GLENDALE : Switch to Evening Meetings Expected

It might have sparked debate just a few years ago, but a plan to switch the meetings of the Glendale City Council from Tuesday afternoons to evenings seems to be going through without a hitch.

Council members expect to adopt an ordinance soon changing the meeting time from 2 to 6 p.m. Attendance at the weekly meetings is typically sparse and supporters of the change say city government would be more accessible to those with daytime jobs--though no great increase in attendance is expected.

“This is not a contest to say, ‘What time of day can we pack the most people into the City Hall chambers?’ ” said Councilwoman Eileen Givens, who has advocated evening meetings since she was elected in 1991. “It’s a decision to make the meetings more available to more people, if they choose to come down here.”

In 1992, Givens asked City Manager David Ramsay to survey Southern California cities similar in size to Glendale and determine how many televised council meetings and how many held night meetings. But the discussion fizzled over protests on the cost of televising meetings; night meetings were never formally broached.

Since then, however, three new council members were elected and a cable broadcasting system has been installed in the council chambers. Council members are now unanimous in wanting to follow the trend set in recent years by other cities. Of 12 area cities comparable in size to Glendale, 10 hold council meetings in the evening, Ramsay said.

Under the proposed changes, the council’s Tuesday routine: Study sessions, if needed, would begin at 1 p.m.; closed sessions, if needed, would be held at 3 p.m.; the redevelopment agency meeting would begin at 4:30 p.m., and after a dinner break, the council meeting would begin at 6 p.m.

A second ordinance that would move oral communications--during which the public can speak on any subject--to the beginning of the meeting is also expected to be adopted.

Not everyone is happy about the change, including some of the five to 10 people who diligently attend the Tuesday meetings, some of whom are seniors. “I wouldn’t go if it’s at night. I just don’t think it’s safe to drive at night,” said Elyn Bizaillion, 83, who has been attending meetings since the late 1960s.