[00:00:02]
[Roll Call]
2026. THE MEETING IS HEREBY CALLED TO ORDER AT 10:31 A.M.LET'S DO ROLL CALL. THANK YOU. DIRECTOR COFFEY.
HERE. DIRECTOR MERCURIO. HERE. CHAIR SANWONG.
HERE. ALL MEMBERS ARE PRESENT. GREAT. WELCOME, EVERYONE.
ALL RIGHT. ON OUR AGENDA WE HAVE ITEM 2, APPROVAL OF MINUTES, BUT THERE ARE NONE.
SO WE'RE NOW GOING TO MOVE ON TO ITEM 3, PUBLIC COMMENTS ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA.
[Action Items]
OUR ACTION ITEMS, WHERE WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT A PROCESS FOR UPDATING THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES.THANK YOU, CHAIR SANWONG. THERE IS NO PRESENTATION ON THIS ITEM.
IT'S JUST A VERY SIMPLE. WHAT WE PUT FORWARD IS WE WERE ASKING DIRECTION FROM THE BOARD TO PROCEED WITH STAFF GOING FORWARD WITH POSSIBLY AN RFP OR WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT, IF WE DON'T NEED AN RFP TO HAVE THE CONSULTANT WORK WITH THE BOARD MEMBERS TO DO AN OVERARCHING UPDATE TO THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES. YEAH. AND I'LL TAKE A LEAD REAL QUICK HERE.
AND THEN I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM MY COLLEAGUES.
BECAUSE I KNOW I ASKED FOR THIS TO BE AGENDIZED AND I KNOW THAT I'VE HEARD FROM THE ENTIRE BOARD MEMBERS, MOST OF THEM, THAT THERE IS A DESIRE FOR US TO LOOK AT THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES IN 2026.
AND I WOULD REALLY LIKE FOR THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO TAKE THE LEAD ON COMING UP WITH THAT PROCESS AND HOW, YOU KNOW, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE ENTIRE BOARD AND REALLY USING THAT COMMITTEE TO BOARD MEETING CONNECTION.
AND I KNOW THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAME UP YESTERDAY AT THE BOARD MEETING. JOHN BROUGHT THAT UP ACTUALLY. AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN ALSO POTENTIALLY INTEGRATE INTO THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES. WITH THIS, IN TERMS OF WORKING WITH THE CONSULTANT, I DO THINK THIS IS A GREAT IDEA FOR US TO CONSIDER.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE TO GO THROUGH AN RFP PROCESS OR IF WE'RE ABLE TO PUT FORWARD A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE WANT TO WORK WITH THEM AND WORK WITH STAFF TO WORK THROUGH THAT PROPOSAL AND, YOU KNOW, GET THEM ON BOARD.
AND THEY ALSO HAVE A BACKGROUND OF DOING THIS EXACT SAME WORK WITH MIDPENINSULA OPEN SPACE DISTRICT.
AND SO THEY ALREADY HAVE THAT BACKGROUND WITH AN AGENCY I CONSIDER TO BE OUR SISTER AGENCY, AS WELL AS A BLUEPRINT IN TERMS OF MAYBE HELPING TO PROVIDE SOME GUIDANCE TO WORK WITH US.
SO I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM MY COLLEAGUES. AND THEN I ALSO UNDERSTAND, I BELIEVE OUR ACTING GENERAL MANAGER DID HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER AT MIDPENINSULA OPEN SPACE ABOUT THIS VERY TOPIC. SO IT MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTING TO HEAR ABOUT THAT CONVERSATION. WHO WOULD LIKE TO GO NEXT? THAT SOUNDS. IN LIEU OF A STAFF REPORT, THAT SOUNDS GREAT.
YEAH. AND I THINK AS WAS MENTIONED, I GOT A CHANCE TO MEET WITH ANA, WHO'S THE GENERAL MANAGER AT MIDPEN, AND TALKED TO HER ABOUT THIS WORK, AND SHE SAID IT WAS VERY HELPFUL THAT THEY'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THIS CONSULTANT ON THEIR SORT OF GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE WITH THEIR BOARD FOR ACTUALLY A COUPLE OF YEARS. AND THAT IT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL.
SO YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK MY RECOMMENDATION, WHAT KELLY AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT IS, IF YOUR BOARD GAVE STAFF DIRECTION TO WORK TO HIRE A CONSULTANT TO GET, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH EITHER THE PROPOSAL YOU HAVE OR GET A PROPOSAL, YOU KNOW, WE CAN WORK WITH COUNCIL TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PROCESS IS.
IF WE NEED TO GO OUT FOR AN RFP, OR IF WE CAN JUST DO AN ADDENDUM TO OUR EXISTING CONTRACT, AND THEN WE CAN BRING THAT TO THE FULL BOARD FOR APPROVAL, EVEN THOUGH IT'S PROBABLY A SMALL ENOUGH AMOUNT THAT IT WOULDN'T NEED TO GO TO THE FULL BOARD, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO, IN AN OPEN SESSION OF THE BOARD, BRING THAT FOR APPROVAL.
[00:05:06]
MAX SHARED? WELL, I'LL JUST SAY I LIKE THE IDEA OF HAVING SOMEBODY HELP US WITH THIS, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, IT'S NOT SOMETHING. I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK AT THE LIST, IT LOOKS LIKE WE DO IT ALL THE TIME.AND IT ALWAYS REQUIRES A LOT OF THOUGHT. AND YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN DOING SMALL TO MEDIUM CHANGES TO IT OVER THE YEARS AND THE IDEA OF TAKING A HOLISTIC LOOK AT IT IS A GOOD IDEA. AND HAVING SOMEONE, YOU KNOW, WHO CAN INTRODUCE SOME NEW CONCEPTS MAYBE TO US OR EVALUATE WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR AND COME UP WITH A BETTER PRODUCT. I'M ALWAYS INTERESTED IN THAT.
SO THAT'S HOW I'D WEIGH IN ON IT. SO MY PROBLEM IS I'M BURDENED WITH HAVING DONE THIS FOR DECADES FOR ELECTED BOARDS AND ADVISING THEM ON BYLAW REVISIONS. THAT'S WHAT I DID IN MY ROLE AS GENERAL COUNSEL TO HEALTH CARE DISTRICT BOARDS FOR CLOSE TO 40 YEARS. AND THE CONCEPT OF HAVING A CONSULTANT TO DO IT KIND OF JUST, YOU KNOW, I DON'T NEED THAT, BUT THAT'S MY BURDEN. IT'S A RESULT OF WHAT I DID FOR A LIVING FOR SEVERAL DECADES.
HISTORICALLY, WHAT WE DID IS, IN 2024, THE GENERAL MANAGER AND AMANDA WENT THROUGH OUR OPERATING GUIDELINES AND CAME UP WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF PROPOSED REVISIONS TO THEM. WE ALL GOT THE DRAFT.
WE GOT, YOU KNOW, THE RED LINE AND THE HIGHLIGHTS OF CHANGES.
THEY THEN MET WITH EACH OF US TO GO THROUGH THOSE PROPOSED CHANGES.
I, BECAUSE IT WAS, YOU KNOW, JUST INSTINCT. I WENT THROUGH THEM AND MY REVISIONS TO THE REVISIONS WERE ABOUT, I DON'T KNOW, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN PAGES, WHATEVER IT WAS.
MOST OF WHICH I THOUGHT WAS KIND OF ELEMENTARY AND HELPFUL THERE.
YOU JUST REFERENCE THE BROWN ACT AND INCORPORATE IT IN THERE.
SO ONE OF MY MAIN PROPOSALS WAS LET'S ELIMINATE ALL THAT KIND OF LANGUAGE.
I ALSO PROPOSED THINGS THAT THE GENERAL MANAGER DIDN'T LIKE.
THE GENERAL MANAGER REVISED THE PROVISIONS ALLOWING BOARD APPROVAL OF THE HIRING OF A BOARD CLERK AND A CFO, SO THAT THAT WAS ENTIRELY A GENERAL MANAGER ROLE.
AND MY VERSION CROSSED OUT ALL OUT AND MADE THOSE BOARD HIRINGS.
MY VERSION REWROTE OUR CONSENT CALENDAR PROVISION FAIRLY EXTENSIVELY. ALL EMPLOYMENT, ALL LABOR RELATED ACTIONS SHOULD NOT BE ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR.
AND I WROTE THAT INTO THE MY VERSION. SO WHAT HAPPENED IS, WE ALL MET, WE ALL HAD OUR INPUT AND THEN IT WAS ON CALENDAR AND PRESIDENT ECHOLS AT THE TIME TOOK IT OFF CALENDAR, I THINK BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT WE NEEDED TO DO SOME MORE WORK ON IT.
THE OTHER THING SHE THOUGHT WE NEEDED TO DO IS BRING ON THE NEW BOARD MEMBERS, BECAUSE TWO NEW PEOPLE HAD BEEN ELECTED IN NOVEMBER AND THIS WAS LATE 24. AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED IS IT NEVER CAME BACK.
SO. IT CAME BACK EARLY 2025. AND WE MADE TWO CHANGES AT THAT TIME.
ONE WAS TO THE CONTRACTING SECTION PROCUREMENT.
AND THEN ONE, YES. ONE ON PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING.
AND THEN THE OTHER WAS THE REST OF IT COME BACK.
IT ACTUALLY DID ALL COME BACK, AND WE CHOSE TO NOT MAKE A DECISION THAT DAY ON THE REMAINDER.
AND THEN IT NEVER CAME BACK. AND THEN IT NEVER CAME BACK. OKAY, SO I MISSED THAT ONE STEP.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING WHETHER WE AS AN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, BECAUSE THIS HAS BEEN YOUR RECOMMENDATION, TAKE ON THE ISSUE. WE LOOK AT THE PROPOSED REVISIONS FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER AND THEN OUR OWN.
[00:10:05]
AND THEN MAYBE WE, YOU KNOW, DECIDE WHETHER TO HIRE A CONSULTANT OR NOT.WELL, I THINK ONE OF THE ISSUES IS WE DON'T HAVE STAFFING TO HELP US WITH THIS PROCESS.
I UNDERSTAND IN THAT ROLE, I WAS A CONSULTANT.
YEP. SO THAT'S WHAT THIS CONSULTANT WOULD HELP US WITH.
THAT'S A GOOD POINT. THAT HELPS ME FRAME IT. THANK YOU.
AND I'LL SHARE. I MEAN, I THINK WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THE PREVIOUS GENERAL MANAGER RECOMMENDED, BUT I KNOW SHE AND I DISAGREED ON LIAISON COMMITTEES, WHICH ARE IN OUR BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES.
AND THERE WAS A REAL EFFORT TO REPLACE OUR LIAISON MEETINGS WITH THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEETINGS, WHICH I THINK LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEETINGS CAN ENHANCE THE LIAISON MEETINGS.
AND SPECIFICALLY FOR CERTAIN AGENCIES, I THINK THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT MEETINGS ARE VERY SUCCESSFUL FOR WATER AGENCIES, FOR EXAMPLE, ALTHOUGH I SAY THAT AND THEN WITH LIAISON MEETINGS, I KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, EAST BAY MUD REALLY WANTS TO HAVE A LIAISON MEETING WITH US RIGHT NOW, AND THEY ARE IN OUR BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES.
SO I THINK THAT THAT'S ONE AREA WHERE I THINK WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WAS PREVIOUSLY RECOMMENDED, BUT I ACTUALLY DON'T REALLY LIKE WHAT WAS RECOMMENDED AT THAT TIME. AND SO I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN GO BACK AND REEVALUATE AS ONE EXAMPLE.
AND SO IN TERMS OF PROVIDING DIRECTION, BECAUSE THIS IS AN ACTION ITEM, I DO HAVE A FEW RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE ACTION ITEMS. AND THEN DO WE HAVE IN OUR PACKET. I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY SORT OF LIKE RESOLUTION, RIGHT? SO WE'RE GOING TO. NO, THE COMMITTEES DON'T ADOPT RESOLUTIONS.
SO WE JUST TAKE THE DIRECTION AND WRITE IT DOWN AND THEN MOVE FORWARD WITH IT.
OKAY. SO I'M GOING TO PROPOSE A FEW THINGS. SO ONE IS TO TAKE ACTION TO RECOMMEND THAT WE WORK WITH A FACILITATOR OR CONSULTANT OR SOMEONE WHO CAN HAVE THAT TYPE OF ROLE.
AND CERTAINLY WE'RE OPEN TO OTHER RECOMMENDED CONSULTANCIES, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
AND WE'LL DOUBLE CHECK WITH LEGAL IF WE NEED TO GO THROUGH AN RFP PROCESS.
I WILL SHARE THERE MIGHT BE SOME HESITATIONS, THOUGH, FROM THE BOARD, IN TERMS. BECAUSE I CAN THINK OF MAYBE ONE OTHER FIRM THAT MAY BE PART OF THAT RFP PROCESS THAT I DON'T KNOW IF WE MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH THAT FIRM AS A BOARD, BUT WE'LL CERTAINLY SEE HOW THAT PLAYS OUT. SO LET'S START WITH THAT.
I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE WILL RECOMMEND WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT TO SERVE AS OUR FACILITATOR AND HELP PROVIDE SOME GUIDANCE ON UPDATING THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES. AND THAT'S MY MOTION. DOES THAT INCLUDE INCLUDE ACCEPTING FOR MANAGEMENT, THE FIRMS WE SOLICIT FOR PROPOSALS? SO, I MEAN, IT WOULD STILL GO TO YOUR FULL BOARD FOR APPROVAL.
SO LIKE, I THINK, AND WHAT I'M HEARING IS YOU HAVE AN EXISTING PROPOSAL.
AND IF NOT, WE CAN GO THROUGH AN RFP PROCESS.
AND THEN WHATEVER COMES OUT OF THAT, WE WOULD BRING IT TO THE FULL BOARD.
AND THE PROCUREMENT WOULD DEPEND ON JUST WHAT THE VALUE OF THE CONTRACT IS.
SO WITHOUT KNOWING WHAT THE PROPOSALS ARE, IT'S.
WE DON'T KNOW, BUT THERE'S A HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT YOU PROBABLY WOULD NOT NEED TO DO A FULL RFP.
AND YOU ALL ARE SOPHISTICATED IN KNOWING THE CONSULTANTS OUT THERE ALREADY, LIKE YOU DO LAWYERS.
AND MAYBE THERE'D BE A HANDFUL THAT YOU COULD JUST GET PROPOSALS FROM, INCLUDING.
DEPENDING ON THE VALUE OF THE CONTRACT, THERE'S LIKE AN INFORMAL PROCESS OR NO PROCESS OR AN RFP.
SO WE WOULD JUST SEE WHAT LEVEL OF EXPENDITURE IS IN IT.
INCLUDING THE FIRM THAT OLIVIA HAS TALKED TO.
BECAUSE THEY'RE CERTAINLY A FRONT RUNNER. SO THE MOTION IS THAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND TO THE FULL BOARD THAT WE WOULD WANT TO WORK WITH A. AND I MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL MOTIONS AFTER THIS, BUT I KIND OF WANT TO DO THIS PIECEMEAL.
[00:15:04]
OKAY. SO MY FIRST MOTION IS THAT WE WOULD RECOMMEND TO THE FULL BOARD THAT WE'D WANT TO WORK WITH A THIRD PARTY CONSULTANT FACILITATOR TO HELP US UPDATE THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES.SECOND. OKAY. SO WE HAVE FIRST FROM ME, DIRECTOR SANWONG, AND A SECOND FROM DIRECTOR COFFEY.
ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE. AYE. AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? SO THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY 3-0.
PERFECT. SO THEN MY SECOND ACTION ITEM, AND I THINK THAT THIS IS SOMETHING ELSE THAT I'VE HEARD THAT THE BOARD IS INTERESTED IN, IS THAT AS PART OF THIS BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINE UPDATE TO HARD CODE, SOME OF OUR PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCESSES OF OUR TWO DIRECT HIRES, THE GENERAL MANAGER AND GENERAL COUNSEL.
AND TO HAVE THAT BE A PART OF THIS PROCESS SO THAT WE CAN THEN HAVE IT BE PART OF OUR GUIDELINES.
AND THEN IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S MEMORIALIZED AND STANDARDIZED AS PART OF THIS.
AND SO THAT WHEN WE GO AND LOOK FOR THIS THIRD PARTY, YOU KNOW, FACILITATOR, CONSULTANT, THAT THAT WOULD ALSO BE INCLUDED AS PART OF THIS OVERALL UPDATING BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES PROCESS.
SO THAT WOULD BE A MOTION TO WORK WITH A THIRD PARTY FACILITATOR TO HELP US, YOU KNOW, IMPROVE OUR PROCESS AND MEMORIALIZE OUR PROCESS OF OUR EVALUATIONS, AND THE ULTIMATE GOAL IS TO HAVE THAT INCORPORATED INTO OUR BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES.
IS THAT THE SAME CONSULTANT? THEY DO HAVE A PROPOSAL TO HELP US WITH THIS AS WELL.
I JUST RECOMMEND THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WHAT'S AGENDIZED TODAY IS BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES, WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT PARTICULAR TOPIC IS COVERED.
I DON'T KNOW THAT YOU NEED A SEPARATE MOTION.
I WOULD RECOMMEND NOT MAKING A SEPARATE MOTION. OKAY.
OKAY. SO THEN AS PART OF THE RFP THOUGH, WE WOULD WANT TO HAVE THE EVALUATIONS INCLUDED? I MEAN, I WOULD JUST SAY, PART OF THEIR PROCESS AS A CONSULTANT WOULD BE UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE SCOPE OF THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES IS THAT YOUR BOARD IS INTERESTED IN.
AND IF PART OF THAT SCOPE IS DEFINING THE REVIEW PROCESS, THEN THAT SEEMS TOTALLY REASONABLE.
I THINK THAT'S ALL. WHAT I HEAR YOU SAY IS LIKE THAT THAT COULD BE PART OF THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES THAT THIS CONSULTANT'S HELPING YOUR BOARD REVIEW. OKAY, GREAT.
YEAH, I'LL ACCEPT THAT. OKAY. SO THEN I RESCIND THAT MOTION AND NOW I'LL TRY MY THIRD MOTION.
WE GOT FAIRLY FAR ALONG. IT JUST DIED AT SOME POINT.
YES. MYSTERIOUSLY. BUT WE HAD A DRAFT POLICY THAT YOU AND I WORKED ON, AND WE CAN START FROM THERE. WE SHARED IT WITH OTHER BOARD MEMBERS.
SO YES, I AGREE THAT WE CAN JUST MOVE ON THAT AS PART OF THE REVIEW OF THE OPERATING GUIDELINES.
SO THAT'S FINE. AND THEN MY THIRD PROPOSED MOTION IS FOR US TO CONSIDER SCHEDULING A SPECIAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR THE LAST WEEK OF JULY 2026 SO THAT WE.
BECAUSE WE CAN DO SOME OF THIS WORK, WE CAN REVIEW, YOU KNOW, THE PREVIOUS PROPOSAL, COLIN THAT YOU AND I HAD PUT TOGETHER ON GENERAL MANAGER EVALUATION, WE COULD REVIEW, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE WORK THAT AMANDA GALLO HAD DONE WITH THE BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES.
I THINK IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL FOR US TO HAVE A WORK SESSION.
BECAUSE I THINK WE DO HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO ON THIS.
DIRECTOR SANWONG. MY RECOMMENDATION, LIKE, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE DESIRE TO MOVE FORWARD AND SUPPORTIVE OF IT, BUT TO GET A CONSULTANT ON CONTRACT IS GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME.
AND THEN WE WOULD WANT TO BRING THAT TO THE FULL BOARD.
SO I MIGHT RECOMMEND GETTING THAT STEP DONE BEFORE DIGGING INTO THE PROCESS ITSELF.
[00:20:02]
I JUST WORRY ABOUT THE CALENDAR TIMELINE, AND I THINK WE COULD STILL HAVE A GOOD CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT WE'VE ALREADY DONE IN THE PAST THREE YEARS.I DO ALSO WANT TO NOTE JULY IS OUR TECHNICAL LEGISLATIVE BREAK.
THAT'S WHY IT'S BEING BROUGHT UP. OKAY. SO BECAUSE ORDINARILY WE WOULD NOT HAVE THAT MEETING.
SO THIS WOULD BE A SPECIAL MEETING. OKAY. WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT.
YEAH. I'M TAKING THE FIRST HALF OF JULY OFF VISITING GRANDKIDS, BUT SECOND HALF I'M AROUND.
YEAH, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE AT THE END OF JULY REALLY FOR ME TO KIND OF FREE UP AS MUCH OF JULY AS POSSIBLE FOR WHATEVER'S GOING ON WITH ME AND OTHERS. SO I WOULD RECOMMEND IT BE VERY, VERY END OF JULY.
I DO BELIEVE IT'S A GOOD IDEA. YEAH, I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT.
SOUNDS GOOD. OKAY. THAT'S GREAT. THANK YOU EVERYONE.
THERE IS NO PUBLIC COMMENT. ALL RIGHT. SO WE WILL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT. I HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT. YES. GO FOR IT. AND THAT IS BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN REFERENCE TO CODES OF CONDUCT. AND THAT HAS A VERY SPECIFIC MEANING TO ME.
THERE WAS A PERIOD IN WHICH A BUNCH OF SPECIAL DISTRICTS WERE BEING CRITICIZED.
I'M TALKING GOING BACK 15 YEARS, MAYBE 20, MAYBE 10, BUT THERE WERE BOARDS THAT WERE BEING CRITICIZED AS ACTING OUTSIDE OF NORMS. AND THE CSDA CIRCULATED AMONG SPECIAL DISTRICTS A CODE OF CONDUCT, AND IT WAS SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO TRY TO REIN IN ROGUE BOARDS OF DIRECTORS WHO WEREN'T BEHAVING WELL.
THIS WAS NOT UNCOMMON AMONG SPECIAL DISTRICT BOARDS.
THE POLITICS, THE POLARIZATION AND SUCH. AND THE CSDA, IN ORDER TO SPECIFICALLY ENHANCE THE REPUTATIONS OF SPECIAL DISTRICTS, CIRCULATED A CODE OF CONDUCT DESIGNED TO IMPOSE NORMS OF BEHAVIOR ON BOARDS THAT WERE DYSFUNCTIONAL, AND I THEREFORE HAVE A BIAS WHEN IT COMES TO THAT TERM CODE OF CONDUCT, BECAUSE THIS BOARD IS NOT DYSFUNCTIONAL, THIS BOARD. WE ALL GET ALONG. WE WORK WITH EACH OTHER.
SO I WANT TO GET THAT ON THE TABLE. THIS BOARD DOESN'T NEED A CODE OF CONDUCT.
AND WHEN IT WAS PROPOSED, WE BASICALLY SET IT ASIDE AND TALKED ABOUT THE ROLE OF GOVERNANCE AT THAT MEETING, AS YOU ALL RECALL, WHICH WAS MUCH MORE PRODUCTIVE THAN DISCUSSING CODES OF CONDUCT.
SO I NEEDED TO GET THAT OUT THERE. I'M GLAD YOU MENTIONED THAT.
I HAD THE SAME REACTION WHEN I RECEIVED THE PROPOSAL FROM ONE OF THE POTENTIAL CONSULTANT FIRMS. AND BECAUSE BASICALLY WHAT YOU JUST SAID IS ALMOST HOW I REACTED TO THAT PHRASING.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE AS THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS CAN CHOOSE WHAT WE WANT TO CALL IT.
WE CAN CONTINUE TO USE WHAT WE'VE BEEN USING BOARD OPERATING GUIDELINES.
I KNOW YOU'VE SOMETIMES REFERRED TO IT AS BYLAWS.
SO THAT'S AN OPTION. CODE OF CONDUCT. IT IS THE TERM THAT IS USED BY MIDPEN OPEN SPACE.
SO I THINK THAT'S WHY IT WAS REFERENCED BY THE CONSULTANT THAT I SPOKE WITH.
OKAY. IF THERE AREN'T ANY FURTHER COMMENTS FROM THE COMMITTEE, WE ALREADY MADE THE RECOMMENDATION.
[Informational Items]
AGENDA 5. AND WE WILL START WITH 5.A, THE INFORMATIONAL UPDATE ON STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS.[00:25:04]
AND YOU KNOW, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE KICKED OFF WITH YOUR BOARD.I DON'T KNOW WHAT NOW, SEVERAL MONTHS AGO? AND I THINK I'VE MET WITH OUR CONSULTANTS, MET WITH EACH OF YOU, BUT I'LL HAND IT OVER TO ALLISON TO INTRODUCE.
BUT THIS IS AN EXCITING MILESTONE. AND I JUST SAY THIS IS INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK FROM YOUR BOARD ABOUT HOW TO ENGAGE THE FULL BOARD IN THIS FURTHER, WHETHER WE WANT, YOU KNOW, STUDY SESSIONS OR TO BRING INDIVIDUAL ITEMS. SO ALLISON IS GOING TO COVER ALL THIS STUFF. I JUST, WHILE THEY WERE SETTING UP ONE TO CUE IT UP A LITTLE BIT.
ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MAX. GOOD MORNING, CHAIR SANWONG AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
ALLISON BROOKS, ASSISTANT GENERAL MANAGER FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS.
SO FIRST OFF, I WANT TO INTRODUCE OUR NEW DIVISION LEAD FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, ESPE GREENWOOD.
IF YOU WANT TO STAND UP, ESPE. SHE JUST STARTED AND SHE HASN'T QUITE HAD A CHANCE TO MEET EACH OF YOU, BUT WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE ESPE ON BOARD WHO IS GOING TO HELP LEAD A LOT OF THIS WORK ON BEHALF OF THE PARK DISTRICT.
AND I THOUGHT I'D JUST START BY KIND OF SETTING THE CONTEXT FOR THIS.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE DEVELOPING WHAT I WOULD VIEW AS A CONTAINER REALLY FOR ALL THE COMMUNICATIONS WORK THAT'S UNDERWAY ACROSS THE DISTRICT, WHERE A LARGE PARK DISTRICT, THERE ARE A LOT OF COMMUNICATIONS EFFORTS HAPPENING AT OUR VARIOUS PARKS ACROSS OUR DIFFERENT DIVISIONS, DIFFERENT SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS THAT PEOPLE ARE MANAGING.
THERE'S A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM AND A LOT OF COMMUNICATION UNDERWAY AROUND THE PARK DISTRICT.
AND THIS IS A WAY FOR US TO KIND OF SET AS WE LOOK TO THE FUTURE AND WAYS TO USE COMMUNICATIONS IN VARIOUS WAYS TO MEET OUR GOALS AND REALLY KIND OF THINK ABOUT WHO WE'RE TRYING TO CONNECT WITH HOW BEST TO CONNECT WITH THEM, UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW AND HOW WE CAN IMPROVE UPON IT TO HAVE A GREATER IMPACT.
THIS IS A WAY FOR US AS A DISTRICT TO CONTAIN ALL THIS WORK IN A STRATEGY AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING, AND THEN LAY OUT KIND OF CLEAR GOALS AROUND THIS WORK.
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR MEETING WITH THE BODEWELL GROUP AND SHARING YOUR IDEAS INITIALLY.
AND YOU'LL SEE THAT REFLECTED IN THE PRESENTATION THAT THEY'RE SHARING.
YOU'VE SEEN SOME EMAILS FROM ME ABOUT SETTING UP WORKSHOPS, OR.
SHOULD WE JUST COME TO THE BOARD? SHOULD WE SET UP A WORKSHOP IN THE FALL, WHICH WAS ONE STRATEGY WE THOUGHT WOULD BE HELPFUL AS WE'RE EXPLORING THINGS LIKE A TAGLINE OR DIFFERENT WAYS TO KIND OF FORMALIZE SOME OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS WORK.
AND AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED, THIS IS A CONTAINER.
THERE ARE A LOT OF EFFORTS UNDERWAY THAT ARE KIND OF COMING TOGETHER.
THIS WORK IS FEEDING INTO THAT. YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR.
THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE IS GOING TO HEAR ABOUT VOTER SURVEY WORK.
AND WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM THE PUBLIC THROUGH THAT IS INFORMING THIS WORK.
WE ALSO ARE BUILDING A NEW WEBSITE. AND WE WANT TO LIKE BE CLEAR ABOUT THINGS LIKE OUR BRAND GUIDELINES AND OTHERS AND HAVE THAT INFORM THE WEBSITE AND HOW WE'RE KIND OF CHARACTERIZING THE WORK WE DO AND WHAT WE'RE DOING.
SO THESE ARE A LOT OF BIG EFFORTS AND WE WANT YOU TO BE ENGAGED IN THIS.
AND THEN CERTAINLY THERE'S ALL KINDS OF WAYS WE CAN SHARE INFORMATION AS WE'RE MOVING FORWARD.
JUST MAKE SURE I TOUCH BASE ON EVERYTHING I WANTED TO TOUCH ON BEFORE I INTRODUCE JESSICA BERG WITH BODEWELL, WHO'S GOING TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE HAPPY TO HAVE MORE OF A DISCUSSION WITH YOU TODAY AS WE MOVE THROUGH THE PRESENTATION. SO, JESSICA, DO YOU WANT TO POP ON UP HERE?
[00:30:17]
HI, EVERYBODY. MY NAME IS JESSICA BERG. I DID HAVE THE PLEASURE OF MEETING ALL OF YOU VIRTUALLY AT ONE POINT A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO.SO THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME. IT'S NICE TO SEE YOU IN PERSON.
I DO HAVE A COUPLE COLLEAGUES HERE WITH ME. THIS IS MY COLLEAGUE NATE GALVIN.
HE HAS BEEN HELPING TO RUN THE STAFF ENGAGEMENT SIDE OF THE WORK.
AND OUR COLLEAGUE ANNIKA CLAUSSEN IS OVER THERE AS WELL, WHO'S BEEN FUNDAMENTAL TO KEEPING THINGS ON THE TRACKS AND IS GOING TO BE HELPING US TAKE NOTES TODAY. SO, AS ALISON SUGGESTED, WE ARE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT OUR DRAFT COMMUNICATIONS FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
TAKE MY GLASSES OFF JUST TO READ THESE NOTES, SO.
OVER THE PAST SIX MONTHS, WE'VE WORKED CLOSELY WITH PARK DISTRICT TO ASSESS ITS COMMUNICATIONS PRACTICES, REVIEW EXISTING MATERIALS AND CHANNELS, AND GATHER INPUT FROM BOARD MEMBERS, EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP, AND STAFF ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION. TODAY WE ARE SHARING THE KEY FINDINGS FROM THE FIRST PHASE OF THAT WORK.
AS YOU REVIEW THEM, AGAIN, THIS IS A SNAPSHOT IN TIME.
AS SHE MENTIONED, I'M HAPPY TO COME BACK TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. WE DO FULL BOARD WORKSHOPS.
AND SO WHILE SOME OF THESE FINDINGS, THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY RELEVANT, BUT SOME OF THEM HAVE ALREADY STARTED TO HAVE CHANGE IN IMPLEMENTATION AROUND THEM, WHICH IS GREAT. AND WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THEM IN THE MONTHS AHEAD.
SO WHY WE ARE HERE? SO OUR ROLE AS BODEWELL GROUP AND YOUR CONSULTANT IS TO CONDUCT THIS COMMUNICATIONS AUDIT AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS WITH THE BROADER OBJECTIVE BEING TO HELP THE DISTRICT ESTABLISH A CLEAR ROADMAP FOR STRENGTHENING COMMUNICATIONS IN LINE WITH ITS DISTRICT PLAN, AND ITS OTHER LONG RANGE GOALS AND GOALS SUCH AS A POTENTIAL BALLOT MEASURE SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE.
ONE KEY TAKEAWAY WHICH HAS EMERGED FOR US, WHICH WE FIND VERY POIGNANT IS THAT JUST LIKE FIRE DEPARTMENTS, LIBRARIES, AND SCHOOLS, THE PARK DISTRICT SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD AND APPRECIATED AS AN ESSENTIAL PUBLIC SERVICE, WHICH IS CRITICAL TO THE QUALITY OF LIFE WE ALL ENJOY HERE IN THE BAY AREA, AND WE WANT PEOPLE TO SEE AND VALUE IT IN THAT LIGHT.
I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO NATE. WE'RE GOING TO BE GOING BACK AND FORTH SOME. SO WE'LL JUST TAKE TURNS UP HERE AT THE PODIUM, BUT REALLY DO FEEL FREE TO STOP. SO I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON ANY SLIDE AT ANY POINT.
SO JUST STOP US WHEN YOU WOULD LIKE. THANK YOU, JESSICA.
IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE. GREAT TO SEE ALL OF YOUR FACES AGAIN.
OOPS. SORRY. WRONG WAY. SO HERE'S OUR AGENDA FOR TODAY.
WE'RE GOING TO START BY GOING OVER OUR APPROACH HOW WE CONDUCTED OUR RESEARCH AND ENGAGE WITH VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS, THE INSIGHTS THAT CAME OUT OF THAT RESEARCH. AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO BE GOING INTO OUR MORE OF THE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS SIDE OF THINGS.
AND THEN WE'LL LEAVE YOU ALL WITH SOME NEXT STEPS.
SO THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON OUR APPROACH TO DATE.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE THE TWO DATE VERSION. WE'RE AT THE HALFWAY MARK AS JESSICA MENTIONED.
SO THESE ARE THE VARIOUS CHANNELS THAT WE'VE WORKED THROUGH.
AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S VERY THOROUGH. IT'S MULTI-LAYERED.
IT'S DRAWING ON BOTH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE SOURCES ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION AND COMMUNITY.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, BOARD ENGAGEMENT, WE'VE CONDUCTED INTERVIEWS WITH THE ENTIRE BOARD.
IT ALSO INCLUDES THIS PRESENTATION HERE TODAY AS WELL.
WE DID A STAFF COMMUNICATION SURVEY. WE MEET WEEKLY WITH THE EXTERNAL AFFAIRS TEAM.
SO WE'RE IN CONSTANT CONTACT ABOUT THIS WORK.
WE ALSO HAD A MESSAGING WORKSHOP WITH A SMALL STAFF WORKING GROUP THAT WAS SUPER HELPFUL IN IDENTIFYING OUR MESSAGING, OUR BRANDING, THAT SIDE OF THINGS. AND THEN WE HAD A COMPREHENSIVE AUDITING PROCESS AS WELL.
[00:35:06]
DIGITAL PRINT, SOCIAL MEDIA SIGNAGE, ALL OF THE ABOVE.AND THEN WE ALSO HAD A RESEARCH PORTION THROUGH, YOU KNOW, SURVEY DEMOGRAPHIC DATA POLLING, ALL OF THAT. SO AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S A LOT OF DATA THAT WE'RE PULLING FROM TO GO THROUGH THE INSIGHTS AND ALSO THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE LATER IN THIS PRESENTATION. LET ME TURN THIS BACK OVER TO JESSICA.
SO IN SPEAKING WITH ALL SEVEN BOARD MEMBERS, WE HAD A LOT OF CANDID CONVERSATION.
YOU KNOW, THOSE CONVERSATIONS WERE CONFIDENTIAL, BUT WHAT WAS CLEAR TO US IS THAT YOU ALL SHARE A NUMBER OF COMMON DESIRES AND COMMON COMMITMENTS. SO I WOULD START WITH THE DEEP INVESTMENT WE HEARD FROM EACH OF YOU.
POSITIVE STORYTELLING WAS ANOTHER THEME THAT WE HEARD.
THERE'S A DESIRE, AND I WOULD SAY THIS IS DESIRE IS AT THE STAFF LEVEL AS WELL, TO BE MORE UP FRONT AND MORE PROACTIVE IN TELLING ALL OF THE GOOD STORIES THAT THE PARK DISTRICT DOES. ONE, BECAUSE YOU DO SO MUCH. TWO, BECAUSE OTHERS ARE TELLING YOUR STORY FOR YOU.
AND SOMETIMES THEY EVEN TAKE CREDIT FOR THE WORK THAT THE PARK DISTRICT DOES.
THEN IF SOMETHING COMES UP AS A BUMP IN THE ROAD, THEY'RE LIKELY TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE GRACE AND HOPEFULLY PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, RECOGNIZE THAT YOU'RE DOING YOUR VERY BEST AND ARE DEDICATED TO THE PARK DISTRICT.
COMMUNICATION SUPPORT. SOME OF THIS IS ALREADY UNDERWAY, BUT WE DEFINITELY HEARD THE BOARD'S DESIRE TO BE MORE ALIGNED WITH THE DISTRICT'S STAFF, TO BE MORE INVOLVED IN COMMUNICATIONS PLANNING, TO BE RECEIVING PROACTIVE MESSAGE POINTS, TO BE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE IN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS.
I THINK WHAT HAPPENED AT GOLDEN GATE FIELDS IS A REALLY GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW THAT DID HAPPEN. I KNOW THAT DIRECTOR ECHOLS HAS BEEN VERY INVOLVED IN THAT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S A REALLY GREAT MODEL FOR WHAT I HEARD YOU WOULD ALL LIKE TO SEE GOING FORWARD.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH. WE ALL AGREED. YOU ALL AGREE, THAT THERE ARE UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN EVERY WARD AND YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE RELATIONSHIPS, WHICH COULD HELP EITHER REPAIR THOSE PARTNERSHIPS OR CREATE NEW ONES.
AND WHAT I HEARD AND WE DISCUSSED WAS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE SEEN AS AN ASSET SO THAT IF THERE ARE CERTAIN COMMUNITIES THAT ARE NOT BEING REACHED WHERE, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD SHOULD BE REACHED OUT TO AND SAY, HEY, BOARD DIRECTOR COFFEY, WE'RE TRYING TO REACH THESE THREE GROUPS IN YOUR WARD.
DO YOU ALREADY HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEM? AND HOW CAN WE WORK TOGETHER TO REACH THEM? OR CAN WE PLAN A COMMUNITY MEETING IN YOUR DISTRICT, BOARD MEMBER SANWONG, SO THAT WE CAN REALLY MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE TELLING THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW, TO COME AND THEY UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S REALLY ABOUT THEM.
SO THAT COULD BE IN TERMS OF WHETHER IT'S A FORMAL COMMUNITY MEETING, BRINGING PEOPLE TO A BOARD MEETING, MAKING SURE PEOPLE GET TO A SPECIAL EVENT, WHICH WE THINK WOULD IMPACT YOUR WARD.
SO REALLY BEING SEEN AS A TRUE PARTNER IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS WAS ANOTHER AREA OF SHARED INTEREST.
THE PERSPECTIVE IS THAT THE BOARD WOULD LIKE TO BE BETTER PREPARED AND THEN MORE INVOLVED WHEN APPROPRIATE TO HELP DEAL WITH CRISIS SITUATIONS.
SO WHETHER IT'S AN OFFICIAL MEDIA REQUEST THAT COMES IN OR YOU ARE AT A COMMUNITY MEETING OR EVEN JUST WALKING AROUND YOUR LOCAL FARMERS MARKET FOR YOU TO KNOW, OKAY, THIS IS THE SITUATION. THESE ARE THE RESPONSE POINTS.
BUT HEY, I REALLY NEED TO CALL ALISON OR ESPE OR SOMEONE AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT I'M HEARING SO THAT THEY CAN THEN COORDINATE WITH ME AND PROVIDE THE RIGHT SUPPORT SO THAT WE CAN ALL BE WORKING OFF THE SAME PAGE. AND SO PUTTING TOGETHER A MORE FORMALIZED CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS RESPONSE PROTOCOL, WHICH INCLUDES HOW TO BEST SUPPORT BOARD. MEMBERS IS SOMETHING WHICH IS GOING TO BE HAPPENING IN THE NOT TOO DISTANT FUTURE.
THERE WERE A NUMBER OF GROUPS THAT WERE MENTIONED WHEN I SPOKE TO THE BOARD MEMBERS WHERE YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD BE OF HELP AND SORT OF HELPING TO REENGAGE THOSE MEMBERS AND BRING THEM BACK INTO THE FOLD. AND I THINK IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO USE YOUR SKILLS AND YOUR RELATIONSHIPS.
SO I THINK I'LL PAUSE THERE FOR A MINUTE. SINCE THIS WAS ALL ABOUT THE BOARD, DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS OR FEEL LIKE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO RAISE ON THAT LIST? COLLEAGUES, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS BASED ON WHAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR?
[00:40:13]
I JUST HAD THIS CONVERSATION WITH DAVE BEFORE THE MEETING.YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE DO REPRESENT PRETTY LARGE GEOGRAPHIC SECTIONS OF THE TWO COUNTIES, ALAMEDA AND CONTRA COSTA COUNTY. AND HOW THE LOCAL POPULATIONS MAY VIEW KIND OF THEIR CONNECTIONS MIGHT BE DIFFERENT, HOW WE HAVE OUR GEOGRAPHIC WARD BOUNDARIES. FOR EXAMPLE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE TRI CITIES AREA, FREMONT, UNION CITY AND NEWARK. AND THOSE THREE CITIES ARE DIVIDED INTO TWO DIFFERENT WARDS.
SO HALF OF FREMONT AND NEWARK ARE IN THE ELECTORATE THAT I REPRESENT.
AND THEN UNION CITY AND THE NORTHERN PART OF FREMONT IS IN ANOTHER ELECTORATE.
AT THE SAME TIME, THOSE THREE CITIES REALLY DO VIEW THEMSELVES AS THIS TRI CITIES, YOU KNOW, REGIONAL GROUP. AND IT MAKES SENSE FOR US TO THINK ABOUT YOU KNOW, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT COMMUNITY EVENTS AND TALKING ABOUT THE LOCAL PARKS.
IN FACT, THERE'S A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE CITY OF NEWARK IS LOCATED RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM ARDENWOOD. TRADITIONALLY, ARDENWOOD WAS IN THE SAME WARD AS NEWARK, BUT AS POPULATIONS HAVE GROWN IN SOUTHERN AND EASTERN ALAMEDA COUNTY, ARDENWOOD.
NEWARK VERY MUCH GOES TO ARDENWOOD AND ENJOYS YOU KNOW, THE ACTIVITIES WE HAVE TO ARDENWOOD AND CONSIDERS THAT TO BE ONE OF THEIR LOCAL REGIONAL PARKS. AND SO IT SOMETIMES IS A LITTLE BIT AWKWARD WHEN I GO TO THE CITY OF NEWARK AND I'M SHOWING, YOU KNOW, OUR WARD FIVE REPORT THAT HAS BRUSHY PEAK AND DEL VALLE AND PARKS THAT ARE LOCATED QUITE FAR FROM THE CITY OF NEWARK.
AND I SEE THE SAME TREND IN THE TRI-VALLEY, WHICH MY COLLEAGUE JOHN AND I.
WE BOTH REPRESENT PORTIONS OF THE TRI-VALLEY.
I REPRESENT THE ALAMEDA COUNTY PORTION. HE REPRESENTS THE CONTRA COSTA COUNTY PORTION, BUT CERTAINLY THE TRI-VALLEY, THE COMMUNITIES OF DANVILLE, SAN RAMON, DUBLIN, PLEASANTON, LIVERMORE ALSO LIKE TO BE CONNECTED.
REALLY LOOK AT HOW PEOPLE ARE CLUSTERED WITHIN LIKE THEIR REAL GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.
YEAH, THAT MAKES SENSE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, MATE.
BUT I THINK THIS STATEMENT HERE IS A GOOD KIND OF LIKE GROUNDING PIECE TO GET US STARTED.
AS THE PARK DISTRICT ENTERS ITS SECOND CENTURY, IT HAS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO DEFINE A BOLD COMMUNICATIONS VISION, ONE THAT STRENGTHENS COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS, ELEVATES ITS STORY, AND HELPS SHAPE THE NEXT 100 YEARS OF IMPACT.
I ALSO WANT TO SAY, BEFORE WE GET INTO THESE TWO THAT TO KEEP IN MIND, THIS WORK IS ABOUT BEING ADDITIVE AND, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE MAXIMIZING AND BOLSTERING A LOT OF THE RESOURCES WE ALREADY HAVE. AND IT'S LESS ABOUT SUBTRACTING THINGS.
YOU'LL SEE OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES, WE STRUCTURED THESE WITH A NEED AND AN OPPORTUNITY.
IT'S THE EAST BAY COMMUNITY. SO SPECIFICALLY YOU KNOW, THE FRAMEWORK WILL ENSURE THE PARK DISTRICT HAS THE TOOLS AND PLANNING IN PLACE TO SHARE ITS WORK MOST EFFECTIVELY AND PROACTIVELY. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE TOOLS THAT PIECE.
THERE NEEDS TO BE TOOLS IN PLACE TO ENSURE THERE ARE SHARED PRIORITIES ACROSS DISTRICTS.
DISTRICT LEADERSHIP STAFF, AND THE BOARD. AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE TO PLAN FOR POSITIVE PRESS.
YOU KNOW, A FORWARD LOOKING MEDIA PLAN WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL TO HAVE IN PLACE THAT MARRIES TRADITIONAL DIGITAL PLATFORMS THAT EVERYONE CAN PULL FROM AND EVERYONE CAN HAVE A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF. AND THIS ALSO INCLUDES ENSURING THE BOARD IS AN ACTIVE PARTNER AND INCLUDED IN THAT COMMUNICATIONS PROCESS AS WELL.
THE FRAMEWORK REALLY IS, AS IT SOUNDS, KIND OF THE FOUNDATION FOR ALL OF THE COMMUNICATIONS GOALS, PRIORITIES, PLANS, MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S SOMETHING TO PULL FROM AS THE PARK DISTRICT MOVES FORWARD.
SO I'LL BRING JESSICA BACK UP TO GO OVER THE NEXT ONE.
SORRY. THAT'S OKAY. SO OUR SECOND INSIGHT IS AROUND COHERENT AND CONSISTENT STORYTELLING.
SO YOU HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME SPEAKING ABOUT THIS ALREADY.
SO THIS IS OBVIOUSLY AN INSIGHT WHICH IS VERY MUCH ALIGNED WITH THE BOARD GOAL OF STORYTELLING.
[00:45:05]
BUT WE SAW THIS TRANSLATE ACROSS ALL THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE ORGANIZATION THAT WE SPOKE WITH.YOU KNOW, AND ABOUT REALLY WANTING TO MAKE SURE THE PARK DISTRICT IS GETTING CREDIT FOR THE WORK IT'S DONE FOR THE, SO THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ITS WORTH AND ITS VALUE.
THIS TYPE OF WORK CAN BE DONE IN COORDINATION WITH EXTERNAL PARTNERS SUCH AS CITIES, YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS, ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS, BEING PROACTIVE IN LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO GO TO THE EAST BAY SOCCER LEAGUE AND TALK ABOUT THE VALUE OF THE PARKS TOGETHER TO FAMILIES, OR GOING TO THE SIERRA CLUB AND LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO TALK ABOUT THE CONSERVATION WORK WHICH IS BEING DONE, OR GOING TO THE CITY OF BERKELEY OR THE CITY OF ALBANY AND TALKING ABOUT THE FIRE MITIGATION WORK WHICH IS BEING DONE, BUT REALLY LOOKING FOR THOSE THINGS AND THEN GETTING OUT THERE AS A POSITIVE AS OPPOSED TO WAITING FOR THERE BEING SOME SORT OF FIRE.
AND THEN WE HAVE TO TRY TO TELL PEOPLE WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT WORK.
SO, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PARK DISTRICT PULLING FROM THE SAME SHARED GOALS AND FRAMEWORK, WE DO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TELL THAT STORY AGAIN, WE CAN BE MUCH MORE FORWARD PLANNING. WE CAN EMPHASIZE HOW CRITICAL THE PARTNERSHIP IS TO THE EAST BAY AS A WHOLE AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE MESSAGES AGAIN, TRANSLATE ACROSS PRINT, TELEVISION, SOCIAL MEDIA, DIGITAL PLATFORMS, ETC.. AND AGAIN, THE MORE WE SAY IT, THE MORE I THINK THAT IT DOES HELP BOLSTER THE DISTRICT'S OVERALL GOALS AROUND BEING SEEN AS AN ASSET AND BEING SEEN AS AN ASSET WORTH SUPPORTING WHEN IT COMES TO POTENTIAL BOND MEASURE.
SO A SPECIFIC OPPORTUNITY TO PULL FROM HERE IS REALLY ON THE SOCIAL MEDIA AND DIGITAL SIDE.
SO ON FACEBOOK, FOR EXAMPLE, NEARLY A THIRD OF THAT AUDIENCE IS IN THE 45 TO 54 RANGE.
AND ON FACEBOOK, THEIR BENCHMARK IS APPROXIMATELY 30% OF USERS ARE IN THE 25 TO 34 RANGE.
BUT FOR THE PARK DISTRICT ON FACEBOOK, THERE ARE.
YOUR FOLLOWING IS A. 7% ARE IN THAT 25 TO 34 RANGE.
SO A LOT LOWER, RIGHT. SO THE OLDER DEMOGRAPHIC IS BEING HIT LESS SO OF THE YOUNGER DEMOGRAPHIC.
ON INSTAGRAM, A SIMILAR STORY IS TOLD. THE FOLLOWING IS COMPILED LARGELY IN THE 35 TO 44 RANGE, WITH ONLY 2% OF THE FOLLOWING BEING 19 TO 24 AND LESS THAN 1% BEING 13 TO 17.
SO THOSE ARE VERY DRASTIC NUMBERS. AND IT SPEAKS TO ONE.
ARE WE ONE MAXIMIZING OUR CONTENT ON THOSE PLATFORMS OR ARE WE TRYING TO REACH THOSE AUDIENCES? AND THEN ARE WE IS THERE CERTAIN PLATFORMS THAT WE ARE NOT ON THAT WE THINK WOULD BE BENEFICIAL TO REACH THOSE THOSE AUDIENCES ON? THERE'S ALSO A LOWER DISCOVERY OF CONTENT ON INSTAGRAM, FOR EXAMPLE, SUGGESTING THAT WE'RE NOT REALLY MAXIMIZING ALGORITHMIC PICKUP, WHICH IS REALLY GOOD TO REACH NEW AUDIENCES. AND THAT IS MORE OF A CONTENT THING.
AND AGAIN, MORE OF A PLANNING PIECE. AND AUDIENCES OFTEN USE SOCIAL MEDIA AS CURRENTLY CONSTRUCTED MOSTLY FOR INFORMATION ABOUT ACCESS OPERATIONS LIKE INFORMATIONAL PIECES AND LESS SO TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GREAT PEOPLE THAT WORK WITH THE PARK DISTRICT OR THE GREAT PROGRAMS THAT ARE GOING ON.
THOSE TYPES OF THINGS TO KIND OF HAVE MORE OF A, A FUN, ACCESSIBLE, ENGAGING CONTENT PIPELINE WOULD BE SUPER, SUPER HELPFUL. AND THEN IT'S ACTUALLY A GOOD SEGUE.
I'M GOING TO SKIP A COUPLE SLIDES HERE. PLEASE EXCUSE ME.
PRINT MEDIA. THE RIN I THINK IS A REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE THERE.
INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, YOU KNOW, PHYSICAL SPACES, EMAILS AND NEWSLETTERS, TRADITIONAL MEDIA.
AND THEN ON THE VERY RIGHT, THOSE LAST THREE ARE AREAS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY NOT ENGAGED IN.
AND THEN ON THE VERY LEFT, YOU WILL SEE IT COUNTERED BY VARIOUS AUDIENCE BUCKETS.
SO PARK USERS, 22 TO 40 YEAR OLDS, 13 TO 20 YEAR OLDS.
SO THIS IS SOMEWHAT BASED ON OUR EXPERTISE AND OUR WORK IN THIS FIELD, AND IT'S CONTINUALLY BEING UPDATED AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION AND WE GO THROUGH MORE DATA. BUT I THINK A GOOD PLACE TO POINT OUT WOULD BE LIKE THOSE FIRST TOP TWO ROWS.
[00:50:04]
WE HAVE PARK USERS AND CONSERVATION ADVOCATES.THERE'S A LOT OF CHECKS, RIGHT? WE CAN SEE WE'RE REACHING THEM ON INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK.
WE'RE REACHING THEM THROUGH OUR NEWSLETTER, WHICH MAKES SENSE. THEY ARE A REALLY IMPORTANT DEMOGRAPHIC THAT WE ARE DOING REALLY IMPORTANT WORK FOR. THEY'RE A GREAT TOUCH POINT. AND THEN AS WE GO DOWN FURTHER, YOU CAN SEE THERE MIGHT BE SOME X'S IN MORE PLACES.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, 13 TO 21 YEAR OLDS, THERE'S A LOT MORE X'S, RIGHT? AND ONE THAT JUST BASED OFF THE SOCIAL MEDIA DATA THAT WE JUST RELAYED TO YOU, WE NOW KNOW ACTUALLY THAT 13 TO 21 YEAR OLDS WHERE IT SAYS INSTAGRAM, THERE'S CURRENTLY A CHECK MARK THAT IS ACTUALLY AN X.
WE KNOW THAT NOW THAT THAT ACTUALLY IS A DEMOGRAPHIC THAT IS NOT BEING REACHED ON INSTAGRAM, WHICH ADDS JUST ANOTHER ANOTHER GAP THAT CAN POTENTIALLY BE FILLED.
SAME THING WITH MULTILINGUAL RESIDENTS. THERE'S A LOT MORE X'S DOWN THERE.
AND THEN LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER ON THE VERY RIGHT, WE HAVE TIKTOK DIGITAL PLATFORMS LIKE YOUTUBE COMMUNITY AND CULTURAL MEDIA, WHICH HAVE A LOT OF X'S BECAUSE WE ARE CURRENTLY NOT ON THOSE.
AGAIN, IDENTIFYING WHERE WE MIGHT WANT TO ADD TO BE ABLE TO REACH SOME OF THOSE YOUNGER AUDIENCES OR, YOU KNOW, OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL THAT THE PARK DISTRICT CURRENTLY HAS ISN'T REALLY UTILIZED FOR CONTENT SO MUCH AS IT IS FOR MEETING PLAYLISTS OR KIND OF JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, RELAYING SPECIFIC PACIFIC INFORMATION COMPUTING, CULTURAL MEDIA USED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A FOCAL POINT, BUT I BELIEVE THE STAFF MEMBER RESPONSIBLE IS NO LONGER WITH THE DISTRICT.
SO THAT GOT LEFT A LITTLE BIT BEHIND. BUT AGAIN, ANOTHER AREA WHERE WE CAN DIRECTLY REACH SOME OF THESE, THESE GAPS. SO AGAIN, THIS IS CONTINUALLY BEING UPDATED AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION AND AS WE, YOU KNOW, DO MORE OF THIS OUTREACH AND RESEARCH.
BUT THIS IS MEANT TO SHOW FOR SOME OF THOSE, THOSE GAPS MIGHT BE, CAN I JUMP IN JUST FOR A SEC JUST TO SAY HOW COOL THIS DATA IS? AND I JUST THINK FOR YOUR BOARD AND FOR OUR TEAM, YOU KNOW, IT HIGHLIGHTS OPPORTUNITIES FOR US.
AND I THINK LIKE, YOU KNOW, ONE THING WE DO THROUGH COMMUNICATIONS IS, IS GIVE PEOPLE INFORMATION.
THIS KIND OF INFORMATION IS HELPING US UNDERSTAND HOW TO HOW TO BUILD SOME OF THAT POSITIVE SUPPORT WITH AUDIENCES WHO MAY ALREADY LOVE PARKS BUT NOT KNOW ABOUT EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT. EXACTLY. YEAH. VERY GOOD.
AND I'LL BRING JESSICA BACK UP HERE FOR THE NEXT ONE.
OKAY. INSIGHT NUMBER FOUR. THE NEED THERE IS ROOM TO GROW AND DEVELOP.
DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS WITH KEY COMMUNITIES. AND SO THE OPPORTUNITY THAT PARK DISTRICT'S ABILITY TO ADVANCE ITS GOALS DEPENDS ON THE STRENGTH OF ITS RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITIES, PARTNERS, AND STAKEHOLDERS IT SERVES.
SO AGAIN, WE'VE DONE SOME DIGGING AND LOOKED AT SOME OF THE NUMBERS.
THE TYPES OF INTEREST GROUPS OR STAKEHOLDER GROUPS WE FOUND THAT ARE WELL SERVED INCLUDE LONGTIME PARK USERS, OLDER AUDIENCES REACH VIA LEGACY PRINT AND EPISODIC ANNOUNCEMENTS.
THOSE WHO ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REACHED INCLUDE YOUTH AND YOUNGER ADULTS, ESPECIALLY IN WARDS ONE, FOUR, FIVE AND SEVEN NONWHITE COMMUNITIES PART DISTRICT WIDE, BUT ESPECIALLY IN WARDS THREE, FOUR, FIVE AND SEVEN RESIDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND FOREIGN BORN RESIDENTS, NOTABLY IN WARDS THREE, FOUR AND FIVE, AND LOWER WARD HOUSEHOLDS, NOTABLY IN WARD ONE.
SO, YOU KNOW, JESSICA, WHAT DATA ARE YOU USING IN? YEAH. SO WE, WE PULLED DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FROM THE WARD REPORTS AND FROM SOME SOCIAL MEDIA REPORTS THAT WE HAD.
AND SO WE'RE ABLE TO COMBINE ALL OF THAT DATA TOGETHER. OKAY.
CAN YOU REPEAT THAT DATA? BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE HAVE IT ON OUR SLIDES.
NO. THIS IS GOING TO BE. SO WE ARE PUTTING TOGETHER A MUCH LENGTHIER REPORT WHICH WILL HAVE ALL OF THESE NUMBERS IN IT, BUT I'M HAPPY TO REPEAT IT FOR YOU NOW. SO THE UNDER REACHED OUR YOUTH AND YOUNGER ADULTS, ESPECIALLY IN WARDS ONE, FOUR, FIVE AND SEVEN NONWHITE COMMUNITIES PARK DISTRICT WIDE, ESPECIALLY IN WARDS THREE, FOUR, FIVE AND SEVEN RESIDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND FOREIGN BORN RESIDENTS, NOTABLY IN WARDS THREE, FOUR AND FIVE, AND LOWER INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, NOTABLY IN WARD ONE.
WE ALSO HAVE ANALYTICS FROM OUR SOCIAL MEDIA AND WEBSITE VISITATION, RIGHT.
IN TERMS OF WHO THE PEOPLE ARE THAT ARE UTILIZING THOSE SOURCES.
[00:55:04]
SO THIS IS JUST WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE IS HELPING TO DIG INTO AND THEN SHARE OUT WHAT WE'RE LEARNING, JUST LIKE WE DID WITH PLACER. OKAY, I REALLY WANT TO HAVE THIS.YEAH, RIGHT. I HAVE THE VOTER SURVEY STUFF, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT IN LEDGE.
YEAH. I WANT TO HAVE THIS IF YOU COULD. ABSOLUTELY.
AND THAT WILL HAVE EVERYTHING IN IT, INCLUDING ALL OF THESE NUMBERS.
YEAH. SO ANYWAY, IT'S BACK TO THE INSIGHT. SO WHAT WE HEARD FROM THE DIRECTORS AND THE DISTRICT IS THAT THERE AGAIN, IS A LOT OF INTEREST IN WORKING TOGETHER TO STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS WITH GROUPS OF ALL DIFFERENT KINDS, WHETHER IT'S ENVIRONMENTAL AND CONSERVATION PEER AGENCIES, REGIONAL MEDIA, COMMUNITY GROUPS.
BUT THERE'S ALREADY MEANINGFUL WORK UNDERWAY TO HELP EXPAND THESE RELATIONSHIPS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, OUR JOB IS TO HELP GIVE THE DISTRICT'S TEAM AND, YOU KNOW, THE BOARD, THE ABILITY TO REALLY DIG INTO THOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND TO HAVE A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF WHICH ONES COULD USE MORE ENGAGEMENT.
SO THIS SPECIFICALLY, I MEAN, IT REALLY TIES IN WITH THE FIRST TWO INSIGHTS.
WE HAVE OUR, YOU KNOW, OUR FRAMEWORK FOR COMMUNICATIONS.
WE HAVE OUR PLANNING, WE HAVE OUR PRIORITIES.
AND THIS IS MORE IDENTIFYING SOME OF LIKE THOSE THOSE STEPS AND PROCESSES AND MAKING SURE THOSE ARE IN PLACE TO EXECUTE THOSE PRIORITIES AND THOSE GOALS. SO, YOU KNOW, THIS MIGHT MEAN A MEDIA PROTOCOL AND INTAKE PROCESS FOR MEDIA REQUESTS, FOR EXAMPLE, OR IT MIGHT MEAN ESTABLISHING CONTENT PIPELINES.
IT ALSO MIGHT MEAN IMPLEMENTING AND UTILIZING SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES, FOR EXAMPLE.
SO SOME OF THOSE COORDINATION ACROSS DEPARTMENTS TO BE ABLE TO REALLY SHARE THAT, THAT NARRATIVE AND THAT STORYTELLING AND BE ABLE TO EXECUTE THAT FRAMEWORK AND PLANNING THAT WE'RE ALSO, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDING TO REALLY BOLSTER THAT WORK.
LIKE A LOT OF THESE PLANS AND PROCESSES ARE ALREADY TAKING SHAPE.
YEAH. OH, WAIT. SORRY. NOPE. SO INSTITUTIONALLY.
THESE ARE ALL ACCORDING TO THE WARD REPORTS FROM 2024.
ACROSS ALL SEVEN WARDS, ONLY 34% OF RESIDENTS IDENTIFY AS WHITE, NON-LATINO.
FOREIGN BORN RESIDENTS ACCOUNT FOR 30.1% OF THE PARK DISTRICT POPULATION, WITH WARD 3 AT OVER 40% AND WARD 5 AT 38.5%. I CAN ALSO TELL YOU THAT THE PARK DISTRICT'S AGE SKEWS MUCH YOUNGER THAN ITS CURRENT COMMUNICATIONS PRIORITIES. THE MEDIAN AGE OF THE DISTRICT IS 27.9.
WITH SOME WARDS SUCH AS WARDS 4, 7 AND 5, SHARE RESIDENTS OVER 65 WITH 12.9, 13.9 AND 14.3. SO YOU SEE LIKE THESE BIG AGE GAPS, DEPENDING ON WHICH WARD YOU'RE IN, SOME SKEWING MUCH, MUCH YOUNGER AND SOME SKEWING SOMEWHAT OLDER.
SO AS NATE MENTIONED, THE DISTRICT HAS ALREADY STARTED WORKING ON THIS ISSUE.
AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THAT WORK AND TO CONTINUE TO BRING THE BOARD IN WHEN APPROPRIATE.
LAST ONE IS CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS. SO AGAIN, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS EARLIER.
[01:00:05]
AND AGAIN, IT VERY MUCH ALIGNS WITH A BOARD GOAL AROUND CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS.AND YOU KNOW, THE HOPE IS THAT ONCE WE HAVE A REFINED CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN IN PLACE, IT WILL MAKE IT MUCH EASIER FOR ALL PARTIES TO KNOW WHAT TO DO, WHO TO GO TO AND HOW TO HANDLE SOMETHING IF A CRISIS ARISES.
AND SO AGAIN, I KNOW THAT THE EXTERNAL AFFAIRS TEAM HAS ALREADY BEGUN THAT WORK.
THEY HAVE BEEN ALIGNING THINGS INTERNALLY. AND SO THE NEXT STEP WITH THAT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL THE PIECES ARE CONNECTED SO THAT WITH THE EXTERNAL COORDINATION WITH THE BOARD, THAT HAPPENS AS WELL, WITH EXTERNAL COORDINATION WITH PARTNERS, THAT HAPPENS AS WELL.
TRYING TO ANTICIPATE, DO PROACTIVE PLANNING AROUND ANY ISSUE.
AND SOMETIMES THEY JUST COME AND SORT OF HIT YOU IN THE FACE. AND SO WE WANT TO PAY ATTENTION TO THEM. WE'RE OUT THERE. AND SO WE HAVE TIME TO PUT TOGETHER THE TALKING POINTS, THE Q&A, YOU KNOW, THE IDEAS AROUND WHO ELSE COULD BE A GOOD SPOKESPERSON, YOU KNOW, HAVING THOSE THIRD PARTY STAKEHOLDERS READY TO GO IF A MEDIA STORY ARISES IS REALLY, REALLY CRITICAL.
AND SO IT'S JUST DIALING ALL THAT IN AND MAKING SURE WHEN SOMETHING COMES UP, WHETHER IT'S SOMEBODY ON THE BOARD OR SOMEBODY INSIDE THE PARK DISTRICT, THERE'S VERY LARGE STAFF, KNOWS EXACTLY WHO TO GO TO.
OKAY, SO THESE ARE FORWARD LOOKING RECOMMENDATIONS AGAIN, AT THIS POINT IN TIME, JUST TO REVIEW.
SO NUMBER ONE IS OPTIMIZE THE PARK DISTRICT STORYTELLING.
NUMBER TWO, STRENGTHEN THE PARK DISTRICT'S BRAND.
NUMBER THREE, EQUIP THE BOARD WITH TOOLS TO COMMUNICATE WITH CONFIDENCE.
NUMBER FOUR, REALIGN THE COMMUNICATION STRUCTURE.
AND NUMBER FIVE, ENHANCE COMMUNITY REACH. WE THINK THAT ALL OF OUR GOALS FALL INTO THESE FIVE BUCKETS, AND THAT WE WOULD HOPE THAT BY THE TIME WE COME BACK TO YOU, WHETHER IT'S THIS FALL OR LATER IN THE YEAR, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO TELL YOU EXACTLY HOW THESE PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN REFINED IN EACH OF THESE FIVE MAJOR BUCKETS, SO. WHERE ARE WE ON A TIME CHECK? WE HAVE ONE QUESTION, IF THAT'S OKAY.
YEAH, SURE. SO I DON'T WANT TO WAIT ANY LONGER.
SO I'M GOING TO ASK YOU ABOUT ONE OF THOSE RIGHT NOW.
I'M REALLY, REALLY WONDERING ABOUT NUMBER TWO.
OKAY. SO DO YOU HAVE ANY JUST LIKE PRELIMINARY IDEAS OF LIKE, EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE? WE DO. YEAH. WE DO. SO WE HAVE SOME MEMBERS OF OUR TEAM WHO ARE VERY EXPERT AT BRANDING AND TAGLINES AND ALL OF THAT.
AND SO WE HAVE CONDUCTED AN EXTERNAL. OR AN INTERNAL BRANDING WORKSHOP, TO UNDERSTAND FROM THE WORKING GROUP, WHICH EXTERNAL AFFAIRS IDENTIFIED, WHICH BRINGS IN PEOPLE FROM ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION WHO ALL HAVE SOME INTEREST IN COMMUNICATIONS, WHAT THEY THINK IS WORKING WELL WITH THE BRAND AND WITH THE BRAND GUIDELINES AND THE LOGO AND THE IDEA OF A TAGLINE.
AND SO WE HAVE, BASED ON THEIR FEEDBACK AND FEEDBACK FROM THE STAFF SURVEY, WHICH WAS JUST COMPLETED, SORT OF HONED IN ON A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOME TAGLINES THAT HIT A FEW DIFFERENT THEMES.
THE HOPE THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE A MEETING WITH THEM AGAIN TOMORROW. AND SO THE HOPE IS FROM THAT MESSAGING WORKSHOP, WE'LL BE ABLE TO COME OUT OF IT WITH A REALLY GOOD SENSE OF WHAT OUR TOP, SAY, 2 OR 3 TAGLINES MIGHT BE, WHAT OUR TOP MESSAGES MIGHT LOOK LIKE. AND THEN WE'LL BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, BUILD IT OUT FROM THERE, SO. YEAH. I HAD TO. LIKE, THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS WE'RE LOOKING FOR GUIDANCE FROM YOUR COMMITTEE ON IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING ON, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT PLANNING ON LIKE SOME MAJOR CHANGE IN OUR LOGO OR WHAT WE DO.
I THINK IT'S MORE LIKE, HOW DO WE ADD TO THE EXISTING STRENGTH OF THE BRAND FOR EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS AND LIKE CREATE SOME OF THESE THINGS LIKE A TAGLINE THAT WE DON'T ALREADY HAVE, BUT WE WANT YOU AS A BOARD TO BE PART OF LIKE THAT CREATIVE PROCESS.
AND SO LIKE WE DON'T HAVE TO FIGURE THIS OUT RIGHT THIS SECOND, BUT TOWARDS THE END OF THIS ITEM, I THINK WE'RE LOOKING FOR YOUR GUIDANCE. LIKE, IS THAT A WORKSHOP? IS THAT A REGULAR BOARD ITEM? HOW DO WE ENGAGE YOUR BOARD IN THIS WORK AROUND THE BRAND? BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE BRAND IS SO CONNECTED TO WHAT THE PARK DISTRICT IS AND WHAT YOUR BOARD DOES.
YEAH. SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, BASED ON ALL THE FEEDBACK, WE ARE NOT CHANGING THE LOGO.
PEOPLE LOVE THE LOGO. EVERYONE THINKS IT'S EXTREMELY REFLECTIVE OF THE PARK DISTRICT, BUT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT ADDING A TAGLINE, AND I THINK WE'VE COME UP WITH SOME REALLY INTERESTING IDEAS THAT CAN HELP FURTHER YOUR BRAND.
[01:05:05]
SO I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS AND I'LL JUST SHARE REAL QUICK.AND WITH THAT, WE REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR TARGET AUDIENCE.
AND I SEE THAT WE HAVE THREE CLEAR TARGETS AND THEY ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.
SO THE THREE KEY TARGETS ARE IN A VERY HIGH LEVEL, RESIDENTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, PARK USERS, WE DO HAVE PARK USERS WHO DON'T LIVE IN THE TWO COUNTIES BUT STILL USE THE PARKS, VERY IMPORTANT POPULATION. WE HAVE SOME VOTERS WHO DON'T USE THE PARKS, BUT ALSO A VERY IMPORTANT POPULATION.
AND WE HAVE SOME RESIDENTS WHO MAYBE, AS YOU MENTIONED, WE DO HAVE SOME FOREIGN BORN RESIDENTS WHO MAY NOT BE REGISTERED TO VOTE AND ALSO MAY NOT BE USING THE PARKS, BUT THEY'RE STILL ALSO POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT TO US.
I THINK THEY'RE IMPORTANT. BUT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S CERTAINLY A VALUES CONVERSATION.
BUT JUST WHAT'S OUR GOAL WITH THIS? IS OUR GOAL WITH THIS A BALLOT MEASURE? IS OUR GOAL WITH THIS TO INCREASE USAGE AMONGST RESIDENTS WHO AREN'T USING THE PARKS? IS OUR GOAL TO BETTER UNDERSTAND PARK USERS? AND IT COULD BE ALL OF THE ABOVE, BUT I THINK THAT ALSO MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO DEFINE.
I DO THINK, YOU KNOW, ALIGNING THE DISTRICT'S COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORMS WITH THE DISTRICT PLAN IS A VERY IMPORTANT GOAL. I DO THINK TRYING TO BRING IN NEW USERS, AS WE'VE SEEN, ESPECIALLY YOUNG PEOPLE AND PEOPLE WHO DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH AS THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE ARE REALLY IMPORTANT AUDIENCE THAT WHERE WE COULD REALLY EXPAND OUR IMPACT. ULTIMATELY, IF THERE IS GOING TO BE A BALLOT MEASURE, I THINK THAT ALL OF THIS PLAYS INTO THAT SUCCESS. SO YOU'RE SORT OF. AND ONE THING WE KNOW FROM THE POLL, WHICH I'M NOT SURE IF YOU.
HAVE YOU SEEN THE VOTER SURVEY YET THAT CAME OUT RECENTLY? THEY HAVE A DRAFT OF THE REPORT AND IT'S BEING PRESENTED THIS AFTERNOON.
SO ONE THING THAT WAS CLEAR FROM THE POLL IS THAT VOTERS LIKE THE IDEA OF THERE BEING A DISTRICT PLAN IN PLACE IN ORDER TO VOTE FOR A NEW TAX MEASURE. AND SO BEING ABLE TO THAT'S WHY PROVIDING THIS EVIDENCE OF THE VALUE OF THE DISTRICT, I THINK IS VERY GOOD, BOTH IN THE SHORT TERM AND IN THE LONG TERM.
SO THOSE ARE SORT OF SOME THREE GOALS THAT I THINK ARE TOP OF MIND FOR US RIGHT NOW.
YEAH. AND WE JUST WANT TO MAKE EVERYONE'S LIFE EASIER, YOU KNOW, SO THAT WHEN YOU DO HAVE A BIG ITEM THAT COMES UP AND ALL OF A SUDDEN IT'S GOING TO CREATE A LOT OF CHAOS FOR THE DISTRICT, THAT IT'S A LOT SMOOTHER IN TERMS OF BEING PREPARED, PROACTIVELY BEING ABLE TO COORDINATE BETWEEN BOARD AND STAFF AND BEING ABLE TO REACH OUT TO YOUR THIRD PARTY ALLIES AND GET THROUGH THAT WITH A LOT OF GRACE. YEAH. SO, ALL RIGHT, I'LL END UNLESS ANYBODY HAS ANY OTHER BURNING QUESTIONS.
LET'S LIKE, JUST RELATIVELY QUICKLY. OKAY. JUST KEEP RIGHT THROUGH IT.
NATE, YOU CAN JUST LIKE BREEZE THROUGH THE NEXT.
WE PREPARED FOR THIS. YEAH. INEVITABILITY. OKAY.
SO THIS HERE, WE CAN RUN THROUGH OUR ACTUAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND LIKE SOME TACTICS.
AGAIN, OUR LARGER REPORT IS GOING TO HAVE SOME MORE SPECIFICS ON EXECUTION OF SOME OF THESE TACTICS.
BUT THIS WILL KIND GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE'RE THINKING AND WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING. SO TO OPTIMIZE THE PARK DISTRICT STORYTELLING, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD INCLUDE DEVELOPING UNIFIED MESSAGING.
THAT'S ONE LIKE FLEXIBLE AND ALSO DETAILS THE PARK DISTRICT'S VOICE.
DEVELOPING A PROACTIVE MEDIA STRATEGY TO SHAPE THE PARK DISTRICT'S PUBLIC NARRATIVE, YOU KNOW, STANDARDIZING PRESS MATERIALS AND REALLY STRENGTHENING THOSE MEDIA RELATIONSHIPS SO WE CAN BE MORE PROACTIVE IN OUR COMMUNICATIONS,
[01:10:01]
AND POTENTIALLY CONSOLIDATING AND BOLSTERING SOCIAL MEDIA, RIGHT? ALL THE THINGS THAT WE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER. AND THEN EVALUATING ALL OF THE COMMUNICATIONS, TOOLS AND CHANNELS, TO BE ABLE TO MAXIMIZE AUDIENCE REACH AND SEEING WHAT'S WORKING AND SEEING WHAT'S NOT WORKING.SO THAT'S AGAIN, A QUICK RUNDOWN THERE. IN TERMS OF THE BRAND, AS WE MENTIONED EARLIER, THIS IS NOT ABOUT COMPLETELY CHANGING THE BRAND OR NOTHING LIKE THAT. THIS IS ABOUT FORMALIZING AND ADOPTING MORE INTERNALLY, LIKE AN UPDATED BRAND STYLE GUIDE AND MAKING SURE THAT STAFF ALL KNOW HOW TO USE IT AND THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE, YOU KNOW, UTILIZING THE ASSETS AND THEY KNOW WHO TO TURN TO IF THEY HAVE QUESTIONS AND THAT KIND OF THING.
MAKING SURE THE LOGO IS USED CORRECTLY. AND THERE'S SOME LIKE SUB BRAND STANDARDS FOR THAT, POTENTIALLY A TAGLINE. AND THEN AGAIN, ALONG WITH THE BRAND STYLE GUIDE, MAKING SURE THAT THEIR STANDARDS FOR LIKE PHOTOGRAPHY AND THOSE TYPES OF LITTLE THINGS THAT REALLY WILL BOLSTER AN UPDATED BRAND STYLE GUIDE TO BE ABLE TO, AGAIN, HAVE A SHARED NARRATIVE, HAVE A SHARED STORY, HAVE A SHARED VOICE, AND ULTIMATELY A UNIFIED LOOK AS WELL.
THE THIRD ONE HERE IS ALL ABOUT YOU ALL. EQUIPPING THE BOARD WITH THE TOOLS TO COMMUNICATE WITH CONFIDENCE, RIGHT? SO AS JESSICA DETAILED IN OUR INSIGHTS PORTION, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT DIRECTORS ARE INFORMED AND PREPARED AHEAD OF KEY ISSUES, RIGHT? SO A PROACTIVE BOARD COMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOL, BUILDING READY TO USE RESPONSES FOR REOCCURRING TOPICS, YOU KNOW, THAT MIGHT BE COMING UP QUITE OFTEN, MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S A CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAYBOOK.
AND YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THE WARDS EARLIER AND MAYBE WE CAN MORPH THIS A LITTLE BIT, BUT MAKING SURE THAT EACH DIRECTOR HAS LOCALIZED NARRATIVES TO REFLECT THEIR WARD'S UNIQUE STORY. STRENGTHEN THE CONNECTION BETWEEN STAFF AND DIRECTORS THROUGH THE ALREADY AMAZING EXISTING BOARD LIAISON ROLE THAT IS ALREADY UNDERWAY, OBVIOUSLY, BUT JUST MAKING SURE THAT THAT IS AS STRONG AS POSSIBLE. AND THEN THE LAST PIECE ON HERE IS TRAININGS.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE ALL THE DIRECTORS, YOU KNOW, ARE EQUIPPED WITH TRAINING IN WHATEVER, YOU KNOW, WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK ON WHAT WOULD BE MOST HELPFUL TO CONDUCT TRAININGS IN. IS IT SOCIAL MEDIA? IS IT MEDIA ENGAGEMENT? IS IT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT? WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU ALL FEEL, YOU KNOW, TRAINED AND EQUIPPED AND HAVE YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN WHATEVER TOPICS YOU FEEL ARE MOST APPROPRIATE. SO THAT'S ANOTHER QUESTION THAT WE HAVE FOR YOU ALL THAT WE CAN ANSWER IN TIME.
AND THEN WE HAVE AN INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS PIECE, WHICH AGAIN, I WON'T.
I DON'T NEED TO RUN THROUGH ONE BY ONE, BUT REALLY IT'S ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT ALL THE MOMENTUM THAT THE STAFF HAS ALREADY HAVE UNDERWAY TO HELP WITH THE COORDINATION AND PROCESSES ARE REALLY CEMENTED, AND THAT MOMENTUM CONTINUES.
THESE ARE SPECIFICALLY ABOUT SOME OF THOSE THINGS, SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES MAKING SURE THERE'S A SHARED CONTENT PIPELINE FOR, YOU KNOW, SHARING CONTENT, MEDIA ROUTING PROTOCOLS, THAT TYPE OF THING.
AND THEN OUR LAST ONE HERE IS AROUND COMMUNITY REACH.
SO JESSICA MENTIONED A COUPLE OF THESE EARLIER AS WELL.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CBO ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM IS SUSTAINED, EXPANDED.
IT'S SUCH A GREAT THING THAT'S BEEN LAUNCHED.
AGAIN, ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE WORK ALREADY UNDERWAY THAT WE'RE JUST RECOMMENDING BE, YOU KNOW, FURTHER BOLSTERED. A CRM SYSTEM TO PRESERVE AND GROW COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS.
YOU KNOW, PARTNERING WITH CITIES, AGENCIES, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.
THAT'S SUPER IMPORTANT AS WE CONTINUE THIS WORK.
SO THOSE ARE A QUICK RUNDOWN OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
IS THERE ONE? I'M HAPPY TO GO BACK AND ALSO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR WE CAN WAIT TILL THE END.
BUT THAT WAS A QUICK RUNDOWN. IF NOT, WE CAN GO ON TO OUR JUST ROADMAP, WHICH WE CAN GO THROUGH.
REALLY JUST CAN GO THROUGH REALLY QUICKLY. YEAH. OKAY.
THIS IS THE LAST PIECE WE TRIED TO PUT TOGETHER FOR YOU.
AN IDEA OF WHAT OUR IMMEDIATE NEAR TERM, MIDDLE TERM AND LONG TERM NEXT STEPS ARE.
AND THESE ITEMS ARE REFLECTIVE OF WHERE WE ARE IN THE WORKFLOW.
SO OBVIOUSLY HERE WE ARE PRESENTING FINDINGS TO BOARD AND TO STAFF.
AGAIN, WE HAVE A MEETING WITH THE STAFF WORKING GROUP TOMORROW TO REVIEW A NUMBER OF THESE ITEMS WITH THEM AS WELL. CONTINUING OUR TAGLINE DEVELOPMENT AND OUR MESSAGE DEVELOPMENT, PROCESSING THE FULL STAFF SURVEY EVALUATION AND BEGINNING STAFF TRAINING SESSIONS.
WE HAVE SOME MEDIA TRAINING SESSIONS SCHEDULED TO START WITH THE STAFF IN.
[01:15:06]
MEDIA TRAINING, BUT HOW TO USE THESE COMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOLS, HOW BEST TO ENGAGE WITH SOCIAL MEDIA AND HOW TO ACCESS THE RESOURCES WITHIN THE DISTRICT ITSELF. AND THEN CONTINUING OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ASSET REVIEW AND DEVELOPING FIRM RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT WHICH ACCOUNTS SHOULD BE MAINTAINED, WHICH MIGHT BE SUNSETTED AND HOW TO GO ABOUT MODERNIZING THOSE ACCOUNTS SO THEY CAPTURE A WIDER VARIETY OF USERS.WE WANT ALL THE, YOU KNOW, 18 TO 30 YEAR OLDS TO FOLLOW THE EAST BAY PARKS SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS AND TO BE LIKE, WOW, THAT'S COOL. I'M GOING TO THAT. LIKE SOMETIMES THESE THINGS JUST GET IN THE ZEITGEIST. AND THAT'S OUR GOAL.
AND THEN A LITTLE BIT LONGER TERM THROUGH THE END OF THE SUMMER IS AGAIN, BUILDING OUT THE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS PLAN, DEVELOPING THE BOARD TOOLKIT, CONTINUING TO FLESH OUT THE MEDIA PROTOCOL AND STANDARDIZING THE PRESS MATERIALS, DEVELOP MORE SPECIFIC TALKING POINTS, ALTHOUGH PERHAPS IT WILL BE COMMUNITY SPECIFIC TALKING POINTS.
AND THEN FINAL SLIDE, MEDIUM TERM, THIS GETS US THROUGH THE FIRST PART OF THE FALL.
WE WOULD LIKE TO COME BACK AND DO BOARD TRAINING SESSIONS WITH ALL OF YOU, PRESENT ANOTHER UPDATE TO THE BOARD, DIRECTOR AND STAFF ON OUR LATEST WORKS OVER WHAT WILL BE THE NEXT THREE MONTHS.
PRESENT SOME STRONG EVALUATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON YOUR LEGACY COMMUNICATIONS, SO WE CAN DECIDE WHAT IS WORTH KEEPING, WHAT WE MIGHT WANT TO SUNSET JUST DEPENDING ON RESOURCES AND IMPACT CONTINUING TO ADVANCE THOSE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT REFINEMENTS AND FINALIZING THE TAGLINE AND DIGITAL BRAND STANDARDS. AND IN THE WINTER TIME, OR I GUESS FALL THROUGH WINTER, WE WILL HAVE COMPLETED OUR FINAL COMMUNICATION REPORT.
WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THE EAST BAY PARKS TEAM TO DEPLOY UPDATED MESSAGING ACROSS ALL COLLATERAL, DIGITAL AND LEGISLATIVE CONTEXTS, COMPLETE THE EXPANDED BRAND GUIDE WITH THE DIFFERENT STANDARDS, COMPLETE ANY REMAINING TRAINING SESSIONS WHICH HAVE NOT BEEN COMPLETED YET, AND THEN WORKING ALONGSIDE THE PARK DISTRICT TEAM ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ROLLOUT.
SO IT'S GOING TO BE A BUSY NEXT SIX MONTHS, SO.
DIRECTOR COFFEY, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
BUT IS THAT A POSSIBILITY IN TERMS OF THIS SCHEDULING? I THINK IT'S TOO SOON TODAY RIGHT NOW TO MAKE THAT DECISION.
I'M NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP ON IT YET. ON SPONSORSHIP? YEAH. I'D LIKE TO HAVE IT TODAY IF POSSIBLE. OKAY.
I WILL BE LEAVING AT 12:20. MORE THAN LIKELY, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS WHAT WE'LL DO.
BUT I'D RATHER NOT MAKE THE DECISION RIGHT NOW.
OKAY. THANK YOU. I CAN WRAP AS QUICKLY AS YOU LIKE.
THIS IS A TOPIC WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR SOME TIME.
I UNDERSTAND WE ALREADY HAVE THE DEMOGRAPHICS.
I'VE SEEN THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF MY WARD. YES. IT'S ONLINE FOR EACH OF US TO REVIEW.
BUT THE DATA THAT YOU'RE GATHERING FROM SOCIAL MEDIA AND OTHER SOURCES WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL.
AND, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF A WORKSHOP, WHAT I'D REALLY LIKE TO HAVE IS A WORKSHOP WHERE WE CAN LOOK AT THAT KIND OF DATA, WE CAN LOOK AT OUR VOTER SURVEY AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE DISTRICT PLAN.
YOU GOT THAT FROM THAT WORKSHOP THAT THIS BOARD DOESN'T WANT TO WAIT FOR ROUND TWO.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT ENGAGED IN ROUND TWO. WE WANT TO BE.
[01:20:07]
SO THAT'S THE WORKSHOP I'D LIKE TO SEE. I DON'T KNOW, YOU KNOW, MY COLLEAGUES MIGHT HAVE THEIR OWN VIEWS OF HOW WE SPEND THAT TIME.CAN I ASK A QUICK QUESTION? YEAH. SO, FOR SURE WE'RE PLANNING A WORKSHOP ON THE DISTRICT PLAN.
AND PRESENTING ALL THAT KIND OF DATA IN ADDITION TO OTHERS.
WOULD YOU ALSO LIKE. LIKE WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT TAGLINE AND SOME OF THOSE THINGS FOR ALL OF YOU, DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD ENGAGE THE BOARD IN THAT WORK OR JUST DO IT AS STAFF AND BRING A RECOMMENDATION AT THE END? IF WE DO ENGAGE THE BOARD, SHOULD IT BE IN A REGULAR BOARD MEETING? OR SHOULD WE JUST SET UP A WORKSHOP TO LIKE SORT OF CREATIVELY WORK THROUGH SORT OF TAGLINE, AND SOME OF THOSE. MY VIEW IS YOU CERTAINLY INVOLVE THE BOARD IN THAT BECAUSE WE'RE THE ONES OUT AT, YOU KNOW, THE ROTARY CLUBS.
SO YEAH, I'D LIKE TO BE INVOLVED. YEAH. AND DO YOU THINK LIKE A WORKSHOP OR JUST REGULAR BOARD MEETING? OR IF IT IS A WORKSHOP, IS IT LIKE ORIGINALLY WE WERE THINKING LIKE LATE SUMMER, IS IT BETTER IN THE FALL OR WINTER? YOU WORK THAT OUT WITH DIRECTOR SANWONG. SOUNDS GOOD.
OKAY. WELL, I THINK THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO BE PROPOSING A WORKSHOP, MAYBE TO EITHER INVOLVE THIS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, AND OR PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT OR MYSELF. BUT I THINK SOMETIMES SOME MEETINGS ARE GETTING REQUESTED AND SCHEDULED WITHOUT INVOLVING THE BOARD. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING TODAY. YEAH. YEAH.
OKAY. WELL, SO I WANTED TO START OFF ON A POSITIVE NOTE.
WHAT I'M DISAPPOINTED ABOUT ALL THIS IS MY COLLEAGUES WILL READILY UNDERSTAND THIS IS THERE IS NO CAMPAIGN FOR LIVERMORE, PLEASANTON OUTLINED HERE. AND THE BOARD, EXACTLY A YEAR AGO AT BIG BREAK, WE ENGAGED IN A DISCUSSION WHERE WE THOUGHT THAT WE NEEDED TO TARGET THAT AREA, LIVERMORE, PLEASANTON, BECAUSE WE WERE GETTING BEAT UP THERE.
THERE IS A LAWSUIT. THERE IS A LOCAL GOVERNMENT THERE THAT ATTACKS US AND IT'S HURTING US THERE.
DIRECTOR SANWONG HAS TALKED ABOUT THIS FOR THREE YEARS PLUS, OF THE DIFFICULTIES THIS DISTRICT HAS HAD IN THAT REGION, AND THAT BROUGHT US TO ONCE WE WERE DISCUSSING THE LAWSUIT, THE BOARD REACHED A CONSENSUS THAT WE NEEDED AN INDEPENDENT.
YOU WERE AT THAT MEETING. A DIRECT CAMPAIGN AT THAT COMMUNITY TO SHORE UP SUPPORT IN THAT COMMUNITY. AND NOW WE HAVE A VOTER SURVEY WHERE THAT COMMUNITY, PLEASANTON AND LIVERMORE, IS IDENTIFIED AS A COMMUNITY THAT WILL NEVER SUPPORT US FOR A PARCEL TAX.
THREE YEARS SHE'S BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT AND THE BOARD TALKED ABOUT IT AT BIG BREAK, AND WE HAD A COMMITTEE OF MYSELF, DIRECTOR SANWONG, DIRECTOR WAESPI MEET WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER, WITH ALISON, AND WE SAID, YOU KNOW, WE NEED A POSITIVE DIRECTED CAMPAIGN IN THAT COMMUNITY.
WE HAVEN'T DONE IT AND IT'S NOT HERE. AND IN MY OPINION, WE HAVE THOROUGHLY MISSED THE BOAT AND WE CAN'T DO IT NOW BECAUSE IT'S A POLITICAL SEASON, BUT IT'S NOT HERE AND THE BOARD WANTS IT.
DIRECTOR COFFEY. I WOULD JUST SAY, A, THIS CAPTURES THE IMPORTANCE OF THAT.
AND IT'S NOT JUST THAT AREA. THERE'S SEVERAL AREAS, I THINK THAT WE HEARD THAT INTEREST.
THE OTHER THING I'D SAY IS WE'RE ALREADY DOING IT.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR FROM YOUR BOARD.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN PROACTIVELY WORKING IN THAT REGION TO DO WORK AND TO COMMUNICATE WITH ORGANIZATIONS AND MEDIA SOURCES TO TELL THAT STORY. SO I'LL GIVE YOU A FEW EXAMPLES. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S HIGHLIGHTED HERE IS THE OVERALL STRATEGY, BUT THAT WE'VE BEEN ENGAGING IN THAT COMMUNITY IS DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEDIA SOURCES.
SO THERE'S THE PLEASANTON VINE, I THINK IS THE NAME OF THE LOCAL WEEKLY.
[01:25:09]
IN FACT, ALMOST ALL OF THE STORIES ABOUT THE DISTRICT WERE NEGATIVE, UP UNTIL THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.AND IN THAT TIME, WE'VE CHANGED THAT, WHERE ALMOST ALL OF THE REPORTING IS POSITIVE, SO.
AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, THERE WAS AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE KIOSK AT DEL VALLE, FOR INSTANCE.
THAT STORY WAS ACTUALLY. WE HAD LOTS OF NEGATIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT IN STORIES.
THIS WAS A SUPER POSITIVE STORY THAT WAS ABOUT HOW THE DISTRICT HAS CHANGED ITS APPROACH ON THAT AND IS WORKING PROACTIVELY WITH THE COUNTY TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE THAT'S IMPORTANT TO CITIZENS. ANOTHER EXAMPLE IS DOOLAN CANYON.
WE'D HAD NEGATIVE STORIES ABOUT DOOLAN CANYON IN THE PAST.
AND WE'RE WORKING TO OPEN DOOLAN CANYON. THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF THESE EXAMPLES OF HOW WE'RE DOING THAT WORK TO TRY TO CHANGE THE STORYLINE. WE'RE DOING THAT AHEAD OF THIS ENTIRE PROCESS, BUT THIS PROCESS SUPPORTS THIS WORK THAT WE'RE ALREADY DOING AS STAFF.
AND I THINK TO ME, LIKE, I TAKE THAT EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY.
I KNOW ALLISON TAKES THAT EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY.
OUR ENTIRE TEAM DOES AND IT'S INFORMED HOW WE DO THIS WORK.
THAT'S GOOD STUFF TO HEAR. I APPRECIATE IT. I'D JUST LIKE TO SEE IT INCORPORATED IN THIS PLAN THAT WE ADDRESS THAT COMMUNITY. IT'S PROBABLY GOT TO BE NEXT YEAR AT THIS POINT.
WE MISSED THE BOAT AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED. AND I THINK SINCE WE HAVEN'T ACTED ON THIS OTHER THAN VERY RECENTLY, I ALSO QUESTION WHETHER WE'LL BE IN A POSITION.
I KNOW DIRECTOR SANWONG SHARES THIS. I QUESTION WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO BE IN A POSITION TO GO OUT FOR A BALLOT MEASURE IN 28, BECAUSE WE MISSED A VOTE ON THIS ONE. I HEAR THAT.
LIKE, I'LL JUST SAY WE HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION ABOUT VOTER SURVEY.
YEAH. I DON'T THINK THAT THAT VOTER SURVEY SHOWS A NEGATIVE FEELING ABOUT THE DISTRICT IN THOSE PLACES, BUT IT DOES SHOW SOME CHALLENGES AROUND TAX MEASURES.
WHAT WARD 5 REFLECTED, AND WE CAN GET INTO THE DETAILS, IS THEY'RE LISTED AS A NEVER SUPPORTING.
THAT'S THE CATEGORY THERE. WARD 5 IS DESCRIBED AS NEVER SUPPORTING A BALLOT MEASURE.
I THINK PART OF WHAT THIS IS HELPING US UNDERSTAND IS, WE'RE NOT REACHING CERTAIN MEMBERS OF THAT COMMUNITY POTENTIALLY, THAT ARE GOING TO BE SUPPORTIVE, OR MAYBE JUST AREN'T COMMUNICATING THEIR SUPPORT FOR THE PARK DISTRICT.
AND I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY HERE TO KIND OF USE DIFFERENT TACTICS THAN WE HAVE BEEN USING TO REACH A NEW AUDIENCE, POTENTIALLY. THERE'S A LOT OF NEW MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY OUT IN THE TRI-VALLEY AREA THAT MAYBE JUST HAVEN'T BEEN HEARING FROM US OR NEED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PARK DISTRICT. AND I THINK THAT'S A REAL OPPORTUNITY THAT THIS WORK IS HIGHLIGHTING FOR US.
LIKE OUR WHOLE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA, THE WAY THAT WE UTILIZE IT, NOT UTILIZING, YOU KNOW, SHORT VIDEOS, TIKTOK, THESE LIKE SIMPLE TOOLS THAT WE CAN CREATE.
IT TAKES A WHOLE NEW CULTURE AND APPROACH TO THAT KIND OF WORK THAT THIS IS GOING TO HELP US BUILD, AND IT'S GOING TO HELP US IN THE TRI-VALLEY, IT'S GOING TO HELP US OR TRI-CITY AREA.
IT'S GOING TO HELP US IN ALL OF THESE AREAS. BUT IT'S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME TO DO IT, BUT THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO SET THE INTENTION TO CHANGE. SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T SET THAT INTENTION, IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
BUT WE HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY.
HAS A LOT OF EXPERTISE IN THIS AREA. SO WE'VE REALLY GROWN OUR CAPACITY.
WE'RE STEPPING INTO THIS AND WE'RE SO HELPFUL.
YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT BODEWELL IS DOING IS SO HELPFUL TO KIND OF SET THE WORK PROGRAM FOR US.
AND I WOULD JUST SAY, DIRECTOR COFFEY, ON THAT VERY SPECIFIC THING YOU WANT US TO DO.
THAT'S PART OF OUR MEETING. I WOULD JUST SAY THAT'S A TACTIC THAT'S KIND OF.
[01:30:06]
BUT THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF TACTICS AND STRATEGIES WE'RE GOING TO DEPLOY AS STAFF, HEARING WHAT YOU'RE SAYING AND GOING TO WORK ON THAT. AND AS THE GENERAL MANAGER ALREADY STATED, WE ARE WORKING ON THAT.SO WE ARE, AND WE'RE MAKING INROADS AND WE ARE SEEING IMPROVEMENTS FOR SURE.
BUT WE APPRECIATE YOUR ENTHUSIASM AND SUPPORT FOR THIS WORK.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT. AND I'M GLAD THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THIS WITH YOU.
AND I'M GLAD. WE'D LOVE TO KEEP KIND OF WORKING WITH YOU.
SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. YEAH. THAT'S GOOD.
THANK YOU. I'LL JUST JUMP IN REAL QUICK TO SHARE.
I THINK, I THINK THE IDEA OF TRYING TO REACH SOME DIFFERENT GROUPS.
IT'S IMPORTANT, BUT ALSO THIS GOES BACK TO, YOU KNOW, THOSE SEGMENTS THAT I MENTIONED, RESIDENTS, VOTERS, PARK USERS, AND WHAT'S OUR GOAL HERE? AND IF THE GOAL IS A 2028 BALLOT MEASURE, WE MIGHT BE HAVING A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION THAN IF THE GOAL IS TO INCREASE, YOU KNOW, PARK USERSHIP OR TO REACH MORE RESIDENTS.
AND SO I THINK GOING BACK TO THAT FRAMING IS ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT.
TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY IS TRYING TO DETERMINE WHAT OUR GOALS ARE HERE.
THAT SAID, I DO THINK IT'S ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT TO THINK ABOUT COMMUNITY LEADERS NOT TO NECESSARILY GIVE EXTRA WEIGHT TO THAT NARRATIVE, BUT IT IS ALSO JUST AS IMPORTANT. SO WHEN COMMUNITY LEADERS SUCH AS MAYORS AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS OR OTHER LONG TIME, YOU KNOW, WELL-KNOWN INDIVIDUALS IN THE COMMUNITY.
YOU KNOW, IF THEY HAVE A NEGATIVE VIEW OF US AND THAT'S SOMEWHAT REFLECTED IN OUR VOTER POLLING SURVEY, THEY MAYBE HAVEN'T LAUNCHED THEIR OWN CAMPAIGN, A NEGATIVE CAMPAIGN AGAINST US, LET'S SAY, AND I'M HYPOTHETICALLY SHARING THIS, BUT IT'S UNKNOWN HOW THAT MIGHT SWAY SOME OF THAT POSITIVE RESULTS THAT WE'RE RECEIVING.
SO TO FULLY LOOK AT THE POLLING DATA, YOU KNOW, AS ONE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY, I THINK, OH, WE HAVE SO MUCH POSITIVE SUPPORT. LET'S RUN WITH THAT. WELL, WHAT ABOUT THE COUNTER TO THAT? WHAT IF SOMEONE DOES RUN AN OPPOSITION AND NEGATIVE CAMPAIGN AND IT'S LED BY A LOT OF COMMUNITY LEADERS? HOW MUCH DOES THAT POTENTIALLY PERSUADE, YOU KNOW, THAT POSITIVE ATTRIBUTION? AND IS THAT A FACTOR IN THIS CONVERSATION? BUT THAT ALSO DEPENDS IF THAT'S OUR GOAL IS A 2028 PARCEL TAX BALLOT MEASURE, YOU KNOW, AND MAYBE OUR GOAL IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
SO WE ALSO DO NEED TO DEFINE THAT, WHAT OUR GOAL IS, WITH A COMMUNICATION STRATEGY.
YEAH. THAT'S BEEN THE GOAL OF THIS ORGANIZATION FOR 90 YEARS.
IT'S BEEN AT THE VERY TOP THAT WE TRY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR USERS AND RESIDENTS, AND WE TRY TO DISAPPOINT AS FEW PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE. AND THAT'S OUR CONSTANT BALANCING.
AND, YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE WANT TO SEEK A BALLOT MEASURE, WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS BE OUT THERE WITH A BRAND THAT REMAINS POPULAR, SO THAT PEOPLE ENJOY THESE PARKS AND THESE TRAILS AND THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE DO.
AND ANYTHING WE CAN DO AS A COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY TO REINFORCE THAT IS, I THINK, WHAT THE GOAL IS.
YEAH. AND SO I THINK WE HAVE A LOT TO WORK THROUGH HERE.
AND IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE STARTING THE CONVERSATION NOW. SO THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US AND HELPING TO, YOU KNOW, BRING THIS CONVERSATION TOGETHER BECAUSE I KNOW THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN REALLY WANTING TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS AND WORK TOGETHER ON.
AND I THINK WE DO HAVE SOME WORK TO DO.
YEAH, REAL QUICK, I AM GOING TO BE LEAVING IN A FEW MOMENTS AND I'LL JUST SAY ONE THING, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT MORE THAT I WANT TO SAY, BUT I'M GOING TO THEN GIVE JOHN A CHANCE TO SPEAK. BUT THE ONE THING I DIDN'T HEAR A LOT IN THIS OVERALL PRESENTATION THAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER, ACTUALLY, THERE'S TWO THINGS I'M GOING TO MENTION. IS MISSION AND VISION. YOU KNOW, WHERE IS OUR MISSION IN THIS? YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T HEAR A LOT ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ENVIRONMENTAL ETHIC OR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION OR, YOU KNOW, ALL THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR MISSION AND VISION.
AND WE DO HAVE A WEBSITE DEDICATED TO WHAT THE MISSION AND VISION IS.
AND THEN I THINK THAT TIES INTO THE DISTRICT PLAN, WHICH I NEVER GOT THE MEMO THAT WE CHANGED IT FROM SECOND CENTURY DISTRICT PLAN TO JUST DISTRICT PLAN. I BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS THAT DECISION MADE, BUT IT HASN'T REALLY BEEN MADE CRYSTAL CLEAR TO THE BOARD.
[01:35:02]
SO I CONTINUE TO CALL IT SECOND CENTURY DISTRICT PLAN.AND MAYBE WITH THIS WORKSHOP IDEA, WHICH WE MIGHT NEED TO, YOU KNOW, WORK ON THE PLANNING MECHANICS AND THE AGENDA FOR, THIS COULD ALSO BE PART OF THAT CONVERSATION, IF WE HAVE A WORKSHOP WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE DISTRICT PLAN.
THAT SOUNDS GOOD. AND AGAIN, I THINK IF A COMMITTEE HAS ANY GUIDANCE AROUND DESIRED NEXT STEPS WITH THE BOARD, WHETHER WE BRING AGAIN LIKE THIS WORK TO A REGULAR BOARD MEETING OR A BOARD WORKSHOP, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND. AND THEN ALSO THE OTHER QUESTION WAS LIKE AROUND TRAINING, ONE OF THE THINGS WE HEARD INITIALLY WAS LIKE A DESIRE FROM SOME BOARD MEMBERS TO HAVE LIKE MEDIA TRAINING OR SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND JUST UNDERSTANDING IS THAT STILL YOU HAVE A SENSE, IS THAT STILL A DESIRE FROM THE BOARD, OR IS THAT SOMETHING WE SHOULD SEEK TO SET UP A MEETING FOR THE FULL BOARD ON, OR IS IT SOMETHING WE SHOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, AS DESIRED BASIS THAT INDIVIDUALS COULD CHOOSE TO SIGN UP FOR? THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL TO GET YOUR COMMITTEE'S FEEDBACK ON.
I'M BY NO MEANS TRYING TO SAY I'M AN EXPERT OR THAT IT'S MY STRENGTH.
CERTAINLY I HAVE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, BUT IT DOESN'T REALLY THRILL ME TO HAVE TO COME IN FOR TRAINING, SO I WOULD PREFER FOR IT TO BE OPTIONAL. THAT'S MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION.
ALL RIGHT. NO I'M NOT GOING TO GO TOO LONG ON THIS.
I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT THERE WAS A LOT HERE.
IT WAS GREAT, THOUGH, AFTER HAVING READ IT, TO HEAR IT AND HAVE IT EXPLAINED FROM YOU.
AND WHEN I LOOK AT THAT AND I SEE THE SOCIAL PLATFORM ON THE RIGHT SIDE WITH ALL RED X'S, I MEAN, THERE'S NOT JUST A RED X, BUT A RED FLAG THAT SAYS WE OUGHT TO BE INVESTING THERE.
AND IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU JUST. WE WILL, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT.
AND IT'S MULTI-LEVEL AND STUFF. WELL, ONE OF THE ASPECTS OF THAT IS GEOGRAPHY.
SO I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY USEFUL AND HELPFUL.
AND I'LL JUST SPEAK FOR MYSELF, IS IF SOME OF THAT STUFF, WE COULD UTILIZE OUR GIS SYSTEM TO PRESENT IT IN MAP FORM, YOU KNOW, USING COLORS AND SHADING AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THAT'S ALL I'M GOING TO SAY ABOUT ALL THAT, SO. BUT I APPRECIATE ALL YOUR COMMENTS AS WELL.
LET'S. REAL QUICK, WE CAN STILL BRING IT BACK FOR BOARD DISCUSSION, BUT LET'S CHECK IN AND SEE IF WE HAVE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WISH TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM. THERE IS NO PUBLIC COMMENT.
SO WE WILL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT AND WE CAN STILL CONTINUE TO DISCUSS THIS ITEM.
AND AT THIS POINT, I WILL ACCEPT YOUR SUGGESTION TO PUT THAT OTHER ITEM OFF.
OKAY. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT SPONSORSHIPS, AND IT'S ACTUALLY SOMETHING I WANTED ON THE AGENDA.
I ACTUALLY SENT A COMMENT IN, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU SAW IT THIS MORNING ABOUT THE SPONSORSHIPS.
SO IN A WAY, I'VE KIND OF DONE PART OF WHAT I WANT TO DO ANYWAY, SO.
YEAH. ALL RIGHT. SO I BELIEVE ANOTHER WAY TO THINK ABOUT DIRECTION, BECAUSE I KNOW THERE'S A VERY AMBITIOUS WORK PLAN HERE AND, YOU KNOW, I'M HAPPY TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION OVER THE LEGISLATIVE BREAK.
SO WE MAY NOT HAVE. WE MAY HAVE OUR SPECIAL MEETING AT THE END OF JULY FOR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
BUT WE MAY NOT HAVE A FORMAL MEETING, BUT IT ALSO MIGHT HELP FREE UP SOME AVAILABILITY TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THIS SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD AND MAYBE FIGURE OUT THE WORKSHOP IDEA.
IT TAKES MONTHS TO GET THINGS ONTO OUR YOUR BOARD'S CALENDAR.
SO IT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT TO, IF YOU HAD SOME GUIDANCE JUST OF LIKE, WOULD YOU PREFER A WORKSHOP? WOULD YOU PREFER JUST PART OF A REGULAR BOARD MEETING? AND THEN FROM THE OTHERS, JUST IF THERE'S A PREFERENCE AROUND THE TRAINING PART.
[01:40:06]
CAN WE MAYBE PULL THE ENTIRE BOARD AND SEE WHAT THE BOARD PREFERENCE IS? I KNOW WE'RE STRUGGLING IN TERMS OF SCHEDULING.WE HAVE A VERY HIGH PRIORITY ITEM THAT WE WANT TO TRY TO COMPLETE.
HOPEFULLY BEFORE THEN TOO, BY THE WAY, BUT I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, BE REALISTIC.
AND SO BECAUSE OF OUR SCHEDULING CONSTRAINTS, I'M NOT SURE IF THE BOARD'S GOING TO BE ABLE TO COMMIT TO A WORKSHOP BEFORE WE COMPLETE THAT HIGH PRIORITY ITEM. OKAY. WELL, IF YOUR GUIDANCE IS TO PULL THE WHOLE BOARD, WE CAN TOTALLY DO THAT.
THAT SOUNDS GREAT. AND THEN WE CAN ALSO, IF IT FEELS LIKE THERE'S A LOT OF WORKSHOPS OR THERE'S A LOT ON THE AGENDA, WE CAN JUST WORK ON PUTTING THIS AS LIKE A STANDALONE AGENDA ITEM ON A REGULAR BOARD MEETING TOO.
THAT WORKS GREAT. YEAH. AND I THINK THAT THAT'S FINE TOO. YOU KNOW, IF THAT'S HOW IT WORKS OUT BETTER, I THINK LET'S GO FOR THAT. YEAH. FIND A DATE AND MAKE IT OPTIONAL.
I'D LIKE TO ATTEND A TRAINING LIKE THAT. THAT SOUNDS GREAT.
THIS IS SUPER HELPFUL FEEDBACK, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
THIS IS GREAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US AND FOR PREPARING ALL THIS.
I'M REALLY EXCITED FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING. OKAY.
SO THEN REAL QUICK, WE WILL THEN MOVE THE NEXT INFORMATIONAL ITEM ON SPONSORSHIPS TO A FUTURE MEETING DATE, EITHER IF WE HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING IN JULY OR IN AUGUST AT OUR REGULAR EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING.
AND THAT DOES NOT DIMINISH THE TOPIC BY ANY MEANS.
SO THEN THAT ALLOWS US. SO I GUESS WE HAVE TO DO A MOTION.
DO I HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. SECOND FROM. SO I MADE THE MOTION.
DIRECTOR SANWONG. SECOND FROM DIRECTOR COFFEY. ALL IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
AYE. ANY OPPOSED? ANY ABSTENTIONS? THAT PASSES THREE ZERO.
OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THAT. AND THEN DO WE HAVE ANY PROPOSED FUTURE
AGENDA ITEMS? NO? OKAY. WE WILL MOVE ON TO ANNOUNCEMENTS. DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? NO. OKAY, THEN WE ARE NOW ADJOURNED. 12:13. THANK YOU EVERYONE.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.