FAIRHOPE, Ala. — We’re from the government, and we’re here to help.

Those words have sent chills up many spines and scores of people heading for the hills over the years.

But before you run the other way, you might want to be among the first group of Fairhope residents to attend a new city outreach program aimed at listening and acting on citizen questions and ideas.

“This is an opportunity for people who don’t feel comfortable coming and talking at City Council meetings to meet informally with city officials,” said Sherry Sullivan, spokeswoman for the city and director of senior services at the James P. Nix Center. “It’s a chance for them to bring their ideas, suggestions and questions to city employees, that is, to those people who work for them.”

She said the city is hosting the first of two “Meet the City” nights this year from 6-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 19, at the James P. Nix Center on Bayou Drive.

“Each city department will be represented with an informational table and displays,” a city news release stated. “Residents will have the opportunity to fill out work-order requests for street or public right-of-way concerns and report any other concerns to city leaders.”

Sullivan said the following departments would be represented at the event:

• Public Works

• Police

• Gas

• Electric

• Water / Sewer

• Recreation

• Quail Creek Golf Course

• Planning

• Meter / Revenue / Customer Service

• Public Library

• Nix Center

• Fire

• City Clerk Office / Elected Officials

• Treasury/Finance.

“I am assuming most of the city supervisors will attend and be available at their tables,” Sullivan said. “I’m not sure which elected officials will attend, but I know the mayor will be there.”

The program was initiated by the city’s planning department and is based on similar programs in Mobile, and Columbus and Hattiesburg, Miss., said Gregg Mims, the city’s planning director, who worked in those cities before coming to work for Fairhope about two years ago.

“This is our first attempt to invite those residents who are not involved on a regular basis at City Council meetings,” Mims said. “At those meetings, it’s often the same 10 or so people who get up and talk. This allows the average citizen to meet informally with department heads and staff.”

He said all department supervisors are required to be at the event.

Although this is an election year, the meeting is not a political event, Mims said.

“It’s the opposite of being political,” he said. “There are no podiums. There will be no speeches by elected officials or other people.”

Mims said the second meeting would occur in the fall, but that the date had not been scheduled yet.

“I hope we have good turnout,” he said. “If the city does it right, it will tend to grow over a period of time.”

He said one key to success of the meetings would be how responsive the city is to citizen input at the meeting.

“We can’t just sit there and listen and do nothing in response after the meeting is over,” he said. “But if we take their suggestions or requests and do something about it, then the word will spread. If only 20 people show the first time, those will be the 20 most important people in the city for us to be listening to that night.”

For more information, call 990-0218 or 990-0171.