Above: If you’d like to talk to two Select Board members about nagging questions, brilliant suggestions, or issues that have been bugging you, you can do it in a social setting at tonight’s concert. (image cropped from flyer)
Select Board members are hitting the road to hold office hours in the community instead of the Town House. Think of it as them launching a listening tour. The first announced stop is tonight’s outdoor summer concert.
The Town’s website promotes tonight’s concert, adding:
While enjoying the event, stop by to meet with Select Board Members Andrew Pfaff and Sam Stivers. Say hello 👋, ask questions ❓, and share your thoughts about our community! 💬🏘️
Bring your family and friends—we hope to see you there! 🎉☀️
In past promotions, the board has pitched their office hours as a way to to speak to members in an informal setting. With only two members, avoiding a quorum, the discussions aren’t in a public meeting. So they won’t be recorded or have minutes.
The office hours allow residents/community members to raise issues without the spotlight that comes with comments made at public meetings. And unlike during the “public comment” section of the board’s open meetings, members can also actually engage in back and forth dialogue on topics raised.
But, at a meeting in June, the board wasn’t eager to set a new schedule for office hours for the year. Members discussed the limited success of hosting the hours. Few community members taking advantage, and most months, are a no show.
The board agreed that member Sam Stivers has had more success engaging in dialogue with the community by frequently holding court at the Transfer Station.
Members discussed making plans to plan to hold office hours at the places where residents naturally convene, like community events. The intent was to also promote the opportunities in advance.
Tonight’s office hours are the first organized and publicized since the plan was hatched.
For a reminder of the details of tonight’s concert (with free ice cream), click here.
[Note: The Town’s announcement headline and flyer mistakenly refer to tonight’s concert as “Summer Nights”. That community festival is a separate event scheduled for Saturday, August 22nd. (Based on the discussion earlier this summer, members may make an effort to hold hours there as well. )]
