South Knoxville City Councilman Nick Pavlis announced he will begin hosting "Coffee With Your Councilman" meetings once per quarter. Pavlis explained the meeting would be held at the Roundup restaurant at 3643 Sevierville Pike. The first such meeting will be Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
"This is just an informal opportunity for folks to come by and enjoy some good coffee and visit with me about anything that might be on their minds," Pavlis said. "I think one of the most important things for any public official is to be accessible to the people he or she represents. "While I regularly attend all kinds of meetings throughout my district; home owner association meetings and the like, not everyone can come to those, so I thought about trying to come up with a way for folks to simply come and visit if they want to. "So I decided I would sponsor a coffee meeting for folks on Saturday mornings. I intend to do this at least every three months and it will give folks an opportunity to sit down and enjoy some fellowship and we can discuss any topic of concern they might have."
Pavlis has stressed constituent service as a member of the Knoxville City Council and has developed a reputation for providing quick responses to inquiries from constituents as well as contacting City of Knoxville officials on behalf of residents. Pavlis said during his campaign for Council that he would work hard to provide excellent constituent service for the community and by all accounts, he has exceeded expectations in that regard."I don't care whether someone is a Governor, Senator, Congressman or a City Councilman; folks have a right to expect a public official to be responsive," Pavlis said.
Pavlis acknowledged not every problem brought to his attention could be addressed, but said that sometimes he could intervene on behalf of constituents or simply "point them in the right" direction.
Pavlis said he hopes the "Coffee With Your Councilman" meetings will be well attended and that he always looks forward to meeting friends and constituents. "I will be ready to take notes and folks WILL get a prompt follow-up to anything they might bring to my attention," Pavlis promised. "I hope the people of South Knoxville will use this opportunity to come by and visit. "It's just another good opportunity for me to hear about problems or concerns, or just listen to what's on someone's mind."
