CITY OF FLORISSANT SEWER BACKUP SUPPORT AND RESOURCE FAIR NOV....
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Florissant Council Updates City Code on ‘Family’ Definition
City Cable Access Show Off the Air—For Now
By Carol Arnett
The Florissant City Council Monday night finally passed a bill that updates the definition of family in the city code and replaces it with a definition that includes such situations as families with foster children, nannies or those taking in relatives.
City Building Commissioner Phil Lum had sought the change earlier this year because the city code had two different definitions. He has previously told the council that city staff were concerned about situations where there was intentional deceit, such as when a family moved children into a house in order to attend a neighborhood schools.
When asked by a council member at a previous meeting, City Attorney John Hessel had told the council that he could defend the definition change in a court of law. The issue had been postponed and tabled a few times in order to the get the definition legally correct.
Council Action, a program on the Florissant Government Access channel in which a council member discusses the latest council meeting, is off the air. Councilwoman Karen McKay spoke at Monday’s council meeting and said she was disappointed that it will no longer be filmed.
McKay said that the council had recently received a memo from Mayor Tom Schneider saying the program was cancelled. “I consider this a form of censorship,” she said. She noted that it is the only program on the Government Access channel that the council has. McKay further noted that Schneider participated in the program when he was a council member.
After the meeting, Schneider said that the program was not cancelled. He said it was “temporarily suspended to protect the city from an inadvertent breach of confidentiality.” He said that the council meetings will continue to be broadcast. “Hopefully, it won’t last long,” Schneider said of the removal of Council Action.
In other matters , the council passed several bills. They passed two bills to fund special elections, one for Schneider’s former council seat and the tie in Ward 6, and one to elect a new municipal judge, following the death of Judge Tim Kelly.
Councilman Tim Lee requested that the council table a bill dealing with salaries and overtime in the Public Works Department. Lee said he wanted more time to study the bill and he would like the council to discuss it at a work session.
The council also approved a full package liquor license for Dollar General Store at 20 Mullanphy Gardens Shopping Center.
