We Can Hear You Now

While listening to a webcasted Planning Commission meeting (yes, that was the highlight of my week) and during our May 3rd Miller Avenue Design Advisory Committee meeting, I was struck by the realization that there is no way the city can set policy and make decisions without effective and conscientious community input. 

Holding a gavel is not the equivalent of knowing what to do with it. There is no way a planning commissioner, task force member or city councilmember can know all the facets of an issue.  There is just no way. My wife Leslie attended a traffic subcommittee meeting on the and provided information and insight that made complete sense but had simply eluded me. It was one of those moments when I looked at my hands and asked, 'Why hadn’t I seen that before?'

The answer, other than my wife having amazing common sense and knowledge about the things she was showing me, was that (and don’t tell my children) I simply can’t know everything. I do not have the knowledge or experience possessed by our collective community. And I am not only talking about community input which agrees with my point of view, I'm talking about opposing and alternate views. Frankly, those are more important to me. I think I learn more from measuring my views in the crucible of opposition than from the pat-on-the-back, high-five agreement.

So what are the avenues for this discourse? Of course, you are invited to attend our council meetings to discuss items on the agenda usually on the first and third Monday of each month.  That is a rather formal process but it is crucial to what we do and it’s the only way we can do some things. You are welcome to bring up matters during public open time but we are prevented by state law to take any action on those items because they are not on the agenda.  Most of the time we can’t even comment. So I agree, that doesn’t seem to be a very effective method of getting a point across. 

But I know there are matters of concern that don’t initially find their way onto an agenda. First, you can call or send an email to the council, either individually at our contact information on the city’s website or collectively at citycouncil@cityofmillvalley.org. You also can contact our City Manager Jim McCann. One of or initiatives that has become quite popular is the “Councilmember in the Plaza,” which occurs on the first and third Saturday of each month (weather permitting) between 10 a.m. and noon in . In this beautiful and informal setting, you can have a face-to-face, give-and-take conversation with a councilmember. There is no agenda and no three-minute time limit. 

On May 31, we will be holding a city-wide community meeting, where the council will discuss some of the work we have been doing. But an important part of the meeting is open time, also without an agenda, for your questions and comments and a time for discussion. If we don’t know the answers, we will have the city’s department heads present to help out.

Starting last December, into the council chamber. Every City Council and Planning Commission meeting is both webcast live and archived for later viewing. This is an important step in providing access to you of what issues we are addressing. Though city staff doesn’t take me seriously, my next goal is to give you the ability to send emails during a meeting, which will be read in public, so that you may be able to participate in the meeting even if you cannot be present.

And please don’t forget the 10-year anniversary celebration of our wonderful Community Center – right after the .

So let us know what you are thinking.  We can’t do our jobs without you.

Ken Wachtel
Mayor, City of Mill Valley 

The comments in this blog are personal to the author and are not necessarily the views of the City of Mill Valley or the other councilmembers – but they should be.