TASK FORCE ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT JANUARY 14, 2016, 6:00 – 9:00 PM STREET-JONES BUILDING, ROOM 400A 1000 E. 11th STREET AUSTIN, TEXAS 78702 CURRENT TASK FORCE MEMBERS: Celso Baez III Michael Clark-Madison Margarita Decierdo Richard Fonte Joe Green Andrea Hamilton Claudia Herrington Chris Howe Christopher Ledesma Koreena Malone Ken Rigsbee Irfan Syed Navvab Taylor Sara Torres AGENDA CALL TO ORDER – 6:00 PM 1. OPENING REMARKS a. Diane Miller, Task Force Facilitator with Civic Collaboration, will discuss the outline of the meeting. 2. CITIZEN COMMUNICATION: GENERAL a. Citizens wishing to speak will need to sign up ten minutes before the meeting is called to order. Citizen communications will be limited to the first five (5) speakers and each citizen communicator will be given three (3) minutes to speak. Everyone will provide a sticky note to write their input which will later be sent to all of the Task Force members. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. Consider approving the minutes from the Task Force on Community Engagement (TFCE) regular meeting on December 17, 2015. b. Review notes from the December 17, 2015 TFCE Regular Meeting. 4. NEW BUSINESS: Discussion and possible action on the following items a. Discussion and possible action on global criteria for recommendations to Council b. Seek consensus on recommendations to Council by topic. c. Discuss next steps, update to Council, timeline and drafting of report. 5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS a. Discussion of topics for future TFCE Meetings. ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please call Matthew Chustz at the Communications & Public Information Office, at (512) 974-7270, Matthew.Chustz@austintexas.gov, for additional information; TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. For more information on the Task Force on Community Engagement, please contact Matthew Chustz at (512) 974-7270, Matthew.Chustz@austintexas.gov.
TASK FORCE ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING MINUTES (January 14, 2015) 1 Task Force on Community Engagement REGULAR MEETING MINUTES January 14, 2016 The Task Force on Community Engagement convened in a regular meeting on January 14, 2016 at the Street-Jones Building, 1000 E 11th Street, Room 400A, in Austin, Texas. Facilitator Diane Miller, with Civic Collaboration, called the Task Force Meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. Task Force Members in Attendance: Celso Baez III, Michael Clark-Madison, Andrea Hamilton, Claudia Herrington, Chris Howe, Christopher Ledesma, Koreena Malone, Ken Rigsbee, Navvab Taylor, Sara Torres Staff in Attendance: Matthew Chustz, Doug Matthews Facilitators in Attendance: Diane Miller, Julie Fellows 1. OPENING REMARKS a. Diane Miller provided an overview of the meeting agenda. 2. CITIZEN COMMUNICTION: GENERAL a. One citizen spoke. John Woodley, advocate for Americans with disabilities, addressed the group. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. The Task Force approved, by consensus, the minutes from the December 17, 2015 Task Force on Community Engagement (TFCE) Regular Meeting. b. The Task Force reviewed the December 17, 2015 TFCE Regular Meeting notes provided by the facilitator. 4. NEW BUSINESS a. Global criteria for recommendations to Council. The Task Force members came to consensus on global criteria for their recommendations to Council. The addition of further criteria will be discussed at subsequent meetings. b. Seek consensus on recommendations to Council by topic. Task Force members reached consensus on the recommendations to Council for one (1) of the five (5) main themes/topics identified in the needs assessment. The group will continue to develop recommendations on the themes/topics at the next Task Force Meeting on January 28, 2016. c. Discuss next steps, update to Council, timeline and drafting of report The group developed a final plan of action for the remainder of the Task Force Meetings and agreed to prioritize the recommendations once all recommendations have been developed. The Task Force came to consensus and scheduled four (4) more meetings taking place at the same interval as previous meetings – every other week on Thursday. The additional meeting dates are: TASK FORCE ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING MINUTES (January 14, 2015) 2 February 11, 2016 – 6:00 – 9:00 pm February 25, 2016 – 6:00 – 9:00 pm March 10, 2016 – 6:00 – 9:00 pm March 24, 2016 – 6:00 – 9:00 pm d. Meeting Evaluation (standing agenda item) The facilitators lead the TFCE members in an evaluation of …
Task Force on Community Engagement Ninth Meeting January 14, 2016 6-9 p.m. Street Jones Bldg, 4th fl conference room 1/6/2016. Created by Diane Miller and Juli Fellows TenthMeetingDetailsV1.docx Meeting Goals 1. Identify global criteria the group wants to use to help choose quality recommendations. 2. Begin identifying potential recommendations, by topic. 3. Seek consensus on recommendations. 4. Agree on update to Council, whether to ask for a time extension, and how to write the draft final report. Agenda 6:00 Overview – review goals, agenda and discussion guidelines 6:03 Citizen Input 6:10 Approve Minutes 6:15 Explore global criteria for recommendations 6:30 Seek consensus on recommendations by topic 7:30 Break 7:40 Continue working on recommendations 8:35 Discuss next steps, update to City Council, timeline and drafting of report 8:55 Evaluate the meeting 9:00 Adjourn
TASK FORCE ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING MINUTES (December 17, 2015) 1 Task Force on Community Engagement REGULAR MEETING MINUTES December 17, 2015 The Task Force on Community Engagement convened in a regular meeting on December 17, 2015 at the Street-Jones Building, 1000 E 11th Street, Room 400A, in Austin, Texas. Facilitator Diane Miller, with Civic Collaboration, called the Task Force Meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Task Force Members in Attendance: Celso Baez III, Michael Clark-Madison, Richard Fonte, Andrea Hamilton, Claudia Herrington, Chris Howe, Ken Rigsbee, Navvab Taylor, Sara Torres Staff in Attendance: Matthew Chustz, Larry Schooler, Facilitators in Attendance: Diane Miller 1. OPENING REMARKS a. Diane Miller provided an overview of the meeting agenda. 2. CITIZEN COMMUNICTION: GENERAL a. One citizen spoke. Natalie Gauldin, Director of Friends of Austin Neighborhoods (FAN) addressed the group and encouraged the Task Force to continue to distribute the Community Engagement Survey to renters and other underrepresented populations so that the results more fully represent the diversity of Austin. She advised that FAN would assist the Task Force in the distribution of the survey to attempt to gather a more representative sample of voices. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. The Task Force approved, by consensus, the minutes from the November 19, 2015 Task Force on Community Engagement (TFCE) Regular Meeting. b. The Task Force reviewed the November 19, 2015 TFCE Regular Meeting notes provided by the facilitator. 4. OLD BUSINESS a. Mike Clark-Madison reported on the preliminary results of the English-language community engagement survey, including toplines from all respondents and cross-tabs for each of the stakeholder groups identified in question one. Task Force members reviewed and discussed the survey data and identified the specific needs that the responses revealed. TASK FORCE ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING MINUTES (December 17, 2015) 2 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Workgroups report on what interests and unmet needs were heard. Each of the Task Force Workgroups then provided a summary of the methods used and the input gathered from their specific focus area groups, which included business, civic and nonprofit groups, under-represented populations, neighborhoods, city department staff and Boards and Commissions. b. Review survey data and identification of unmet needs. The group discussed their major take-aways from this input process and identified the needs that should be addressed to improve the City’s community engagement efforts. The group decided to extend all of the online surveys to allow for further distribution …
Created by Diane Miller December 21, 2015 Task Force on Community Engagement Meeting Notes: December 17, 2015 1 12/23/2015 TFCE12.17.15Notes_V1.docx Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................... 2 Members in Attendance .................................................................................................................................................... 2 Decisions Made ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Action Items ........................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Citizen Comment ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 Themes/Discussion of Survey Data ................................................................................................................................... 3 Themes/Discussion of Workgroup Input ........................................................................................................................... 4 Additional reflections on potential recommendations ..................................................................................................... 6 Meeting Evaluation ............................................................................................................................................................ 6 2 12/23/2015 TFCE12.17.15Notes_V1.docx Executive Summary On December 17, 2015 nine of the currently 12 appointed members of the Task Force on Community Engagement (TFCE) members attended the regularly scheduled TF meeting at the Street-Jones Building. Natalie Gauldin, Director of Friends of Austin Neighborhoods (FAN) addressed the group and encouraged the Task Force to continue to distribute the Community Engagement Survey to renters and other underrepresented populations so that the results more fully represent the diversity of Austin. She advised that FAN would assist the Task Force in the distribution of the survey to attempt to gather a more representative sample of voices. The group approved the November 19, 2015 meeting minutes. Mike Clark-Madison reported on the preliminary results of the English-language community engagement survey, including toplines from all respondents and cross-tabs for each of the stakeholder groups identified in question one, plus for respondents whose race/ethnicity is not “Caucasian or White” and those under 45. He also presented the data from the coding of responses to open-text questions based on “nodes” identified in the Task Force’s key elements of effective community engagement “bridge” diagram. Additional nodes were created to capture other recurring themes in the data and in total, 15 were used. The group reviewed and discussed the survey data and identified the specific needs that the responses revealed. Each of the Task Force Workgroups then provided a summary of the methods used and the input gathered from their specific focus area groups, which included business, civic and nonprofit groups, under-represented populations, neighborhoods, city department staff and Boards and Commissions. The group discussed their major take-aways from this input process and identified the needs identified through this process. Based on Task Force review of the input gathered, to follow are the major themes of the needs that should be addressed to improve the City’s community engagement efforts: 1) Make information clear, relevant and easily accessible. 2) Make it easier for people to give input in ways that are convenient, accessible and appropriate for them. 3) …
Summary of TFCE Needs Assessment Discussions Needs assessment summary.docx Compiled from TFCE Discussions by D Miller 12-22-15 1) Make information clear, relevant and easily accessible. a. Disability accommodations i. Make the information accessible to those with special needs. b. Foreign-language access c. Notification of public hearings at Council meetings d. District / Neighborhood-centered engagement alternatives. i. People want information about what is happening in their district or what directly affects them. e. Virtual/online participation i. There is not an online tool that meets everyone’s needs and the City’s website is not meeting needs. f. People are not aware of communication and engagement tools. g. People want multiple channels and the City as a whole needs to provide multiple channels. h. Being able to filter for information on issues you care about, having curated information, not a “fire hose”. i. Find ways to maximize the impact of City communication that is put out by our strategic partners, e.g. neighbors and other organizations j. A decentralized system results in inconsistency, information being scattered and hard to find, reinventing the wheel each time and no city-wide database of people who engage and what they care about. k. There is a need for localization of information and sources need to be trustworthy. l. There is an issue with the timeliness, consistency and accuracy of information. m. The community registry could be a good tool but it is not. 2) Make it easier for people to give input in ways that are convenient, accessible and appropriate for them. a. Disability accommodations b. Foreign-language access i. Spanish translation needs vary – need to train more people so there is more capacity for translation and interpretation. ii. Use culturally relevant methods including multiple language access c. District / Neighborhood-centered engagement alternatives. i. Every district is different. District-based outreach plans would help. d. Virtual/online participation i. Create opportunities for participation that don’t require people to physically attend meetings and events. e. Need to meet people where they are at and with groups they are already involved with. a. Shouldn’t always have to have them come to the City. f. We need to offer a variety of methods and times for people to engage. i. In some cultures, the mom needs to be home in the evening. ii. It takes too much time to participate, especially for those with families. g. Choose tools and techniques that fit the norms, …
1 Created by Juli Fellows, 1/14/2016 Initial summary on Recommendations from Bloomfire.docx Brief Summaries of Initial Thinking on Recommendations as of Jan 13, 2016 Theme 1: Make information clear… 1. Redesign the City website to make it easier to find information, including working well in a mobile interface. Improve the search function. Perhaps Salt Lake could be a model. 2. Move the "connect with the city" tab on the front page to the top right, and get rid of the "best managed city" tab. Add City Council tab. 3. Improve the community registry - work with Code for America volunteer brigade to develop a better interface for this data. 4. Provide closed captioning for ATXN (public access tv) live streaming service. Make ATXN available on an over-the-air channel. 5. Real website translation into Spanish. Set an appropriate population percentage threshold for translating the main pages of the website into other languages. Documents posted to website could be translated on request. Promote Austin311 heavier in Spanish speaking neighborhoods, 6. Expand the role of neighborhoods in City Government, perhaps making a Department of Neighborhoods, like Seattle. 7. Utilize re-usable meeting signs to get the word out, where there is a community meeting. 8. Designate public places in each community where public meetings can be held, that are properly equipped for such the purpose. Whenever possible, these locations should have bus service. 9. Introduction to Austin City Government for newcomers, perhaps a "Welcome to Austin" video that is easy to find on the website. 10. The map of agenda items prototype posted to Bloomfire could be really cool and useful, but more physical addresses would have to be included to make it really useful. It would be cool if the map generated emails to the Community Registry, using a similar radius as the Public Notices require. 11. Expand CityWorks Academy to include online and virtual classes and modules. Request each department that participates in the program to do a video presentation for their department, or perhaps film the presentations at CityWorks 2016. 12. City staff who deal with the public should also be more familiar with how the city works. 13. Develop a Community Engagement Handbook for both staff and residents to use. Clearly outline when community engagement is needed, provide guidelines to set expectations for both sides, and help ensure more consistency and measurable results across departments . 14. Create a central …
