Arlington Holds Third Tele-Town Hall Meeting

Thursday night, Arlington held its third tele-town hall meeting.

The hour long meeting was hosted by Mayor Pro-Tempore Kathryn Wilemon. Wilemon represents District 4, and all of the registered voters with a home phone in her district were called to participate. More than 10,000 calls were placed with more than 2,800 taking part during portions or all of the hour.

The tele-town hall meetings provide residents with the opportunity to interact with their member of council, express any opinions they have about the issues facing the city and ask questions of City leaders. Directors from many City departments were present to answer those questions including Police, Fire, Finance, Public Works/Transportation, Water Utilities, Code Compliance, Community Planning and Development, Parks and Recreation, Management Resources and Library.

Sixteen questions were asked by the participants on a variety of topics including regional transportation, safety concerns on neighborhood roads, code enforcement for barking dogs and leaf removal, water quality, how city money is being spent and how fast the City is paying off its debt on the construction of AT&T Stadium.

Additionally, the moderator posed several poll questions to the participants. One poll asked people to rank the most important issues facing the city. 31% said transportation, 29% said crime, 27% said streets and 14% said code issues. When asked about transportation, 67% of respondents said they would utilize high speed rail connecting Fort Worth, Arlington and Houston. And, 73% said they prefer the new recycling carts.

Wilemon said, "This is a unique way for us to get a better idea of what is on the minds of our residents. And, with many of the City's key decisions makers in the same room, we can quickly answer their specific questions and address their concerns."

Last November, Councilmember Robert Rivera hosted a town hall meeting for the residents of District 3. And in 2012, Councilmember Wilemon and Mayor Robert Cluck held a citywide tele-town hall meeting. More of these events are planned for 2014.