The Town of Independence has hired Laura Ratcliffe as the new Town manager. Many of you know Laura because of her work with the 1908 Courthouse Foundation and Food Independence. She is a great choice and we look forward to working with her. Rick and I have already met with Laura several times to discuss the Town Park project and we look forward to seeing progress under her capable leadership. We will be opening the 2023 season on Courthouse Street this year and will likely remain all season but feel confident that real progress will be made at Town Park this year.
Laura will speak at the March 20th Grayson LandCare meeting at 7pm at the IFM/GLC office at 104 Courthouse Street if you’d like to meet her. Town Council meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 6pm at the Firehouse on Davis Street. Due to a new speaker policy, no public comment will be taken at the March meeting.
Up to 4 speakers will be welcomed at the April meeting. Here are the highlights of the policy:
Up to 4 speakers will be allowed at each meeting. Speakers will need to pre-register by the first Wednesday of the month by emailing a request to [email protected]. They should include their name and address in the request and provide any written documents they wish to include with the presentation. Power Point presentations cannot be accommodated. The first four requests received will be placed on the agenda. If additional requests are
received, they will be given the option to present at the following month’s meeting. If there are fewer than four pre-registered speakers, individuals may register at the meeting on a first come/first serve basis. Each person registered will have up to three (3) minutes. a. Speakers may concede their allotted time; the person whose name is written on the speaker sheet must be the person who begins speaking, although they may be accompanied by others to the podium and may share their time with them. Each speaker shall begin by clearly stating their name and place of residence (or, if speaking on behalf of a business, by giving the location of the business).
Written materials presented at Community Matters must be given to the Clerk prior to speaking and will be distributed to the Council. For distribution of hard copies to
Councilmembers, ten copies should be provided; however, electronic distribution is preferred and may be sent to [email protected]. PowerPoint
presentations cannot be accommodated during Community Matters.