Wednesday, May 2, 2001
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Wednesday, May 2, 2001 |
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Students conduct 'council' meeting By
MONROE ROARK
Roles were reversed for an hour or so last week in council chambers at Fayetteville's City Hall, as some Fayette County High School students got to see what it can be like sitting in a city councilman's chair. A day-long visit to City Hall, with representatives from every city department sharing their knowledge with members of Peter Lewin's 12th-grade class, culminated with a mock City Council meeting that produced some tension and quite a few laughs. But the students' performances were lauded the next night at the real City Council workshop, as Mayor Ken Steele and City Manager Joe Morton praised them on their preparation and ability to think on their feet. "Some of these students really did their homework," said Steele. And there was plenty of homework to do. City officials were charged with selecting a relevant topic for the students to discuss, and with what some might consider a wicked sense of humor, they chose the recent Deer Pointe annexation request and development plan, one which brings with it nearly 15 years of history. Deer Pointe was originally conceived in the late 1980s as the Signa development, in which the applicants asked for about 2,500 residential units on some 900 acres on the western edge of the city. Their request was granted, but the property was later de-annexed by the state Legislature in a historic move and all of the City Council members that granted the annexation either resigned, were recalled or lost reelection bids within two years. The property was back in the news last year as a new annexation request was made, albeit with a far less dense development plan. That was put on hold, however, when a federal lawsuit against the previous property developers put the actual title of the land in question. The mayor condensed this history into a 15-minute briefing to the students before the council meeting. Steele and Councilman Larry Dell got to play the part of "citizens" in the audience as the student council members heard from other students in the roles of the applicant and various city staff members. After the applicant initially stated his case, the council methodically covered all of the bases, asking each department representative to state the pros and cons of the proposal and how it would affect various city services, from water and sewer service to police and fire protection. Ultimately, the students voted unanimously to approve the request.
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