Council Sets Constituent Meetings

 by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

At the Jan. 28 meeting, the members of the Sewanee Community Council firmed up plans for meeting with their constituents, giving the residents of the community an opportunity to voice their concerns. The council also reviewed the Civic Association’s proposal to form a parks oversight committee and evaluated the effectiveness of the agenda committee as a vehicle for selecting council topics.

 The constituent meetings will be at 7 p.m., Monday, March 25, at the Sewanee Elementary School. Each district will be assigned a separate meeting room where constituents will meet with their district representatives. Following the meetings with constituents, the council will convene to share and assess what they have learned from the individuals they represent. 

The Sewanee Community Council serves those living on the Domain of the University, which is divided into four residential districts and two special districts for the student population and the School of Theology (SofT). Council representatives from the residential districts are elected. The student body and SofT appoint council representatives from within their ranks. Council representative Pam Byerly will design postcard invitations which will be mailed to all registered voters residing on the Domain, with the University paying the costs of the mailing.

Theresa Shackelford, council representative and president of the Civic Association, reported on the Civic Association’s plans to provide a structure for monitoring community parks, including the soon-to-be-constructed dog park and other parks on the Domain not supervised by another entity, including Elliott Park and the playgrounds at St. Mark’s and the Woodlands. Emily Puckette is undertaking formalizing the arrangement with the University on behalf of the Civic Association. When the dog park was initially proposed, the Council agreed to assume responsibility for oversight.

 Provost John Swallow invited comments on the effectiveness of the agenda committee which selects the topics addressed at Council meetings, a mechanism that has been in place for one year. Committee member Michael Hurst said the committee could resolve some issues without bringing them before the Council, with the answers to questions raised being communicated to the Council representative who introduced the topic on behalf of a constituent. Council representative David Coe countered that issues resolved by the committee were not made public, when the information might be useful to many community residents. 

On the recommendation of Shackelford, the committee will provide the Council with minutes from the committee’s meetings to make the Council aware of topics and solutions not publicly vetted.

 Swallow reported on golf course manager Matt Daniels’ reasons for not allowing privately owned golf carts. Daniels cited revenue earned, management and safety concerns and limited parking space.

 Vice-Chancellor John McCardell read a resolution honoring Louise Irwin on her 75th birthday [see adjacent box], McCardell praised Irwin as “a source of wisdom, counsel and historical memory” and on her “extraordinary service” to the community on behalf of the Trustees’ Human Relations Committee, the Senior Center, the Independence Day celebration and many other Sewanee institutions.

 Beginning at the next Council meeting on Feb. 25, SofT representative Molly Roberts will assume the role of secretary.