Pahrump Town Board meetings continue to see higher than usual attendance of late and the March 10 meeting was no exception. One item that drew lengthy public comment and is being carried over until next Tuesday's meeting is a resolution to set rules on behavior during town meetings.

Resolution No. 2009-02 was introduced just before the controversial Pahrump Town Ordinance No. 43, regarding trash pickup and disposal (covered last Friday in the PVT).

The new resolution is refreshingly blunt. In just more than a page, it contains eight sections establishing "a policy and guidelines for rules of procedure at Pahrump Town Board Meetings."

In other words, this document could be called Pahrump's eight commandments. Extreme violations could bring down the wrath of criminal sanctions.

Most of the comments from the public centered around the resolutions' 15-minute limit on public comment. That is for everybody who wants to comment.

At three minutes per person, that means just five people would be able to speak. Also hotly contested was additional wording by Bill Dolan, who want attendees to fill out comment cards in order to address the board members.

With a line of residents stretching all the way down one side of the community center, it was obvious that those two sections of the document were not popular.

Board member Vicky Parker indicated the 15-minute stipulation was standard and many groups had the same rule, but she had never seen it enforced. Several residents questioned why the rule was in the document if was not going to be enforced.

Norma Jean Opatik said, "I understand this has been the standard language for a long time, but that doesn't mean it can't be changed.

"When the chairperson is allowed to cut off comment ... I believe that's arbitrary. We are a town that's growing. We are going to have many, many issues that need comments from your constituents. Give the item the necessary time that is required," Opatik concluded.

John Koenig agreed that 15 minutes was not long enough. He also had a strong opinion about the comment cards, saying, "Its one of the most onerous things the county commissioners have."

"It was said that the town is growing and people in Pahrump are taking more of their time to be here," Butch Clendenon said. "For the board not to allow comments appears to be squashing free speech. I would ask the board to give the item a second and allow public comment so the people can speak and then vote it down."

Donna Cox commented, "These rules all seem to apply to the audience, not to the members. A lot of the problems are not the audience but the way the meetings are run. We have the right to speak on everything because this is our tax money you are spending. Listen to the people and you will prevent a lot of their upsets."

Kelly Withers said, "I have seen the 15-minute limit imposed. It can be and it has been imposed. I have issues with filling out a public comment card. Things come up that you are not aware of. Comments come up that you do not know about.

"Comment cards take away our freedom of speech," said Withers.

"This is the USA," Jeff Weist said. "That makes Mrs. Shupp the dictator."

He also said that if pushed too far, all members of the audience would take a three-minute turn at the podium."

Pat Kerby voiced a similar thought: "Next time I go to a commissioners' meeting, I am filling out a card for each and every item, just in case I think of anything to say."

Dave Stevens lightened the tone of the meeting.

"I've been coming to every town meeting for five years," he said. "I see there are a lot of new people here. I want them to know that I have seniority here."

Larry Sanford said, "Now that we have close to 40 people here, 15 minutes is no longer a proper relation to the number of people in town."

One man also mentioned that he had attended a meeting in the Las Vegas area where the 15 minutes was split into the number of people who wanted to speak. He said each person had 30 seconds.

The town attorney strongly urged the board to table the resolution because of the addition of the comment card. He said the item was then not properly notified. Dolan preferred a vote be taken, but Shupp took the advice of the attorney and the board voted to continue the item until the March 24 meeting.