Many attendees at Tuesday night's Pahrump Town Board meeting were there to protest having to fill out public comment cards in order to speak on subjects brought before the board.

They won.

Resolution 2009-02, to establish a policy and guidelines for rules of procedure at the meetings, was carried over from the March 10 meeting on advice from acting town attorney Bret Meich.

Meich said the item required additional public notice because board member Bill Dolan added the comment card requirement to the resolution during the meeting.

At Tuesday's meeting, Dolan's change was included in the resolution, stating: "Individuals who wish to speak must first fill out a comment card listing their name and the subject they wish to speak about."

To the obvious surprise of residents who were lining up at the podium to comment, Dolan asked for his addition to be removed from the document.

At the end of public comment, the resolution passed 3-2, with Mike Darby and Frank Maurizo voting against passage.

With the requirement for a comment card eliminated, points of disagreement between the board and the residents it represents focused on limiting the amount of time for public comment.

The resolution said, "Public comment may be limited by the chairperson to 15 minutes, subject to being overruled by a majority vote of the board."

Another section said the chairman has discretion to limit public comment for a particular member of the pubic or for a particular agenda item.

Nancy Lord, attorney for Concerned Citizens for a Safe Community, said the section stating the chairman could determine the time allocated for a particular member of the public could be unconstitutional, even though the board could overrule the chairman's decision by a majority vote.

After listening to a number of residents' concerns, Maurizio said he was uncomfortable with sections of the document. Darby voiced concern over the constitutionality of "singling out someone."

It was past 10 p.m. when Norma Jean Opatik voiced an opinion that resonated with many in attendance: "I have been here since after work today."

She added, "I also am on a board, and we limit public comment to three minutes. We have never cut comment off in 15 minutes, but the county commissioners used the rule at their last meeting. I respectfully request you remove the time limit."

The time limit stayed in the resolution, but Campbell pointed out the board could overrule the chairman and extend the allotted time. Chairman Nicole Shupp pointed out that the rule had never been invoked at a town board meeting.

Harley Kulkin thanked the board for its consideration. "In these trying times, people are more frustrated because they are not being listened to by the government. The board was more tolerant. I feel I was listened to tonight."