Parryville residents want to be more informed

Parryville residents told council this week that they want to be more informed.

Council discussed implementation of an updated communication system.

During public comment, residents expressed concerns over how people in the community receive notifications for things such as borough meeting dates and times as well as changes to meeting dates and times or when special meetings take place.

The public would like to see postings of other matters as well, including vacancies to the board so that they can submit their interest and apply for open seats, because residents feel they currently aren’t always informed.

Despite the meetings being published in the Times News, residents agree that the community needs a secondary way to inform the public.

An “all-call” system, where multiple phone calls happen simultaneously to a large group of people on a call list, was suggested, but this type of service would come at a price, which is something the borough prefers to avoid.

Secretary Tiffany Oakley brought up an alternative that was already in the works in the form of a email list that residents can sign up for. This would not cost anything for the borough to implement or maintain.

Oakley said, “The borough’s website is in need of updates but residents will see upgrades in the near future. A link will be posted on the borough’s homepage allowing the user to subscribe to the email chain if they wish to do so. It obviously isn’t mandatory, but if you’d like to have the opportunity to be included in community announcements, this is what we can offer.”

Parryville council members strongly encourage borough residents to participate in the upcoming U.S. Census.

“This is so important because it helps keep community grant money up,” Councilman Donald Smith said.

“In terms of the equivalent cost per person, for instance, is $2,000. Our community needs everyone accounted for,” Smith said.

Borough residents received mailers as a reminder that the census was coming.