Don’t want to sit through a three-hour Durango City Council meeting for a 10-minute issue? Don’t feel like writing a long email to weigh in on a proposed ordinance? Want to tell city councilors how they should spend money or where they should put new park equipment?
At the beginning of August, the city launched a virtual city hall, where residents can comment on the issue of the day and see what others think about it, too.
“Your constituents are used to going online to do many things, shopping, getting the news, catching up with family and friends” said Sherri Dugdale, assistant to city manager Ron LeBlanc, at a City Council study session Tuesday. “Since what you’re most interested in is hearing from your constituents, online is where we need to be to reach them.”
How will city councilors know they’re hearing from Durango residents?
Dugdale said users have to register to comment, and they have to include a street address that the city can geo-code.
“So we’ll know whether or not they’re within the city limits and be able to tell what the people in the neighborhood most affected by a decision are thinking,” she said.
While people must be registered for their comments to go on the main feed, they have the option of keeping their names off the posts. Peak Democracy, supplier of the software, will monitor the feed to ensure the discourse remains civil.
The virtual city hall also has an area where people can post ideas, photos and sketches of what they think a proposed project should look like.
“Now everyone can weigh in on our next public art project,” Councilor Dean Brookie said, referring to the recent controversy about the new “Arc of History” sculpture on U.S. Highway 550/160 by artist Tom Holmes.
