Michael Clement

Professor Nelson
POLS 1100
8/4/2015

Public Meeting
For my public meeting assignment, I went to a meeting with the Bountiful
Planning Commission at Bountiful City Hall on August 4 th, 2015. Although the
meeting was a short one, I still learned a few things about the process of
policymaking at the city level.
The main item on the agenda was a review of the plan for a section of the
city, the Val Verda Meadows subdivision. One man in the committee gave an
overview of what had been done so far with this plan and mentioned red line
corrections that had been made to the plan. From what I could infer, there had
been damages made due to rain and snow in a certain area of town and they were
making a plan to avoid such damage in the future. Comments were made about
street names and whether they are in accordance with existing city ordinances or
not.
After they voted on the plan, a lady raised her hand and asked for
clarification about the plan. She clearly was not happy with it. She explained that
her house is across from the proposed construction site and she will be disturbed by
the increased traffic. She voiced her opinion, but because it had already been voted
on several times, her request of the change in lots was denied.
I learned from this experience that when a person has an interest in a certain
issue, they can do something about it. They can petition their leaders for help with
their concerns, although those concerns may not change the decision. The
committee members were very polite. After the meeting, the Planning Director
talked with the woman and her husband privately. I also learned from this

experience about the formalities that exist in government. There was an

established way to vote, to propose changes, to ask questions, etc. However, the
guidelines were not expected by members of the public attending the meeting.
Overall, attending this public meeting was a good experience that gave me a better
idea about what I can do to make a difference in my community.