JANESVILLE — Unlike previous years, there will be no community open house and State of the City address at City Hall this year from the Janesville city manager.
Instead, Janesville City Manager Kevin Lahner will give a State of the City update Wednesday following an invitation-only breakfast at the Janesville Country Club.
The event has been noticed as a public meeting and members of the public can attend the speech at roughly 8 a.m.
The speech will follow the Janesville Leaders Breakfast.
The format has at least one city council member raising concerns.
In past years, the State of the City address has been held at City Hall accompanied by an open house where residents could talk to a variety of city leaders and department heads.
Council member Paul Williams, who was invited to attend along with other city council members, said he believes the event should be held on city-owned property.
“My concern is that I don’t feel that any type of a public meeting should be held at a private club,” Williams said. He does not plan to attend.
The city will record the speech and share it widely on JATV, YouTube, and City social media pages, according to Nick Faust, assistant to the city manager.
Faust said that with citizen engagement in mind, the city is confident residents will find this year’s curated video address accessible, understandable, and exciting, encapsulating what he called the community’s tremendous momentum.
Williams is one of six people running for three seats on the council in April, along with incumbent Aaron Burdick, Josh Erdman, Mathew Gonzalez, Billy McCoy and Larry Squire.