting if there is a conflict of interest. The same standard should be applied to the EDAC. The EDAC is an advisory board. It has no direct control over the funding of economic development projects. It simply recommends projects to the city commission whose members approve or deny the request. According to Clark, preventing members of the EDAC from presenting economic proposals can prevent prominent business leaders in the community from joining the committee and using their expertise to decide on the best proposals. Going forward, should Section 26-76 be repealed, EDAC members who do have a proposal will, as a matter of custom and propriety, excuse themselves from any discussion and vote to recommend their proposal to the city commission. This issue has recently come to light because of a request from Kannarr Eye Care to expand their operations into the downtown area. Dr. Shane Kannarr is a member of the EDAC. The commission ultimately agreed and voted unanimously to repeal Section 26-76 from the city code.
Source: Morning Sun
