Ethan Maple, New Palestine Town Council
NEW PALESTINE — Talking in a relaxing atmosphere can lead to great conversations with a wealth of information being shared. That’s the idea behind something New Palestine Town Council member Ethan Maple is going to try starting Friday morning.
Maple, who will be joined by fellow council member Chad Molinder, plans to go to Tony D’s restaurant in New Palestine at 8 a.m. Friday, March 1. They’re going to get a table and wait for people to join them and have a conversation about any kind of town issue or idea they’d like to discuss.
“I think what we’re trying to do here is have something that is informal and show some accessibility,” Maple said.
Creating more opportunities for community members to engage with the town’s council, Maple noted, can help council members get a better idea about what people actually want in their community. Too often governing bodies hear from their community after decisions are made. Giving residents a chance to be vocal and share ideas and concerns before the fact could be beneficial to both the town’s residents and the council.
“We want to be able to share concerns and celebrations with our community,” Maple said. “Certainly, as a council, everyone is on board with something like this.”
While officials with the New Palestine Town Council actually give community members two different chances to speak to the council during meetings, which are held twice a month, those opportunities are limited by time to just a few minutes and, Maple noted, not everyone is comfortable coming to a council meeting, standing up, giving their name and address for the record and then talking in front of others.
“Meetings are very formal and that kind of pushes things to a level not everyone is comfortable with,” Maple said.
Partnering with businesses in New Palestine — places where people can sit, grab a bite or a coffee if they want and have a talk — might lead to some great brainstorming efforts by the community.
“We want to do something like this at different times each month and at a different places each month to say, ‘This is just an informal tell me what you’re thinking kind of thing,’” Maple said. “We’re not going to be able to make any promises or anything like that; it’s just a matter of we want the community to know we really do care about their thoughts and perspectives.”
The gatherings will be open to anyone who wants to talk about the community or has an idea they want to share with the council in a laid-back atmosphere.
“Maybe we’ll be able to answer a few questions,” Maple said. “Hopefully, the informal setting will give people an increased opportunity to engage with the council.”
The coffee-talk-type gatherings will happen the first Friday of every month with a different council member joining Maple each time out if their schedules permit.
“I’m committed to doing this and maybe some of our other council members will want to do this on a Saturday, so we may see more of these pop up,” Maple said.
Due to laws on council members gathering without proper notice, the sessions will at most have only two council members present.
“Right now, I’ve got the first two meetings planned and, beyond that, we’ll put it out on social media so people will know when and where we’re going to be so people can come and just engage in a good conversation,” Maple said.
Off record conversations are the best, Maple said, and more than that, he just wants people to know the council members are available to hear feedback and get ideas from the taxpayers in the community.
