On Thursday, May 5 at 11 a.m., while most residents were at work, the City Council held a “Special Meeting” where they inserted themselves into the normal appeals process for a Special Use Permit which the Planning Commission had denied on two separate occasions. Instead of defending the Commission’s legitimate decision in court, they voted 4-1 to settle with the marijuana establishment so that it could operate in a building that is directly adjacent to four residential properties and extremely close to multiple family homes with young children.

But as disturbing as that decision may be, it’s not nearly as disturbing as the manner in which this meeting was called and conducted. The first public notice for this meeting was posted in City Hall at 4:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 4, 15 minutes before closing time. The notice for the meeting was not posted on the city website or its Facebook Page until almost 10 p.m. that night. In addition, the posted agenda included no time for public comment.

When residents woke up on Thursday morning they only had a couple hours to rearrange their schedules to attend the meeting. Once there, the five adults who were able to attend were instructed that they would only be allowed three minutes for public comment instead of the normal five minutes.

It’s hard to imagine any ethical reason why this meeting could not have been held later that evening or on the following day when residents could attend and address those representatives who are always talking about how transparency and public participation are such an important part of our democratic process. Instead, this entire meeting was overshadowed by a strange green haze that smelled a lot like dollar bills.

MATTHEW LEAVESLEY,

Alpena