Talk to me

Communication was discussed at the last TC meeting and the council requested input from the community on this issue. One of the reasons I started writing this blog is because I think that communication is an issue in town, so it seemed appropriate for me to respond with my thoughts to the TC and I sent an email right away.

**An important side note--the Councilors have all been very receptive to receiving emails and as I've become more of a presence at meetings, they've been even more receptive.  I mention this because if you have an idea, I STRONGLY encourage you to send that along to the councilors.**

Mr. Zink replied to my email and shared the concern that although the council put it out there at the last meeting, they only received one reply. I don't mean to pick on Mr. Zink, but here's the problem as I see it. The council seems to think that if they ask for input in the course of a 2 or 3 hour meeting, then they have done due diligence and seem to throw their hands up with a "See, no one cares!" type of attitude. 

I have no idea what the viewership is for town meetings, but to expect that you will get a cross section of the community to tune in to TC, SB, Planning Board, ZBA etc meetings on a regular basis to stay informed is crazy. Who has that kind of time? Never mind the fact that these meetings aren't exactly great television (except for maybe the TC meetings). 

Maybe there was a time when you could walk into Joyce's Kitchen and get your local news (or gossip, as the case may be) but our town--and the world-- is different now. Our elected officials need to figure out how to get the information to people. 

It's clear to me that we need other forms of communication. 

I posted the question on the Finding Solutions FB page. People have different opinions about FB, but there are over 400 people on that site and it is one way to reach a lot of people quickly and allow those people to send a quick response. Over a dozen people replied to the question. While that number isn't earth shattering, it's a pretty good response (especially when you compare it to the number of people who responded to the council's request for input---one).

An improved website, Facebook, Twitter, flyers, a newsletter, email blasts and reliable news coverage are some of the ideas that were brought up.  If the goal is to improve the quality of information and engage as many citizens as possible, then the approach can't be one size fits all.