CShores Police Dept. to host city’s first Town Hall meeting

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

For the first time in its existence, the Cottonwood Shores Police Department is hosting a Town Hall meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 7, at 5:30 p.m. in the library (4111 Cottonwood Drive).

“This is going to be a give-and-take thing: I’m going to ask for questions and we’re going to discuss any issues that come to the forefront,” said Cottonwood Shores Police Chief Tom Williams Friday, Jan. 2. “No subject is off limits.”

Williams said he has conducted similar Town Hall meetings at previous agencies, and it is part of his community policing paradigm. “Part of being a community cop is talking with people, giving people an opportunity to get things out of their system—whatever they don’t like, do like, issues they want addressed, what they’re afraid of," Williams said. "We can go forward better as a police department tied to the community.”

The Town Hall meeting is going to be a chance for the small department to sell itself to its community, he said. “We ultimately want to make this little town a place where people want to move,” he said.

It’s a time to meet the new chief, who took the helm in November, and understand his priorities and changes being made.

“The only way we can go forward is with citizens’ input,” he said.

The biggest reason behind the meeting is to “make people understand that we’re not here just collecting a pay check," Williams said. "We have a plan to make residents' lives more peaceful, secure, and to get rid of the reputation that we harbor dirtbags and drug dealers. We’re going to clean it up and make it a better town.” 

He said that all three members of the police department will address residents. 

“My two officers are not going to just stand there, they’ll have things to say and will be accessible to answer questions," Williams said. 

With free food offered, he hopes to make the Town Hall a relaxed atmosphere.

A few of the concerns he is seeking to deal with are dogs, noise complaints, narcotics and domestic abuse. “My personal priorities are protecting women, children and the elderly,” he said. “These are things I will not tolerate.”

For more on the Town Hall and departmental changes, see Tuesday's Highlander.