EARL WATT

   • Leader & Times

Concerns about communication dominated the recent Seward County Commissioners Forum, and one question asked how would the candidates create positive relationship with the community.

Dist. 4 candidate Fred Bloom repeated his answer.

“Communicate, communicate, communicate,” Bloom said. “It’s been brought up how we haven’t had town hall meetings. People showing up like this, we can communicate. There are things you have to do behind closed doors, but it needs to be brought forward. We need to work on that.”

Bloom’s Dist. 4 competitor, current Liberal City Commissioner Jose Lara, reiterated communication was key but seeking public involvement was also important.

“We have to make sure the community is as involved as possible in decisions being made,” Lara said. “We’ve seen it at the city level. We do polls, plenty of town halls, we recently hosted a State of the City — we are making sure the public is getting information and you can speak with them. When I was mayor I added by every agenda item a comments by the public. Not just the items from the public, but every agenda item I had ‘Discussion from Commission,’ and, ‘Discussion from Public.’ That’s how much I believe the public needs to be involved.”

Dist. 2 Commissioner Clay Louderback focused on meeting directly with the public.

“You need to get to know them, don’t be a stranger, “ Louderback said. “Try to be involved with the people you are governing over. Try to get their input — what they want to see happen — and take that knowledge and put it to use as well as you can.”

Louderback’s Dist. 2 opponent Kay Burtzloff said the public has to believe the county will listen to them.

“Accessibility is key,” Burtzloff said. “It’s hard for me to get through the grocery store because I have a lot of people who want to come up and talk to me about their lives and concerns when I announced I was running. A number of employees and citizens have reached out. I will always be accessible. I have worked in the most vulnerable parts of the community and they feel comfortable talking to me and trust me to keep it confidential and I will try to act on the information they give me.”

Dist. 3 Commissioner Jairo Vazquez said to develop positive relations with the community starts with being positive.

“Be positive, sounds simple,” Vazquez said. “I’ve noticed not everything is bad. We have had wins within our county, within our city, our community — focus on those. Second, be involved. Last month I got to do the 9/11 stair climb with first responders. That was so much fun. My legs were jelly for a couple of days, but I am so proud of our first responders and what they do. Be open. I’ve been stopped at lunch, and I’ve spent 15-20  minutes talking and listening to concerns.”

Dist. 3 challenger Lizzette Avalos-Moreno, who teaches interpersonal communications at Seward County Community College, said communication was key along with being prepared.

“One of the main things I tell my students is more communication,” Avalos-Moreno said. “What does that mean? How are you going to say it? How we communicate with the public requires transparent communication, frequent communication. I read the minutes of the meetings, and they are just motions on what was approved, never what was discussed. Employees, we need to be prepared. Prepare them with a crisis communication plan when emotions are high so they can address that situation.”

After all had a chance to respond, Vazquez added that department heads at the county have their own staff meetings, and keeping distance from those was intentional.

“Department heads have their own meetings,” Vazquez said. “We decided to stay away from it and let them have that place to talk among themselves.”

Avalos-Morales said not everyone is comfortable attending meetings, and commissioners should be more proactive in keeping the public informed.

“We need to be helping people get informed,” she said. “Some things are intimidating — going to a meeting or a forum. I have been helping people by providing information. I help people research and find out what their district is, help them be informed. I helped register more than 40 people during this election.”

Lara also pointed out the importance of highlighting the positives in the county as well as staff.

“We should be pointing out the good things, but also employee appreciation,” Lara said “It’s hard to be positive if employees are not happy. We recognize employees at the city, not with bonuses or anything like that. It is designed to make sure employees are recognized and happy, and we can do that at the county as well. Those people are your biggest positive movers.”