For some people, participating in City Commission meetings can be intimidating or inconvenient, so city officials decided to bring the meeting to them, City Manager Russ Blackburn said.
In an effort to get feedback from citizens, the city is holding a series of informational meetings for each district in Gainesville, which started Tuesday night with District 1.
The district, which is in East Gainesville, is represented by Commissioner Scherwin Henry.
Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan said if elected officials don't get out into the neighborhoods, they risk missing out on big issues.
Blackburn said all residents in District 1 received phone calls inviting them to the meeting, and about 100 of them showed up.
All the city commissioners attended the meeting except for Craig Lowe, whose mother was ill. A variety of city officials made presentations about issues affecting the district.
The crowd applauded after hearing that the Waldo Road Wal-Mart would open May 7, and a traffic light would be built at the intersection of North Main Street and 53rd Avenue.
Other issues included roadwork, development projects, fire safety and city budget problems.
In anticipation of looming budget cuts, everyone in attendance was asked to fill out a multiple-choice survey asking which services they would be willing to reduce.
Choices included street maintenance, crime prevention programs, the arts and social services.
Blackburn said it was the first time the city had asked for citizen input on the budget.
Kevin Claney, who has lived in District 1 for nine years, said he thought the list of choices wasn't complete. Claney also said that with tax revenues from growth, he didn't believe the city's budget would suffer as much as commissioners said.
"When they talk about how they don't have any money, I have a hard time with that," he said.
Mark Stowe and Elaine Cronheim said they came to hear about Eastside development. Though they live half a mile outside of Gainesville, the couple said city decisions still affect them. Stowe said the meeting was a good way to catch up with city projects.
"It's very hard to keep track of everything going on," he said.
