EEDC: You were recently elected as President of the Council. Why the change?
Megan Cook: I enjoyed my time and thought I did a good job representing Ward 4, but I felt my skill sets could also be used for the Presidential position. Mr. (Ron) Engle and I joke with each other, and that was the difficult part, running this campaign against Mr. Engle, who I really appreciate so much. We work well on the Council. So, we’ve had a couple of interesting back and forths about it since then.
EEDC: What’s your vision for the Town of Easton?
Megan Cook: I always go back to Easton being a great place to live, work, and raise a family. It’s why my husband and I moved here, and that’s my vision moving forward. I want other families to see what a great place Easton is to raise kids, and work, and live and enjoy their time and experience life. There’s a lot the Eastern Shore has to offer.
EEDC: What are some of the issues the Council is working on?
Megan Cook: Obviously, the downtown promenade (which would have closed off Washington St. to traffic and encourage outdoor dining) has become an issue that has dominated our time right now. Other than that, things have been going well so far. I think we are a progressive thinking, forward-thinking town. I want to make sure we keep it that way and make sure we’re accountable to the public and accessible to the community. That’s important.
Also, bringing jobs to the town and attracting businesses. On my list is expanding the parks. Parks are one of my big passions—Easton Point Park, the Rails to Trail, making sure everyone is able to enjoy them, and making sure they’re the kind of parks that the town needs and wants.
EEDC: Anything else you want to pass on?
Megan Cook: Last week I went on the Mark Potter radio show. My point to him was it doesn’t have to be the only time that you ask a council person to come on your show.
I think this is just one more avenue for us to get messages out to the community about what’s happening around town. We want to make sure that everyone knows what we’re considering and what we’re doing, and to make sure it gets out to all our constituents and all the residents of Easton.
After this interview with Megan Cook, the Easton town council met at a special workshop session yesterday after plans for the Washington Street Promenade were halted last week. The council voted to close the parallel parking on Washington Street beginning this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This will give the restaurants more room for outside dining. The Council will monitor the progress of this closure and plan accordingly in the future.
A new Town Council meeting has been scheduled for next Monday, 7/20 at 5:30PM and comments from the public are being solicited to be submitted by that date. In addition, a facilitated public meeting for business representatives will take place after next Monday’s council meeting.
To view the entire meeting, click here.
