NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The City of Hutchinson held an input meeting Monday night at Memorial Hall and city staff were pleased with how things continued to progress from a previous similar event held earlier this year.
"We learned a lot the first time we did this," said Dave Sotelo with the city. "Tracking where people are coming from, where the community is. It's hard to tell where people are coming from. I think the staff members know now that they should spend some time talking to the people, answering the questions that they have. The first time around, what we were really careful on is making sure everybody's voices were equally heard through that sticky note process. We're doing that again here. One of the things that we've learned and why we're doing this, is we've got to build trust with the community. We've got to find more opportunity for them to provide feedback. What happens often is, that feedback is provided at city council meetings where, if we're making decisions at city council, we've got to hear from people way before it gets to city council. That's what we're trying to do here."
City spokesperson Jessica Woodyard was glad that people seemed to understand what they were trying to accomplish with the event.
"They've heard our message that we're inviting them," Woodyard said. "It's a relaxed atmosphere. I think the first meeting gave everyone a little bit of an idea of what we were trying to accomplish and now they might feel more comfortable in attending and speaking with our directors. We are so thrilled with the turnout."
These events will continue on a periodic basis as the city continues to gather input from different parts of the community.