Council Meeting Tuesday
As has been mentioned before, the crucial Council meeting will be on Tuesday the 27th of June at 5.30 pm. There the appeal by Capstone Development of the Planning and Zoning Commissions rejection of their proposal will be considered. Flyers about the meeting have been delivered to every home in Freetown. Hopefully, a large number of people will attend the meeting to show their opposition to the proposed development.
Not everybody will be familiar with how Council meetings work. In order to have an opportunity to speak, it is necessary to fill out a speaker card. This is crucial. If one has the opportunity of addressing the Council, it is important to know that one only has 3 mins. in which to make one's points. Although it is possible that time can be extended, do not bank upon this happening. For this reason, it is very important to have figured out what one wishes to say in advance. In fact, it is even a good idea to practice to ensure the points can be made effectively within the time limit.
Another point to keep in mind is that it can get boring if the same point is made over and over again. If you wish to speak on say, three topics and by the time your turn comes two of the topics have already been covered, then just address your remaining topic. Doing this will enable the largest number of people to speak. It will also prevent the meeting going on too long. Being able to present a case against the proposed development is important. However, also presenting that case in a disciplined manner also matters.
It is also important to be respectful to the Council members and even the developers. This is an obvious point, but if people get overly passionate on a topic, it can be overlooked. A well reasoned coherent case made to the Council is always going to be more effective than a lot of people yelling.
Hopefully, if everyone keeps these points in mind, we will be able to persuade the Council to uphold the decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission. If this can be achieved, then the threat from Capstone Development and their tax relief fuelled dreams of student slums in Freetown can be fought off once and for all.
Not everybody will be familiar with how Council meetings work. In order to have an opportunity to speak, it is necessary to fill out a speaker card. This is crucial. If one has the opportunity of addressing the Council, it is important to know that one only has 3 mins. in which to make one's points. Although it is possible that time can be extended, do not bank upon this happening. For this reason, it is very important to have figured out what one wishes to say in advance. In fact, it is even a good idea to practice to ensure the points can be made effectively within the time limit.
Another point to keep in mind is that it can get boring if the same point is made over and over again. If you wish to speak on say, three topics and by the time your turn comes two of the topics have already been covered, then just address your remaining topic. Doing this will enable the largest number of people to speak. It will also prevent the meeting going on too long. Being able to present a case against the proposed development is important. However, also presenting that case in a disciplined manner also matters.
It is also important to be respectful to the Council members and even the developers. This is an obvious point, but if people get overly passionate on a topic, it can be overlooked. A well reasoned coherent case made to the Council is always going to be more effective than a lot of people yelling.
Hopefully, if everyone keeps these points in mind, we will be able to persuade the Council to uphold the decision of the Planning and Zoning Commission. If this can be achieved, then the threat from Capstone Development and their tax relief fuelled dreams of student slums in Freetown can be fought off once and for all.
posted by Save Freetown at 3:34 PM
1 Comments:
So, what can we do to make all meetings public, like this one?
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