Leary: I can count

At tonight’s city commission meeting, just four weeks after approving a new ordinance creating a franchise system and regulations to replace the $80-a-year permit system for horse-drawn carriages, the St. Augustine commission advanced to second reading and public hearing, two new ordinances that may amend it.

Three amendatory ordinances came before the commissioners — two advanced, one with changes, the other failed for lack of a motion to approve.

St. Augustine City Commissioner Bill Leary said that, “to my way of thinking, this process is backwards” — referring to limitations on making changes to proposed ordinances after commissioners have a chance to hear public comment at second reading. If “substantive changes” are made to the language of a proposed ordinance after public comment, the changes are incorporated; then the revised ordinance comes back to the commission for a first reading two weeks later — restarting the entire process.

He was describing the situation at the April 11th meeting, when, after 2 hours and 22 minutes of public comment and commissioner debate, testimony from two attorneys representing the current carriage operator and two attorneys representing the city, the controversial new carriage ordinance was approved on a 3-2 split vote.

Leary and City Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline voted against approval of the carriage ordinance last month; expressing concerns over various parts of the language contained in it. The ordinance was approved over their objections.

Ordinance 2011-05 proposed changing the term of the new franchise agreements from an initial term of 5 years to an extended term of 20 years. After discussion, a compromise was reached to extend the term to 10 years. The ordinance was advanced to second reading and public hearing.

Ordinance 2011-06 proposed an objective approval process to allow anyone who meets the established criteria to receive a carriage permit through assignment or transfer from a franchise holder. Four commissioners expressed various concerns about creating a “secondary market” for the re-sale of carriage franchises — Vice Mayor Freeman remarking that the City has been in court for the past ten years because of issues over the sale of carriage permits in the secondary market.

When discussion on the motion came around to Leary, who supports the idea, he remarked, “I can count” — seeing that there was no other support on the commission for an option to allow franchisees to sell or assign their franchise rights without coming back through the commission.

Leary withdrew his motion saying, “I don’t have the votes on this one.”

Also advanced was Ordinance 2011-07 which could eliminate the 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. “siesta”. Bed and Breakfast operators and others in the carriage industry have been vocal about the hardship such a ban would impose. Before the meeting, Leary expressed hope that the ban could be lifted — observing that the hourly closing of the Bridge of Lions causes more congestion than the carriages operating at that time of day. The proposed ordinance passed on first reading unanimously and was advanced to second reading and public hearing in two weeks.

After the meeting, Leary remarked, “All in all, not bad”.

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News staff photographer