FINAL
In Chairman Linda Fox’s absence, Recording Secretary Pamela Cools called the meeting to order August 17, 2009 at 5:47 p.m. in the Barrington Hills Village Hall.
1.2 Roll Call
Communications Committee
Present
Linda Fox, Chairman (arrived 6:03 p.m.)
Barbara Kemp, Vice Chairman
Pamela Cools, Recording Secretary
Victoria Kelly
Debbie Stone
Mike Zachar, new member
Absent
Laura Ekstrom
Village Representatives
Fritz Gohl, Trustee
Robert Kosin, Village Administrator
Lt. Joe Colditz, Police Department
1.3 Approval of Minutes
Approved July minutes as amended. Motion by Barbara Kemp, and seconded by Debbie Stone.
Approved 4-0-1. (Zachar abstained.)
2.1 Fritz Gohl
· At the last Village Board meeting, Trustee Gohl reminded the board that the newsletter article submission deadline is September 1st.
· Mike Zachar was welcomed as a new member of the Communications Committee. He is currently working with Barbara Kemp on website integration.
2.2 Robert Kosin
· Mr. Kosin discussed the village’s preparations for the next fiscal year. Budget worksheets are being distributed to the various departments and trustees to begin the budget forecast.
· Our committee chairman should have our expected expenses ready prior to the November board meeting.
· Salt costs for the upcoming winter are expected to be $80-90/ton, a decrease from the $120/ton paid last season.
2.3 Lt. Colditz
· The Police Open House will be held on Sunday, September 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition to police and fire department displays, there will be other organizations in attendance. Details will be posted shortly on the Police Department website.
· CTY representatives will have a computer table at the event where they can assist residents with signing up with the notification service.
· CTY has merged with Blackboard – the new company is called Blackboard Connect.
· Chairman Linda Fox arrived at 6:03 p.m. and Pamela passed control of the meeting to her.
· Pamela Cools presented information concerning Twitter, a free micro-blogging site, used for posting short 140-character messages. A fact sheet about Twitter (attached) was distributed to the members.
· Bob Kosin recommended that we also might research the usage policies of other governmental Twitter pages.
· Included in the fact sheet document were categories and criteria for organizations and groups which we might “follow” on Twitter, in addition to guidelines which should be used to determine the kind of information we will post on our Twitter page (called “tweets”). Members discussed various options and agreed on a policy for Twitter which generally limits tweets to information already posted on one of the three current village websites, and restricts us to “follow” only non-commercial governmental agencies/entities, or non-profit groups and organizations specifically mentioned in the Village of Barrington Hills Comprehensive Plan.
· Pamela Cools made a motion to approve the Twitter policy criteria, and Victoria Kelly seconded the motion.
Approved 6-0-0.
· The final version of the Twitter policy document will be prepared by Pamela and e-mailed to all members after review by Chairman Fox.
· The Board of Trustees does not need to vote on our participation in Twitter, as it does not involve expenditure of money. Linda Fox will present an overview of Twitter at the next Board meeting. Our Twitter page will go public after that meeting.
· Pamela volunteered to continue to oversee our Twitter page and account, along with Linda. Sarah Kenney will also have access, and will be asked to assist as needed.
· Mike and Barbara have also created a preliminary outline categorizing web content for the three sub-sites (attached). The redistribution of content will result in a more logical presentation of information, and will eliminate the overlap that is currently present.
· All website content must be compliant with recently passed SB 189.
· Debbie Stone will head up the writing team for the committee, and Laura will be asked to lead the design team.
· Once the portal page is established and information categories for each of the three sections are agreed to and assigned, the Communications Committee will restructure and design the .info section.
· Word limits are being suggested for Village Board members’ newsletter articles: 250-275 words for Trustee articles and 650-700 for the President’s message. These word limits are based on the article lengths from the Board’s last newsletter submissions.
· Pamela also stated that there would be articles about DAS, the new animal rescue ordinance, the communications survey, and Twitter.
· Fritz has assigned Debbie to work on two articles featuring long-time residents Peggy Richards and George Van Hagen. A name for the section has not been determined yet, but there was discussion of using “Resident in the Spotlight” for the title as a tie-in to the ongoing website feature.
· Debbie Stone is still working on the text and layout of the main brochure, using the resources and information currently online in our websites for reference.
· There will also be a pullout page along the lines of “You’ve just moved in – now what?” with helpful phone numbers, etc.
· Debbie hopes to have a draft ready for review by the committee next month.
7. Census – Victoria Kelly
· Vicki Kelly distributed and presented a three-page document (attached) summarizing her research on Census 2010. The document includes key dates, challenges specific to Barrington Hills in getting an accurate count, and details actions which should be performed to help ensure maximum participation by our residents. She will draft a Letter of Intent to the U.S. Census to describe our timetable of dates and activities.
· Vicki highlighted the “Be Counted” census form. “Be Counted” forms are census questionnaires that are available at various community locations for use by people who either did not receive a census questionnaire in the mail, or who believe they were not otherwise included on any other census questionnaire. Unfortunately, this form must only come from an official census distributor, such as the public library. As a result, the village cannot have these forms on-hand for residents to pick up at the village hall. Therefore, it is also important that we make residents aware of the distribution locations.
· Another potential impediment to proper reporting is that each census form mailed to an address is pre-bar-coded with that address. Even if a resident who has a part-time vacation home out of state fills out the form to indicate BH residency, the form’s barcode is already dedicated to the mailing address. To report the BH address correctly, the resident must obtain a “Be Counted” form and not use the mailed form.
· It is essential that we create a sense of importance and urgency to boost participation. We must be sure that the message is clearly communicated to residents.
· Vicki will prepare a short census article for the newsletter.
8. Misc.:
Survey Update
· Linda reported that randomly selected residences in the village (approximately ¼ of the total homes) were mailed copies of the survey. The due date for return is August 25, but we will accept late returns.
· In addition, a PDF copy of the survey will be posted to the VBHComm.info website, and members are encouraged to distribute copies to their friends and neighbors as well. September 15th will be the posted due date for downloaded surveys.
Vice Chair Selection
· Barbara Kemp will remain as Vice Chairman.
Police Open House Booth
· Linda discussed plans for the Communications Committee to participate in the Open House with a table display. Lt. Colditz inquired if we would need a power source for a laptop computer. If so, our table would likely be inside the building alongside the Blackboard Connect table. No firm decision was made.
· Linda suggested that all members be available to put in a 30-minute shift manning the table.
· Mike and Vicki will work together to create a census poster for the display.
9. New Business: Such other business as may properly be presented for consideration of the Committee
· Fritz mentioned that Gigi Iacovelli took herself out of consideration for committee membership due to work obligations. Linda suggested Hollie Free to fill the vacancy, and Fritz asked her to have Hollie send in her résumé.
10. Adjournment
Given there was no new business, Linda Fox entertained a motion for dismissal at 8:59 p.m. The next meeting is on Monday, September 14, 2009. Motion to adjourn made by Barbara Kemp and seconded by Pamela Cools.
Approved 6-0-0.
Meeting Adjourned
Respectfully submitted,
Pamela A. Cools
Recording Secretary
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Attachments
Twitter Fact Sheet
Census 2010 Summary
Website Integration PowerPoint
Website Categorization Document
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