Community chats being put on hold

SANDPOINT — Bonner County Commissioner Asia Williams’s community chats are being put on hold for a few months while peak vacation season is underway.

Lately, Williams said multiple people have let her know they are going to miss various chats due to vacations. The reason Williams started these chats, she said, is to promote community engagement.

“Even though it’s recorded, the purpose is that interaction that we get,” she said.

Because so many regular attendees have announced that they will be missing chats this summer, Williams made the decision to pause the chats until the end of summer, when most people will be done going on vacation. The decision came from her desire for people to attend in person to build stronger relationships, she said.

After the last chat in June, which will be held Tuesday, June 25, only one chat will be held until the end of August. On July 9, Better Together Animal Alliance will be talking to the community about the services they provide.

“They are not just an animal shelter where you receive or drop off an animal, but their impact in our county is significant,” she said.

The shelter provides extra services such as free pet food for community members who are struggling to afford it, free microchip clinics, and discount spay and neuter opportunities.

In addition, Williams said she is going to start inviting state representatives to community chats when a new bill is passed. This way, that representative can give a better understanding to locals of what’s happening in Boise and how it impacts the residents of Bonner County.

Williams will be talking during the June 25 community chat, answering questions the public may have about things currently happening in the county.

Community chats take place Tuesdays at 8 a.m., in the hour before the commissioners’ regular business meetings, at the Bonner County Administration Building, 1500 U.S. Rte 2 in Sandpoint.