Gilbert, Berz plan joint office

Two City Council members plan to open a district office in coming weeks in an effort to reach out to their constituents.

"We picture this as a living room for the community," said Councilwoman Carol Berz.

Dr. Berz, along with Councilman Russell Gilbert, are opening the office, called District Connection, in Brainerd Village off Lee Highway. The office will serve the constituents of District 5 and District 6, the areas the council members represent.

Once it is up and running, the office will have computers with Internet connections, some books and meeting space, the council members said.

"Anyone wants to use this, space is available," Dr. Berz said.

Although the two said they'll drop in from time to time, it will not function as a second council office for them.

Mr. Gilbert said the idea for establishing a joint office occurred to them while they were campaigning last year. He said they had discussions about how district lines were arbitrary.

"We were talking about how there were no boundary lines," he said. "What affects her affects me. What affects me affects her."

Opening an office for the community allows residents to utilize services and connect more directly with the government, they said.

More than two-thirds of the office's budget has come from donations, Dr. Berz said. She said the rest of the funding has been paid for out of her and Mr. Gilbert's pockets.

At some point, the hope is that fundraising starts to come in to help pay the bills, they said. At first, though, they plan to keep the office open using volunteer staff.

The Community Foundation has agreed to help handle fundraising, Dr. Berz said, and some fundraising still needs to happen before the office opens completely.

"I believe it's still right and it will happen," she said.

Mr. Gilbert said the idea is not to replace other services already offered by local government.

"It's an extension of resources," he said. "We can't replace the library because we need the library. We can't replace 311 because we need 311."

What the office could offer is more lenient hours of operation than what can be provided at the library, he said.

Dr. Berz said it can be "scary and intimidating" for some residents going to City Hall for business. The purpose of the office is to help alleviate those concerns, she said.

HOW TO HELP

Anyone wishing to donate time, talent or money for the District Connection office can call Councilwoman Carol Berz at 266-4050.