Public Hearing Concerning the Future of Late-Night Service - Assignment Example

Public Hearing Summary I attended a public meeting that dealt with planning issues. Prior to attending the informational meeting addressing the future of Late-Night Service, I filled an online form to register my attendance. The online registration forms and the agendas for the meeting were available on the internet six days to the meeting. The meeting took place on March 11, 2015 between 3-5 PM. The subject of the meeting was discussing the plans to continue late night T service. The meeting was open to the public and occurred at Boston City Hall, Iannella Chamber on the 5th Floor. The public meeting was just one of the four Boston based informational meetings that seeks the public views on the future of late-night service. The council and the public discussed plans on how to extend or terminate the pilot late-night service launched in April 2014. In attending the meeting under the invite of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) and Boston City Council, I hoped to share my views on the plans to extend the late-night service. The MBTA invited the registered voters in the locality to the meeting to seek their views on the planned late-night service. Apparently, the meeting runs smoothly though some improvements were necessary. The public was entitled to attend the meeting and make their observations. The host availed the agendas way before the meeting. Moreover, minutes of the public meeting are available upon confirmation. Most people including me arrived about 15 minutes before the meeting so that they could familiarize themselves with the seating arrangement and learn how to use the advanced public system. Prior to the meeting, the host made special seating arrangements for everybody including the disabled. The host also offered American Sign Language Interpreters, handouts, guidelines, and public speaking devices that facilitated communication in the meeting. As such, everybody including the disabled and people with poor English proficiency was comfortable in the meeting. MBTA officials, local and state leaders present at the meeting focused on receiving and responding to public concerns about the planned late-night service. On this issue, the community had a right to comment, ask questions, and vote on the planned transport program. Evidently, the public meeting depicted a democratic process that involved a significant number of people in making a public decision. More so, the meeting is happening in a safe and secure place. In the meeting, the MBTA officials made a PowerPoint presentation on the dynamics of the planned extension of the late-night service. The public meeting expounded how Boston will accomplish the intended transport program. The public meeting allowed the community members to tell our leaders what we want about the planned late-night service. The leadership provided by the Chairman was quite effective. Indeed, many community members including me managed to air our views about the topic of discussion. However, it was necessary to control the acrimony and name-calling experienced in the meeting. At one point, this behavior halted the meeting for 10 minutes to the dismay of many. Moreover, the meeting had 34 community members. Community members and public officials like MBTA officials, MassDOT Board of Directors, and Councilors attended the meeting. Ideally, all the attendants related to the agenda of the day. However, the presence of MassDOT Board of Directors and councilors surprised me. I expected that the public meeting would involve the MBTA officials and the public. The councilors had a right to vote in the public meeting despite having another chance to vote in the Council. I though the public meeting only sought the community member’s views. Moreover, the presence of MassDOT Board of Directors also surprised me since they never represented the public or the council. However, the chairperson defined the roles of MassDOT Board of Directors and councilors in the discussions. Community members enjoyed the opportunity offered by the Boston City Council by speaking at the meeting. Speakers avoided defamatory or unethical comments and never requested for the discloser of any confidential details. The speakers had to register their willingness to speak in a speaker card. The meeting entailed 90 minutes of public participation. The chairperson allowed community members to speak on a first come first serve basis. Any member could only speak for a maximum of 5 minutes and members could not engage the board while speaking. The Chairman decided how MassDOT Board of Directors responded to issues raised by the public. The Board sought clarification of facts from the speaker with authority from the Chairman. Summary of the Meeting and the Outcome of the Agenda Items The public meeting held at Boston City Hall on March 11, 2015 between 3-5 PM had one fundamental issue that revolved around the panning on how to extend the late-night service in Boston. I attended the public meeting that dealt with planning issues in Boston transport sector. Prior to attending the informational meeting addressing the future of Late-Night Service, I registered my attendance online. The meeting was open to the public and was just one of the four Boston based informational meetings that seeks the public views on the future of late-night service. The MBTA and Boston City Council invited the registered voters in Boston to the meeting to seek their views on the planned late-night service. The meeting runs smoothly though some improvements were necessary. The host availed the agendas way before the meeting and familiarized everybody with the seating arrangement, the advanced public system, and the set rules of engagement. As such, the disabled and people with poor English proficiency were comfortable in the meeting. The meeting allowed the community members to comment, ask questions, and vote on the planned transport program. The members present represented the community interests. The MBTA officials presented the dynamics of the planned extension of the late-night service while the Chairman of the council guided the meeting. Many community members including me managed to air our views about the topic of discussion. However, the acrimony and name-calling experienced in the meeting almost jeopardized the meeting. Notably, out of the 34 members of the public who attended the meeting, 20 members spoke at the meeting. The speakers avoided defamatory or unethical comments. The speakers had to register their willingness to speak in a speaker card. The meeting entailed 90 minutes of public participation with every speaker using a maximum of 5 minutes. The first come first serve rule applied in choosing the members to speak. The MBTA officials and MassDOT Board of Directors responded to issues raised by the public. Ultimately, the members present resolved to extend the late-night service in Boston. Read More