By Stephen Kindland
Staff writer
GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The general public will get three opportunities to provide input on whether the county’s Charter Review Commission should place amendments on this year’s general elections ballot concerning legalized gambling and new requirements for citizen petitioning.
The commission voted 8-5 during a meeting held on Monday, March 15 to tentatively add a ballot amendment that would allow voters to decide whether gambling should be made legal in Clay County "if and when" state legislators vote to legalize gambling statewide. Should Clay County voters decide to keep gambling illegal in their county, the result would override the new state law, should it be enacted.
In a written notice to fellow CRC members, Helen Mohorich said her proposal to place the gambling issue as an amendment on the first pimary, special or general elections ballot following legalization of gambling – should that occur -- was not intended to convey her personal view on the issue.
Voters should be the ones to make that decision, Mohorich told 12 of the CRC members who attended Monday’s meeting.
That decision followed an 8-4 vote to also place an amendment on the November general elections ballot that would change the number of signatures required on petitions initiated by private citizens.
The current requirement is 10 percent of the number of ballots cast during the most recent general election, but the proposed change would require 7 percent of the county’s registered voters and at least 2 percent of registered voters in each district.
Both issues will be discussed more thoroughly during each of three public hearings, which commission members hope will draw input from the general public. The hearings have not yet been scheduled, but the dates and times will be advertised.
Two citizens voiced their opinions on the petition issue at Monday’s meeting. Moody Avenue resident Durwood Smith and Marsha Willoughby of Middleburg spoke against the proposal, saying it only made the process more complicated for citizens.
Willoughby said the proposed amendment would "add another layer" to an already difficult petition procedure that nonetheless serves its purpose.
"The current citizens initiative process works," she said. "Why are you wasting time to change it?"
CRC member Tom Nazworth agreed.
"Why do we want to make it more difficult for the residents of Clay County?" he said. "They’re satisfied with the 10 percent. Let’s try to keep it simple."
But eight commission members thought otherwise after reaching a consensus that minimum representation should be included in each of the county’s five voting districts for a petition to qualify as a ballot amendment.
"I think that the people in Keystone Heights are just as important as the people in Orange Park," commission member Keith David said.
Either of the two proposed amendments could face changes – or even be dropped, if the CRC votes to do so -- after the public hearings are held.
Also on Monday, the CRC voted to form a five-person task force to look into the pros and cons of hiring an attorney to represent the commission, as opposed to using County Attorney Mark Scruby.
The issue came up after CRC members expressed concern about possible conflicts of interest because Scruby represents the Board of County Commissioners, which operates independently of the CRC but still can be affected by the CRC’s proposed amendments.
The task force meeting, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23 in conference room B of the county administration building, is open to the public.
CRC members need to submit ballot amendments to the BCC by July 27 -- 90 days before the November general elections.
March 18th 2010 - 1:36PM