Community Impact reports that following two unanimous votes by the Conroe City
Council on May 14th, local residents will now have more time to speak during the meetings and organizers of downtown events are receiving a break temporarily on street closure fees.
The decision came during the first regular session with newly joined councilmembers Kristin Hoisington, Ken Blevins and John Sellars in attendance. The two items had caused frustration for months from business owners, downtown event supporters and local residents.
There was a unanimous council vote to change its 2024-26 procedural rules to let residents speak on both agenda and non-agenda items at the beginning of public meetings. This is a turnaround from a rule from January 2025 that allowed comments only on agenda items.
While a 30-minute cap for citizen inquiries on an agenda item was originally listed, councilmembers talked about allowing residents more time if needed. On a case-by-case basis, the council agreed to allow up to a maximum of one hour for public comment.
Councilmember Hairel passed along that he was not in opposition to extending the time of letting the speakers have five minutes as opposed to three. Sellars said he did not want to limit discussion but rather have the council have discretion depending on the meeting at hand.
While council and staff would continue working on a revised pricing model, the council unanimously voted to restore street closure fees and related requirements on a temporary basis to where they were on November 13th. The vote causes a $500 nonrefundable application fee approved January 22nd for events that close streets, restrict access or disrupt normal traffic flow to be walked back. The original price was $35 and is at present reinstated.
Downtown, the fee had become an arguable point. The cost, according to residents and business owners, along with insurance and timing requirements, caused smaller markets and community events harder to stay operational.
