FELLSMERE — Fellsmere City Manager Jason Nunemaker is looking to alternative methods of communication to keep the city council members up to date on various city issues. One such way he wants to spread the word is through Twitter.
“Communication is always tough,” Nunemaker told the Fellsmere City Council at last week’s meeting, so had been thinking of ways to use technology to help. He said he could use Twitter to send out short messages while at various meetings to update the council on what was going on.
“It’s just an easy way to keep you all up to speed,” he said.
Members of the council expressed tentative support for the idea.
“You may have to give some of us a lesson,” Councilwoman Sara Savage said, adding that she thought she was doing all right just checking her e-mail.
Mayor Susan Adams expressed support for Twitter, noting that even Marsh Landing Restaurant is on Twitter.
“I personally like Twitter,” she said, later adding that it can be addictive once users get the hang of it.
Nunemaker said the tweets would be public record and would not violate the state’s Sunshine Law pertaining to communication amongst council members. Anyone who wants to read the city manager’s tweets could follow him on Twitter at Twitter.com/FellsmereCtyMgr.
City Councilman Joel Tyson joked that “tweeting” and “twittering” weren’t “macho” enough.
“These will be very masculine tweets,” Nunemaker responded.
“It just sounds like something a bunch of little girls do,” Tyson said, drawing laughter from his fellow council members.
“Joel, you know what’s going to happen is you’re going to be the most avid,” said Adams. “You’ll be like addicted.”
After the meeting, Nunemaker said that he has not yet had any one-on-one sessions with the individual council members to explain Twitter.
“I think it’s going to be more like a process,” he said of getting the council members on board. “I’m still getting up to speed on it.”
Along with tweeting, Nunemaker has plans to set up a blog to go into more depth on his “managers matters” – those issues he reports to the council on during the regular meetings.
He told the council that the blog, as Twitter, would be free, though it would take time. His blog has not yet been established, Nunemaker said.
“I’m going to be playing with it,” he said. “We’ll play it by ear.”