Mayor Ed Murray today announced plans to hold a Seattle Neighborhood Summit to improve how the city works with neighborhoods and community leaders.

“Seattle’s unique neighborhoods are what make this city special,” said Murray. “I want to build strong relationships with the leaders of these neighborhoods and community members and keep an open dialogue as well as build an administration where no one has to ask for a space at the table.”

Last month, neighborhood representatives and members of the Mayor’s staff gathered in the Central District to talk about what they would like to accomplish during the summit. The messages from attendees were calls for commitment, action and ongoing conversation. These messages have been reiterated at several meetings since. These are some of the themes that will be used to drive the summit’s discussions.

Summit planners say this is the first step in what they hope to be an ongoing relationship aimed at rebuilding the trust between the City and neighborhoods. In addition to holding this traditional forum, they plan to use social media and technology so more can participate whether or not they are able to attend.

The Seattle Neighborhood Summit will be held on Saturday, April 5 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Seattle Center’s Pavilion Room. The Mayor’s Office has also launched a website to collect public input between now and the Summit, which can be found here.