Have coffee with the mayor Friday
Glynis Crawford Smith/The Highlander
At Coffee with the Mayor on Friday, Sept. 30, Marble Falls Mayor John Packer, right, diagram proposed Lakeside Park improvements with, from left, MFPD Officer Aaron Garcia, Fred Becker and Jim “Jimbo” Clark. Three more of the 7 a.m. Friday events for one-on-one conversations are scheduled Oct. 28 and Nov. 4. 'I hope people will come,” said Clark. 'You get answers to your own questions and learn things you needed to know and hadn't even thought about.'
Oct. 14 and
The public is invited again to "have a cup of coffee" with Marble Falls Mayor John Packer at Numinous Coffee Roasters, 714 Ranch to Market Road 1431 in Marble Falls from 7-8 a.m. today, Friday, Oct. 14.
The informal, come-and-go event series does not require an RSVP, just a healthy curiosity about what is going on in the city.
The invitation reads: "come share your thoughts and ideas about your community and hear about some of the new projects in the city."
“I am looking forward to the opportunity to meet one-on-one with our residents and learn about the issues that are important to them,” said Packer.
For citizens who have wished for the time or freedom from family commitments to attend city council meetings, a pause for morning coffee may be the way to ask questions that have been on their minds. Every council meeting provides an point on the agenda for public comment, but the council is not allowed to engage in a discussion that isn't spelled out on the agenda. Coffee with the Mayor may turn out to be a good place to have that exchange and a lot has gone on this year to consider.
At the Sept. 30 session, Packer was joined by by Christian Fletcher and Midge Dockery of the Marble Falls Economic Development Corporation and MFPD Officer Aaron Garcia to round out the discussion.
One citizen there, Fred Becker, was intrigued by the idea that the current Lakeside Park boat launch would be replaced: "Remember to leave plenty of room in the new parking area for a big rig to turn around when residents come to take out boats for service."
"I hope more people will come to these,” said Jim “Jimbo” Clark. "You get answers to your own questions and learn things you needed to know and hadn't even thought about.”
The Marble Falls City Council on Sept. 6 approved the new city budget and citizens may want to know more about how money will be spent in the coming year. But the council and city staff developed in lengthy and continuing deliberation a distribution of utility fee increases that must total a minimum of 12 percent to support close to $8 million in infrastructure project bonds. A revision of the Land Use Ordinance that is about to begin may spark some of the questions Packer fields.
