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Phoenix to take council meetings to citizens Monday Jan 30, 2017 at 12:01 AM Tony Boom for the Mail Tribune PHOENIX — The City Council plans to take government to the people this year with plans to hold four meetings in the community to allow citizens to participate in town-hall gatherings before regular sessions. Meetings are tentatively planned at manufactured home parks and Phoenix High School. The council is expected to approve the idea at its Feb. 6 meeting, where it will hear a staff report. Mayor Chris Luz proposed the concept last year when he served on the council. The format will provide opportunities for input, questions and answers before the regular council meeting. Manufatured home [arks that have been contacted have been receptive to the idea, Luz said. “We want to give those folks the opportunity to ask questions and to get suggestions and take them to the City Council. Just reaching out and listening is a good thing in itself,” said Luz. “If it encourages some participation at the meeting, then that would be great, too. The rest of the councilors are excited about it. We will make it happen.” The council would begin the town-hall session at 5:30 p.m. and then go into the formal meeting at 6:30 p.m., the regularly scheduled time, said City Manager Jamie McLeod. “They are looking at doing it probably quarterly ... to make sure they are reaching out to the community,” said McLeod. The first meeting is tentatively scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Bear Lake Estates, 300 Luman Road. Creekside Estates, 4601 S. Pacific Highway, is the likely location of a May meeting. Rogue Valley South, 4624 S. Pacific Highway, would host a meeting in August, and residents of nearby Greenway Village, which doesn’t have a clubhouse, would be invited to attend. A meeting at the high school is envisioned for November, with the hope that students would attend. City officials have yet to contact school administrators. Executive board members of the homeowner’s association at Creekside liked the idea when Luz presented it at their meeting, said board President Carla Gilliam. The proposal will be presented to the entire association when it holds its quarterly meeting Thursday. “I’m pretty sure that everyone would agree to that, but we have to go through the steps,” said Gilliam. “I’ve never been to one. It would be more convenient for us to attend.” Creekside has 55 manufactured homes and a good-sized clubhouse, said Gilliam. Former Creekside resident Diane Stewart was on the City Council, and other residents are active in city programs, Gilliam said. Luz offered to prepare a flier to go out with the community newsletter. Regular meetings are held at the Public Works office, 1000 S. B St., the first and third Mondays of each month. The second February session was moved to Tuesday because Monday is Presidents’ Day. Sessions at the outside locations would be open to the public. “They will let us hear about how they feel about things, and hopefully they will attend City Council meetings in the future,” said Luz. — Tony Boom is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].