Houston County chairman postpones Walton Park town hall, outlines new town-hall schedule and format

The Houston County Commission chairman announced at an administrative meeting that the town hall scheduled for today at Walton Park is postponed because of a scheduling conflict and that the commission will reschedule that session. The chairman said the commission still plans three other town halls next week, with one at Pilgrim Home Baptist Church in Wicksburg on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and another at the Farm Center on Thursday at 6 p.m.

The chairman said a prior town hall at Rehoboth drew a “very, very good crowd” of about 30 people and that the commission will adjust the format to provide more useful time for citizens and officials. “We want people to ask questions, and we want people … to be more engaged,” the chairman said, adding that officials will try to make the events useful for residents who have work and family obligations.

A commissioner who spoke about the Rehoboth session praised the new format, saying it “gives the citizens a more personable approach” and allows residents to speak face to face with county officials including road and bridge staff, the probate judge and the revenue commissioner. The chairman said he hopes citizens will attend at least one of the remaining sessions; a date to reschedule the Walton Park meeting was not provided.

The chairman also said that at an earlier town hall he had debated whether to continue holding such events because some sessions were dominated by “sovereign citizens” and others who “chew up time and not make a whole lot of sense,” but that the new format improved usefulness. He asked residents to take advantage of the opportunities and acknowledged that many have work and child-care obligations that can limit attendance.