Stark County Commissioners Host Town Hall Meeting in North Canton

North Canton residents — and those from surrounding communities — will get the chance to talk about local issues with their county commissioners at 6:30 p.m. May 30 in .

Stark County Commissioners Janet Weir Creighton, Peter Ferguson and Tom Bernabei plan to lead 12 town hall meetings around the county between now and mid-November. Tonight marks their third meeting.

Creighton said the meetings help the local government remain open and transparent as well as provide an avenue for residents to resolve their issues. She said county residents often can't make it to commissioners' meetings because of scheduling conflicts. (Those meetings take place at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays.)

"We just want to make sure that they get the answers (to their questions) or we can at least get them to the right person," Creighton said. "We cannot solve all the problems."

Last year, commissioners hosted 22 meetings, largely to talk about the county's . They chose the 12 spots this year based on participation and location, Creighton said.

She expects flooding to be a major concern for residents at the meeting, particularly for those near the Zimber Ditch. But she said commissioners are ready to hear and respond to a wide variety of concerns.

"Really, it’s an open agenda," Creighton said. "We have heard everything from Board of Education questions to annexations to ditches to dogs to complaints or praises. It’s just been an array of comments."