Feb. 12, 2009 – Craig W. Barshinger, senator-at-large of the V.I. Legislature, will hold a town meeting on Friday, Feb. 27, at the St. John Legislature Building in Cruz Bay. This first meeting will be structured to allow the community to express issues of concern and to prioritize them, recognizing that they cannot all be worked on at full intensity at the same time. Some issues likely to be raised are: property taxes, parking in Cruz Bay, a vision for a new St. John school, the unsightly barricades at Marine terminals, and creating a St. John vendors, plaza for things that are made, grown or caught on St. John, among other concerns.
Subsequent town meetings will deal with particular subjects and issues. The purpose of the meetings is to continue moving away from the top-down, patriarchal leadership style to a more participative democracy, where everyone's voice is welcome and everyone's opinion is factored into the decisions that are made.
