Minutes - 09-12-2000 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Commissioner Jacobs asked about the village center. He said that most of the people in the community would be driving to the center. He asked why the commercial center would not be more in the center so it would be more accessible to the residents. It was answered that, in order for the commercial center to survive, it would need a critical mass, much mare than just the residents of this community would provide. John McAdams said that the water usage would be 200,QOQ to 240,OQ0 gallons per day. Michael Chadwick made two points. Under the current zoning regulations, the plan does not offer much to the community; however, this plan is spectacular in that there is a large portion designated as open space. He also Hated that the burning of vegetation had ceased at Lake Hogan Farms (a subdivision that he is currently developing}. 4. WATER & SEWER BOUNDARY AGREEMENT Delayed 5. STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS PLAN Information Specialist Buck Tredway gave this report. He summarized the information in the agenda abstract. He said that the County Commissioners' meetings were now televised on a delayed tape. They are being broadcast on the People's Channel. Public Service Announcements are also being broadcast on cable television. The People's Channel also runs advertisements for appointments to various boards and committees in the County. The Monthly Cable Program will probably resume this month. Sharron Hinton is in charge of this. Regarding press releases, he said that this process was ongoing. The Strategic Communications Plan calls for issuance of press releases as a matter of course (i.e., meetings, events, awards, health and safety announcements, major hirings, etc.}. He and Sharon will be putting together a training session an press relations in October. Commissioner Brawn asked about the response from the various departments. Buck Tredway said that it could be better. There has been a tendency for departments to generate their own press releases. The intent is that all departments will coordinate press releases through Buck Tredway and Sharron Hinton. Buck Tredway and Sharron Hinton are working with the members of the news media and developing relationships with them. The media has been very responsive. The County has had very good coverage on the issues and programs through the media. Regarding telephone access, a direct line has been provided into the Clerk to the Board's office for general questions. Commissioner Jacobs asked if anyone was keeping a log of the calls that are received in the Clerk's office and Buck Tredway said no, not at this time. Commissioner Jacobs asked about the additional staff position in order to have the after- hours information line, which would be recorded. Buck Tredway said that he anticipated that if this information line was going to be staffed during office hours and the automated response system would have to be maintained, it was likely that it would require significant time. The additional staff person would answer the telephone and make sure that the information on the automated response system was current. Commissioner Jacobs would like to have more information on the County information telephone line. He said that if he knew how many phone calls were coming in, he would have a better idea of the demand far an additional staff person. Commissioner Halkiotis talked about the meeting calendar and asked for an explanation of how this works. He asked how we get to the basics because it is an ongoing issue. He feels there must be another way to do an annual calendar. There were two meetings planned an the same night that the Commissioners wanted to attend this week. Buck Tredway said that the Clerk's office had no control over when individual boards schedule their meetings. He said that he organized a workshop with the staff support for boards and commissions a couple of months ago, and he stressed to them to notify the Clerk's office of meetings. Commissioner Brown said that the location of the meetings should be clearly posted as well.