Thursday, October 07, 2021

I Have to Admit, That's Pretty Efficient Government Activity

Earlier today, I got an email asking me to confirm my intent to attend tonight's meeting of the Gainesville / Alachua County Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, and offering three ways of doing so (phone, email, or online form). So I did (via the form).

Then, a few minutes ago, I got an email informing me the meeting has been canceled due to expected lack of quorum -- not enough members confirmed their attendance.

I'm kind of disappointed that the meeting has been canceled -- this was my third scheduled meeting since being appointed to the board, and so far only one has taken place (I think the last cancellation probably had something to do with the "COVID-19 emergency" stuff the county's been pulling).

But it's pretty cool that I didn't end up taking a 20-mile round-trip bicycle ride during thunderstormy weather, only to find out at the far end of that trip that the activity I showed up for wasn't going to happen after all.

In my experience (which is mostly non-governmental), things get canceled for lack of quorum AFTER not enough people show up, not in advance on the basis of KNOWING not enough people are going to show up. This seems like an improvement.

The only down side is that the cancellation was close enough to the actual meeting time (two hours ahead) that any members of the public wishing to attend and/or comment might show up and be disappointed. And yes, members of the public DO show up and comment.

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