Town of Brattleboro
Representative Town Meeting
Steering Committee
Agenda
June 21, 2021
5:30 pm
Library Mtg Room
Call to Order 1 min
2. Agenda Review 2
3. Approve minutes 2
4. Announcements
A) Chair comments – media, minutes/chat box/for the record 10
A) Update on Town Website
Note: see document below for input into town website
5. Roles: Facilitator…………. 3
Stack monitor…….
Minutes……………..
Timekeeper………..
6. Sharing: groups of two. Best with someone new. Introduce yourself.
Topics: What brought you to Steering? What do you want to change about RTM? 5
7. Subcommittee reports:
A) Facilitation/Rules 5
B) Survey 15
8. Topical discussion: should this be a regular feature? ideas…choose relevant but general subject; choose topic at one mtg for the next; time – 20 mins? Provide a brief reading when available, to go out with agenda. 10
9. Proposed framework. Discuss/adopt – Spoon 20
A) How will subcommittees function, in general?
will choose issues; prioritize; establish minimum timeline; co-ordinate with the whole (this latter is vital)
B) Accountability – regular reports describing progress and accomplishments
10. If framework is adopted: 40
A) Create subcommittees with general focus/parameters
Co-ordinating subcommittee?
B) Populate committees
Committees will adopt issues and set their agendas independently.
Issues list, prioritization, timeline will be part of 1st report
Alterations/refinements will occur along the way.
Committees can dig into issues as soon as they feel ready.
NOTE: you can be thinking about your interests and committee right now.
11. Other business ?
12. Review tasks 5
13. Next agenda 2
1. Budget
14. Feedback 5
15. Adjourn _____
115
Document: How to have input into new town website design
Website / Community Engagement Project – Staff’s Recommended Process for Developing a Request for Proposals
Sue – so, tonight is a proposal for the website community engagement process. At RTM there was $75k for upgrades for the town website, and you wanted a detailed RFP after getting community input, and so I share with you the inclusive process to use to create the RFP. The first step is to review the current site, the site traffic, usage and content. We want to look at that. We will talk internally with town staff and externally with the community. Internally, staff use and manage the website, constantly uploading information. It needs to work for us. We’ll talk with each department to find out their use and needs. maybe a focus group with those managing and uploading content to find out how functional it is. For external engagement – it is for the public, so we need to know their needs. We have three aspects – a brief survey to find out what people find useful, and how they use it. We’ll also do stakeholder interviews with community organizations – inclusive community engagement to find out their needs. And we’ll do 2-3 focus groups – people who have experience with the current website, and maybe a bit more tech. People who have direct knowledge of our website and content and what would be useful. We’ll pul all this together, put it together, identify themes and findings, then draft and RFP. It will take this summer, so we can have an RFP to you in the fall. That’s the overview. Doing this upfront will be useful for the project an for moving forward.
Ian – thanks for putting this plan together – it captures the direction we want tog o. One thing I’ve learned, when we look at something we might change, it makes sense to talk up front with stakeholders to get those ideas now. Three months seems like a long time, but I think it makes perfect sense and excited to see what is generated from that work. WE’re investing in something here – the public face of Brattleboro, to last for a long time. I think it is great.
Jessica-This looks like great process. What is it you are hoping to get out of this? What questions to have answered? Or will it be more creative?
Sue – I want to know what people want from the website- what do they want to do on the site. WE need to keep thing people like, but better organize it. The community has ideas about what should be there that we might not think needs to be there… I don’t have a preconceived notion of what we should be asking, but how would people use the website…
Daniel – In the internal stakeholders, could I ask for the selectboard to be an internal stakeholder? And when doing the survey – and asking about engagement – could you ask about the operating system they use… we have that XL document to find your trash day and it only works with a PC. Believe me. That’s why I’d like su to be an internal stakeholder.
Tim – happy with it.
Liz – ok, no public, so… we’ll just thank you for all your work and note that no motion is required.
