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CANTON COUNCIL MEETING SITE TO ROTATE
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
CANTON Maybe it was cold weather that kept folks away.
Or perhaps it was the subject matter.
Either way, it won't be the last time City Council tries to inject itself into the community by meeting outside the confines of City Hall.
At the urging of new Council President Allen Schulman, council members held Monday night's meeting at Timken High, part of an effort to reach out to the school district, students and residents.
"Everybody on council agreed this would be a great idea and it was just a matter of doing it," Schulman said, crediting the council office staff for coordinating the logistics of the move, including sound equipment.
A large number of government-class students — as well as participants in the Canton Youth City Council — had been expected to attend.
However, the frigid temperatures — which forced the closure of Timken and other Canton City Schools Monday and today — resulted in a poor turnout of students, who weren't expected to brave the temperatures and find transportation.
A few high-schoolers made it. So did school officials, including City Schools Superintendent Marva Kay Jones and some school board members.
Schulman said Tuesday that council plans to meet at Timken and McKinley High schools in the spring.
TRIAL RUN
Monday's session served as a trial run. At future off-site meetings, a question-and-answer session might precede the council meeting, including a portion where each council member explains his or her job.
Beyond that, Schulman would like council to convene in each of the nine city wards at some point, and possibly at community centers in the city. Fire stations, libraries and elementary and middle schools are other possible meeting sites.
The intent is to get input from residents throughout the city, continue to build strong relations with the school district and explain how government works and what it does for the public, Schulman said.
"I do not think that city government and city education are intertwined enough," he said. "I do think they run on parallel tracks. We have to communicate with our schools because that is critical."
Residents, whether young or old, often find government mundane and uninviting, he acknowledged.
"Frankly, I don't think we make it very interesting," Schulman said. "There's a perception that (government is) almost inaccessible, and when ... you actually see it in action, it's extraordinarily arcane, confusing and not interesting, and I think we have an obligation to explain what we do."
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