T.O. MAY CREATE RESIDENTS' FORUM; ROUNDTABLE MEETINGS WOULD EXPAND PUBLIC INPUT.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

The city is considering forming a residents' roundtable to give the public a more permanent forum for sharing their suggestions and voicing their concerns.

Just months after the council established increasing citizen participation in city government as one of the city's top goals this year, Mayor Pro Tem Linda Parks is proposing forming a new committee that would give the residents' perspective on community issues and items coming before the City Council.

``It's a strong desire of mine to increase the input into our government process from the residents of this city,'' said Parks. ``I really believe that the more minds we have working on problems or issues in the city, the better our solutions will be.''

Like the Mayor's Business Roundtable, a group of about 70 members originally formed by Councilwoman Elois Zeanah in September 1993, Parks said she hopes a residents' roundtable will give locals a chance to meet regularly and share their ideas as well as air their grievances.

For Russ Goodenough, Thousand Oaks business owner and chairman of the Mayor's Business Roundtable, the proposed group promises to improve dialogue in the city and even increase awareness of common concerns facing local neighborhoods.

``It is important in our representative democracy that we hear from all sides and perspectives in the community. Like the Mayor's Business Roundtable has been successful, a residents' roundtable - if structured well with a good cross-section of residents and open dialogue - offers another opportunity for citizens to speak up,'' he said.

While Thousand Oaks residents have earned a reputation for their civic-mindedness and typically have taken an active role in local discussions, Parks said she hopes a roundtable meeting regularly would draw more of a cross-section of citizens and improve communication among residents, city staff and council members.

``Obviously we do get strong-minded individuals to speak at the council meetings. However, I think giving them an official voice in the city in a body that can make recommendations to the council would increase effective communication, so it's not just individual residents lodging complaints at council members,'' she said.

Catherine Schutz, president of the Westlake Joint Board representing more than 40 homeowners associations in Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village, said the dialogue fostered by regular meetings among ``neighbors'' in adjacent communities offers a rare and constructive forum for residents.

She hopes Parks' proposal would extend the kind of discussion the Joint Board has fostered in Westlake to neighborhoods throughout Thousand Oaks. Schutz added that such a roundtable would give residents a rare opportunity to share their advice and concerns beyond the confines of their blocks.

``It will give residents an opportunity to speak in a setting where they are not limited to the time limits at a council meeting, where they aren't on television and where they can just toss ideas around,'' Schutz said. ``It might help a lot.''