Meeting Recap: Jan. 26, 2015

(STILLWATER, OKLA. / Jan. 29, 2015) — The City of Stillwater City Council met for its regular meeting Monday, Jan. 26, 2015 (View agenda here.)

General Orders

a.       Council discussion on methods to encourage/improve public involvement and input

Councilor Pat Darlington said there are two parts to public involvement. One is getting input from the public and the other is imparting information and educating the public. She said the Council needs to be creative about how it gets information to people.

Mayor John Bartley asked how we gauge the success of a campaign to get knowledge to the public. He said resident response is the best way to gauge that, but that a lot of times residents hear it but don’t respond to it, which makes gauging success difficult. Darlington also said regular resident input is a way to measure success.

Darlington said it’s the Council’s responsibility to get information to residents and remind them it’s important to them.

Councilor Gina Nobile said we have to understand how to reach the public where they want us to reach them at. Any city is made up of many different segments, and you have to be able to communicate with them in different ways. Noble said she would like to see us try something different.

Darlington said we shouldn’t make assumptions about what people want to hear, and do our best to reach everyone.

City manager Dan Galloway suggested the City Council members meet with residents in public places, such as coffee shops, periodically to build relationships and get input. Darlington also said she wants to put an emphasis on creating relationships.

b.      Council discussion on the proposed Quality of Life Committee recommendations

Darlington said the committee would like a resolution puts quality of life and relationship with the citizens in writing and mentioned a commitment to a vision/planning process. Darlington also said she would like more than one meeting to discuss it.

Bartley said discussions have taken place to schedule a strategic planning session.  

Vice Mayor Joe Weaver pointed out that quality of life is defined differently by different members of the public, but was in favor of the proposed resolution.

Noble said two-way communication is the goal. 

Public Comment on Agenda Items not Scheduled for Public Hearing

One person spoke.

City Council is adjourned

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Written by Zachary Kinder, Marketing and Public Relations