Civic Engagement Paper

I completed my civic engagement at the Northville City Council meeting held on Tuesday, February 16. These meetings are held bi-monthly to discuss current issues and put into action certain bills and proposals to make the city of Northville a better place. They are led by Mayor Ken Roth with his team of members of James Allen, Nancy Darga, Sam Ekong, and Marilyn Price. At the meeting attended, the council members discussed the problems with the summer fun run, Kona Run and a draining pipe causing erosion on with the apartment complex on 8 Mile and Taft Road. The Kona Fun is a fun run held at the beginning of summer in downtown Northville. This event is being proposed, but the members of the council were debating on whether it should be an event again. They have received many reports of Northville city citizens who could not leave their house due to the race.
It was blatantly obvious these city council meetings are not very well attended. I think that the presence that my friends and I had at the event was very rewarding to the council. It showed that there are students in our schools who actually care about the issues in our community and that it is in good hands for the future. We talked with mayor Ken Roth before and after the meeting. He was very gracious our presence at the meeting. Attending this meeting really connected me with the community of Northville. I have lived and been all over the Novi/Northville area my whole life and it was very interesting to see how proposals and issues are discussed. From this experience, I learned for change to occur within a community, it starts with the citizens and followed up with the trusted council members. It may take longer than expected, but if this issue is reasonable and backed up by citizens, it can be put into action. Being engaged in our community's issues and policies is something that more people should take advantage of in our current