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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-18-05 Minutes, Study CommissionCITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMISSION Minutes for Citizen Panel October 18, 2005 The Study Commission met in a work session at the Senior Center Recreation Room at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 18, 2005. Present were Chair Loren Olsen, Marilou Turrentine, Brian Close, Bill Hayward, and John Trull. Also present was Secretary of the Study Commission Celeste Janssen, Neighborhood Coordinator Tracy Oulman, facilitator Jim Madden, and nine citizens that were randomly chosen to be part of the Citizen Panel. The meeting was called to order by Chair Loren Olsen at 7:07 pm. Introduction of the Study Commission Loren Olsen thanked everyone for attending. He explained the ideas behind a Citizen Panel and the role of the Study Commission. He asked for honest, open comments and ideas regarding the City's communications. He would like to know if citizens believe they are voicing an opinion to represent a particular segment of the community. Chair Olsen explained that members of the public will be allowed to speak at the end of the meeting. Jim Madden explained the agenda. Introduction of Citizen Panel members • Jim Madden began introductions. He asked the citizens to state what part of Bozeman they live in and mention any topics they would like to talk about tonight. • Tracy Oulman, Neighborhood Coordinator for the City of Bozeman. • Gloria from the south side of Bozeman. • Walter from the northwest quadrant of Bozeman. • John Trull, Study Commissioner. • Ron from 5th and Peach. Ron stated that he represents a crowd of people who are beginning to move downtown. There is a lot of pride in his neighborhood. • Mike from the southeast side of Bozeman. • Nick from a neighborhood near of Beall Park. He has been in Bozeman twenty-five years, and seen so many changes and pressures. He does not feel a strong sense of vision and consistency from Bozeman. His biggest concern is sprawl, and he would prefer denser development. He also noted the lack of coordination between City and County. • Mike liked what Nick said. • Celeste Janssen, Secretary for the Study Commission. • Debby from the northwest part of Bozeman. • Elizabeth has lived in Bozeman three years. She lives in family graduate housing at MSU. She would like to see the City reaching out to new residents more. • Trevor has lived in Bozeman one -and -a -half years, in the Harvest Creek area. He works in the agriculture business. His biggest concern is businesses closing early and closing on Sundays because they cannot find affordable help. He worries that Bozeman is starting to price itself out of people who need to work and live here. • Loren Olsen, Study Commission Chair. • Dylan, has lived in Bozeman for fifteen years. He is still going to school, and is also a musician. He sees himself as a working class person, just trying to get by. He stated that trying to survive in Bozeman is an issue because of prices. He doesn't pay attention to the City Commission because he doesn't think the issues directly affect him. Page 1 of 6 • Bill from south Church. He works at Deaconess, and he noted that his wife was Chair of the 1994 Study Commission. He wants to talk about sunshine laws. • Marilou Turrentine, Study Commissioner. • Brian Close, Study Commissioner. • Bill Hayward, Study Commissioner. • In the public: Lee Hietala, current City Commissioner and running for a seat in November. He has lived in Bozeman fifty years, and he stated he has solutions to some problems mentioned tonight. (Later Dawn Smith and Eric Henyon joined Lee as members of the public.) How is the City doing in regards to communications: Jim Madden explained that growth, sprawl, and affordable housing were not part on the agenda tonight. He encouraged people to think about communication. He instructed the citizens to look at the list of existing methods the City uses to communicate, and then talk about what forms they actually use. Gloria gets information from her husband and from the Bozeman Chronicle. Walter's only information comes from the Chronicle. He has used the City webpage or neighborhood organizations, and the ads in the Chronicle are useless to him. He thinks the packaging of messages should be done by the government, not the Chronicle, and the government should present messages is a "what is going on!" and "what is at stake?" format. Gloria stated her agreement. Ron reads articles and public notices in the Chronicle. He said zoning and architecture are impossible to read. Ron doesn't listen to talk radio. He usually doesn't hear about City plans until they are finished, and doesn't hear from City Commissioners unless they are campaigning. He noted that there is a regular group of people squawking. Ron would the City to take time to explain issues on a regular basis and when something big comes up. He is mystified about some recent decisions, and believes there was business interests involved. Michael has five sources: the local television channel (he has to use filters to get the sensationalism out); radio stations (info is skewed as well); hearsay; election information (meaning ballot information he receives from other organizations. Sometimes he doesn't know he is voting on an issue until he later reads an article on the issue.); and the Bozeman Chronicle (where the majority of his information comes from. He sometimes needs a magnifying glass and an attorney to interpret information.) He noted that every source was secondary, not primary. Nick echoed Ron: the communication he sees is mostly reactive. He would love a simplified brochure or source that explains City government and City plans. Most of his information comes from the Chronicle, which is a poor source. The paper doesn't fairly explain underlying reasons for decisions (his example was the old cars on Fowler and Main). Nick's most objective way of receiving info is the brochures he sometimes receives with his water bills, and he would like more of this kind of thing. Debby's main source is the Chronicle, which she generally reads a few days after it is printed. She said she learns of issues after they are a done deal. Debby also watches the evening news. She stated the voter publication by the League of Women's Voters has good information, but it still must be filtered. Elizabeth's main source is the news. She reads the Chronicle online, and she has done internet searches to find information. The only time someone has come to her door was for a campaign. Elizabeth suggested every neighborhood having a liaison to coordinate more intimate meetings, and then report back on their constituents. She also suggested having the City insert a monthly or quarterly flyer in the Chronicle. The flyer could recap the previous month and explain the agenda and plan for future meetings. Page 2 of 6 Trevor reads the Chronicle, watches evening news, and talks with people with work. He liked Elizabeth's suggestions. He also stated that he doesn't get information until it is too late. Trevor explained that he is a part of the Citizen Panel because he wants to make the government accountable. Dylan reads the Chronicle and occasionally watches the news. He noted that people only react to personal issues, and otherwise the news is bland and ignored. Every week the Chronicle runs the Bobcats' lineup, and he suggested the City running a weekly lineup: this is the up-and-coming things, and this is what you are going to vote for. Having a lineup would make meetings more worthwhile. William would like to have the Chronicle agree to always use a certain page for City information. He said that Sunday City agenda is very good, but he has to hunt for everything else. He urged other citizens to call City Commissioners. William would also like a ward system, because one of Commissioners would be your neighbor. He would like better Sunshine laws. Loren Olsen noted that the Chronicle was invited to be here tonight, but did not come. Jim Madden recapped the discussion. He heard consistent criticism that information was secondary, reactive, and after -the fact. He also heard that most citizens are not contacted by neighborhood groups or using the internet. Mr. Madden asked for a show of hands in use of: • City Webpage — 3 • Neighborhood groups — 1 • City newsletters/agenda online — 0 • Neighborhood groups online — 0 • Public notices - many nods • City manager radio talk show — 2 • Departments annual reports — 0 • Public library reference section — 0 • Public meetings — a few nods (Gloria said she would watch televised meetings) Ideas of how to improve Jim Madden asked the Panel to discuss ideas regarding how Bozeman can improve communication. William suggested consistent day and placement in the Chronicle. He liked televising meetings live, so you could watch a meeting at home and then head to the meeting ten minutes before your agenda item came up. Jim Madden asked if anyone had more information about televised meetings. Lee Hietala said Bozeman is seriously getting into it, but there is debate if there should be a charge to cable subscribers, or if there should be a single dedicated free channel. Trevor noted that most televised meetings were usually not live, they were after the fact. William would only like a live meeting, like Great Falls and Kalispell. Dylan said that the people who do not have basic cable would not be able to view the meetings. Someone suggested looking at web casting. Dylan suggested sending out information to citizens via the postal service, although he acknowledged the cost. Loren Olsen said that Bozeman might use Citizen Panels in the future, and Dylan stated his approval for the idea. Dylan also said that the Bozeman Chronicle is an independent newspaper, and he doesn't think the city or citizens can change it. Trevor asked if the City was already paying for space in the Chronicle, couldn't they demand to always be placed in the same place. Trevor said the Citizen Panel process is personal and very good. He noted that many elderly people don't want anything to do with the internet. He also liked a monthly bulk -mail flyer. Loren Olsen asked about using the water bill. Trevor said he rents and never sees this information. Before moving to Bozeman, he used to watch City Commission meetings on television. Page 3 of 6 Elizabeth suggested a City reporter who would be both an employee of the City and the Chronicle. She said that the current communication methods should be advertised. Elizabeth noted that everyone has different preferences (i.e. snail mail versus email), and it would be great if the City could target preferences. She also suggested sending an information packet to new citizens when they register a car. Elizabeth noted the MSU newspaper could also be used for communication. She also suggested targeting Bozeman's voting population. Brian Close explained that Bozeman has a high percentage of voters: there are 35,000 citizens on all ages, 24,000 registered voters, and only inactive 7,000 voters. Debby liked the idea of neighborhood councils in every subdivisions. She thought three or four people in willing volunteers could keep neighborhoods informed. Nick said live televising of meetings is a great idea. He also said that he doesn't really understand how local government works in Bozeman. He believes the City Commission has become more important in recent years, and he doesn't know what changed. He would like to see a primer on the basics of government. Nick also noted that he didn't find the City Website very helpful when he used it in the past. Michael said all responses have been good, especially Trevor's, Elizabeth's and Nick's. He liked Elizabeth's idea of advertising communication methods, and noted that this should be repeated periodically. Michael suggested having the City look for an alternate means of communication, other than the Chronicle. Ron noted that bi-weekly and monthly papers might be willing to help, and would appreciate the business. He thinks having the City pay a reporter's salary would be a severe conflict of interest. He noted the great yearly report on our drinking water. Ron also noted that television viewers on Monday night would be up against football. He thinks the local cable company should have been required to provide a local channel when their contract was first negotiated. Ron doesn't want to spend voter's money on something that would be watched by only a very small population. Jim Madden said the Study Commission was also interested in a citizen's responsibility to stay informed. Walter said he had a Ph. D. in Communication Studies. In every model, there is a sender and a receiver. It is very clear that the government sends a lot, but citizens aren't receiving the info. He suggested focusing on innovations to motivate people to get involved in an easy way. He likes a ward system, where there is a greater chance of being involved. The Citizen Panel is a good idea, and he thinks Bozeman should think about how this was conceptualized, and try to replicate it. The Citizen Panel is interesting, and more representative of the greater Bozeman community and people in the middle of issues. He was interested to come to this meeting, and has not been interested enough to attend any other meetings. People could sit on Citizen Panels as a civic duty, just like Jury Duty. Citizen Panels could serve as buffer zones between politicians and angry people. He also sees the Panel as a functional decision making model, listening to all sides, then choosing the best. Walter noted although televising is crucial, live broadcasts are deathly boring. He suggested using KUSM and film majors to develop an innovative, short presentation of the meeting. Walter also said that the City should not rely on the Chronicle to package a message. He said what is published now is not interesting. The City should use multiple medias and have a communication strategy. Walter noted his experiences with the MSU Parking garage failure. He also noted that communication usually fails, and it is better to go into discussion knowing you are going to fail, and to look at how to fail least expensively. Walter looked at the mailing versus newspaper. He thinks the cost benefit of the newspaper is broader. Gloria stated that everything said has been good. She agrees with the television discussion — she would prefer a synopsis over watching entire meetings. She asked about what is currently online. Gloria expressed her approval of the Citizen Panel process. Page 4 of 6 Nick reflected on how he had experienced a local problem where citizens came together to communicate and solve the problem. Tracy Oulman was hired, and she brought people together and did a great job. William suggested having public meetings in various neighborhoods. People are interested in their neighborhood issues. Dylan explained his experience with communication around the power poll issue in his neighborhood. The neighborhood was surprised, and their action was reactionary. Dylan isn't sure if there ever was a hearing at the neighborhood level, and he remembers the public comments being available only after the decision was made. Trevor recommended recruiting businesses as community partners. The City could publish info in the company's monthly newsletters. And local schools have newsletters that are neighborhood oriented and could also be utilized. Highlights Jim Madden recapped highlights of the discussion: • Consistency of placement in chronicle • City should be crafting their message, or have a writer on staff • Televised meetings, preferably live and encapsulated • Crafting vehicle to people's preferences, and using all methods to getting people involved. • Give some information about what is going to be happening in future. • Publicize existing resources • Targeting new citizens • If people understood how system worked, they would understand why they should get involved Next Steps Loren Olsen thanked everyone for participating. He invited the citizens to come to future meetings. He also spoke about the Study Commission's plants to put the charter and report on an upcoming ballot. Celeste Janssen gave the citizens contact information for the Study Commission. Bill Hayward said the Citizen Panel has been tremendous. The interest is exciting, and he sees it as going far. Jim Madden passed out evaluations to the Panel members. Public comment Dawn Smith, Eric Henyon, and Lee Hietala attended the meeting. Loren Olsen introduced them as candidates for City Commission, and encouraged citizens to speak to them after the meeting. Confirming date for next meeting November 1st, 2005, at the Conference Room in the Municipal Building at 7:00 p.m. Minutes The minutes of October 4th, October 7th, and October 11th were postponed until the following meeting. Adjournment - 9:00 p.m. There being no further business at this time, the meeting was adjourned by Chair Loren Olsen. Page 5 of 6 LOREN OLSEN, Chair ATTEST: CELESTE JANSSEN, Secretary of the Study Commission Page 6 of 6