After residential backlash, Cape Coral chooses not to go forward with meeting time changes

Cape Coral will keep regular meetings in the afternoon as a majority could not approve a swap to mornings, with council saying it could hinder community participation.

Councilmember Jessica Cosden introduced a city council start-time discussion on April 10 and got a majority consensus to continue work on changes.

The change would have shifted Wednesday's regular meeting times to 9 a.m. from 4:30 p.m. The city has at least two regular meetings where the council holds public hearings and votes on items.

Cosden previously said the change would make the city's regular meetings consistent with its Committee of the Whole meetings, which they have every other week, and truly make it a business meeting.

She also said it would help keep employees who participate during meetings from working overtime.

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Council and residents against change

A few residents spoke against the change before and during the meeting, with a notable dissent by former councilmember Kevin McGrail.

"I am very strongly opposed to this," he said.

Having been a resident of the city for more than 34 years, he said the morning meeting will be "adding a distance" between residents and the council.

"It is going to cause some real problems with the working families in Cape Coral and you students, the youth council, who won't be able to attend these meetings," McGrail said.

He recommends shifting staff hours to combat overtime concerns for those who attend the meetings.

Another resident, Dave Kalish, said only a "minimal" amount of people will see the benefit of this change.

"Most of the people are either working, or at doctor's appointments, so if you are looking for a way to get less people to come, I'll always be here," Kalish said.

Councilmember Dan Sheppard opposed the change after numerous residents expressed their opposition.

He also brought up the possibility of an important item brought to the council and residents not being able to attend because they were working.

"I don't want to make it difficult to be involved," Sheppard said.

Cosden maintained that her intention was not to hamper public participation.

Councilmember Keith Long supported the changes, saying they'll always get people who express displeasure when the council meets in the afternoon or morning.

The regular meeting changes for 2024 failed in a 4-4 vote, with Councilmembers Tom Hayden, Richard Carr, Sheppard, and Steinke in opposition.

Carr introduced the idea of alternating the regular meeting between mornings and afternoons, and Cosden made a motion to explore these changes for 2025.

However, several council members opposed the idea because of worries of "confusing" residents with the start times.

Cosden countered this by saying other Florida cities like Port St. Lucie have alternating times for their regular meetings.

The changes failed in a 5-3 vote, with Mayor John Gunter joining in the opposition.

Next meeting

Cape Coral will hold a regular meeting next week at 10:30 a.m., replacing the planned committee of the whole meeting.

Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral keeping regular meetings in the afternoon