When the mayor’s proposal to block off City Hall and create a “pedestrian plaza” first was put out for public comment, I began receiving calls and emails from many citizens, especially the elderly, disabled, and church parishioners, who felt the proposal was not a good idea.
I began collecting signatures to present a petition to the City Council, asking them to restore Court Square to how it existed before the Jersey barriers were erected, removing direct access by car to City Hall. I gathered well over 300 signatures, and I’m still running into people who want to sign. I want to make it clear that this was not a referendum petition. It was submitted under section 7-6 (b) of our City Charter, which allows 100 voters to file a “Group Petition” requiring the City Council to hold a public hearing and “take such action…as may be deemed necessary and advisable.”
Because the city lawyer narrowly wrote an opinion that the mayor controls “day-to-day use and operation of public ways,” the City Council did not support the petition but there were a number of other helpful responses the council could have made:
■The council could have forwarded our petition to the mayor stating that it presented evidence of the serious concerns of constituents that closing off Court Square was an inconvenience to the public access to City Hall.
■Could have asked the mayor to respond to the petition publicly, since the residents who signed the petition were giving the city their reaction to the plan that the mayor said was out for public comment.
■Rejected the idea of removing the barriers immediately, but asked the mayor to tell the council her response to the petition, and what ideas she had for addressing the needs of the elderly and disabled who pay their tax bills directly at City Hall, etc.
■Asked the mayor to consider closing Court Square only on weekends when City Hall is closed, during April to November.
The Charter gives the Council broad latitude to “take such action … as may be deemed necessary and advisable.” They can do much more than simply accept or reject a group petition.
I think the people who signed this petition wanted the City Council to take some “action,” rather than just rejecting the petition and moving on to other business — especially when sevral councilors stated their preference for returning Court Square to its previous state. Our legislature has the power to communicate with the mayor, to lobby the mayor for what they want. It struck me as unresponsive,and somewhat unimaginative, to say to citizens: “It’s up to the mayor, our hands are tied.”
Their hands are not tied. I have suggested some ways the council could engage with the mayor on this issue, without being diverted by a narrow legal view of what they can, or cannot do. I will continue to lobby the mayor to be more flexible in her plans, and to address the concerns of her constituents.
Donna Festinger is a registered voter in Greenfield.