Mayor of Yuma hosts community conversations
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - The Mayor of Yuma invites residents to engage in Community Conversations with him throughout 2023 and Thursday was the first event.
Mayor Doug Nicholls wants to make sure Yumans are heard, so he's bringing back what used to be active before the pandemic, a series of five meetings held across various neighborhoods.
The goal is for Yuma residents of all ages and backgrounds to ask questions and voice their concerns.
"Really the agenda is up to the people. So to go out to the community to maybe someplace they're more familiar with than City Hall. Be on their turf and listen," explained Mayor Nicholls. "So we'll do a little bit of introduction information for people that are there, but then the rest of the meeting is theirs and whatever they want to talk about, we'll be able to talk about."
Today's meeting took place at the Martin Luther King Neighborhood Center and about 15 people attended.
Mayor Nicholls mentioned a quicker way to report problems in the city is by downloading the 'Yuma Click and Fix app' and uploading a picture.
"And then in the app, select that picture and it'll use the geotag of the picture to identify the location and the city," continued Nicholls. "Then it tells you to type in what the issue is and then select which department that should go to and then right when you hit send, it goes to that department."
He said the purpose of the app is to add more ways to reach out to the city, so they can take care of business for residents.
Sharon Costa, a Yuma resident that attended said she learned a lot from Thursday's meeting.
"A lot of them were talking about parks and recreation and water and the homeless," says Costa.
Costa mentioned she will be at the next discussion and will bring more people with her because it was very informational.
Nicholls jotted down everyone's concerns and even had comment cards available for those who want to remain anonymous.
All upcoming discussions are from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
The next meeting will be on Thursday, February 16 at Mesa Heights Community Resource Center.
Following discussion dates and locations:
March 16 - Kofa High School Ernest F. Rillos Gymnasium, 3100 S. Avenue A.
March 23 - Arizona at Work, 3826 W. 16th St.
April 27 - Yuma Readiness and Community Center, 6550 E. 24th St.
