File Photo By Walt Mares: The Clifton Town Council has changed its regular monthly meeting time to 2 p.m. from 7 p.m. That goes into effect this Thursday, Jan. 10. Here council members discuss another issue in this September 2018 file photo. From left are Laura Dorrell, Mayor Luis Montoya, Ray Lorenzo, Vice-Mayor Barbara Ahmann, and Barbara Reyes. Not pictured are council members Ray West and John Freida. The meeting time change was first discussed in November.
Council will meet at 2 p.m. beginning this week
By Walt Mares
CLIFTON – The Clifton Town Council has changed the time the council’s monthly meeting is held. The council will now meet at 2 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month at
The meeting change was first brought up during a council meeting in November. The change was finalized at the council’s December session. The meeting time goes into effect this month.
The January meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 10. All council meetings, including special sessions, are open to the public. Exceptions are when the council goes into executive session to discuss personnel and some legal matters.
Town Manager Heather Ruder said the meeting time was changed to hopefully allow more members of the public to attend. The change is particularly aimed to accommodate elderly citizens who prefer not to drive or be out at night.
At present, that is of particular concern as nighttime temperatures have been in the 40s and 50s.
Some sessions, depending on what was on the meeting agenda, have lasted until 9 p.m. or later.
“That’s kind of late for many of our elderly to be out and about,” said Mayor Luis Montoya. “The same goes for younger people who have to go to bed early because they have to be up early the next morning to be at work.”
At present, public attendance at most council meetings has been sparse at best. It has not been unusual for only six or seven people to attend.
“There are some issues that particularly concern those living on fixed incomes and that certainly includes our older residents,” Montoya said. “For example, one of them is the cost of sewer use fees. If the council is considering an increase, our elderly citizens have a better opportunity to attend daytime meetings to ask questions or air concerns.”
For information about council meetings call the Clifton Town Hall at 865-4146. The facility is open 7 a.m. – 5 p.m., Mondays – Thursdays. Meeting agendas are available to the public at least 24 hours before the meeting is held. Copies are available at Clifton Town Hall and are also posted at the U.S. Post Office in Clifton.
