CRESTVIEW — The City Council will meet at 6 p.m. tonight at city hall, 198 Wilson St. N.

Here is the meeting's agenda.

REGULAR AGENDA

1. Call to order

2. Invocation: Rev. Mark Dillman, Airport Road Church of Christ

Pledge of Allegiance

3. Open policy making and legislative session

4. Special presentations

Special presentations for years of service – Mayor David Cadle

•Cody McGovern – Utility office – 5 years

•Sabrina Studivant – Library – 5 years

•Thomas Sutton – Clerk's Office – 10 years

•Wayne Pitts – Public Services – 15 years

5. Approval of Minutes

a. Approval of the minutes from the May 26 and June 4 special meetings.

SPECIAL ITEM:

Reopening of tabled motion from 6.8.2015 meeting. A motion was made to disapprove Resolution 12-10 at the June 8, 2015. Another motion was made to table the resolution and was passed 3-2.

6. Public hearings

7. Public opportunity on council propositions

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview City Council meets tonight for policy making and legislation

CRESTVIEW — The City Council will meet4 p.m. June 22 at city hall,  198 Wilson St., N.

Here is the meeting's agenda.

WORKSHOP AGENDA:

1. Call to order

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Open policy making and legislative session

4. Public opportunity on council propositions

5. Discussion of fire assessment

6. Discussion of changes to Council Rules of Procedure – Resolution 15-12

7. Comments from the audience

8. Adjournment

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview City Council workshop agenda includes policy making, fire assessment discussion

CRESTVIEW — Wayne Harris’ June 12 announcement that he is resigning as the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce's president and CEO has the organization stepping up plans to find his successor sooner than expected.

Harris, who originally planned to resign in June 2016, said his campaign for state Rep. Matt Gaetz’s seat would distract him from his duties at North Okaloosa County’s largest business organization.

“If I intend to be successful in my House race, I need to be able to devote 100 percent of my efforts towards my campaign, and that would be truly unfair to the chamber, to the staff and more importantly, to the members,” Harris said in his resignation letter. “I believe it would be morally and professionally wrong do otherwise.”

NO RUSH

Chamber Chairman of the Board Alicia Booker said given Harris’ 15 years of experience and invaluable understanding of the organization’s culture, the board of directors will not rush to hire his successor.

“Because it’s such an important decision, we want to make sure we take our time and find the right candidate, so we’re not putting a deadline in place and limiting ourselves in that way,” Booker said.

Meanwhile, she said, it will be business as usual at the chamber of commerce. Office manager Valerie Lott and executive assistant Jennifer Pierce “will continue with day-to-day operations and, of course, they have the executive board to support them,” Booker said.

The board is forming a search committee, which, when seated, will then prepare a job description for Harris’ position, Booker said.

‘WE’RE GOOD’

“Wayne did such an outstanding job,” Booker said. “That is why it is so important that we have our criteria set and establish everything we want in a new president and CEO so we can fill the position with the appropriate person.”

“We’re good,” Chairman-elect Marian McBryde said. “Anything we do will be in the best interests of the chamber.”

Harris is using accumulated vacation time between his resignation announcement and June 30 departure, but “these will be working vacation days because … I don’t want to just walk away and leave things hanging," he said.

Harris said while he is gearing up to “take care of the foolishness that’s been going on in Tallahassee,” he will be “a phone call away” if chamber of commerce board members or office personnel need his expertise.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Chamber seeks new CEO; Harris leaving earlier than expected to focus on House run

CRESTVIEW — The City Council tabled an effort to again revise its Rules of Procedure after a previously approved revisions established a process for delivering invocations before meetings.

The actual revision under consideration at Monday’s council meeting would redefine its regular second monthly meeting as a workshop.

However, with multiple area clergymen and faithful packing the council chamber, councilmen requested more opportunity to consider the rules and possible revisions.

The council’s current Rules of Procedure were adopted in 2013. A revision later that year described how special meetings are called.

The rules were further revised at the May 11 meeting, adding a section mandating procedures for selecting area clergy to present the invocation traditionally offered prior to each meeting.

Until then, council members, some of whom are leaders in their respective churches, occasionally offered the invocation.

However, city attorney Jerry Miller advised the council members to refrain from offering the prayer following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that “under the establishment clause of the United States Constitution, a local government should not promote or  advance any one belief, view or religion.”

WORKSHOPS

City Clerk Betsy Roy said the tweak proposed Monday would help solve scheduling difficulties that sometimes arose when trying to set a date for workshops.

“There’s always workshops,” Roy said. “We’re going to try to have a workshop instead of a second meeting so when they (council members) come to council, the work will be done.”

Workshops allow council members to discuss and debate proposals and projects in detail in a public setting without taking time from regular council business meetings.

Council members do not vote during workshops, but Council President Shannon Hayes may ask for the other members’ consensus on a question.

Roy said a business meeting during which city policy can be voted on can easily be added on workshop days.

“If we have to have a resolution, it will be done as a special meeting right before the workshop,” she said.

OFF TOPIC

Though Council President Shannon Hayes tried to focus discussion on the workshop revision on the agenda, speakers from the audience and council members kept returning to the invocation issue.

"This resolution has nothing to do with the invocation," Roy said. "The reason the invocation is in there is because it was voted on at the May 11 meeting."

Councilman JB Whitten moved to not approve the resolution, then Councilman Mickey Rytman moved to table Whitten’s motion, effectively killing discussion of the rules.

 To revive the resolution, the matter will have to be placed on the agenda of a future council meeting, then voted off the table.

“At some time we have to discuss the invocation,” Whitten said. “I want to table it and give ourselves time to digest this.”

Mayor David Cadle told the council that at any time it may come back and revisit the controversial rule.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview council procedural rules contested by clergy, supporters

CRESTVIEW — Ray Bolden, candidate and absentee coordinator for the Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Office, announced   the candidates who have prefiled for the Okaloosa primaries in 2016.

They include Graham Fountain, Crestview, for the District 1 County Commission Board; Charles Cawthon and Tim Bryant, both of Crestview, for District 4 School Board; Marline Van Dyke, Niceville, for Superintendent of Schools; and Kelly Windes of Destin for the District 5 County Commission Board.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Three Crestview residents prefiled as 2016 Okaloosa primaries candidates