Montgomery County officials changed the time and venue for their meetings.

The meetings are usually held every first and third Thursday of the month at 10 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Board Room on the 8th floor of One Montgomery Plaza. Residents can attend or get a live stream of the meetings via the county’s website.

Because of the weekday time slot when many residents are working, county officials decided to make the latest meeting at 6 p.m.

Commissioners also decided to change the venue.

The latest meeting was held at John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove, a Montgomery County-supported facility.

“Our goal is to connect our county government more effectively with the people of Montgomery County,” said chairman Josh Shapiro. “One of the best ways to do that is hold meetings at times that are convenient for them after work and hold meetings throughout the county. Getting out of Norristown and being in places like here in Audubon is really exciting.”

The James Audubon Center is home to author John James Audubon. It is a 175-acre historic landmark. The meeting was held outdoors, as vice chairman Leslie Richards noted she enjoyed seeing a spider a few inches away from her while she spoke into the microphone.  

“To be here while all the flowers are in bloom was awesome,” Richards said. “To be in this facility, an open wall pavilion here is really inspiring. We will try to use this space again.”

It was business as usual for the commissioners once the meeting started.
Nothing changed from the agenda. The meeting was live-streamed on the county’s website for residents.

“It is very important to have night meetings so that people who cannot watch or attend meeting during the day can do so,” Richards said.

Shapiro noted the changing of the place and meetings from time to time is just government doing its job by trying to keep residents informed as best as they can.

“We want to make it open and accessible to the public,” he said. “This is our first meeting outside the courthouse and it will certainly not be our last.”

Moving the venue of the meetings across the county couldn’t hurt the economy for Montgomery County as well, as they are in the middle of the budget process.

“There are homes that are close by these attractions and [we want to have] businesses grow around them,” Shapiro said. “We want to highlight that we have sites like this and we have many of them in Montgomery County.”