The Hamlet Town Council has signed onto an agreement outlining how the communities of the Constellation of Starke region will work together going forward, but not without some questions about the legality of some of its provisions. The inter-local agreement covers the relationship of the region’s member units during the application phase. If the region is designated a Stellar Community, it would also cover the construction and initial implementation phase lasting from 2020 to 2025.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Council President Dave Kesvormas questioned whether they could legally approve an agreement that extends beyond their four-year terms. “I agree that we should do this, but I don’t think it should be for a five-year plan,” he said. “I think it should be year-to-year or biannually or something like that.”
Clerk-Treasurer Kristina Pitts, who serves as the town’s representative on the Constellation of Starke Executive Committee, said the agreement was most likely based off of the Stellar Communities program’s requirements.
Since there was no money involved, Town Attorney Martin Bedrock didn’t think there would be any issues about binding future councils to the agreement, but he did have concerns with some language that he considered to be a bit vague. “You know, it says, ‘We adopt a team goal of making the COS region vibrant, engaged, and growing.’ What does that mean?” Bedrock asked.
Bedrock was also concerned about a provision saying that “routine construction matters” wouldn’t require a formal public meeting. He advised Pitts to oppose anything that isn’t done in public.
Council members ended up approving the inter-local agreement unanimously, but Kesvormas asked that the concerns be noted in the meeting minutes.
