Mayor’s Neighborhood Summit Meeting

I attended the 7th Annual Neighborhood Summit meeting last evening at the Woodlawn Community Center.  I was disappointed.

The attendance was dismal.  This could be attributed to the lack of advertising about this event.  I happened to know about the event when I stumbled upon it with a three line entry on ProJo’s 7 to 7 blog.  Thank goodness for Twitter and Google Reader. 

There were approximately 35 people in the audience.  Of those 5-7 were elected officials (State Rep O’Neill, Councilman Tetreault were present when the meeting started 10 minutes late.  Councilmen Barros and Vitali arrived shortly after the start, as did Council President Kinch.)  Also part of the remaining 30 or so were various officers of neighborhood associations, development agencies, etc.  I’d say I as a simple interested city resident was in the smallest minority. 

I don’t know a lot of my fellow Pawtucket residents.  I’m trying my best to get involved, but it felt very cliquish.  I felt I was on the outside looking in.  As has happened at other civic meetings I’ve attended, I was asked by an interested party if I was, “one of our city representatives?”  “No.”  “A reporter?”   “No, just an interested resident.”  “Oh? [puzzled look] Well, enjoy.”   This is the third time I have been questioned about whether I am a member of the media or some city official.  I guess I should lose the suit.   At the head table there were approximately half as many as in the audience.  Yep, the mayor and about 15 or 16 of his administration sat at the head table. 

Ed Testa (I missed his title) kicked things off as the MC and handed off to the mayor.  Mayor Doyle apologized for the late start.  Something about an important City Council meeting that ran long.  (Hmmmm…that Council meeting got about as much publicity as this meeting did.  If you don’t  subscribe to the Pawtucket Times you would not have known about it.)  The mayor introduced his administration leaders at the table with him and explained the process.  This was an opportunity for the local residents to address the mayor and his staff directly.  They may have an immediate answer, or they may have to get back to you.  Fair enough, I thought.  But, why was this not announced in advance?   I really had no idea what to expect.  I could have come with some real questions rather than most of the fluff I heard. 

This “annual” meeting warranted more than just three lines in ProJo.  Is it on the City Website?  On the Events Calendar for June?  NO!!!  What’s on the City’s Events Calendar for June 2nd is a PawSox game, a Board of Canvassers meeting, and a Parks Commission meeting.  Hmmmmm…I don’t see that Special City Council meeting there either.  What was so important at that City Council meeting that the Mayor and a few Councilmen were late to the mayor’s own meeting?  That’s for another blog, but a little secret…it was about the CITY BUDGET.  Wonder how much public input was received.  I digress.

There were four, then six, people signed up to address the mayor and the panel.  The Woodlawn Association president was first.  She applauded and thanked the mayor and his staff for all the work that had been done in the past, spoke about the condition and decay of the Urban League’s Safe Haven Program building on Slater St., and then about the Conant St. Bridge.  It was good to hear the Zoning Board rep indicate he would send someone out tomorrow to check on the condition of the property.  The Public Works Director addressed that the city has been meeting weekly with RI DOT about the bridge.  One more hurdle to overcome and it would be ready for bid.  It was expected that hurdle would be cleared in about two weeks.  Fingers crossed.  ;-)

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There were a few more speakers who I couldn’t keep up with.  Most had nothing but praise and thanks.  A woman from Pleasant View stepped up to address the condition of Broadway, how vital it is to the city,  it’s direct connection to downtown, historic homes, etc.  She even had and showed a 2003 Broadway StreetScape that has been on the table for…well, six years.  She also encouraged the use of “bike cops” for the Broadway area.  She was well prepared and well received because of how well she presented her agenda.  Mr. Cassidy (Planning Director) whom I’ve seen and heard previously (and happen to think is the brightest voice I’ve heard to date) spoke about how that Broadway StreetScape project was going to get moving with CDBC funds.  Whether that means Stimulus $$s or not is just too confusing to me.  He expects that to happen probably Septemberish.  Chief of Police mentioned that he would be enabling as many “bike cops” as possible. Sounds good for Pleasant View.  There was another speaker, VP of Woodlawn Neighborhood Association, who put in a couple of plugs for his association’s website, advised of some poll results about the quality of this year’s street sweeping (it’s now once a month, vice once a week), and he very much applauded the city’s police department.  He also alluded to the “skate park”.  That sure got everyone’s attention.  The mayor was quick to point out that the “skate park” is NOT part of the stimulus $$s the city hopes to get.  Mr. Cassidy, along with City Clerk Goldstein, did mention that the “skate park” has been in the works for years and it is going forward.  Work starts in June at Jenks JH and hopes to be completed just around the time school starts.  There were concerns about liability, but Mr. Cassidy assured that the park was being built to standards that would not put the city at risk.

There were a couple of others who spoke.  Some about the foreclosure blight.  [Zoning can handle that issue if they are made aware of hazardous conditions.]  A last minute address by a downtown businesswoman asking for help in revitalizing that area received probably the most detailed response from Mr. Cassidy and the Mayor.  The revitalization of downtown is tough, but they are working on it.  When all those surrounding mills are filled there will be 1000+ residents who all will fill the downtown streets.  That’s the vision…or hope.

All in all the meeting to me was about patting on the back the Mayor and his administration.  No real issues nor anything new was discussed.  I am extremely disappointed about the lack of participation, but that directly relates to the advertising of this event.  The City needs to reach out to its residents if it truly wants honest input.  Perhaps it didn’t.  This was in a way controlled.  Those in the know were already part of the neighborhood associations (those that have them, btw).  Those association’s officers/boards already have the administration’s ear.  It’s time the City had these meetings quarterly not annually.  It’s time the City kept the website up-to-date so interested citizens such as myself could be involved without stumbling on a three line notice in a local paper.  Many of our city residents don’t have the time or means to scour the internet or the local paper.  I personally posted the meeting when I found it to PawtucketNow.  I personally posted the event to Twitter.  Is it so difficult for the City to have done the same?  How did the Pawtucket Times not pick up on this?  It’s all so very frustrating for someone interested in getting involved. 

I’ve not given up on my desire to make the city I call home a better place for me an my family, but my enthusiasm has waned.

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