Mayor Jeff Genung is kicking off his video series of fireside chats tomorrow and will provide residents with a timely update following tonight's town council meeting.

While modelled playfully after the famed SCTV fireside chats of John Candy (aka Melonville Mayor Tommy Shanks), the tone won't be comedic, he explains, although he would like to do some lighter productions in the future.

"I'm quite excited about them," says Genung. "I want to start it out on a bit of a serious note. It's going to be sort of a Reader's Digest version of council meeting, so if you missed it or you want to know what we're talking about, you just click on to Facebook and there'll be a short video on the highlights and things you can look for in the future. Nothing really scripted, just talking."

For now, he will prepare a video twice a month the day following council meetings and believes they will likely hit the Mayor Jeff Genung Facebook page around noon. It may also be included on the town's facebook page in the future to potentially expand the viewership.

"The whole point of it is to get people engaged, listening, watching, seeing what's going on," he explains. "If they can hear it first hand at the first opportunity then perhaps people will have more of a chance to have a say on something or realize somethings going on, that sort of thing."

Genung used fireside chats during his election campaign and captured a viewership of about 12,000.

"Obviously that media format works and I'd like to continue to utilize it. It's not a self-promoting thing, it will offer facts and maybe put a face to the mayor's seat and council. I think people will connect more when they hear it from a person rather than, say, when they read it in Municipal Matters in a newspaper."

Down the road, the tone may change from time-to-time.

"I'd like to turn it into a series over time, where it can be a little bit lighter, people can get to know me a little bit better and hopefully connect with me a bit and feel they can reach out if they have an issue."

"Over time, I wouldn't mind having special guests and perhaps a bloopers reel one day, just to take the edge off of what people may think we're about."

The videos won't be more than five minutes in length.