Downtown pedestrian safety Public Comment from Betty DeHoopUnfortunately I wasn’t able to make the meeting last night due to other prior commitments but after reading the paper this morning I was piqued by the comment by Ryan Hunter “No matter
how hard we try, people will show up wanting to comment on some new project-they will not have heard of this.” I can understand that people/voters sometimes do show up to meetings having
not heard of a project before and wanting to be filled in- however the job of the council is to work for and inform their constituents-those who VOTED them in and all those who did
not to represent them- of the decisions they are thinking about, discussing and make. I’m not encouraged with the commitment to inform the public when I email asking for info about
progress/topics that I try to stay informed on and the response is “”there is a meeting tonight at 6 to discuss” without a brief answer to my questions. I feel I took the time to write/send
an email and would have appreciated a response other than the one I received. I wouldn’t have felt the need or to take the time to write this email. I think most people are busy and
committed with their lives, their jobs, their meetings and depend upon elected officials to be transparent and accountable to their constituents, all of them, not just those who attend
council meetings. There is NO DOUBT that you cannot respond to all emails with questions but I can’t help wondering how many emails you get and just answering the question briefly
seems like such a time-saver for everyone.
I applaud Sid Doud’s comment about the state “over reach” that “prevents local leaders from adjusting development based on public opinion.” It seems that government wants to pay lip
service saying they want people to attend meetings but really don’t want to inform them, knowing that most folks don’t attend meetings, so it seems like a win-win for them.
No other information regarding my questions were reported in the newspaper or online so I’m curious as to whether answers were given in the meeting I was encouraged to attend to get
said answers. I guess I’ll just have to read the meeting minutes????
Just expressing the taste I got from this morsel of interaction.
Respectfully,
Betty deHoop
> On Mar 5, 2024, at 9:58 AM, Betty deHoop <dehoopba@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> Whatever happened to the proposed change in Main Street parking back to how it used to be -one lane with angled parking? This would cut down on the speed and volume of traffic, increase
parking and increase safety of pedestrians.
> Also wasn’t there red? signage over Main street /walking areas welcoming visitors to Kalispell also proposed? Is that still happening?
>
> Appreciate an update?
> Thanks,
> Betty
>