Town hall meeting drew a crowd, but will it yield results?

If Tuesday’s town hall-style meeting brought together by the City of Vicksburg at the Robert M. Walker Building was judged on attendance, it would be considered a resounding success. There wasn’t an empty seat to be found. In fact, more chairs had to be brought in from other rooms to accommodate the crowd, and there were still people standing in the hallway just beyond the double doors leading into the Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s chambers.

But, if we’re basing the meeting’s success on whether or not folks left feeling better about the topics discussed, I’m not sure what the final verdict would be.

A lot of things were addressed Tuesday night, but not a ton of new information was given. At least not for anyone who keeps even casually abreast of the goings-on in Vicksburg. Mayor Flaggs talked at length about a number of currently hot topics, like why the Waffle House locations in town changing weekend hours doesn’t mean crime is up; ways the crime we do have can be addressed through the use of private security guards at events; and why his administration is so vehemently opposed to changing the city’s form of government.

Flaggs also spent some time addressing concerns about some recent projects and changes people around town are certainly wondering about. Among them were the reasons why the new animal shelter still isn’t open and what caused the city to decide now is the time to give pay raises to police officers and firefighters.

The explanations for all of these things seemed sound and you can read about them in greater detail in upcoming editions of The Vicksburg Post. You can also log on to vicksburgpost.com right now and read our three-part series breaking down what Flaggs said Tuesday night and what questions the audience had for him.

Some of the things discussed are also good lead-ins for continuing coverage we’re working on. That includes an upcoming story about the proposed change in government. The Post recently sat down with Flaggs and Ward 2 Alderman Alex Monsour to talk about the specific reasons they are opposed to change. Flaggs also addressed it briefly Tuesday night.

But as for the town hall itself, I’m not sure those in attendance left with much more insight than they came in with. But, to be fair, the crowd wasn’t the most vocal group either. Don’t get me wrong, questions were asked, especially toward the end of the meeting when the structure of the gathering became less rigid. But, maybe Flaggs just did that great of a job of explaining what is happening in our city. Or maybe people came to toss in their proverbial two cents and left satisfied. I’m not sure. But the meeting certainly leaned more toward an announcement than a conversation.

I am sure these topics will all come up again as an election looms in 2025. So tell us what you thought about the meeting. Were you there? Did you read our coverage? Did you hear about it elsewhere? And, most importantly, do you still have questions? Write a letter to the editor or take part in one of our surveys, but get involved.

Now’s the time to be active and if Tuesday’s crowd was any indication of Vicksburg’s interest in what is happening in the River City, I expect they’ll be a lot more input as we delve deeper into the issues that affect us all.

Blake Bell is the general manager and executive editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at blake.bell@vicksburgpost.com .