The Town Council committee assignments were made at the last town council meeting on January 14. Below is a list of who is assigned to which committees as well as the committee chairperson. Each committee will meet, and present motions as needed to the full council that pertain to that committee’s area.
I have expanded the Elections & Public Relations committee to also include Census2020. The idea is to have the committee to work with our already formed Complete Count committee to help them spread the word of the importance of getting a good count on the census.
Our response rate during the 2010 census year was only 75%, actually down from 82% in the year 2000 census. Hopefully with special emphasis from the committee we can help market the importance of completing and returning the census form.
I have also created two NEW special committees named Town Identity & Beautification and Community Center Project. The Identity & Beautification committee with work on ideas, grants, etc. to see what the town can do to increase our identity. Sure, we have ‘Welcome to Merrillville’ signs scattered around, but I would love to see additional ID projects, our name on bridges, grand entrances on major roads entering our town, etc.
The Community Center Project committee will concentrate on reporting back how we are doing with that large project which is just getting started. Progress reports, tracking of expenses, and develop the plan for operating the center once it is completed which has a target date of February of 2021.
If you have ideas or concerns in any of the committee areas, please reach out to your district council members so they can work with that share that information with that committee. You may also attend committee meetings to share your ideas. We even have residents serving on committees this year. Let us know if you have an interest. I really believe in the committee structure and will be encouraging our committee chairpersons to schedule meetings and have enriched discussions.
Below is the list of committees and respective chairs. -Rick Bella, Town Council President – Ward 5 Representative.
