EDITORIAL: JOIN US FOR DISCUSSION

Over the last four years, our city council members have tried various means to spread the word about what’s happening at city hall.  We have conducted town hall meetings, written magazine articles and letters to the editor, held office hours, and been interviewed on the radio and t.v.  We’re always available by telephone, email or personal contact.  Another purpose of this outreach is to get feedback from the community in order to find out what our citizens are thinking and concerned about.

To supplement the foregoing, and to reach out further into the community on an informal basis, I have been holding what I call “Donuts and Discussion” at various donut shops around town on Saturday mornings, to accommodate those early birds who may not be able to take off work otherwise. The idea is to hold these intimate meet-and-greets at different locations around town and to make it as convenient as possible for the public to attend.  I appreciate the graciousness of these various business establishments that allow us to come in and hold these get-togethers there.

At the D & D’s we’ve held so far, we’ve had some interesting discussions and issues come up.  Topics which have been brought up by those attending have included landscaping and subdivision issues, code enforcement, graffiti problems, sales tax, pension reform, homelessness, district elections, Agenda 21, public safety, and zoning issues.  To make these discussions more interesting and informative, I usually invite along with me a city official or department head.  Last month, I was accompanied by our incoming new city manager, Mike Olmos, and in the past I’ve had the fire chief, police chief, and other department heads present.  On occasion, other city staff have dropped by on their own to just say “hi,” and to be available for any questions from the public, which I appreciate.  In some instances, I or city staff have followed up with particular citizens subsequent to a D & D, by telephone calls and emails regarding concerns which they raised, with some affirmative action taken by the city.

I’d like to invite each of you to come to our next Donuts and Discussion, which will be held this Saturday morning, June 1, from 7:00 to 8:30 a.m., at the Donut Factory, Etc., 3100 N. Demaree.  I will be fortunate to have with me at that time our current city manager, Steve Solomon, who is retiring in a few months.  Steve has a long resume of accomplishments, and has been at the helm of the City of Visalia since 1996.  He is a wealth of information and has keen insights about most things happening around town.  Come test him with some of your questions or issues, or just drop by to give him some gentle ribbing about his retirement plans.

Please come join us this Saturday morning and enjoy a delicious donut as well.  I recommend the “Man Donut” or the “Xtreme Glazed Sandwich,” which are some of the specialities at the Donut Factory, Etc.

Hope to see you there.

Warren Gubler wgubler@ci.Visalia.ca.us

Visalia Times-Delta Opinion page, 5/28/13