Emily Buchanan has written a fine article in today’s Lake City Reporter outlining Sen. Charlie Dean’s new website which provides a medium through which citizens may express their concerns about the distribution of funds generated by Amendment 1.
Committee sessions have begun in Tallahassee to make important decisions regarding the dispersal of new monies, voted in overwhelmingly during the November 2014 elections.
Merrillee Malwitz-Jipson, president of OSFR, had this to say regarding the senator’s new website requesting comments:
‘This is terrific news,’ said Merrillee Malwitz=Jipson, president of Our Santa Fe River. ‘It’s wonderful that this committee has decided to use technology to make the amendment highly accessible for local people to have an input.
One of the biggest problems residents faced before the Senate made the webpage available for comments was the traveling to some of the meetings held in Tallahassee,’ Malwitz-Jipson said.
‘Now, we won’t have to travel as far,’ she said. ‘I don’t think any other senate committee has reached out to the public this way. To me, it sounds like he wanted to make the public part of the process, which is great.’
Lucinda Merritt also spoke for the Ichetucknee Alliance and expressed satisfaction with the new access for comments.
OSFR is grateful to Emily Buchanan and the Lake City Reporter for publishing our opinion and comments.
http://www.lakecityreporter.com/articles/2015/01/09/news/doc54af27e898aa8845527452.txt