Council Subcommittee

MINUTES OF THE GILBERT TOWN COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMUNCATIONS, IN SPECIAL MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2023 AT 9:00 A.M., GILBERT MUNICIPAL CENTER I, COMMUNITY ROOM 202, 50 E CIVIC CENTER DRIVE, GILBERT, ARIZONA COUNCIL PRESENT: Subcommittee Chair/Vice Mayor Kathy Tilque, Councilmember Yung Koprowski and Councilmember Chuck Bongiovanni COUNCIL ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Town Manager Patrick Banger, Town Clerk Chaveli Herrera, Chief Digital Officer Dana Berchman (attended virtually), Digital Media and Marketing Deputy Director Jennifer Harrison, Digital Engagement Coordinator Kelsey Perry, Council Aide Monica D'Ortenzio, Assistant to Town Manager Jennika Horta and Town Clerk Specialist Amy Beyleryan AGENDA ITEM CALL TO ORDER Subcommittee Chair Tilque called the meeting to order at 9:21 a.m. ROLL CALL Town Clerk Herrera called roll and declared a quorum present. ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1 1. MINUTES - Consider approval of the minutes of the Subcommittee on Communications Meeting of January 30, 2023. A MOTION was made by Councilmember Bongiovanni, seconded by Councilmember Koprowski, to approve the minutes of the Subcommittee on Communications Meeting of January 30, 2023. Motion carried 3-0. 2. COMMUNITY OUTREACH/ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS a) Community Outreach Survey – preliminary results and evaluation b) Community Town Hall c) Timelines Subcommittee Chair Tilque thanked the Digital Team for sending the preliminary survey results and opened the discussion. Digital Engagement Coordinator Perry shared the preliminary survey results stating 532 responses were received thus far. She said the survey was shared on social media and local media. She discussed the responses that were given to the questions, stating email was leading by 54%, social media by 45%, and Town Halls or in person meetings received 42% of responses for the question of “How would you prefer to engage with members of the Gilbert Town Council?” She highlighted the responses received for the question of which local topics mattered most stating the survey allowed participants to select 5 topics and the most selected were: maintaining infrastructure, managing growth, feeling of safety, cost of services, and transportation and traffic. She stated 43 responses were given for the option of Other and would be sorted at the end of the survey. She said based on the current responses to the survey question, most people preferred to get their news from Gilbert’s social media, Gilbert’s e-newsletter, and Gilbert website. She said the highest responses received for social media platforms used most frequently were Facebook Newsfeed, Instagram, and Facebook Private Group. She stated 67% responded that they did not have an understanding of the issues being voted on by the Town Council, 61% responded that they had not attended a 2 council meeting and 85% responded that they voted in the 2022 Gilbert Town Council elections. She said most people that took the survey lived in Gilbert and the 35-49 age range were most of the participants. She shared the responses to the open-ended question which were sorted and separated by topic, stating majority of the comments pertained to communication. Digital Media and Marketing Deputy Director Harrison said once the survey was finalized the data could be sorted to show the correlation between the demographics and responses to preferred communication methods. Subcommittee Chair Tilque said the response for text messages was more than expected. She said if implemented it would be for specific needs and mostly for emergencies as opposed to everyday information. Digital Media and Marketing Deputy Director Harrison said she was exploring an option for a text messaging tool that could possibly be incorporated. Subcommittee members discussed the low participation rate from the age group 18-34; noting that was the majority of Gilbert’s population, and brainstormed ideas of getting the younger audiences and high school students to participate in the survey. Subcommittee Chair Tilque spoke about the topic of communication as being one of the main responses and said it went back to “telling our story” and sharing information the public found valuable. She said it was easy for people to think the Council wasn’t listening, and perhaps there was a better way to show people that they were listening. She said part of the recommendations from the Subcommittee would be to look at how the meetings were being managed and providing heartfelt responses. Digital Media and Marketing Deputy Director Harrison said it was important to do outreach and educate on general projects and topics. She said the Digital Team provided tools and access to the public to get more information. 3 Subcommittee Chair Tilque asked if further outreach was needed for the survey. Digital Media and Marketing Deputy Director Harrison said the survey had not been sent out with the utility bill. Digital Engagement Coordinator Perry said a few more touchpoints would be done on social media prior to the Town Hall meetings. Timelines Subcommittee Chair Tilque reviewed the timelines stating she would have a small group meeting on February 24, 2023 with Elaine Kessler. She stated the following meeting dates:  March 7, 2023 – Community Town Hall meeting – Chair Tilque to attend.  March 8, 2023 – Community Town Hall meeting – Councilmember Bongiovanni to attend.  March 11, 2023 – Community Town Hall meeting – Councilmember Koprowski to attend.  April 5, 2023 – Subcommittee meeting to evaluate all information.  April 12, 2023 – Chair Tilque to attend Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee (MYAC) meeting coordinated with Student Government Day.  April 19, 2023 – Subcommittee meeting to develop Council Retreat presentation.  May (10, 11, or 12), 2023 – present findings at Council Retreat.  May 12, 2023 – publish findings to the public. Town Halls Subcommittee Chair Tilque shared a draft script for the Community Outreach Town Hall meetings outlining a breakdown of the format for the meetings which included introductions, agenda for the day, online survey or polling, discussion of 4 communication opportunities available, conversation from attendees, and a Questions and Answers (Q&A) session at the end and closing statements. She stated that Town Manager Banger would attend the meetings and there would be staff present to transcribe and take notes of the verbal conversations. Subcommittee members discussed the format of the meeting and how to facilitate discussion, and they allocated time for each section of the script. They further discussed the setup of the meeting and the needed equipment and materials. They discussed the polling of the attendees and questions to ask. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND COUNCIL MEETING PROCEDURES a. Council Meeting Procedural Information Video b. Public comment follow-up Subcommittee Chair Tilque asked if there were any updates in regard to the Council meeting procedural information video. Digital Media and Marketing Deputy Director Harrison said the Digital Team was working with the Clerk’s Office on the script for the video and it was in progress. Subcommittee Chair Tilque asked about public comment follow-up. Town Clerk Herrera said there weren’t any comments received for the changes to the public comment cards. She stated that during the last Council meeting, the public spoke on Administrative Items on the agenda and asked if the public comment cards for Other Items would be used. Subcommittee Chair Tilque said they had some decisions to make during Study Sessions and she preferred to wait until utilizing the comment cards for Other Items for the time being, stating comments on Other Items was not the standard but would be considered as necessary. 5 Town Clerk Herrera asked about the post-Council meeting follow-up procedure for those who spoke at the council meetings. Councilmember Koprowski said they wanted a follow-up sent to the people who spoke at the Council meetings. Town Clerk Herrera asked for clarification on whose responsibility it would be to send the follow-up communication. Councilmember Koprowski said she believed the follow-up should be sent from the Clerk’s Office on behalf of the Town and should include the options from the flyer that showed contact details and information. Town Clerk Herrera said she would clarify with Information Technology (IT) if that type of email could be sent out from the Clerk’s Office email address. Subcommittee Chair Tilque asked Town Clerk Herrera to provide a sample of the follow- up email at the next meeting for review. Town Clerk Herrera asked Digital Media and Marketing Deputy Director Harrison if that would be a manual process or there would be a way to insert email addresses to make it an automated process. Digital Media and Marketing Deputy Director Harrison said there would be some manual process involved. Councilmember Koprowski said if everything was entered in a form it could be set to be automated. Town Clerk Herrera said she would work with Digital Team on the language of the email and bring it to the next meeting for review. 6  Subcommittee Chair Tilque shared the email invitation that would be used to invite groups and organizations to the meetings and discussed the email language. She stated the link to the survey would be included. Assistant to the Town Manager Horta stated the following groups would be sent the invitation email: Boards and Commission members, Citizen Engagement Task Force members, Homeowner Association (HOAs), schools with request to forward to Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and Student Governments, Sister Cities Board, the Chinese Community, Non-profits, Citizen Engagement Task Force applicants, Gilbert Leadership and Alumni, and Gilbert Chamber members. 4. ACTION ITEMS a. Set dates for future Subcommittee meetings b. Other action items as assigned Subcommittee Chair Tilque stated the next Subcommittee meeting will be held on April 5, 2023. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS No discussion. ADJOURN Subcommittee Chair Tilque adjourned the meeting to order at 11:48 a.m. ATTEST: ___________________________ ___________________________________ Kathy Tilque, Chair Amy Beyleryan, Town Clerk Specialist 7 CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the special meeting of the Subcommittee on Communications of the Town of Gilbert held on the 22nd day of February, 2023. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. Dated this ____ day of ____________________2023. ___________________________________ Amy Beyleryan, Town Clerk Specialist 8