The Common Council held its first, and historic, Community Meeting, allowing the public to speak on topics which concern them, and which might be able to be handled by the Common Council.
All the members of the Common Council attended, and the mayor presided as parliamentarian, and two citizens took the opportunity to stand and speak about their concerns.
The meeting took place in the Media Center of Woodrow Wilson Middle School (complete disclosure: it took me ten minutes, and several side journeys down unmarked corridors, to find the Media Center).
One resident complained about a neighbor dispute, and the other praised acting Police Chief Patrick McMahon, and urged the Common Council, after appropriate vetting, to select a good candidate, giving preference, if all things are equal, to the local candidate.
The meeting was adjourned after 25 minutes, longer than the 17 minute Board of Education meeting at Council chambers Tuesday night.
No truer display of the fact that the Common Council is delusional about their level of importance. The public is not interested in telling their problems to 12 polititians.
ReplyDeleteThe public simply wants stable taxes and safe neighborhoods. Don't you get that Council ?
I wonder if district or ward type representation on the common council could make this type of public input more energetic. somehow i'm not surprised that people did not show. or they may still be wandering around woodrow.. some of those hallways are pretty long.
ReplyDeleteI would like to publicly thank our elected officials for hosting Community Meetings. Their attendance is a true display of their commitment to Middletown, and her residents. These meetings where put in place, because of the change in how Common Council Meetings are held and the elimination of the the open public comment portion of the meeting.
ReplyDeleteIt might turn out that their time is better spent on other business of the city, but it is worth trying for six months or a year, before dismissing the idea out of hand. I plan to attend the Feb 9th Common Council community meeting. I would have been there last night, had I not been in Hartford, to hear one of the countries fore-most experts speak on how to create bicycle friendly communities. This is just one of many topics I would like to speak to the CC members about in coming months. I for one plan to take full advantage of these meetings. Again, I applaud the Common Council for their willingness to meet with the public for open discussion.
Robert, I agree with you.
They could have held the meeting in the spacious auditorium or the gym.
ReplyDeleteApparently it's more fun to make comments on the Eye rather than in person, where there is no place to hide.
P.S.- Those corridors have been there for decades. Seems the Middle School kids have no problem with them.
Do the politicians work for the tax payer’s or do the tax payer’s work for the politicians? They make it inconvenient for the tax payers to attend these meetings. What’s next, doing away with the meetings due to lack of interest.
ReplyDelete