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FORTY FORT — A disappointing turnout for Tuesday’s Forty Fort town hall meeting had some council members wondering if the monthly meetings, which were also held in June and July, should continue.
With a population of just under 5,000, only two of the borough’s residents attended.
“Personally, I’m disappointed in the turnouts,” council member Frank Michaels said. “We’ve done our best publicizing the meetings, and council has done its best in attempting to get public input in an informal way in the decisions we make.”
Council member Dorothy Craig joined Michaels in facilitating the meeting. “We want to know what the residents think — what is most important to them,” she said.
Regular monthly council meetings are the first Monday of the month and work sessions are held on the third Monday of each month.
“We have a new budget that we’ll be formulating very soon,” said Michaels. “We were hoping at these informal meetings to get input. We are one of the smallest municipalities in the county, but I think we’re taking the lead in attempting to get citizen input into our decision-making process.”
Residents Jay Rauscher and Tom Craig, Dorothy Craig’s husband, discussed a number of topics such as the pros and cons of consolidation of emergency services with Kingston, street paving and recycling.
Rauscher also asked why a rash of burglaries that occurred on Murray Street several weeks ago wasn’t reported.
“How come we never hear anything?” he asked.
Michaels and Craig said they’d consult with council and Mayor Boyd Hoats regarding the issue.
Craig and Michaels encouraged the public to attend council’s monthly meetings, as well as a special budget meeting, which will be in mid-October.