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​Charlottesville hosts services fair, publicizes activities

City spokesperson Dickler says fair saw good turnout

The City of Charlottesville held its annual City Services Fair Friday afternoon at City Hall Plaza on the Downtown Mall.

The event allows different departments within the local government to set up tables on the Downtown Mall and inform Charlottesville citizens about how their department contributes to the city.

“Its almost like an outdoor open house,” Charlottesville spokesperson Miriam Dickler said. “It’s a chance for people to come any time during the period that we’re here, visit with us and come to tables at their leisure, so they can find out more about the things that they are particularly interested in and talk to [us] one on one.”

Dickler said the city has hosted the event for at least seven years.

The event featured representatives from many city departments, including the Sheriff’s Office, Public Utilities, and Parks and Recreation.

“Parks and Recreation — our department — we plan for this every year, and all of our employees are trying to be involved,” Therapeutic Specialist Bob Isabelle said. “We have to sign up and make it happen and make sure everything goes well.”

Though a lot of information about each department of the city can be found online, the City Services Fair allows for widespread access to hands-on demonstrations from city departments.

“We have robot cameras that go through our sanitary and storm sewer pipes that can show us where damage is,” Dickler said. “That’s not something you can necessarily see easily, so this is a chance for people to get those sort of demonstrable experiences.”

The event is targeted toward Charlottesville citizens, but residents stop by the fair for a variety of reasons.

“We’ve had some school groups come by, we’ve had some people who were just on the Mall drop through, we had a group from the International Rescue Committee, who came and met with the City Council to learn more about City Council, so it [has] been a good turnout,” Dickler said.

Some residents brought friends and family members to the fair to share their experiences of the city.

“I wanted to show him,” Charlottesville resident April Ausburn said, gesturing to the man next to her. “He came up from Atlanta yesterday and I’ve been here for a year. I needed to show him where I’ve been the last year and what it’s all about.”

The City Services Fair allows city residents to interact with city officials in a casual setting.

“Frequently when people meet with us or see us, it’s because they have a specific concern or problem, and this is a way for people to interact with the whole city without having those specific issues,” Dickler said. “This is a chance for them to come see us, learn what we do, and what we do on their behalf every day.”

Isabelle agreed that casual interaction is important for government employees as well as citizens of Charlottesville.

“It’s good for the government to be able to get out and give away some free gifts, and just mingle and meet with our constituents, shake hands, and do fun things,” Isabelle said. “It's good for everyone to meet the city in general and have a sense of what we do as a city and how we serve the people.”

Ausburn said this type of educational event is characteristic of Charlottesville’s efforts to reach out to citizens.

“Charlottesville is really good about keeping the city involved and keeping community awareness, and I think that this is exactly what [this event] is,” Ausburn said. “Everyone in the Downtown Mall area has been really keen on it, and a lot of the local businesses too, so this is another way for them to keep people aware of what’s going on, how they do it, and its fun, too.”

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