Early forms of local government in America, especially in New England, relied on the “Town Meeting” as the primary vehicle to provide legitimacy for government action. Citizens were notified of an impending Town Meeting by public notices that were posted in public places. When they showed up at the Town Meeting, they debated the proposals of the day before ultimately submitting them to a vote of all who attended the meeting. Up or down. Pass or fail. Change or status quo.
We’re going to have a Town Meeting tomorrow night here in Eden Prairie, but with a very different purpose in mind.
In our Town Meeting, City Councilmembers and members of the City’s Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Commission, along with City staff, will describe a proposed package of improvements to our City’s parks and recreational facilities that would be submitted to the voters of Eden Prairie this fall at election time in November.
Staff, the Parks Commission, and the Council have developed and reviewed this proposed package of improvements. Last Tuesday night, the Council endorsed it as the draft package and asked staff to put together this Town Meeting to gather feedback from the public. This is the first formal opportunity that members of the public have had to express individual opinions about the package of improvements, or even about the thought of having the referendum or not.
This will not be a classic New England Town Meeting. There will be a presentation by staff and other City officials to those assembled about the proposal. There will be lots of time for those assembled to make comments; to express concern; or to express support. There may even be a little debate. But there will not be a vote at the end of the night.
The Council is schedule to make a final decision at their July 5 Council meeting about whether to have, or not to have, a referendum this fall on the proposed improvements. The purpose of this Town Meeting is to continue the process of gathering information for the Council to synthesize to develop a position on the issue. We’ve gathered them many facts and figures. The Town Meeting is a good opportunity to temper the facts and figures with the intangible (and invaluable) citizen feedback which is so important in reaching a decision on an important public policy issue.
So if you’re interested, the Town Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers here at Eden Prairie City Center. We’re at 8080 Mitchell Road.
I hope to see you there.
