A Planning and Zoning commission appointment led to a question of social media concerns during the Providence Village Town Council’s Tuesday meeting.
While reappointing two members whose terms were up, one member, Rachel Tracy, was called into question for her comments about the town and council online.
Klayton Rutherford initially made a motion to reappoint both, though Mayor Linda Inman urged him to separate the motion.
“I have an issue with Rachel Tracy, with online comments that don’t represent the town well,” Inman said. “I would recommend doing it as a second vote.”
Council member Wes Dautrich, who seconded the original motion, asked for additional context.
“She’s complaining about water bills and [says] she doesn’t know what to do about it, [but] she’s on the P&Z,” Inman said. “She can ask Brian or myself at any time. She’s complained about things that are coming in for development and openly talks about how our council doesn’t make the decisions they should make. I feel a P&Z member who has access to anyone’s ear should come to us and speak to us before they go spouting online.” Dautrich asked if Tracy has written anything that “draws a red line” from an ethics standpoint. The mayor said the issue hadn’t reached that point.
Rutherford withdrew his motion and separated the two appointments, and, in Tracy’s case, the council discussed alternative action.
Council member Dustin Clay volunteered to discuss the matter with Tracy personally, though the mayor said there was no need for a formal action in that vein.
“If you want to talk to her on your own, you can,” Inman said. “It’s not about volunteering. You can talk to any prospective committee person on your own. You don’t have to volunteer to do that for all of us because we should all do that on our own. I’m going to reach out to her personally and let her know why I don’t think she’s a good fit and why I’ve brought this up.”
Council member Jeff Doramus asked if there was time to table the appointment without jeopardizing the commission's ability to have a quorum, while council member Kelly Nelson considered the possibility of appointing an alternate to Tracy’s seat and slotting Tracy in as an alternate.
“All the [boards] serve at the pleasure of the council,” City Manager Brian Roberson said. “Even though they are appointed to two-year terms, you can pull them out, put them in, pretty much whenever you want to. There does not have to be a reason.”
Earlier in the meeting, another citizen, Stephanie Burton approached the dais regarding her water bill.
“I have the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Roberson tomorrow,” Burton said. “We have an appointment, but I just thought I’d voice this in front of all of you as well. I have a very real, very bad concern over my water bill. We have received some water bills that are just astronomical.”
She explained that she’s invited city employees to come do meter reads with her present to get a better idea of what they are seeing.
“Even out of his own mouth, he suggested that the numbers were not conducive based on what was reading on the bill,” Burton said. “There is something happening with the water reads, and I know I’m not the only one. There are hundreds of posts out there for individuals in this community who are experiencing the same things I am.”
Inman assured her she and the council would have Roberson update them on the issue moving forward.
