Flomaton officials spent part of the town council’s July 13 meeting debating how the public forum should work, after a resident’s complaint about grass clippings washing into storm drains reopened a broader conversation about who gets to speak at council meetings and for how long.
Gloria Grace told council members that grass clippings from mowing were ending up in the road and eventually in the town’s drainage system, where they can clog pipes. Her comments prompted Councilman Alex Bradley to acknowledge that Flomaton has had recurring problems with grass cutting, and he suggested residents be allowed to speak for three minutes during the public forum without first having to call in to get on the agenda.
That idea ran into the town’s existing rules. Mayor Arthur Odom reminded the council that Flomaton adopted an ordinance in 2025 stating that “no member shall speak more than twice on the same subject without permission from the presiding officer.” The ordinance also requires anyone who wants to address the council to submit a written request to the city clerk by noon on the Friday before the meeting, spelling out the specific comment, question or concern to be raised.
Odom told those in the audience that the council does want to hear residents’ concerns, but said the three-minute time limit and the requirement to call ahead to be placed on the agenda still apply.
Not every council member is convinced the forum needs to exist in its current form. Councilman Roger Adkinson argued that state law does not require towns to hold a public forum during council meetings, and said residents with concerns should instead call their council representative directly.
“This is the council’s business meeting,” Adkinson said. “We are the only ones who should talk. A lot of towns don’t have public forums.”
Adkinson noted that Flomaton once held two public forums at a single meeting, one at the start and one at the end. “That’s ridiculous,” he said, adding that residents’ concerns should instead go to their individual council members.
Odom countered that not everyone in town knows who their council representative is, underscoring the divide on the issue. Councilwoman Kay Wagner said residents need to be able to come before the council and be heard directly.
Odom estimated that 90 percent of the concerns raised during public forums could be resolved with a phone call rather than aired publicly, but said the council still needs clear rules to follow. “We need to have rules to go by,” he said. “We want to hear what you want to say, the good the bad or the ugly.”
Flomaton, a small town in Escambia County near the Alabama-Florida line, holds a public forum period as part of its regular council meetings, a practice common among municipalities even though, as Adkinson pointed out, it is not required under Alabama law.
In other business, the council:
- Approved Amber Silbernagel, Diana Bondurant, Millie Murphy, John Sansom and Gloria Grace to serve on the town’s beautification committee.
- Heard from Justin Jordan that “Flomaton Freedom Night” will be held Saturday, July 25, beginning at 6 p.m. at the gazebo next to the post office at 417 Palafox St. The event will include giveaways, food, worship and baptism, with music and entertainment provided by McCullough Christian Center. For more information, call 251-302-8063.