JC commissioners to discuss locked-door conference room

Johnson City commissioners said Monday they'll address concerns about public access to the city's locked-door conference room at the commission's work session Thursday. The commission's work sessions usually take place in the conference room, which is the meeting place for several other city boards. Concerns about the room, which is separated from the city hall lobby by a locked hallway, arose after the Johnson City Development Authority (JCDA) decided to move its board meetings to a more accessible location. Johnson City Vice Mayor Jenny Brock said she feels the conference room is accessible to the public but improvements should be made. "It is accessible, but we need to make it more conveniently accessible," Brock said. "It's certainly an issue, but it's workable." When asked if she'd support commission work sessions being moved to the commission chambers where the board's full meetings take place, Brock said, "We just have to work through the logistics of it." "I don't think there's any will not to do it, but we'll have to think through the security side of the issues on that and come up with something that works for everybody," Brock said. "We just have to make it more convenient for people to come." Commissioner Todd Fowler said he doesn't see security as an obstacle with holding work sessions in the commission chambers instead of the conference room, considering that the Johnson City police department is under the same roof. "We've got police in the building. I mean, the department is in that same building, next door to us," Fowler said. "We could have people up front and visitors come through the metal detectors if we needed to." "We can't deliberate except when we're in an open meeting, so everybody's always been welcome to come," Fowlers said. "So I'm not sure what the problem has been with the JCDA … when people on the JCDA can't even get into the meeting, there's a problem." Discussion of the JCDA moving its meeting location was prompted by one of the board's members who arrived to the board's meeting late Friday because she could not get into the locked hallway that separates the lobby and the conference room. "We need to either figure out a way to make it easier for them to get to the meeting when it's a public meeting to come in to that space, or move it up to the front," Fowler said. When asked if he'd support moving commission meetings out of the conference room, Commissioner Joe Wise said he was "confident" the commission would discuss this possibility at its work session. "I am aware of the issue Friday and am concerned that the issue occurred," Wise said. "I am confident the commission will take up this question in our work session Thursday." Wise also said public access to the commission's work session later this week "will not be an issue." Commissioner Whitney Goetz would also would not say whether she supported moving out of the conference room or not but said in an email to the Johnson City Press that she looks forward to discussing the issue. "This is not a matter the commission has discussed as a body at this time. I'm aware that several public boards utilize the administrative conference room, and I think it's important that we take a thoughtful approach when considering how and where public meetings and work sessions are held," Goetz said in the email. Johnson City Mayor Greg Cox did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Assistant City Manager Alicia Summers said in a statement Friday that city staff fully supports the JCDA's decision to change meeting locations and that improvements are underway to fix the faulty sign-in system in the city hall lobby. Going forward, Summers said staff will man the lobby ahead of public meetings and contact information will be provided for people who need to be let in after meetings start. She also said the doors within city hall will remain locked for security reasons. The city's work session is scheduled to take place Thursday at 1 p.m. in the administrative conference room at 601 E. Main St. An agenda has not yet been posted.