Caldwell Chamber of Commerce Hosts Caldwell Govt. Charette

THE GUARDIAN attended a charette on city government in Caldwell Tuesday evening of this week. The meeting was attended by over sixty businesses owners and chamber members in Caldwell. An outside facilitator was brought in from Coeur d' Alene to keep the meeting focused and on task. I should also mention that no Caldwell employees or elected officials were invited to attend this meeting. An open and free flow of comments, ideas and constructive criticism was the purpose of the meeting. Therefore, city officials were asked to not attend.

Everyone broke out into groups to bring up what is both good and what needs improvement with our fair city. It was informative as well as a bit amazing to see just how much general agreement there was on a variety of subjects for what is good and what needs improvement from a city government administration point of view.

All of the issues discussed will be put together into a final report for the community as well as the elected officials in the community in the near term.

Concerns of downtown business people are TVCC/City Hall project and how it got authorized along with what it will do to parking for businesses downtown. The Issues of City Manager Government, Urban Renewal accountability and transparency were also raised at this meeting.

Expect a formal "white paper report" on this meeting in the near term from the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce Board in the very near future. THE GUARDIAN would like to thank the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce for hosting this informative and much needed reviewe of our city.