SEPTEMBER 26, 2006

Attendance - Committee members, Bliss, Bond, Hall, Knudsen were present. Members Farris, Miller and Spitzer were excused. Also attending was a quest, Phil Baker. Mr. Baker’s career was in marketing and survey analysis.

Additional Concerns and Ideas Received since September 12

Concerns - set Planning & Zoning sub-committee site meeting at more convenient times for the general public;

- lack of response by council members to comments made by public at council meetings

- perceived lack of interest by council members when members of the public speak

Ideas - video tape or televise City Council meeting

- internet forum

- provision for residents unable to attend city council meetings to submit letters to be read by the City Clerk and distributed to the council at these meetings

- clarify at all council/board/commission meeting, how response(s) to public handled

- vary format on utility inserts to grab recipients attention. Current insert on bright orange paper a real attention getter

Per the committee’s request re her suggestion at the September 12 meeting, Maryann Antoine provided written information on “Insight Citizens Academy - Learn About Your Local Government” a project of the City of Winchester, VA. The material was copied and distributed to the committee.

Soliciting information from broad cross section of the community

City surveys on communication with the public - In the seven surveys conducted for the city since 1988, three 1988, 1994 and 2004 included questions on the city’ s communication with the public. The majority of the question had to do with the written sources residents used to keep informed about the city.

The 2004 survey was the first to ask a question about attending city sponsored quarterly informational meetings if hosted by the City of Kirkwood.

A wide ranging discussion followed which included:

- collecting information on interactive communication with the city

- such information could form a basis for comparison over time

- any vehicle for collecting data should encourage a wide range of recipients to respond

- sample questions might relate to attendance at city meetings - Council, boards, commissions, frequency of attendance, purpose of attendance

- if appropriate to purpose for attending questions relating to levels of satisfaction with response.

- recognition that there will always be a certain level of discontent and/or disagreement among a percentage of the population

- the value of measuring the level of community angst

- are their general feedback mechanisms to the public which could be helpful

- there appears to be a disconnect between the consistent high levels of satisfaction with city services and city staff that surveys have continued to show

- information could be collected via questionnaire in “Eye on Kirkwood”, utility inserts, city web site, random mailing, and a combination of methods.

- a card, with a limited number of questions ( name, meeting attended, reason for attendance, more information needed, additional comments), could be distributed at council, board and commission meetings.

In preparation for the next meeting, committee members were asked to draft questions which might be used in a communication survey which focuses primarily on interactive communication with the city.

Committee Action - The committee approved a letter to be sent to the chairs of each of the city’s board and commissions informing them of the Committee’s purpose and goals, and advising them that Committee members will be attending some of their meetings as observers.

Next Committee Meeting - Tuesday, October 17 - 7:00 p.m., lower level meeting room, Kirkwood City Hall.

Committee Purpose/Goals/Outcomes *

Purpose - Undertake a review of the city’s communication with the public.

Goals - . Assist in strengthening and improving communication between the city and the public

. Increase understanding of how Kirkwood functions

. Provide a non-threatening avenue for citizens, council, and officials to interact for the greater good of Kirkwood.

. Help citizens overcome reluctance to become involved in community issues.

Outcomes - Recommendations to the city related to the purpose and goals of the project

* This item will appear as a part of every meeting summary.