We went to the City Commission meeting last night and spoke after learning that Mayor Heartwell would be out for surgery next week. We each gave a three minute speech to the Commissioners and Mayor during the public comment section of the meeting. We definitely learned some things and wanted to share for when you come to the meeting next week. • The best place to park is the Government Center Ramp (accessible by both Ottawa and Monroe). Follow the signs into the building for City Hall and find your way to an elevator. The Commission Chambers are on the 9th floor. Give yourself plenty of time to park and find the room. Its a bit of a maze! The meeting starts at 7 pm. • You only get three minutes to speak - and they go by faster than you think. If you go long, you will be cut off. Please, consider writing down your remarks and timing them so youre within the limit! • They *really* want to hear from city residents. When you start your remarks, clearly state your name and the ward you live in. If you dont know what ward youre in, check out this link: grcity.us/city-c…/Pages/City-Wards-and-Precincts.aspx • If you dont live in GR, thats OK - you can still speak. But please clearly state your connections to GR. Maybe you work in GR and pay payroll taxes? Do you spend a lot of money in GR on dining and entertainment? Do you own a business in GR? Make sure they know any of those very important related facts. • Please try to keep your remarks on topic, and make them personal. Why do YOU want to see an ordinance banning wild animals in entertainment? • Please be careful with your wording, too. This ban were pushing for is more than the circus. In fact, were fine having circuses coming to town, as long as theyre animal free! We need a full ban because of alligator wrestling at the DeVos Place boat show in February, and the traveling wild cat cub shows that also come to town. • If you have children that want to speak, thats ok too! In fact, we think it would be a HUGE help. They dont need to do a full three minutes, even just a few seconds saying they love animals and dont think animals should be hurt for entertainment. • Being nervous is OK. Just breathe deeply and remember why youre there. The animals need us! • Bring a friend! We want to show them that GR cares about this issue and that its not a fringe issue. • Dress professionally. Its true that appearances matter. We want them to take us seriously! Your elephant t-shirt might be super cool, but dressing in business casual will make a much bigger impact. • Please, make sure you thank the Commissioners for hearing your concerns. See you next week! -Kolene and Jon
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 16:05:29 +0000
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