A moment of compromise touched the divided community of Grover Beach on Sept. 23, as Mayor Karen Bright agreed to move public comment about items not on the agenda back to the start of meetings—but that comment time will be limited to 15 minutes.

During the City Council meeting, Bright said that after a long deliberation process and many upset community members, it was time to return the public comment to the beginning of the meeting.

"I talked to a lot of people outside of the council environment, and I came to the conclusion," she told New Times. "Public comment has always been very important to me, it's one of the reasons why I got involved in local politics in the first place, and it has also been a huge influence on how I think about different aspects of our city and how we move forward."

During its July 22 meeting, the council decided to move public comment for items not on the agenda to the end of the meeting, as the number of people who wanted to speak had increased and the council would run out of time for agenda items.

"I just felt that 15 minutes [is fair] I'm just going to manage it better, but if one person is able to speak that maybe wouldn't be able to due to having to wait till the end of the meeting, it would be worthwhile," Bright said.

Brenda Auer, a member of Grover H2O and who often speaks during public comment for items not on the agenda, thanked Bright for moving public comment back.

"I think it's really important for seniors, people like myself, that have a hard time sitting for two or two and a half hours," she said.

Bright said this change will begin at the council's next meeting. Δ