Battle Ground councilors vote to discuss meeting invocations
May 5-A majority of Battle Ground city councilors voted Monday night to reenter talks about bringing an invocation to their bimonthly meetings, less than an hour after the mayor delivered a National Day of Prayer proclamation.
The councilors briefly discussed adding invocations and agreed to revisit the matter in the weeks ahead. The conversation comes amid scrutiny of the council's relationship with Battle Ground developer and businessman Camden Spiller, whose religious ties were highlighted in a story by OPB.
"Since we had the proclamation read ... I thought maybe this would be a good time to maybe bring up this discussion," Councilor Victoria Ferrer said.
The proclamation marks May 7 as the National Day of Prayer, encouraging residents "to join with millions of Americans across this nation in observing this day through prayer, reflection, and participation in community gatherings of faith."
The proclamation cites George Washington's inaugural address in 1789, saying the president called "the new nation to prayer."
In that address, Washington did not use the word "prayer" but said: "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."
The proclamation further states "fostering a city where people of faith feel known, valued, and free requires more than tolerance. Faith and prayer are not private habits to be managed at the margins of civic life - they are the foundation upon which this nation's moral character was built, the place its people have returned to in every hour of genuine crisis, and the ground upon which self-government was always understood to stand."
The proclamation marks the first National Day of Prayer instituted by the city of Battle Ground, according to city staff. Deacon Becky Manning from Northwest Gospel Church accepted the proclamation.
Four Battle Ground residents spoke out against the proclamation and asked why the council would pass one for prayer but not one commemorating June's Pride Month.
In their discussion of adding an invocation to meetings, councilors asked how the change would occur under the city's process for modifying its governance coordination manual. The governance coordination manual is meant to guide procedure for city meetings to help them run "efficiently, fairly and uniformly," according to city records. Changes to the manual usually take place outside of public meetings until final approval by the city council.
Just over a year ago, now-Mayor Eric Overholser pitched incorporating a moment of silence into every council meeting. Overholser, a councilor at the time, sought the action as a nonreligious alternative to an invocation at the direction of city staff. A majority of the council at the time, however, was hesitant to add a moment of silence to the regular meeting agenda.
The city's acting attorney said Monday night that adding invocation to the council's meetings would need to be "studied carefully and implemented carefully."
The Clark County and Washougal councils have long had invocations as part of their meetings.
The religious discussions at the council meeting took place amid broader debate about Battle Ground's future and how it is being influenced by Spiller, who is the founder and CEO of Maddox Industrial Transformer.
Spiller has been buying businesses and developing properties across the city of Battle Ground for years now, including a new indoor farmers market and the building that houses Al & Ernie's bakery.
In an editorial with The Reflector earlier this year, Spiller said his family is investing in Battle Ground to make the city a better place to live and work, as a way to attract and retain employees and because he feels called to by his Christian faith.
The purchases, however, have made some in the community fearful the consolidation of land ownership could lead to Spiller and his Christian affiliates exerting their power and influence on the community and city government. Overholser, for instance, is an employee at Maddox Industrial Transformer.
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