MEMO TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Mayor John Marchione
SUBJECT:
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Community Involvement Consultant Findings
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
recommendation.recommendation
To provide an update and review of community involvement consultant findings.
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II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Maxine Whattam, Chief Operating Officer 425-556-2310
Lisa Maher, Communications & Marketing Manager 425-556-2427
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
In July of this year the City contracted with an engagement and outreach consultant (EnviroIssues) to conduct community focus groups and polls seeking feedback on:
• What is the community’s understanding of community engagement?
• What is the community’s expectation of the City regarding engagement and outreach?
• How would the community prefer to engage with the City?
• What information/projects are important to the community?
• How does community feedback affect City decision making?
• What best practices and processes should the City be utilizing for a robust community engagement program?
Process and Outcomes to Date
• June 2018 contracted with EnviroIssues
• June 2018 conducted community outreach to recruit
o 48 community members recruited
• July 2018 conducted external and internal focus groups and online questionnaire (344 external / 70 internal responses).
Key themes from focus groups
o High awareness & satisfaction with community building events
o Good, but not excellent marks for the design and implementation of community engagement
o The term “public engagement” is not well understood
o Good public engagement described as high participation in events, high awareness of what is happening in the City, pathways for two-way dialogue, listening to the public
o Is the City using consistent public engagement process on land-use issues?
o Residents unsure how public input is used under a “strong mayor” form of government
o Preferred ways to give input: email, survey, website, in-person, social media, cell phone
o Topics of interest: Traffic, maintaining parks and trails, land use, regional issues, community events, safety, environment, water, pedestrian/bike, arts
o City strengths: fun stuff, multiple outreach tools, frequency and accuracy of communication, visibility of Redmond Police Department (RPD), and inclusive outreach
o Weaknesses: talking about the “hard stuff”, outreach to new residents, closing the loop after community provides feedback, communicating how public input will be used in decision making
Community Poll (344 responses)
o 57% have lived in Redmond more than ten years
o Topics of Interest: traffic, land use, maintain parks, trails, open space
o Over 40% describe City engagement “somewhat satisfying”
o 40% say there are barriers that prevent them from being involved:
o Top response (65%) was not being certain that giving their input matters in decision making
o 50% are “very interested” in what feedback the City receives on a project
o Preferred ways of communication: email, e-newsletter, Redmond Reporter, word of mouth
Staff Poll (70 responses)
o Confused who is leading and who should lead engagement: staff or communications
o Need one clear process/set of guidelines for how to begin planning engagement
o Most often shared with Council vs. sharing back with the community
o 61% of staff polled think the City is doing a good job on engagement
• August - September 2018 Draft recommendations and guidebook created
• October - November 2018 finalizing community involvement plan, guidebook, and process improvements, and developing training program
• January 2019 begin training key staff members
Administrative Recommendations
Implement community and consultant recommendations to:
• Update the 2019/20 Communications Plan to include the new community involvement guidebook
• Implement staff training on updated processes, best practices, and tools & techniques
• Provide an online community involvement platform that provides an easy, interactive, and archival way for community members to provide feedback on projects
• Update project notice processes and timelines to provide more timely updates, opportunities for community feedback, and communication of outcomes
• Utilize updated performance measures outlined in the 2019/20 budget to track community involvement and outreach outcomes
IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
7/24/18 Finance, Administration, and Communications (FAC) Committee
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
No service delivery impacts.
B. Fiscal Note:
Budgeted funds for online community involvement platform are pending the 2019/20 Budget approval.
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
N/A
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
No time constraints.
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
None.