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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992 01-29 CTFMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE AD HOC CITY COMMUNICATIONS TASK FORCE FOR THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION JANUARY 29, 1992 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Capshaw called the meeting of the communications task force to order at 7:09 p.m. ROLL CALL Chairperson Capshaw, Members Keehr, Warner, Andrewjeski, and Benjamin. Also present was Personnel Coordinator Geralyn Barone, staff assistant and recording secretary. Members Brandvold, Miller, and Pfann were absent from this evening's meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - JANUARY 15. 1992 There was a motion by Member Andrewjeski and seconded by Member Benjamin to approve the minutes of the January 15, 1992, communications task force meeting. The motion passed. i REVIEW OF PRESENTATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL Chairperson Capshaw said he made a presentation on behalf of the communications task force to the city council at the council's January 27, 1992, meeting. At the meeting, Chairperson Capshaw outlined the draft of the communications task force's goals and reviewed preliminary recommendations made by the task force. He said the city council seemed satisfied and positive about the work done to date. He noted Councilmember Cohen suggested the task force hold a public hearing to obtain input on the proposed communications goals. With regard to the communications specialist position, Chairperson Capshaw said there were a number of questions by the city council regarding this, and the task force will work on this item this evening. Chairperson Capshaw said at the public hearing regarding broadcasting city council meetings, everyone at the council meeting who testified was in favor of airing the meetings on cable television. He noted the approach seems to be to get onto cable TV as soon as possible, so personnel from Northwest Community Television will be at the next city council meeting to broadcast it live. Mayor Todd Paulson and Councilmember Phil Cohen entered the meeting at 7:20 p.m. 40 Councilmember Cohen noted one of the people testifying at the 01-29-92 -1- public hearing on cable television discussed interactive capabilities, where cable gives us the opportunity to interact with people on the spot who may not be present at the meeting. He asked the task force to look at building in this capability. Chairperson Capshaw suggested part of the city council meetings could be set aside for responding to live phone calls from the public. There was a motion by Chairperson Capshaw and seconded by Member Benjamin to recommend to the city council that, starting with the next city council meeting, these meetings should be broadcast on cable television using the most economically feasible option to do so. The city council, with the assistance of city staff, should decide which lighting option to use. The motion passed. Councilmember Cohen suggested the city council meetings should be structured to cover issues of interest early on the agenda, and the council may want to put timelines on items to keep the meetings moving. Mayor Paulson said he would like to limit the length of staff presentations. Chairperson Capshaw suggested more graphic presentations could be made. There was discussion regarding the replay of council meetings. Barone noted there were a number of issues regarding the use of cable television at city council meetings that the council would like to have the task force discuss. These include keeping Brooklyn Center programming only on channel 37 versus allowing other cities' city council meetings to be broadcast;. increasing the number of homes that have cable television (possibly subsidizing the expense of cable TV) ; live versus replaying city council broadcasts; interactive capabilities; and temporary versus interim versus other lighting options. Chairperson Capshaw said he feels most of these issues should be discussed as part of a public hearing on communications. COMMUNICATIONS PLAN Chairperson Capshaw said he felt the city council was pretty supportive of the task force's proposed goals. He noted Councilmember Pedlar said the information component of the goals is basic and if this is accomplished, then the involvement and identity components will naturally evolve. Chairperson Capshaw said he feels there is definitely a need for clearer identity for the City. He said the question now is how the task force should advance this in an organized fashion. Councilmember Cohen said with regard to the identity component of the goals, at one point in time when the community was younger there were a lot of things happening with civic groups. Now the community is aging. He noted what has triggered the issue on identity is the negative press, and the City has been thrown into a defensive position. He added there has been five percent (5%) turnover of residents each year in the City. • 01-29-92 -2- Chairperson Capshaw said the City of Edina I s newsletter does a nice job of promoting that City. He said there are many good things to promote about Brooklyn Center, and the City needs to capture the good things instead of the negative ones. Mayor Paulson said the city council is supportive of the task force's outline, so now it is important to determine where the priorities are. He feels the involvement component is most important to him because it would help the community to get people involved. He stressed the importance of community involvement and getting people active. Barone suggested the task force should think of the people they are trying to get involved and plan involvement activities accordingly, being innovative when possible because the demands on people's time are very great. Councilmember Cohen noted when the Jaycees were active, wives were home with children, and businesses allowed people to become involved in the community. He noted members of the Rotary Club are people who work in the City but do not live here. Member Warner said when she decides to become involved in an activity, she looks for a short- term commitment that is action or outcome oriented. Mayor Paulson noted people will become involved if an enlightened self-interest is there to get them involved, such as crime or housing issues. Councilmember Cohen noted people will fight to protect their biggest investment. Chairperson Capshaw wondered from where membership for other city commissions comes. He said part of the communication job description might include volunteer coordination. Chairperson Capshaw said Member Brandvold could not be present this evening, but she told him the task force should consider joining with the schools to promote the city and the schools jointly to save expenses. Councilmember Cohen proceeded to review a memorandum to the task force from him dated January 29, 1992, regarding the communications task force report of January 15, 1992. The memo included comments regarding the task force's suggested goals of information, involvement, and identity, as well as remarks on implementation. Chairperson Capshaw noted whether the communications specialist position is part-time or full-time, the task force will need to reach agreement on what the functions of this position will be. He suggested some of the tasks in the position description could be done by an independent contractor. He noted the task force has not completely decided what its outcome will be regarding the communications specialist position. Chairperson Capshaw said if the City is spending a lot of money to market and promote the Earle Brown Heritage Center and not spending money to market the rest of the City, there will be problems. Councilmember Cohen said he wants to make sure the Earle Brown Heritage Center is highlighting Brooklyn Center. Chairperson Capshaw said the City needs to get Brooklyn Center residents into the Earle Brown Heritage Center facility. Councilmember Cohen pointed out the Earle Brown Heritage Center is not a museum, but it 01-29-92 -3- would be possible to schedule events there. He added the Heritage Center is there to make money „,and if it does not it will fall on the backs of the taxpayers. Chairperson Capshaw asked if the Heritage Center is a money-maker, and Councilmember Cohen said it is losing less than last year, and will eventually be in the black. Mayor Paulson said he appreciates this group being an advocate for improving communications. He said the city council will look at how the priorities fit, and the financial task force will prioritize the first things to go from the City's budget. Chairperson Capshaw suggested the task force needs to "flesh out" the position description by function and look at what can be contracted out and what can be done either by part-time or full- time City personnel. He suggested that once hired, the communications specialist would provide assistance in determining things that can be done in each of the goals components. Member Andrewj eski said he has a friend who can respond to some of the questions the task force has regarding communications. Member Benjamin suggested the task force could prepare a listing and have Member Andrewjeski's friend critique it. COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST The task force proceeded to review the various position descriptions obtained from other cities that have communications positions. Member Benjamin said there is a lot of duplication in the descriptions. Chairperson Capshaw said the Brooklyn Park and Minnetonka position descriptions look good. Councilmember Cohen asked if any of the position descriptions contained a description of who controls the content of information. He noted some group should oversee and use editorial judgment on what is published, because the City needs an investment in integrity. Mayor Paulson suggested there is a need for a marketplace of ideas where different opinions could be presented and the people should decide what is best. He noted there are many times when the City bemoans the fact "if only we could get the Post to say the right things, everything would be okay". Chairperson Capshaw said he is interested in not only reporting City actions, but also marketing, promoting, and advancing Brooklyn Center. There was discussion regarding how new residents are presented with information about the City. Barone will send task force members the packets that new residents receive from the city when they come to file for a homestead in the assessing department. For the next task force meeting, Barone will list together tasks from the Brooklyn Park and Minnetonka communications coordinator position descriptions. NEXT TASK FORCE MEETING The next meeting of the ad hoc city communications task is scheduled for February 19, 1992, at 7:00 p.m. The task force will look at the communications specialist position and discuss cable 01-29-92 -4- television items in preparation for a public hearing. ADJOURNMENT The Brooklyn Center ad hoc city communications task force adjourned at 8:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Geralyn R. Barone Recording Secretary 0 • 01-29-92 -5-