Commissioners Plan Workshops

DAYTON – The Columbia County Commissioners decided last week to establish regular workshops in addition to their twice-monthly board meetings.

The workshops will begin in February and take place from 10 a.m. until noon every Monday in the commissioners’ board room on the third floor of the courthouse. The commissioners will also meet from 1-3 p.m. on the second Monday of each month to tour various county road projects and other major developments.

The commissioners did not indicate how long they would continue this practice. These meetings will be published on the county website and are open to the public.

“It is not our intention to take any action during these workshops,” said Commissioner Dwight Robanske. The idea is for commissioners to have more time, outside of the already lengthy regular board meetings, to discuss matters with each other and with people involved in certain issues.

For example, Robanske said, if the board needed to know more about a project being considered, the people involved could be invited to an upcoming workshop allowing the commissioners to spend time asking questions and learning more about it without taking up time during the board meeting.

In addition, the commissioners each attend a number of meetings throughout the week, but they have not had a way to communicate with each other regularly about what happened at the meeting or impart any news or information the others might need to know because law prevents them from having a quorum outside of a published, public meeting.

According to the commissioners, the workshops will allow them to share information with each other in an open-meeting format allowable by law. In addition, Commissioner Merle Jackson began his first term in office this month; the new workshops will allow the other commissioners to ensure he gets up to speed more quickly.