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HomeMy Public PortalAbout2021_0104 CRC-CS Minutes1 Subcommittee Members: Attendees: Communications Subcommittee Watertown Charter Review Committee Meeting Minutes January 04,2021 Marcia Ciro, Chair; Anne Fitzpatrick; Councilor John Gannon; Leo Martin Elodia Thomas The ZOOM meeting was called to order with a roll call vote at 6:01 PM. 1. Minutes for the December 11, 2020 Subcommittee Meeting — The meeting minutes were approved by a roll call vote. Councilor Gannon made the motion to approve the minutes and the motion was seconded by Anne Fitzpatrick. 2. Discuss content and design for: A. Website — Ms. Ciro described the updates that she worked on with Chris McClure. Discussion included the Town's Organization Chart that she assembled with the help of a number of people and how it should be accessed on the website. It was suggested that is be on the initial page as you scroll down and if "clicked" on you would be directed to an enlarged PDF file. Ms. Ciro indicated that currently there are a number of "anchor links" that direct the reader to a page with more information on that topic. She mentioned that the next step would be to add a "back to the top" button to get you back to where you started. She will work with Mr. McClure on that. Councilor Gannon indicated that there were a number of places where the Charter Review Committee was called the Charter Review Commission and suggested that be changed. All agreed with the change and also removing he link to an old 1980 document. Councilor Gannon also suggested adding the years (i.e. 2020, 2021, etc.) to the documents provided on the website. Again, all agreed that the items should include a date when they were added to the website and provide a way that they could be more easily found. There also was a discussion with regard to a community forum and a polling questionnaire on the website. Ms. Ciro indicated that Mr. McClure was investigating software options. Ms. Fitzpatrick offered kudos to Ms. Ciro on the website design changes, all agreed. B. Flyer — Councilor Gannon indicated that he was not able to find an electronic version of the flyer that he was looking for and is in the process of looking for a hard copy. There was a brief discussion with regard to the flyers and it was indicated that they could be based on the public services announcement banners that Ms. Ciro developed (see Item 2.C). Councilor Gannon talked about the distribution and timing of the flyers and suggested a mid -February timeframe when the forum maybe on the website. Ms. Ciro agreed with the coordination with the website, but thought that the website forum may be available by the end of January. Councilor Gannon will investigate the mechanism to get a flyer distributed. C. Cable TV banners/ public service announcements — Ms. Ciro showed examples of banners for the Watertown Cable TV, she had prepared a number of different options. Communication Subcommittee Meeting Minutes Page 2 January 4, 2021 She indicated that if we agreed on a format the theme could be carried forward on the sandwich boards and other announcements. The group discussed the options and the amount of text on the banner, all agreed on the legal pad style. Ms. Fitzpatrick indicated that in her discussions with Watertown Cable TV, you could have as many as you would like on the three different channels. It was determined that two would be submitted, the one with the dates and times already done by Ms. Ciro and a second that indicates "Watertown Charter Review Needs You!" with a reference to the town website. Ms. Fitzpatrick asked if a different font could be used and Ms. Ciro will investigate further. Ms. Ciro will do two cards for tomorrow's meeting of the full committee. Ms. Ciro will also draft the sandwich boards based on the banners agreed to. Ms. Fitzpatrick indicated the need to emphasize that the meetings are virtual. 3. Strategic plan for outreach and distribution — Ms. Ciro indicated the need for getting the notice out on social media. There are options with regard to the Town's social media pages that Mr. McClure is expanding. Ms. Ciro will get the banners to Mr. McClure. She will also add to Next Door Watertown. Councilor Gannon will investigate other Facebook avenues. Ms. Fitzpatrick also mentioned an interview on cable TV. There was a question as to who would be the spokesperson, that group thought that the full committee should have input on this issue. Ms. Fitzpatrick mentioned that due to Covid the interviews were via Zoom and more than one person could be included. She thought the interview would be better if it was done sooner rather than wait. Also suggested getting our meetings on the electronic bulletin board at town hall. There was a discussion on paying for a banner advertisement on Charlie Brietrose's website. It was felt that this was an avenue to consider and Ms. Ciro will speak with Mr. Brietrose about a public service announcement as well as placing an advertisement banner. There was a brief discussion of Watertown Forward's website and having a link provided on the town's website. Ms. Ciro indicated that she would bring that up with Mr. McClure. 4. Next Meeting was scheduled for January 14th at 5:00 PM Adjournment was at 7:32 via a roll call vote. Action Items: A. Finalize the public service announcements and present to the full committee — Ciro. B. Work on the revisions to the town website with Mr. McClure and adding our minutes - Ciro. C. Investigate options for distribution of the flyers — Councilor Gannon D. Sandwich board graphics based on public service announcements — Ciro E. Investigate both public service announcements and advertisements on Watertown News website - Fitzpatrick F. Determine who would be spokesman for the committee for an interview on the Watertown Cable TV — question to the full committee. Minutes by Leo Martin