Official calls for informal community meetings

PHOENIXVILLE >> Following a meeting in which borough council was “blindsided” by community opposition to an agenda item, council Vice President Dana Dugan says she wants officials to be more available to constituents outside of public meetings.

At its last meeting of the year, two business owners and two residents came before council to oppose scheduling community events on Saturdays. Holding events like the Food Truck Festival, which was up for approval that evening, on a Saturday negatively effects their business and causes parking difficulties, they said. They would prefer events be moved to Sunday when more

businesses are closed and there is less foot traffic in the borough. Council later sent the festival’s scheduling date back to the parks and recreation committee for further consideration.

The comments “blindsided” members of council, Dugan said Tuesday, since many were unaware of the concerns before the meeting began.

“When I talk to people they say that they’re afraid to speak in public,” she said. “They’ve got a fear of public speaking, so they don’t come to the meetings very frequently, or they don’t speak when they’re here.”

Hoping to avoid a similar situation in the future, Dugan proposed holding a “community outreach open house” where people could meet with council members and discuss concerns or ideas in a more relaxed, informal setting.

“It wouldn’t require staff or anything,” she said. “It would just be kind of office hours for the council.”

While council members are free to meet as a group outside of public meetings, if there was a quorum, Solicitor Charles Garner cautioned Dugan about the ground rules of who would be allowed to speak during these proposed meetings.

“Your discussion wouldn’t be among yourselves,” he said. “So you’d be listening to the folks. You wouldn’t be discussing or deliberating among yourselves. It’s very difficult to do because the tendency is to want to talk among the council.”

It would be easier for Dugan or another council member to meet one-on-one with a community member or a small group of people,

since it wouldn’t be a public meeting that requires advertisement under the law.

“I was just thinking more of a public service,” Dugan said. “People could come out and speak to us and didn’t have to come up to the microphone because a lot of people have a fear of that. That’s something that I think keeps people from giving us information. I mean someone was in tears last month. I just feel like we should have known more.”

Councilman Michael Kuznar supported Dugan’s suggestion saying for many people standing at the podium

speaking during the public meeting can be intimidating. While council members are always available by phone, email or through social media, a face-to-face chat could offer something extra.

“Generally when someone is there to address council, they’re there for a very serious issue,” he said. “Usually they do email us before if it’s serious or call. But when they want to address us as a whole, it’s a pretty serious issue.”

After their comment, some people question whether they’ve been heard, he said.

“We don’t actually get a chance to acknowledge them,” he said. “There’s a lot of reasons why this would be good in helping us communicate with the public.”

Councilman Edwin Soto said he typically holds one office hours for residents on his own.

“I agree, it’s a great forum to get to talk to people one-on-one,” he said. “Perhaps that’s another approach that members of council could take.”

Council President James Kovaleski agreed to send Dugan’s suggestion to the policy committee to discuss.