A presentation where more than 3/4 of the time is spent in a one-way flow of information and where residents’ concerns are relegated to a still-diminishing-and-to-be-seen Q & A period at the end of the meeting does not bode well for a process that is inclusive of the public, as the City has requested and as the law requires. (Evergreen note: this comment refers to the Aug. 27, 2020 event).

The first public information session held on Aug. 27, 2020, was designed to provide an overview of the technical information in the RIRs. It included discussion of questions and comments already received from the public, both on the reports and the Act 2 process in general. Evergreen is aware that the presentation went long and apologizes for any inconvenience, but intended to work in as many issues that were received from the community while also meeting all PADEP and City requirements for review of the information contained within the reports submitted to date.

Based on feedback received from the public such as this comment, and because the Jan. 14, 2021 meeting was held to close the comment period that was kicked off by Aug. 2020 meeting, the information session held in January included mostly time for Q&A with a short introduction in the beginning.  Future public meetings and other outreach efforts will include additional opportunities for open dialog with the communities during the meetings.