Politics & Government

City Tries New Format for Community Meeting

Workshop-style setup involves subject-specific stations where people can talk to councilmembers and City Hall staffers instead of asking question and making comments in front of all attendees.

The city of Mill Valley is holding its Community Meeting Tuesday night, with city officials switching up the format for residents’ annual chance to ask questions and voice complaints outside the bounds of a subject-specific agenda.

In an effort to improve efficiency and prevent the meeting from going too long, city officials said they’ve organized the meeting around a presentation of the and a subsequent breakout session, in which members of the City Council and City Hall staffers will be stationed at tables throughout the .

“These meetings have tended to go way over their allotted time in the past, and this will help get everyone home at a decent hour,” Mayor Garry Lion said at a council meeting late last month in discussing the new format.

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The tables, organized around umbrella subjects like planning, parks and public safety, will feature sign-up sheets, brochures and comment cards for people to submit questions and complaints. Those cards will then be organized by city staff and presented to the council, who will address them after the breakout session, Lion said.

Not everyone agreed with the switch. Councilman Ken Wachtel said there was value in the past format of allowing residents to stand before the council and all attendees with a microphone and speak their mind. He said he wasn’t in favor of having city officials filter the cards.

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“I’m a strong believer in letting people get up there and say what they have to say,” Wachtel said at the council’s March 19 meeting. “It’s very tension-releasing.”

City officials said the format change still gives residents plenty of opportunity to have their say and improves the chances for people to get an answer from the appropriate person in a more intimate setting without having to pass the mic onto the next speaker.

The 411: The annual Mill Valley Community Meeting is Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center.


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