Minutes - 11-3-14 Reg. Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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BK - 00027 PG:0019 B. Events Lee County has sought a variety of ways to educate and engage the public. In general, the earlier public involvement is sought, the better. It is also an improved use of citizens' free time to participate in a process that will determine the direction of a project that may take years to complete. To minimize citizen's frustration when they are invited to join late in the'process - when the values and goals may have already been decided the following tools are arranged from most participatory to least. Special Events are held to bring attention to a specific activity or issue. Special events may take the form of a fair or special educational lecture with civic groups or other public entities. Special events are a way to expose a large number of people to a project or program. Focus groups work well for public input. Surveys are an efficient method of gathering input from a large number of people at an early stage of the planning process. This is particularly useful when trying to understand the goals and aspirations of a community before attempting to address any specific problems. As an outreach tool, surveys are a good way to identify citizens who may want to become further involved. Surveys may be administered in person or on the phone or distributed via mail, on the Internet, or at public places. A labor intensive activity, implementation of survey might be aided by volunteers and student interns. Public Hearings are usually held when an agency has completed a plan and needs to present it for public review before moving forward with the plan. As with all of these tools, care must be taken to ensure that the public is made fully aware of the event well in advance, and that the goals and values of the plan are clearly stated. Community Forum Meetings are held to discuss programs and activities within communities, and the public is engaged to discuss their needs in general. C. Direct Marketing and Education Direct marketing and education is meant to reach out and provide specific information to specific parties. For example, landowners or leaders of an ethnic community may be sought out and personally invited to come to a meeting. Similarly, lower income groups may be specifically targeted to be educated about their rights, or children or families may be targeted to begin a discussion on a specific program. Direct marketing and education can take place through direct mass mailings, radio, press advertising, or through meetings with specific groups of people such as local clubs, homeless people, property owners, or housing authorities. It can also be through making direct phone calls or meeting with key people who desire to participate in a given process. This is the most labor intensive and potentially most fruitful way to create a diverse and active public participation process. Plan Monitoring and Evaluation Evaluation of the success of any public involvement efforts must be result - oriented. It is never safe to assume that just because people don't come to an event that they are uninterested in the project. The goal is to educate and include the public at all levels of planning, not just to invite them. Evaluation, then, must be two -fold. The first part is to track what efforts are being made, and the results of those efforts, and the second part is to make regular assessments of the success of a technique within a given program, and to strategize for future successes.