A forum to talk about public safety was held last week. It’s one of new Mayor Vivian Flowers’ efforts to listen to concerns from citizens.
Holding such events is a good idea and a good way to gauge what’s important in the community. One of the key concerns that came out of the meeting had to do with streetlights. That seems to be an age-old problem, with concern being that more lights are needed and many of the lights already in place don’t work.
If your street is nicely lit, you may never think about these issues. But darkened areas are uninviting, possibly unsafe and scary. That may be exactly like the criminal element likes things, but residents living there or just passing through deserve something better. As one speaker put it: “It is so important that we have proper street lighting and that when they are out, they are marked and replaced.”
Getting the streetlight piece answered would be a nice start for the new mayor. While it may not be rocket science, it is an issue that has seemingly stumped many others who sat in the mayor’s chair.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Running the show was Susie Powell, a former police officer, who said the panel would note all the questions but that the members weren’t there to provide all the answers. That’s fair enough, if answers or responses are eventually put forth.
And putting forth leads into another concern: lack of communication between the city and the public. That may actually be one of the more difficult issues to address because of the fragmented way the public consumes information. Not everyone is on social media, as one person put it, nor are they all watching or listening to news broadcasts, leading the person to suggest that someone go door-to-door.
That seems extreme and expensive, and at some point, the responsibility for staying informed has to be placed on the individual. Some people will look for ways to stay up on what’s going on; others won’t.
“It’s the same people that always show up for a town hall meeting,” said Lanette Frazier, a member of the Pine Bluff City Council. “But then other citizens say we’re not doing nothing or whatever, but they don’t come to the meeting and get informed.”
That’s like the people who don’t vote but who will complain for the next two or four years about their elected leadership. In the end, it’s hard to feel much sympathy for them when things don’t go their way.
Another attendee said they were tired of having meetings just for the sake of having meetings. We certainly understand that sentiment. But running a city requires inputs from the public and a leadership team that will take that information and do something positive with it. To do otherwise is to fire away before taking aim — or even knowing what to take aim at. At some point, though, listening needs to turn into action. We look forward to that day.