City Council To Be At ‘Retreat’ This Weekend
If you don’t have a cell phone number, don’t expect to reach your Commerce elected officials this weekend.
All elected officials, plus City Manager Clarence Bryant, City Clerk Shirley Willis and Finance Director Steve McKown will be at Smithgall Woods near Helen engaged in the city’s biennial retreat.
The event starts with a reception at 5:30 Friday afternoon, followed by supper at 6:00, and an opening session at 7:00.
The retreat will last all day Saturday and end with a “wrap-up session” Sunday morning, according to Bryant.
Walt McBride of the University of Georgia’s Institute of Government is the facilitator.
Exactly what will be on the agenda is not yet known.
“The agenda won’t be set until Friday night,” Bryant explained. “They sent out a questionnaire asking everyone to list two or three things they want to get done. The facilitator will formulate what we will discuss all day Saturday.”
Bryant expects the group to narrow the list down to approximately 10 things.
“They might not be specific things. They might be things like setting sidewalk paving priorities, drainage priorities or curb and gutter priorities — how much to try to accomplish over the next five years,” he said. “It should be goal-setting as opposed to project setting.”
Bryant said he’s added the land for recreation and sewer rates to the discussion list.
Most of the officials’ spouses will accompany them, but will not participate in discussions.
