Town council takes meeting to the people
VINTON - Tuesday night, the Vinton Town Council took its message to the neighborhoods with its first in a series of “Council in the Neighborhood” meeting, where council members met Vinton residents in their own backyards to discuss the issues. After years of struggling to attract residents to their bi-weekly meetings, Town Council decided to take government to the people.
“Rather than struggle with getting people to attend Council Meetings, we’ll go to them,” Vinton Town Manager Chris Lawrence told the Vinton Messenger in a previous article.
Vinton Mayor Brad Grose and Town Manager Chris Lawrence lead a walking tour through the Midway Community at the first "Council in the Neighborhood" meeting. - photo by Debbie Adams
Council brainstormed this strategy during a planning retreat to encourage more citizen involvement in local government. On October 18, Council members and staff traveled to and walked through Vinton’s Midway neighborhood to put that plan into action.
The evening began with a walking tour through the Midway neighborhood at 6:00 p.m. Lawrence spoke to the crowd who gathered at Living Water Baptist Church on Vale Avenue.
“The goal of the plan is to reach out as a town to our neighbors and see things from a different perspective,” Lawrence said. “We are your government, and we are here to respond to your needs.”
All Town Council members and all department directors participated, walking a route around the perimeter of the Midway area, accompanied by several residents. Staff members took notes about specific issues as they walked.
The walk was followed by an open community meeting at 6:30 in the church, where members of the community were invited to meet Council members, ask questions, and voice their concerns. Living Water Baptist Church volunteered to host this initial “Council in the Neighborhood,” and welcomed the Town officials and Midway residents. All Council and staff members introduced themselves individually to the audience and described their particular roles in Town government.
After the introductions, the meeting addressed two issues of special interest to the Midway neighborhood—the riparian buffer, where trees have been planted along Tinker Avenue to improve Glade Creek, and the Sustainable Energy Resources for Consumers (SERC) program.
Rick Sheets and Alfred Chevalier, from Total Action Against Poverty (TAP), discussed specifics of SERC with residents, and the improvements made thus far; and encouraged more Midway residents to participate in the project. They described SERC as a program funded through TAP which installs innovative energy saving technologies in homes after they have been weatherized. According to the two officials, SERC identified 49 potential clients for the Midway program; twelve have qualified; and efforts are underway to provide energy savings for their homes using a variety of measures such as replacing roofs, appliances, water heaters, and heat pumps which are not energy efficient.
“We want to do as many homes as possible. These are worthwhile projects which are sustainable for folks who don’t make huge incomes,” Sheets said.
Lawrence then opened the meeting, with no rules, restrictions, or time limits, to questions and concerns from the audience,. Many residents voiced concerns about day to day issues that impact their lives, varying from problems with commercial truck traffic through the neighborhood to street repairs; from overgrowth of vegetation hindering traffic to absentee property owners; from unsightly lots to flood control to the operation of the Town pool. Staff members from the specific department involved attempted to address each issue and offer possible solutions.
“Lack of resources and personnel is at the root of many unresolved issues,” Public Works director Michael Kennedy stated.
Council members and other department directors reiterated and lamented that tough economic times have caused them to prioritize and make the best use of limited resources without raising taxes.
Quite a few members of the audience spoke up to thank the Town for specific services, for timely police response, and for prompt attention to concerns over the years.
“Thank you for showing up and showing an interest in Midway,” said one citizen.
The Mayor and other Council members responded that they appreciated hearing both citizen concerns and compliments.
“We want to establish as much communication with the community as possible. Together we can get things done,” Mayor Grose said in closing the meeting.
“If we know about an issue, we can try to address it,” Chris Lawrence added, thanking those in attendance for coming.
Following the open meeting, Council briefly held its regular meeting, addressing Town business. An award was given to Detective Sergeant Valerie Cummings, for being named September’s Police Officer of the Month. The Mayor thanked the staff for their support at Vinton’s Fall Festival; and special programs director, Mary Beth Layman, mentioned upcoming events on the Vinton Town Market.
“I think the meeting was very productive and exceeded our expectations,” Lawrence said after the meeting. “Midway is a great tight knit community, and it showed through their involvement. Council’s goal was to reach out to our communities to get feedback and understand their issues more first hand. That was accomplished through the walking tour, where we can see things through the eyes of the neighbors and get direct feedback, and through the face to face conversations with the neighbors.We will be diligently working to address the issues identified and continue the open working relationship with the Midway neighborhood.”
The next “Council in the Neighborhood” will be held in the Gladetown Community at the Craig Avenue Recreation Center on November 15.
Story by Debbie Adams
Tuesday night, the Vinton Town Council took its message to the neighborhoods with its first in a series of “Council in the Neighborhood” meeting, where council members met Vinton residents in their own backyards to discuss the issues. After years of struggling to attract residents to their bi-weekly meetings, Town Council decided to take government to the people.
“Rather than struggle with getting people to attend Council Meetings, we’ll go to them,” Vinton Town Manager Chris Lawrence told the Vinton Messenger in a previous article.
Council brainstormed this strategy during a planning retreat to encourage more citizen involvement in local government. On October 18, Council members and staff traveled to and walked through Vinton’s Midway neighborhood to put that plan into action.
The evening began with a walking tour through the Midway neighborhood at 6:00 p.m. Lawrence spoke to the crowd who gathered at Living Water Baptist Church on Vale Avenue.
“The goal of the plan is to reach out as a town to our neighbors and see things from a different perspective,” Lawrence said. “We are your government, and we are here to respond to your needs.”
All Town Council members and all department directors participated, walking a route around the perimeter of the Midway area, accompanied by several residents. Staff members took notes about specific issues as they walked.
The walk was followed by an open community meeting at 6:30 in the church, where members of the community were invited to meet Council members, ask questions, and voice their concerns. Living Water Baptist Church volunteered to host this initial “Council in the Neighborhood,” and welcomed the Town officials and Midway residents. All Council and staff members introduced themselves individually to the audience and described their particular roles in Town government.
After the introductions, the meeting addressed two issues of special interest to the Midway neighborhood—the riparian buffer, where trees have been planted along Tinker Avenue to improve Glade Creek, and the Sustainable Energy Resources for Consumers (SERC) program.
Rick Sheets and Alfred Chevalier, from Total Action Against Poverty (TAP), discussed specifics of SERC with residents, and the improvements made thus far; and encouraged more Midway residents to participate in the project. They described SERC as a program funded through TAP which installs innovative energy saving technologies in homes after they have been weatherized. According to the two officials, SERC identified 49 potential clients for the Midway program; twelve have qualified; and efforts are underway to provide energy savings for their homes using a variety of measures such as replacing roofs, appliances, water heaters, and heat pumps which are not energy efficient.
“We want to do as many homes as possible. These are worthwhile projects which are sustainable for folks who don’t make huge incomes,” Sheets said.
Lawrence then opened the meeting, with no rules, restrictions, or time limits, to questions and concerns from the audience,. Many residents voiced concerns about day to day issues that impact their lives, varying from problems with commercial truck traffic through the neighborhood to street repairs; from overgrowth of vegetation hindering traffic to absentee property owners; from unsightly lots to flood control to the operation of the Town pool. Staff members from the specific department involved attempted to address each issue and offer possible solutions.
“Lack of resources and personnel is at the root of many unresolved issues,” Public Works director Michael Kennedy stated.
Council members and other department directors reiterated and lamented that tough economic times have caused them to prioritize and make the best use of limited resources without raising taxes.
Quite a few members of the audience spoke up to thank the Town for specific services, for timely police response, and for prompt attention to concerns over the years.
“Thank you for showing up and showing an interest in Midway,” said one citizen.
The Mayor and other Council members responded that they appreciated hearing both citizen concerns and compliments.
“We want to establish as much communication with the community as possible. Together we can get things done,” Mayor Grose said in closing the meeting.
“If we know about an issue, we can try to address it,” Chris Lawrence added, thanking those in attendance for coming.
Following the open meeting, Council briefly held its regular meeting, addressing Town business. An award was given to Detective Sergeant Valerie Cummings, for being named September’s Police Officer of the Month. The Mayor thanked the staff for their support at Vinton’s Fall Festival; and special programs director, Mary Beth Layman, mentioned upcoming events on the Vinton Town Market.
“I think the meeting was very productive and exceeded our expectations,” Lawrence said after the meeting. “Midway is a great tight knit community, and it showed through their involvement. Council’s goal was to reach out to our communities to get feedback and understand their issues more first hand. That was accomplished through the walking tour, where we can see things through the eyes of the neighbors and get direct feedback, and through the face to face conversations with the neighbors.
We will be diligently working to address the issues identified and continue the open working relationship with the Midway neighborhood.
The next “Council in the Neighborhood” will be held in the Gladetown Community at the Craig Avenue Recreation Center on November 15.
