Oakland resident calls for resignation of town commissioners

Since the March municipal election and the subsequent re-appointment of Oakland Commissioner Sal Ramos to his former seat, Town Commission meetings in Oakland have been packed with residents wanting to have their voices heard. 

One of those is Anne Fulton, one of 13 applicants who qualified to fill the commission seat vacated by Ramos when he ran for mayor. 

During the public comment section of the April 23 Town Commission meeting, Fulton took her turn at the podium and called for each of the four commissioners to step down from their respective seats. 

“Tonight, I stand before you having been labeled a low human being (and) classless … such labels do not deter me,” Fulton said. “Instead, they strengthen my resolve to speak out. You, the gentlemen of the commission, have served our community for a combined total of (more than) 65 years. While your long service is commendable, it has, I fear, led to a complacency that we no longer can afford. … I am compelled to ask for your resignations — not out of malice but out of profound concern for our town.”

Fulton’s comments were met with applause from those in attendance, but the commissioners, including new Mayor Shane Taylor, did not respond. 

Briley Farms development

The other point of interest from the April 23 meeting was the presentation and public hearing on an ordinance to rezone and establish design and architectural standards for phase one of the Briley Farm development. 

Both members of the commission and public had questions for developers Briley Land Holdings LLC and Daniels Street Holdings LLC. Those included queries about public access to the lakefront, design styles of the properties aligning with the town’s aesthetic, mother-in-law suites versus multi-resident housing and the negative impacts of increased traffic in the area to current residents. 

Ultimately, with stipulations regarding design, a more rigid definition of mother-in-law suites — which aims to prevent the development of multi-resident properties — and other considerations, the commission approved the measure.

In other news

• Oakland Mayor Shane Taylor read three proclamations. The first declared the week of May 6 to 10 as Teacher Appreciation Week and Tuesday, May 7, as Teacher Appreciation Day. The second recognized Saturday, May 11, as World Migratory Bird Day in Oakland, and the last declared the week of May 11 to 16 as National Police Week, with Wednesday, May 15, as Peace Officers Memorial Day. 
• The Oakland Town Commission postponed two agenda items — both second public hearings on ordinances about the proposed Fourth Street Village development. Taylor cited a lack of time to review the documents associated with the two ordinances as the reasoning.
• Oakland will begin testing materials to help prevent dust from rising on two dirt roads in the town. This first step is to understand how well the material will work, while also determining the manner by which the material is best applied to the town’s dirt roads. 
• Taylor swore in two new members to the Town of Oakland Planning and Zoning Board. Matt Sutton will serve as a regular board member, while Kris Keller was named an alternate member.