It wasn’t pretty. Mayor Terry Bellamy had added to the agenda a discussion of nuclear waste transport. Instead of a staff report, the supporting documents contained one-sided hype. The word “radioactivity†was used as a bad word in and of itself. No mention was made of toxicological implications from a defective Transportation, Aging, and Disposal canister. The public was supposed to be frightened to know “radiation†was being emitted.
Dr. Carl Mumpower asked to be excused before the discussion, as there would be no vote. Then, after a presentation by the advocates, Robin Cape moved to adopt the ordinance proposed by the group. With legal boilerplate, the ordinance outlawed the possession or transport of spent nuclear fuel or high-level nuclear waste in the City of Asheville.
City Attorney Bob Oast volunteered that such an ordinance would likely be unenforceable, as laws governing the transport of nuclear waste are mostly federal, with powers to override local legislation. Cape wanted to approve the ordinance, anyway. Holly Jones seconded her motion. The mayor tried to talk them down. Cape argued that going to court (not necessarily defending the city) was Oast’s “bread and butter.†Seeing the measure was about to lose, Cape withdrew her motion and moved to pass a resolution, which Oast would have had to research. Jones seconded. The others on council remained silent. They were careful not to move their heads when the mayor asked for four nods to give Oast the go-ahead.
The room was packed with activists wearing no-nukes stickers. They had come to protest, but they would not be allowed to talk without a motion on the floor. They nonetheless cheered and scoffed as they saw fit in spite of the mayor’s requests to respect the decorum of the chambers. Brownie Newman and Bill Russell argued that council had only been presented with one side of the story. Newman, a staunch environmentalist, said transporting waste through Asheville could be the greenest option, but he needed to see data.
As those in the audience protested the stonewalling, Bellamy asked if council wanted to waive the rules to let them speak. Her request for four nods was met with another stonewall. The protesters were dismissed.
When public comment was permitted on the next agenda item, somebody who came to protest the protesters spoke over Bellamy and Cape’s requests that he be hushed after a room full of people had been forbidden to speak. The mayor adjourned the meeting, and then a man in the back asked if the customary public comment section was not going to occur. The mayor un-adjourned the meeting to let him speak. This man also wanted to protest the protesters. It is against the rules to speak on a subject on the agenda at the end of the meeting. Newman wanted to hear the man, stating the rule should only forbid public comment on matters previously opened for public comment. Bellamy asked if council was willing to waive the rules. A brouhaha broke out on council. Russell seized command, stating Newman’s idea was good, but it was not fair to all those dismissed to change the rules then. His peers agreed, but the man kept talking. Bellamy offered to talk to him separately, and the meeting was adjourned.
