When he first took an office as a city council member in 1995, Bob Donchez was struck by Mayor Paul Marcicin's unusual practice of occasionally opening city hall to the public to informal chats. They came in, took seats outside the mayor's third-floor office and were welcomed in singly or in small groups to powwow about whatever was on their minds.

Donchez thought this a fine idea, and though it didn't take when he first tried it as a council member, it's now become an eagerly anticipated aspect of his mayoral tenure. Every six months or so, he clears a day's schedule to deal solely with the public with his Open Door days. And he's been very happy with the results.

June 8 launch

Crowding his foyer near lunchtime June 8 were business owners, activists and ministry members all waiting patiently for their 15-minute block. City Council candidate Olga Negron arrived with Lehigh University student Michael DeCrosta to update the mayor on a project to improve street lighting on the Southside. Juana O'Rourke and Tina Singleton, with some children in tow, wanted a clear line of communications with the city about a planned Fourth Street Gospel Fest June 20. Rachel Lambdin and Adam Bauer, owners of popular center city eatery Hello Burrito were seeking support after a severe storm caused some water damage to their ceiling.

'We felt welcome'

O'Rourke and Singleton, who brought a few kids along with them to city hall, responded to a follow-up with the Press, saying, "The mayor was most helpful and a gentlemen with us all. He made us all feel very welcome. He did answer all our questions in a timely manner and seemed genuinely interested. We informed him of [our] mentoring programs for the community youth [and] he listened intently, and answered all of our questions. He is approachable and wants to listen to our ideas and plans for a community. There is a way to work together to make a caring community atmosphere for us all."

'Some good ideas'

Donchez said he's averaged 15-25 visitors each session, and had surprisingly few repeats.

"It's been very successful, some good ideas. Some legitimate complaints and concerns. Sometimes they come in and they feel they can talk and a couple different issues come up. They may not want to come to a formal city council meeting, but they may feel this is a good way to communicate, and I sure appreciate it.

"It's a good way for me to reach people and it gives them the ability to come in unannounced and talk to me. We try to follow through on every issue and get back in touch with them to let them know we've addressed their concern.

'Great dialogue'

Donchez likened his open door days to his neighborhood forays, during which he walks the streets to meet and greet residents on their home turf. "It's accessibility, it's transparency. We're very well received. It's been very productive. I think it's a great dialogue."

"Many of the issues that people bring to me I'm aware of, but sometimes you might have an issue [about which] they're talking directly to another department and so they come directly to me. One very common idea [I got] was to reverse the angled parking on Main Street. The business people came – led by Dana Devito of the Moravian Book Store, and we all know how that worked out: It was reversed."

Likewise Donchez said there was concern about the any required electrical wires on Main Street and a grant was attained to place new wires underground to keep the street uncluttered. The recent city website update was also propelled by participant feedback and need.

Too much red tape

Lastly, he said in a city with such an active community, he is working on streamlining business permits, especially for special events. "It's something that was brought to me from here," he said, indicating his open office, "and maybe the best example. People complained about the red tape and complicated process of going through so many departments. So we try to come up with one point person who will see it through from A to Z … we actually sent it out to a couple people on my Business Advisory Committee, and when we get a final version we'll announce it and put it online. "I think it's a big, big improvement." The new permit process is currently under review by the advisory committee.

The results of his communications policies, Donchez maintains, speak for themselves. "I'm here to listen and we're here to follow through."