Work Session

Mayor and Council Work Session and Executive Session November 10, 2015 Agenda "A diverse, business-friendly, and sustainable community with clean, safe and strong neighborhoods." "Providing the most efficient and highest-quality services as the municipal location of choice for all customers." "While only one day of the year is dedicated solely to honoring our veterans, Americans must never forget the sacrifices that many of our fellow countrymen have made to defend our country and protect our freedoms." - Randy Neugebauer 4:00 PM WORK SESSION 4:00 PM 1. Special Recognition - Pam Harris Code Certification 4:10 PM 2. Recognition of Hagerstown's Sustainable Maryland Certification 4:15 PM 3. New City Website Design and engageHagerstown Update 4:45 PM 4. 2015 COPS Hiring Grant CITY ADMINISTRATOR'S COMMENTS MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMMENTS ADJOURN  REQUIRED MOTION MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND Topic: Special Recognition - Pam Harris Code Certification Mayor and City Council Action Required: Discussion: Financial Impact: Recommendation: Motion: Action Dates:  REQUIRED MOTION MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND Topic: Recognition of Hagerstown's Sustainable Maryland Certification Mayor and City Council Action Required: Discussion: Financial Impact: Recommendation: Motion: Action Dates:  REQUIRED MOTION MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND Topic: New City Website Design and engageHagerstown Update Mayor and City Council Action Required: Staff seek an opportunity to update the Mayor & City Council on the progress of the new city website design and the engageHagerstown website transition to a new platform. Discussion: New City Website Design Update This Mayor & Council have an established priority to enhance access to the City website for users on a mobile platform. Communications staff have been working with our website vendor, CivicPlus, to re-design and refresh the appearance of the site while making it mobile-friendly. In completing this process, staff also noted opportunities where the organization and functionality of the site could be enhanced to increase ease of use and provide more convenient access to City services and information. The re-design of the site is nearly complete, and staff are beginning to re-organize global navigations and other site functions. We will be coordinating with representatives from each department to fine-tune their respective site content and identify more effective ways to present information to users. We hope to make the new site live in the New Year. engageHagerstown Update Over the last year and a half, the City has expanded opportunities for community engagement under the “engageHagerstown” brand. These initiatives are developed in coordination with an online tool, our engageHagerstown website (see: www.engagehagerstown.mysidewalk.com). Through the site, the city has had over 500 users participating in discussions, and 675 ideas have been submitted. These ideas have been used by staff in planning and community building processes. The following are some of the ideas that have been implemented throughout the last year: Little Free Library Pop-up Shops Public pianos in City Center Outdoor Movies in the park Artist studios “Before I die…” Wall (What are your dreams for downtown? Wall) Hagerstown Bucket List Additional Bike Lanes Planting Trees Yoga/Tai Chi in City Park Community Garden More frequent, multi demographic events  Investing in USMH Student Housing MindMixer, the organization that hosts the site, re-branded itself, and at the end of August the City transitioned to a new platform called MySidewalk. Staff have soft launched the new platform with topics related to community engagement, the search for the new police chief and public art along the A&E Trail. Outreach and engagement efforts related to updates to the Comprehensive Plan are also hosted on the site under the “visionHagerstown2035” initiative. Staff continue to strategize how to use this new tool to enhance engagement efforts. The new MySidewalk platform does not include some of the features of the previous MindMixer site, but it offers a more user-friendly and streamlined way of interacting in community discussion. This transition in platforms offers an opportunity to more deeply embed engagement in our long-term planning efforts and general community involvement throughout our local government. Financial Impact: Recommendation: Motion: Action Dates: ATTACHMENTS: File Name Description New City Website Design Memo_website_and_engageHagerstown_updates.pdf and engageHagerstown Update  CITY OF HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND Department of Community & Economic Development TO: Valerie Means, City Administrator FROM: Erin Wolfe, Communications Manager Sarah Nelson, Planning & Outreach Coordinator DATE: November 5, 2015 SUBJECT: New City Website Design and engageHagerstown Update Staff seek an opportunity to update the Mayor & City Council on the progress of the new city website design and the engageHagerstown website transition to a new platform. New City Website Design Update This Mayor & Council have an established priority to enhance access to the City website for users on a mobile platform. Communications staff have been working with our website vendor, CivicPlus, to re- design and refresh the appearance of the site while making it mobile-friendly. In completing this process, staff also noted opportunities where the organization and functionality of the site could be enhanced to increase ease of use and provide more convenient access to City services and information. The re-design of the site is nearly complete, and staff are beginning to re-organize global navigations and other site functions. We will be coordinating with representatives from each department to fine-tune their respective site content and identify more effective ways to present information to users. We hope to make the new site live in the New Year. engageHagerstown Update Over the last year and a half, the City has expanded opportunities for community engagement under the “engageHagerstown” brand. These initiatives are developed in coordination with an online tool, our engageHagerstown website (see: www.engagehagerstown.mysidewalk.com). Through the site, the city has had over 500 users participating in discussions, and 675 ideas have been submitted. These ideas have been used by staff in planning and community building processes. The following are some of the ideas that have been implemented throughout the last year:  Little Free Library  Pop-up Shops  Public pianos in City Center  Outdoor Movies in the park  Artist studios  “Before I die…” Wall (What are your dreams for downtown? Wall)  Hagerstown Bucket List  Additional Bike Lanes  Planting Trees 14 North Potomac Street, Suite 200A Hagerstown, MD 21740   Yoga/Tai Chi in City Park  Community Garden  More frequent, multi demographic events  Investing in USMH  Student Housing MindMixer, the organization that hosts the site, re-branded itself, and at the end of August the City transitioned to a new platform called MySidewalk. Staff have soft launched the new platform with topics related to community engagement, the search for the new police chief and public art along the A&E Trail. Outreach and engagement efforts related to updates to the Comprehensive Plan are also hosted on the site under the “visionHagerstown2035” initiative. Staff continue to strategize how to use this new tool to enhance engagement efforts. The new MySidewalk platform does not include some of the features of the previous MindMixer site, but it offers a more user-friendly and streamlined way of interacting in community discussion. This transition in platforms offers an opportunity to more deeply embed engagement in our long-term planning efforts and general community involvement throughout our local government. c. Jill Frick, Director of Community& Economic Development Scott Nicewarner, Director of Information Technology & Support Services Jonathan Kerns, Community Development Manager  REQUIRED MOTION MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND Topic: 2015 COPS Hiring Grant Mayor and City Council Action Required: Discussion: Financial Impact: Recommendation: Motion: Action Dates: ATTACHMENTS: File Name Description COPS_Hiring_Grant.pdf Memo