Council ‘Summit’ introduces new members to processes and colleagues

On Saturday, January 5, the Front Royal Town Council held its 2019 “Summit” to review local governmental and legal processes, departmental operations, the Town’s finances, as well as coming projects and goals. One key aspect of the summit is to give new incoming council members – of which there are two in the wake of the November election – an overview of what they are stepping into.

Departing the scheduled four-hour summit slightly after 3 p.m., first-time candidate and incoming Council-woman Letasha Thompson said she found the session informative and helpful. And while the other incoming councilman, Chris Holloway, declined comment, what he heard may have had a familiar ring from his first go-round on council circa 2006-10.

The only council absence from the summit was Jacob Meza. Also participating were Town Manager Joe Waltz, Town Attorney Doug Napier and Town Finance Director B. J. Wilson under the watchful eye of Council Clerk Jennifer Berry.

This first session with Town Manager Joe Waltz was broken into four sections: General Information; Council Orientation; Current and Future Projects; and Goal Setting. However, due to the length of the summit moving past 3 p.m. for the scheduled 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. event, as well as Meza’s absence, the Goal Setting aspect while touched upon, was slated for a revisiting by the full council at a coming work session.

Watch the Royal Examiner’s following video segments of the summit for an overview of the Town’s governmental processes as they impact, not only our elected officials, but all of us as town citizens.

Note: This first video does have some audio issues and is the longest session at about 55 minutes.