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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-08-21 Planning Commission Minutesi 9 'N PUL.ASKI MINUTES Town of Pulaski Planning Commission March 8, 2021 Commissioners Present: Kevin Meyer, Chair; Chris Conner Commissioners Absent: Janet Jonas, Vice Chair; Terry Hale; Tracy Belcher Town Staff: Brady Deal, Planner/Economic Developer/Zoning Administrator 1. Call to Order Chairman Meyer called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call of Commission Only two commissioners were present so it was determined a quorum was not present 3. Review and Approval of Minutes a. February 8, 2021 Mr. Meyer stated that his name was not spelled correctly in the draft minutes. However, a quorum was not present so the minutes were not approved. 4. Public Hearing 5. Old Business 6. New Business a. Comprehensive Plan Update Process Aphi Fancon and James Jones from the New River Valley Regional Commission were present to discuss the engagement strategies that will be used during the Comprehensive Plan Process. Ms. Fancon overviewed the background of the update process and previewed the engagement platform, the survey, and the focus groups/working groups. Mr. Jones presented information pertinent to the online engagement platform which uses Bang the Table. Mr. Jones described the benefits of the software including getting feedback from residents, and providing a common place for feedback and questions. He described the layout of the site including the two pages, a home page and project page. He described that residents can sign up and register to receive updates on the process as they are posted. Mr. Jones then overviewed the feedback options that residents can access to be engaged in the process including the quick 2 cents option, the interactive maps option, the share your favorite photo option, and the working group sign up option. Additionally, Mr. Jones stated a project timeline is posted on the site. Mr. Meyer asked how the Town would connect the citizens to the website. He asked if this would go in the water bill, in the paper, or on a billboard. Ms. Fancon stated that information could be put in the library, she mentioned a flyer would be available for those without access to the internet. Mr. Deal mentioned the Town would start by publishing a press release. He supported the idea of using the water bill as a means to connect to residents. Mr. Deal stated a traditional form of media would be used to connect to individuals that do not have access to the internet. Mr. Deal stated that he would note the water bill idea and talk with the Town Manager. Mr. Meyer mentioned that there is a TV channel with a calendar that may be a strong posting location. He also mentioned of a PSA on the radio. Ms. Fancon asked what the Commissioners thought about putting flyers in businesses such as like McDonald's. Mr. Conner asked what the traditional media engagement piece was exactly for those that do not have internet access. He furthered by asking if it would be a paper version of the survey. Ms. Fancon stated that the flyer would go out first and then later when the survey goes out a hard copy would go as well. Mr. Conner stated that it might be a good idea to have surveys available at businesses and five or ten business would serve as drop box locations for those surveys. Mr. Deal stated that maximizing the connection to social service agencies as potential drop sites would be highly effective as well. Mr. Jones then proceeded to move on to the live demo of the engagement platform. He provided an extensive review of the various components of the site and how users can navigate the site. Page 2 of 5 / March 8, 2021 Mr. Deal asked if Mr. Jones would send another draft link for the Commissioners to review and provide feedback. Mr. Jones then provided an overview of the traditional flyer that would be printed out and distributed around the Town. He stated that this flyer is the quick two cents version of the survey. A traditional version of the survey will be distributed later. Mr. Meyer asked to have the flyer and survey in both of the local papers. He stated that since The Patriot is free of charge it would be a great place to advertise it. Mr. Deal responded that the Patriot has a widespread circulation as well. Mr. Conner responded that wherever The Patriot is distributed would be a great place for a drop box. Mr. Deal then presented a chart of possible titles/positions to look for working group members from. He described his reasoning for the various positions he identified as potential candidates and outlined each potential group. Aphi then asked the Commissioners if they wanted to have different working groups or one working group. Aphi again described the role of the working group. She stated that they would work as an advisory group that would meet 3-5 times and discuss the key topics that the Planning Commission has identified for the Comprehensive Plan process. Mr. Meyer stated that he had thought Ms. Jonas was leaning towards the focus groups as her choice and get people to focus on one particular area. He stated that the one difficulty is finding enough people to serve on various groups if there are several. Mr. Meyer stated that he would lean towards having one group that discusses several issues. Mr. Conner stated that he was on board with Mr. Meyer and supported the idea of one working group to be formed. Aphi then explained the difference between a working group and focus group to the Commissioners to alleviate some confusion. She stated that the focus group is a large group of about 25 people that meet one time. Aphi further added that the working group is small and would meet multiple time. Mr. Meyer then stated that Mr. Deal could go forward to try and assemble the working group. He also added that he thinks Mr. Deal should share the list with Town Council to see if they have any recommendations. Mr. Deal stated that people in various positions have different perspectives in the Town and it would be great to get these individuals in a room together to have a conversation. Page 3 of 51 March 8, 2021 Aphi stated that it would be great to decide first then contact the people involved so that no one gets offended if they are not included. After a brief discussion amongst all, it is highly unlikely that people will have to be turned away. Aphi then reviewed the draft survey questions with the Commission. Aphi examined the structure of the questions and asked the Commissioners if they had any opinions on the way the questions had been drafted. Mr. Meyer stated that it would be good to have a scale between important and not important like somewhat important to provide people with more options as they respond. Aphi continued to review the questions in the survey. Mr. Meyer stated that since there were only two Commissioners present, he advised Mr. Deal to send the survey to the other Commissioners. Mr. Deai stated that it is helpful to him if there is some background information available on the survey participants. He added that knowing what part of Town they live in for example could dictate their responses to some of the questions. Aphi stated that it may be a good idea to provide a map in the survey for respondents to identify the section of Town they live in. She stated that the survey was meant to gather broad information regarding the Town and not be as specific information. Mr. Deal stated that his experience of the Town is usually limited to a few areas and so his perspective of Town issues is usually connected to those areas. Aphi stated that one main objective of the survey is to mine out big issueslopportunities from the responses. Aphi then reviewed some other ideas and concerns with the survey. Mr. Deal then recapped the discussion regarding the survey and described the comments from the Commissioners so Aphi could jot down some notes for the editing process. Mr. Deal stated that the press release would go out before the next meeting. Aphi suggested that it be seat out within the next couple weeks. Aphi also asked if feedback could be provided regarding the engagement site and flyer to her and/or James by Sunday night. Mr. Deal asked if the Commissioners had any final thoughts on the engagement site. Mr. Conner stated that he thought it was laid out well and very clean. Mr. Deal asked Aphi if she could ensure the sign up sections of the site were large and visible to ensure people new they needed to sign up to receive updates. Mr. Meyer stated that he was very thankful for Aphi and her work on the Comprehensive Plan. Page 4 of 5 / March 8, 2021 7. Staff Report a. Training Registration Mr. Meyer asked Mr. Deal to provide the staff report. Mr. Deal updated the Planning Commission on the process of registering for the Land Use training through VCU. Mr. Deal stated that Ms. Belcher, Mr. Conner, and himself were all signed up for the training. Mr. Deal then introduced a member from the public, Mr. Seigfried who is hoping to be more involved in the Town. 8. Adjournment With there being no further business to discuss, Chairman Meyer adjourned the meeting at 7:06 p.m. Page 5 of 51 March 8, 2021 Kevi eyer, Chair