Selectmen want to hear Town Talk
Published on December 2nd, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - Do you have any questions about, problems with or comments on the Town of Stoneham and its government?
If so, give the selectmen a call.
That's the intention of the Board of Selectmen's new public relations vehicle, Town Talk. Town Talk is a one hour, live program aired on MediaOne's Channel 9, Stoneham's local cable access station. Residents are invited to call in and give their input or ask questions about various subjects concerning them in town.
According to Albert Conti, chairman of the Board of Selectmen and moderator for the show, the board hopes to gain some knowledge from the program while giving residents the opportunity to gain some knowledge about the town as well.
"I think we wanted more communication with the public," Conti told the Independent before the board's meeting on Tuesday night. "We want to have as many outlets for communication as we can. A number of people watch these selectmen meetings on Tuesday nights and hopefully the same thing will happen with this show."
Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello agreed saying, "We want people to get involved more in politics and in their community. They appropriate a $45 million budget. We (the selectmen) only take care of the money they appropriate.
"This is nice," he said of the program. "It's good to talk about the issues."
On Monday, the board aired its second show. It was, however, the first that was produced live.
Mark Vaughan, a former selectman and current chairman of the Town Common/Parking Committee, updated the board and the town on the progress being made on the downtown common project. His presentation was accompanied by display which showed the designs for the municipal parking lot which will be constructed in the spring. He also presented those tuning into the program with the forms that the Town Common could eventually take once discussion is completed.
"These projects have been talked about for years," he told his audience. "I think goal number one has been met as far as providing 90 to 95 parking spaces and making it (the lot) aesthetically pleasing."
Recent discussions on Phase 2 of the project have centered around the possibility of making Central Street a one way and closing off Winter and Church streets in order to form a great expanse of green space. Without input from the public on such designs, however, the committee can only guess as to what form residents would like to see of their Town Common.
"We're actually very excited about this," Vaughan explained. "This is a project that allows the town to have a little more vision."
Five residents called in during the show.
Conti explained that residents must participate in discussions such as these in order to inform the town's committees about their personal visions of the future.
Once a month, residents will get the chance to give their input from the convenience of their own homes when Town Talk hits the airwaves.
"This seems to be a good medium to do it in. It's hard to get people involved and this seems to be a good forum to accommodate that input.
"This is an active way they (residents) can participate with us and we hope they take advantage," Conti said.
The next live appearance by the selectmen on Town Talk will air on December 28 from 7-8 p
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