Have coffee with the mayor on February 5

By Gwen Roley

Blaine mayor Bonnie Onyon and city manager Michael Jones will be at Peace Arch City Cafe from 9 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday, February 5 to have coffee with members of the community who would like to bring up questions or concerns they have about the city.

“I look at it as more of a listening session,” Onyon said at a city council meeting on January 28.

According to a city press release, this meeting is part of a larger effort by the city to increase communication between citizens and government.

The talk will be the first in a series of similar sessions that will be hosted by Onyon and Jones. Blaine City Council members and city department heads will be making appearances at future sessions when they are available.

“Recently we’ve been taking steps to have more communication with citizens, such as the end-of-year newsletter recently published and social media notices,” Jones said in the press release. “These opportunities for an informal face-to-face chat are another part of the communication effort.”

These meetings will be held at different times and locations which will be announced as they are scheduled. They hope to host one or two of these sessions a month, Jones said at the city council meeting.

“Not everyone is comfortable addressing the mayor and city council at a formal council meeting,” Onyon said in a press release. “We hope people will take this opportunity, in an informal setting, to ask questions and learn more about city government.”

Even if citizens don’t have specific questions, the mayor and city manager will be prepared to report on number of general city items, so all residents are encouraged to stop by and get educated.