The City Council welcomes your attendance and participation at its weekly meetings. The Audience Comments portion of the agenda is your opportunity to address City administrators and Councilmembers on items not listed on the agenda. Issues brought up during Audience Comments will not be directly responded to at the meeting, but may be scheduled for discussion on a future agenda or referred to a Council Committee. Please limit participation to three minutes.

Public Hearings:

• First and third Tuesdays
• 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (unless extended by Council)

A Public Hearing provides you a formal opportunity to give your views to the Council on the scheduled subject of the hearing. If you decided to speak, you must make your comments during the Public Hearing portion of the Agenda. You will need to sign in on the sign-up sheet that is available shortly before the meeting begins. You will be called to speak in the order in which you sign in. To accommodate all speakers, the Mayor may limit the amount of time permitted each speaker.

When you speak during a Hearing, Councilmembers, staff, and the audience will remain silent. After the last person has spoken, the Hearing is closed. The Council then discusses the issue and will often make a decision at that time. The audience may not comment during the Council's deliberation, unless a Councilmember requests more information from a citizen.

If previous speakers have already made the comment(s) you wish to make, you may simply identify yourself and indicate your agreement with what has already been said.

You are also encouraged to submit your written comments on the subject to the City Clerk so they can be included in the record and distributed to the Council. The deadline for submitting information to the City Clerk is one week before the Council meeting and hearing.

When you speak to the Council:

• step up to the lectern,
• adjust the microphone so you can speak into it clearly, and
• for the record give your name, City you live in, and group affiliation, if appropriate.

Suggestions for a precise, well-organized presentation:

1. Make your point - What is the idea you wish to present? Begin with an "I" statement that outlines your idea, such as, "I am here to (support/oppose)…"
2. Give the reason why you are making the point - This is an important step so listeners do not make assumptions about your motives.
3. Provide an example - Be brief and relevant to clarify and make your point concrete.
4. Summarize - What condition will change or improve if your suggestion is adopted?
5. State desired action (if appropriate) - What needs to be done and who will do it?

Executive Sessions:

• Scheduled as necessary
• Not open to the public.

Confidential matters, such as the purchase of land, personnel matters, and advice from legal counsel on litigation, are discussed in Executive Sessions.

Public Access:

• Parking and meeting rooms are accessible for persons with disabilities. Contact the City Clerk at (425) 771-0245 with 24 hours advance notice for special accommodations.
• Council agendas appear on Comcast Cable, channel 21 and Frontier Cable, channel 39.