By Mayor Julie Van Domelen

Redstone Review

LYONS – Coming to the Lyons Board of Trustee meetings is a good way to stay current on town issues, at least until we can figure out a way to webcast our meetings so you can listen from the comfort of your home. Board of Trustee meetings are the first and third Monday of every month. As of Monday, June 21 we are changing the meeting time back to 7 p.m. (from 7:30 p.m.) to allow staff, the board and the public to adjourn by a more reasonable time.

In addition, the BOT uses the hour slot prior to the BOT meeting to hold informational workshops as needed. The public is welcome to attend these workshops. Timing and topics of workshops are announced at the top of the published agenda. The BOT does not take formal action during workshops as they are intended to provide in-depth briefings – for example our most recent workshops have been on the status of the budget and on economic development priorities.

Deb Anthony, the municipal clerk, acts as the secretary to the BOT. She will be posting the BOT agenda on the Town’s website (www.townoflyons.com) in addition to being posted at Town Hall, the agenda is published in the Recorder newspaper the week before the meeting. There is a packet of materials distributed to the BOT the Thursday before the meeting. The public can get this packet as well. Please email Clerk Anthony at danthony@townoflyons.com and request to be put on the BOT packet email distribution list. You may also consult a hard copy on display at town hall.

At the BOT meeting itself, there is a standing agenda item Audience Business where anyone can come forward to speak to the BOT on items not on the agenda. Your input is welcomed by the BOT, but our meeting structure limits each person to four minutes. If issues are raised that require more in-depth discussion, staff will follow up as needed. In addition, if you have an item of town interest or concern or a proposal for the board to consider, you may consult with Clerk Anthony or Administrator Simonsen and request that it be placed on the General Business portion of the agenda so that a fuller discussion can take place. This also allows for the inclusion of background information for the board as part of the packet so the BOT is better prepared to consider the item.

Over the last few weeks we have received some comments from the public about meeting minutes. The minutes to each meeting are in the packet of the subsequent meeting. The minutes are intended to capture the general gist of conversations and to provide an accurate record of the motions and votes made by the BOT. They are not meant to be a verbatim transcript, but town is legally bound to retain an audio copy of all meetings so the full recording is always available at the town hall. Any comments or corrections to minutes should be made directly to Clerk Anthony.

The BOT does all of its business out in public and all the information we get (with the exception of confidential legal communications) is also available to the public. If you want to see your local government in action or voice an opinion, I invite you to attend a BOT meeting.

Julie Van Domelen was elected mayor of Lyons in 2009 in a special election. She was re-elected mayor in April 2010. Mayor Van Domelen works part time as an economist for the World Bank. She lives with her family in Lyons and can be reached at juliev@townoflyons.com.

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