Silver Bay City Council: Officials Take The Oath Of Office

The Silver Bay Coun­cil held their annual meeting on Monday night, January 6th. Mayor Wade LeBlanc and Council members Ben Bautch and new­ly elected member James Fitzgerald, each took the oath of office. Council member Rich­ard DeRosier will, once again, be desig­nated Acting Mayor in the event that LeBlanc has to step away from those responsibilities. Additionally, newly hired police officer Joshua Collotzi was sworn into his position on the Silver Bay Po­lice Force.

As is typical of the year’s first Council meeting, much of the proceedings were pro­cedural, for example, establishing the North Shore Journal as the official legal newspa­per, designating offi­cial depositories and acknowledging Board, Commission and Committee assign­ments for the coming year.

The Council has been working to develop guidelines for public comments during city meetings. Most mu­nicipalities have rules to govern public con­duct at official meet­ings. The purpose of these guidelines is to preserve the public’s right to make com­ments and ask ques­tions of their elected officials and to keep debate to a minimum. City Council meetings are action meetings where the Council is taking recommenda­tions from specific Committees and Com­missions and discuss­ing and voting, based on those recommen­dations. Residents are reminded that one of the best ways to learn about city initiatives and have a say in the decision making pro­cess is to get involved in City Committees and Commissions.

The Guidelines for Public Comments are as follows:

The Silver Bay City Council recognizes the value of opinions and ideas brought forth by members of the public. The Council desires to provide op­portunity for such in­put during meetings of the City Council and City Boards, Commis­sions and Committees (“City Meetings”).

• Those wishing to speak at City Meetings must sign in on the sheet provided before the meeting. They must provide their name, address and the matter on which they wish to speak.
• Public comments must be relevant to an existing City issue as de­termined by the Council President or Chairperson of the Board, Com­mission or Com­mittee.
• If several members of the public wish to speak on the same subject, the Council President or Chairperson may assign one person as spokes­person.
• If a member of the public wishes to provide handouts at the City Meet­ing, copies must be provided to the City Administrator for review prior to the meeting.
• Public comment is also accepted in written form via email to the City Administrator, Lana Fralich at: lanaf@silverbay.com or delivered to City Hall, 7 Davis Drive, Silver Bay, MN 55614. Written comments will not be read aloud but will be included in the City Meeting record. Written comments received by the City are considered public data under Minn. Stat. Sec. 13.03, and subject to disclosure upon proper request.
• There will be no questions or debate allowed during the period of public com­ment, nor is the Council, Board, Commission or Committee obli­gated to respond in any way.
• Individuals dis­playing disruptive behavior at any time during a City Meeting such as interrupting other speakers, speaking while another in­dividual is speak­ing, speaking out loud after pub­lic comment has closed, personal attacks, improper comments, pro­fanity, threats of violence or other offensive behavior may be removed from the Council Chambers by law enforcement at the request of the Council President or Chairperson of the Board, Com­mission or Com­mittee.
• Use of public comments for political campaigns is prohibited.
• Public speakers must follow the attached Rules of Civility.

The Rules of Civility are as follows:

During City Meetings, all present shall:

• Preserve safety and order.
• Listen to others respectfully and not interrupt those who are speaking.
• Not block the audience or camera from viewing the proceedings.
• Not engage in behavior that will disrupt, disturb or otherwise impede the orderly conduct of the meeting including, but not limited to, talking out loud, heckling, whistling, yelling, raised voices and other similar demonstrations.
• Not use profanity, obscene language or gestures that harass, threaten, disrupt, disturb, intimidate meeting participants or Council, Board Commission or Committee members.
• Not use physical force of any kind. Physical force includes but is not limited to: grabbing, pushing, slapping, punching, kicking or otherwise striking the body of another or an object attached to another’s body.

It is reported that one of the two furnaces that are operated at North Shore Mining will be taken off line for the first quarter of the year. We will keep the public updated on this as more information becomes available.

The next Silver Bay Council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 21st at 7:00. City offices will be closed on the 20th in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday.