First of three town hall meetings planned in Merced this week

The first of a series of town hall-style meetings for the Merced City Council is set for Thursday.

The council has planned two meetings in the first quarter of the year since 2012 but this year has expanded to three gatherings. Town hall meetings are generally less formal than meetings at City Hall to allow residents to have a more open dialogue with the council.

The meeting in south Merced has traditionally drawn many more people to talk to the elected officials, compared to the one on the northern end of town.

The agenda for the first meeting includes presentations from City Manager Steve Carrigan, Interim Assistant City Clerk John Tresidder, Police Chief Norm Andrade and Economic Development Director Frank Quintero.

The meeting in south Merced last year was dominated by complaints about the condition of McNamara Park, which lost more than two dozen trees in the previous five years for a variety of reasons. The council has since decided to add trees and shade structures to compensate for the lost trees, which did not satisfy all the residents who use the park.

The meetings almost always draw discussion about the city’s homeless and economic problems. Gang violence and other crimes are also common topics.

The first gathering is set for 6 p.m. Thursday at Tenaya Middle School, 760 W. Eighth St.

Two more meetings are planned this year. The second meeting is 6 p.m. Feb. 25 at Rivera Middle School, 945 Buena Vista Drive; and the final one is 6 p.m. March 3 at the Merced Multicultural Arts Center, 645 W Main St.

Interpreter services are available for Hmong and Spanish speakers at all three meetings.

The meetings will be streamed live on the Internet. A link to the meetings is on the city’s website, www.cityofmerced.org; they will be shown on Channel 96 on Comcast as well.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 6:11 PM with the headline "First of three town hall meetings planned in Merced this week."