Manassas Journal Messenger | Manassas Business Council gets a chage
Manassas Business Council members are hoping a change in the way the group is structured will allow it to advise the City Council in a more efficient manner.
The City Council voted 5-0 Monday night to allow the business council to have a board of nine directors, responsible for forming committees and appointing members to the general group.
“We want to create the structure for an action-oriented, can-do Manassas Business Council,” said Steven Nelson, theBusiness Council’s chairman.
The City Council formed the business council in 1994 as a way to get input on issues affecting the business community. It was assigned a 10-year action plan, full of projects to discuss. The plan was completed in six years.
At this time, Nelson is the only officer for the council of roughly 25 members, which provides input to the council on a variety of development and planning issues.
“Up until this point, the business council has been like a large committee,” Nelson said. “We’re trying to put some vertical integration into it.”
The City Council will appoint the business council’s directors over the summer. The new board, Nelson said, will oversee expansion of the council’s membership and put together task forces to examine specific issues.
With the city preparing to put together sector plans on specific areas of the city — such as the Mathis Avenue area –?diversifying the council’s membership will be a plus, Nelson said.
“We want to hear from as many people, particular to specific topics, as necessary,” he said.