Village of Western Springs General Government Committee met Jan. 3.
Here is the minutes provided by the committee:
Present
Chair Tyrrell, Member Chen, Village President Gallagher, Village Manager Velkme, Director Baer, and Communications Manager Cicek
Chair Tyrrell called the General Government Committee meeting to order at 8:03 a.m.
Agenda Items
1. Public Comment
There were no public comments.
2. Approval of Minutes
Chair Tyrrell moved, seconded by Committee Member Chen, to approve the minutes of December 16, 2019 as read.
3. Communications
VillageManager Velkme presented a proposal from Aileron in response to some trustees concerns about communications and social media. Staff also has the same concerns with addressing social media. Supplemental assistance for the Village's communications needs brought this issue forward. Trustee Rudolph provided the name of this firm to Village Manager Velkme and Communications Manager Cicek for consideration. The Village requested a proposal from Aileron after discussion about the need for Well #4 repairs and how best to communicate this need to residents. Staff now feels the Well #4 communications which are going on are all set so the focus for Aileron would not be on that issue.
Manager Velkme said the objective would be to create focus groups on communication to try to engage people including those who are critical of the Village. The goal would be to engage residents and see what they would like to see from the Village from a communications perspective and what can we do to make things better. President Gallagher questioned what the end product or takeaway of working with this firm would be and said the proposed cost of $28,000 seems high. Both Chair Tyrrell and Member Chen agreed that the proposal cost was high. Member Chen asked if staff had talked to other communities who are faced with the same challenge of responding to social media and misinformation. Village Manager Velkme said the original proposal was for water issues and now the hot button issue is 5G. Manager Velkme said Selmin Cicek, as Communications Manager, would deal with any firm the Village would hire going forward. The idea would be for a third party to create and hold focus groups addressing Village issues and attempt to engage the most critical people so that they are heard. The firm would provide results and provide direction to staff on ways to improve communications. Initial discussions with the firm focused on water issues and the committee would need to give input on what issues the focus groups should address. Manager Velkme said we would need to go back to Aileron and ask them to adjust the proposal excluding Well #4 improvements that are about to start. Manager Velkme said she expected to spend no more than $10,000, should we decide to proceed.
Member Chen asked if any other communities had tried this approach and whether it was successful. Director Baer said Aileron's proposal included a reference to the Salt Creek Watershed project which engaged some of the biggest critics of the work being done and gave invitations to people they really felt needed to be brought together and people came and engaged. Village Manager Velbme said engineering firms also engage to assist with marketing on large projects to make sure questions are answered. Communications Manager Cicek said the objective is for a firm such as this to provide tools and resources for her to deal with these kinds of things on an ongoing basis. Manager Cicek commented that Aileron people suggested just giving the critics a formal opportunity, via focus groups, the opportunity to be heard seems to alleviate concerns and criticisms.
President Gallagher suggested approaching Aileron about a revised proposal with a more global focus. Village Manager Velkme said in the near future this firm, and others, could be invited to address the committee to specify what we would walk away with if we move forward with their firm. Director Baer said the Village's website, hosted by Civic Plus, is about due for the next platform, which will improve and update the website. That upgrade is scheduled for mid-end of 2020.
4. Extension Agreement Between the Village of Western Springs and Metropolitan Alliance of Police Chapter 360
Director Baer informed the committee that the Police Officers' Union, MAP 360, had signed off on a one-year extension to their labor agreement with the Village. This means both MAP contracts, for sergeants and officers, will expire in April 2021. The agreement provides for an extension through March 2021, a change in arbitration language, salary changes, and removal of fair share language since the Supreme Court deemed share fair to be unconstitutional. The extension agreement will be presented to the Board on January 13 for consideration of approval on January 27, 2020.
5. Other
The West Central Municipal Conference legislative breakfast is scheduled on Saturday, February 8, 2020. Village Manager Velkme will share the flyer with the Board of Trustees to see who would like to attend.
6. Schedule Next Committee Meeting
The next committee meeting was scheduled for Thursday, Febmary 6, 2020, at 6:15 p.m.
7. ECESS TO CLOSED MEETING for the purpose of discussion of:
A) Appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. However, a meeting to consider an increase in compensation to a specific employee of a public body that is subject to the Local Government Wage Increase Transparency Act may not be closed and shall be open to the public and posted and held in accordance with this Act (5 ILS 120/2(c)(l)
The closed meeting was not needed and was cancelled. 8. Adiourn
With no further business to discuss. Chair Tyrrell moved, seconded by Member Chen, to adjourn the meeting at 8:35 a.m.
https://www.wsprings.com/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_01032020-1009
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