Lunch with the mayor: an open invitation

This is the first of four weekly articles during the month of October describing my goals and priorities for the city of Sandpoint. This series is in preparation for a new “Lunch With The Mayor” informal meeting to be held on the last Thursday of the month beginning Oct. 26, from 12-1 p.m.at the Cedar Street Bistro in the Cedar Street Bridge.

As your mayor, my goals are to engage the public to address community concerns, improve the local economy, sustain the quality of life and keep Sandpoint affordable. In this four-part series I will address these goals, one at a time. My intention through this initiative is to be accessible to Sandpoint citizens, improve the quality and quantity of dialogue on issues important to Sandpoint, to dispel myth and misinformation and to empower citizens to have a greater impact on the health and well being of our community.

Priority No.1: Engage the public to address community concerns.

On Sunday, Oct. 1, a tragic event occurred in Las Vegas that was truly heartbreaking. My condolences go out to family members and friends who lost loved ones and to everyone who was impacted by this horrific incident. Such an act reminds us of human fragility. Let this unfortunate event remind us of our humanity and our capacity to come together in support of one another to overcome all obstacles. That is why I am reaching out to you now, because I understand that the challenges we face together will only make this wonderful community stronger. The purpose of “Lunch With The Mayor” is to strengthen communications, increase transparency and invite robust civic engagement at a time when it’s needed the most.

You can also find this series of weekly addresses on the city of Sandpoint’s website — cityofsandpoint.com/your-government/mayor.

Lastly, it is approaching my midterm as your mayor. I welcome you to reach out to me and let me know how I am doing. If you can find the time to email me, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Send your emails to mayor@sandpointidaho.gov. Thank you and I hope to see you at “Lunch With The Mayor” the last Thursday of month!

Shelby Rognstad is the mayor of Sandpoint. He can be reached at mayor@sandpointidaho.gov.