Gainesville is changing, and its residents had a chance to voice their opinions on changes they would like to see more of at the Focus on the Future community forum on Monday night.
About 40 Gainesville residents and officials gathered at Cone Park to give city officials feedback on what they would like the city to look like in the future.
Focus on the Future was designed to help city officials prioritize their focus on issues residents said were problems in the community.
"What we're really looking for are ideas," said Mayor Craig Lowe. "We never know what ideas citizens may bring forward that will solve a problem that we have in the city."
The forum was structured around six roundtable discussions: economic development; transportation and transit; future growth and the environment; customer service; public safety and parks; and recreation and culture.
"I think one-on-one conversation is always the best," Lowe said. "Small group meetings are good to have a constructive conversation about the real issues that the city faces."
Residents chose which discussions to join. After 30 minutes, everyone switched categories.
The City Commission provided members of the different categories with a set of questions meant to stimulate discussions and appointed a speaker who reported the findings to city officials.
Each resident had the chance to speak out about the issues they were passionate about.
Residents said they want faster response times from police and from city officials. They also want city employees to follow up on work orders such as neighborhood road maintenance the same day residents place the orders.
City Manager Russ Blackburn said information gathered from residents will be used in planning the city's budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year and in the five-year capital improvement plan.
Residents said they were pleased with the forum.
"I think it is time for city officials to prioritize on the issues," said Gainesville resident Caleb Young. "We should have more of these meetings to get the issues to the power and get the community involved."
Community members discuss ways the city can improve at the Eastside Recreation Center on Monday evening. Concepts discussed will be presented to the City Commission for the next budget cycle.
