By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY – For Mayor Ed Trzaska, it’s important to get to know and stay on the same page with Montgomery’s various local organizations and neighborhood communities.
So he and his administration will be the first to formalize a “Meet the Mayor” Q&A series this year. After doing two events last year, he enjoyed them so much that he wanted to officially label and arrange a succession of get-togethers with hometown groups and/or homeowner associations and their residents.
”I’m sure other mayors have done an event of this style here and there, but never a formal series,” said Mayor Trzaska. “These new town hall style meetings have been rewarding and an excellent way to stay connected with residents.”
With a goal of at least eight forums by the end of 2013, the mayor has already held two: one with the Rotary Club and one with the Tapestry, a fairly new active adult community off of Route 518.
Mayor Trzaska said the response so far has been “tremendous,” noting that the Tapestry event yielded 60 residents when he stopped by on Jan. 8.
”We have a very engaged population and the Q&A sessions have allowed me to provide information on a wide range of local issues,” he added. “They (residents) also keep me up to date on what they care about at the township and neighborhood level.”
In keeping an aggressive approach toward scheduling, Mayor Trzaska has already added two more events. He and Township Administrator Donato Nieman will meet with the Montgomery Business Association (MBA) on Jan. 30 for “Breakfast with the Mayor.”
At 8 a.m., Mayor Trzaska, Mr. Nieman and MBA members will gather at the Princeton Elks Lodge in Blawenburg to chat about ways to foster economic development and promote Montgomery’s businesses.
The mayor also contacted his own neighborhood at Pike Run to set up a fourth forum billed as “Meet the Mayor” and “Fellow Pike Run Neighbor.” The details for this event are still being finalized.
Mayor Trzaska said he would be continuing to reach out to residents to see if they would be interested in hosting an event and that interested parties could also e-mail him at [email protected].
”I look forward to all the upcoming forums and will be proactively working to schedule more,” he added.

