City of Talent Citizen Involvement Survey August 2021 1 Acknowledgments Researchers / Interviewers Advisors Emma Ahern Megan Banks, Director, Kalina Aragon University of Oregon Sustainable Sydney Aston City Year Program (SCYP) Bridgett Baker Peter Buckley, Project Manager, Jane Boggs Southern Oregon Success Carly Boyer Morgan Driggs Hector Flores, City Recorder and Brandon Fitzpatrick Community Engagement Officer, Kristina Flores City of Talent, Oregon Max Fudal Nilda Hernandez, Bilingual Skyler Hagberg Community Recovery Liaison, Cesar Hernandez City of Talent Riley Howard Kira Jacobson Josh LeBombard, Southern Eric Knudson Oregon Regional Representative | Community Services Division, Payton Lommers Oregon Department of Land Marley Mathews Conservation and Development Ryley McDowell (DLCD) Paulina Nelson Riley O’Connell Matt Piccone, Oregon Chapter of Stefany Orozco-Navarro the American Planning Association (OAPA) Community Riley Roefaro Assistance Planning Program John Schwartz (CAPP), SERA Architects Laura Scully Arushi Singhal Emma-Quin Smith, Oregon Greta Stahle Chapter of the American Keith Stanley Planning Association (OAPA) Community Assistance Planning George Terry Program (CAPP), SERA Zoey Tevault Architects Bryce Van Derveer Jeff Webster Ric Stephens, Instructor, Chris Williams University of Oregon School of Kaylynn Wohl Planning, Public Policy and Management (PPPM) Sage Wylder 2 Acknowledgments Participating Organizations City of Talent, Oregon University of Oregon School of Planning, Public Policy and Management “Green Cities” Sustainable City Year Program Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development Casa of Oregon Coalicion Fortaleza Cuentos / Northwest Gordon Elwood Foundation Hearts with a Mission Humane Leadership Institute Jackson County Education Service District Jackson County Long Term Recovery Group Northwest Seasonal Workers Revista Caminos Rogue Valley Chapter of Unite Oregon Southern Oregon Success Southern Oregon University Unete 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgments ............................... 2 Table of Contents ................................. 4 Introduction ........................................ 5 Almeda Fire Aftermath .................................. 5 Community Project ........................................ 6 Methodology........................................ 8 City of Talent Survey ..................................... 8 Interview Guidelines ..................................... 9 Questionnaire .................................... 12 Talent Citizen Involvement .......................... 12 Talent Community Planning ........................ 14 Cuestionario ...................................... 16 Cuestionario de la Ciudad de Talent para Intervención Publica .................................... 16 Planificación Comunitaria de la Ciudad de Talent .......................................................... 18 Findings ............................................ 20 Lessons Learned .......................................... 21 Value Added ................................................. 22 Recommendations ............................. 23 Survey ......................................................... 23 Community Engagement and Planning ....... 27 4 Introduction Phoenix Talent Ashland Almeda Fire Aftermath The 2020 Almeda Fire destroyed homes, businesses and much of the urban fabric of the City of Talent. Displaced families, unemployed adults, and out-of-school children all searched for ways to adapt and reestablish Almeda Aftermath: Phoenix-Talent folks rise from continuity. State and local ashes, rebuilding live and towns. 42,000 people were governments have since been displaced and thousands remain homeless after the Almeda Fire ripped through the cities of Phoenix and working to “build back better” Talent September 8, 2020. Kayla Heffner and part of this effort includes developing citizen involvement as described by the City of Talent Comprehensive Plan. City of Talent Citizen Involvement Element The goal of this Citizen Involvement Element is to provide a series of policies and strategies for including citizens’ voices in decision- making. This Element is designed to build solid interactions between city officials (elected, salaried, and appointed) and the citizens they serve. Democracy relies on engagement by citizens as a means of creating evolving solutions to civic matters. Citizen 5 involvement processes must be inclusive of those who identify Introduction themselves as interested and/or affected by decisions that will be made on issues of relevance to them. These processes should also result in decisions that reflect the community’s voice. (City of Talent Comprehensive Plan, 2018) Community Assistance Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association (OAPA) Community Assistance Planning Program (CAPP) Communities around Oregon face a range of pressing needs – economic development, social equity and affordability, revitalization, resiliency, and consensus building – but not all have the expertise or resources to tackle the issues. Through OAPA’s Community Assistance Planning Program (CAPP), volunteer planners help communities break through planning challenges and come up with practical, implementable recommendations. The program is designed to bring planning resources and opportunities to communities that would otherwise not have access to these services or planning expertise, and to strengthen the ability of community members to influence or determine decisions that affect their quality of life. The CAPP seeks to foster community education and civic engagement. The CAPP is a pro bono program, meaning that the program provides the time of planning experts to a community without compensation. (OAPA, 2021) The OAPA initiated a CAPP with “It feels like a dream, not a reality… It’s not the [loss of] the City of Talent to prepare an material stuff, it’s the memories and the life.” initial assessment and recovery Interviewee plan. As part of this program, a survey would be conducted to evaluate and guide citizen involvement and community planning. Sustainable Cities Institute Sustainable Cities Institute (SCI) focuses on sustainability and cities through applied research, teaching, and community partnerships. SCI works across disciplines that match the complexity of cities to address sustainability challenges, from regional planning to building design and from enhancing engagement of diverse communities to understanding the impacts on municipal budgets from disruptive technologies and many 6 issues in between. (SCI, 2021) Introduction SCI’s Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) is partnering with the Community Assistance Planning Program to provide academic support with the University of Oregon. The SCYP and OAPA coordinated with the University “Green Cities” course to develop a questionnaire and organize student-led interviews. University of Oregon, School of Planning, Public Policy and Management “Green Cities” The Green Cities course examines the history and future of the interface between urban growth and environmental concerns, and the technological, social, and political forces that continue to shape it. Students in the 2021 Summer Quarter “Green Cities” course organized, conducted, and analyzed citizen interviews with the use of the questionnaire designed to help understand and guide citizen involvement for the City of Talent, Oregon. (Citizen Involvement Project, 2021) This report is a compilation of these student interviews, research and analysis. The purpose of this report is to provide an initial evaluation of community engagement, assessment of current community planning perspectives, and insight on future survey methodology for the CAPP and other programs. 7 Methodology City of Talent Survey The survey design was developed around a questionnaire with 10 citizen involvement topics, and 4 community planning topics. Collectively, these provide guidance on how the City could improve community engagement and “[The students] hope to inform the city on ways to planning. Local organizations successfully engage the Latinx community in planning provided interview candidates and outreach efforts,” said Hector Flores. “We want to include their voices in the recovery, the planning and identified whether or not process.” Mail Tribune, 2021 they required language translation. Interview teams were 2-3 students teams with assistance from an interpreter if required. All interviews were conducted via telephone, texting, or Zoom although other media were to be considered if preferred. In- person interviews were not allowed due to scheduling limitations and Covid-19 precautions. After completion of the interview, the student teams wrote a summary of questionnaire responses and their analysis. The responses were tabulated, and the student summaries compiled and edited for this report. An excellent description of the project is provided by the Mail 8 Tribune article titled “Talent survey seeks to raise involvement in Methodology ‘visioning’”. The article was written by Tony Boom and includes interviews with City of Talent Recorder and Community Engagement Officer Hector Flores and Sustainable City Year Program Director Megan Banks. https://www.mailtribune.com/top-stories/2021/07/09/talent-survey- seeks-to-raise-involvement-in-visioning/ Interview Guidelines The following guidelines were shared with the students to provide consistency in interview procedures and format. A confidential Google Docs folder was created with a project directory, interview status spreadsheet, interview guidelines, English and Spanish questionnaires, and resources. Success As with all planning projects, there are multiple measures of success. For the City of Talent, the goal is to become more responsive and effective with their citizen involvement. For the interviewees, it is an opportunity to become more engaged, have their stories told, and help make a better community. For all the participating organizations it is an opportunity for public outreach and recognition. For you, success may be measured by the value of this experience for your professional development. Please consider how you can ensure this project helps everyone to achieve success. Interviewee Contact and Scheduling Why? Thank the interviewee for their time and effort and provide a brief summary of the program. “Students in the 2021 Summer Quarter ‘Green Cities’ course will assist in organizing, conducting, and analyzing citizen interviews with the use of a questionnaire designed to help understand and guide citizen involvement for the City of Talent. When? Agree on a date/time to conduct the telephone interview. Alternative communications can be suggested by the interviewee such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams, but no interviews will be conducted in person. Note the interview status in the Google Drive spreadsheet. 9 Methodology How long? Set the length of the interview at 30 minutes unless a longer time is agreed to. What? Provide the interviewee with the project website to view the questionnaire https://blogs.uoregon.edu/urbanecology/citizen- involvement-project/. If desired, request their email address and email the English and/or Spanish questionnaires. Note in the Google Drive spreadsheet. Interview Format Teams and roles Each team selects who will be the interviewer and who will be the recorder. The interviewer is responsible for conducting the interview, and the recorder is responsible for recording the answers and tracking the time. The recorder notes the time when the interview starts and stops and enters information on the Google Drive spreadsheet. Roles should be alternated at each interview so both researchers have experience with interviewing and recording. Introduction Phone the interviewee on time and be friendly and courteous in greeting them. Begin the interview by introducing yourselves and reminding the interviewee that all information will be anonymous, presented to the City of Talent, and the final report posted on the project website. Remind the interviewee the purpose of the interview is to help understand and guide citizen involvement for the City of Talent. Also, inform the interviewee that the interview will not be electronically recorded. Relax, listen, and have fun Use the questionnaire as the framework for the interview and do not deviate from other discussions. Conduct the interview at a pace to ensure answering all questions. If the interviewee wishes to discuss a particular question in more detail, come back to it, and— if necessary—extend the interview beyond 20 minutes. If for any reason, the interviewee does not want to answer a question, move on to the next question. If you do not understand the interviewee’s response to a question, ask them to repeat and clarify. 10 Methodology Thank you At the end of the interview, thank the interviewee for their participation and remind them the final report will be presented to the City of Talent and posted online. Debrief After the interview, have a team debrief on what went well and what could be improved. Report At the end of the interviews, total your quantitative data (number of choices for specific questions) and provide a written summary of the interviews. [This report includes these findings and recommendations] Questionnaire The project advisors prepared the questionnaire with the following objective: determine citizen involvement preferences and urban planning guidance for displaced community members with emphasis on Latinx families. Specific questions attempt to identify demographics, citizen involvement venues and activities, and community priorities and goals. The questionnaire was designed to be conducted over the phone (or online media if preferred). The English questionnaire version was edited and translated into a colloquial Spanish questionnaire for non-English speaking Latinx interviewees. 11 Questionnaire City of Talent Citizen Involvement Questionnaire What do you think about how the city of Talent engages your community? How can the city rethink its engagement to include you more effectively? Help us answer these questions in a short interview conducted by students. The community in Talent and southern Oregon is diverse, with unique interests, needs, and know-how. University of Oregon students will be conducting interviews to ask for your input about how best to share your information about these needs and how they can be incorporated into future city planning efforts. These students are in a unique position to share your thoughts with the broader community and city officials, but we need you to tell them how. These student-led interviews are an opportunity for you and your community to help create a future where you can engage easily and effectively. Please select only one answer for each question. 12 Questionnaire 1. What is your age? 17 and younger 18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66-75 76 and older 2. What is your gender? 3. What is your ethnicity? Asian / Pacific Islander Black or African American Hispanic or Latino Native American or American Indian White Other 4. What is the primary language spoken in your household? 5. Are you part of or do you regularly connect with an agency or non-governmental group? Which one(s)? 6. How often do you attend public or city events and why? Never 1-2 times a year 3-6 times a year 7-12 times a year 13 or more times a year 7. How do you learn about current events in your community and the City of Talent? Internet / social media Meetings and Events Neighborhood representative Newsletter Newspaper Radio Television Word of mouth Other 13 Questionnaire 8. How could the City of Talent increase its citizen involvement? Community Meetings Events Internet / social media Newsletter Newspaper Radio Spanish language information and events Television Other 9. Where does your community most often gather and why? City Hall Local restaurant/bar Organization Center Park Place of Worship Residential street or private property School Other 10. What is the most important thing about your community you would like city officials to know? City of Talent Community Planning 1. To help better represent your community in planning efforts, what kind of information would be helpful for the city to gather about your community? 2. All data would be anonymous and could include things like household size, age, occupation, etc. 3. Do you feel your community’s priorities and goals are currently represented in the city’s planning efforts? Why or why not? 4. What are the top priorities and goals for the future of your community? How can the city assist your community in meeting these goals? Examples: more affordable housing choices, increased employment opportunities, etc. 14 Questionnaire Thank you for participating in this interview. This questionnaire is part of a collaboration between the University of Oregon, Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association, and City of Talent to help understand and improve citizen involvement. Your answers will be compiled in a report to the City Council to help guide future citizen involvement. Your identity will be kept confidential, and any quotes will be listed as anonymous. The questionnaire results will be shared on the project website at: https://blogs.uoregon.edu/urbanecology/citizen-involvement- project/ 15 Cuestionario Cuestionario de la Ciudad de Talent para Intervención Publica ¿Qué opinas sobre cómo la Ciudad de Talent involucra a su comunidad? ¿Cómo puede la Ciudad reconsiderar su compromiso para incluirlo de manera más efectiva? Ayúdanos a responder estas preguntas en una breve entrevista realizada por estudiantes. La comunidad en Talent y el sur de Oregón es diversa, con intereses, necesidades y conocimientos únicos. Los estudiantes de la Universidad de Oregón realizaran entrevistas para solicitar su opinión sobre la mejor manera de compartir su información sobre estas necesidades y como pueden incorporarse en los esfuerzos futuros de planificación de la Ciudad. Estos estudiantes están en una posición única para compartir sus pensamientos con la comunidad en general y los funcionarios de la Ciudad, pero necesitamos que les digan cómo. Estas entrevistas dirigidas por estudiantes son una oportunidad para que usted y su comunidad ayuden a crear un futuro en el que pueda participar más fácil y eficazmente. 16 Cuestionario 1. ¿Cual es tu edad? 17 años o menos 18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 66-75 76 y mayor 2. ¿Cuál es su género? 3. ¿Cuál es tu etnicidad? Asiático / Isleños de Pacífico Negro o Afroamericano Hispano o Latino Nativo Americano o Indio Americano Blanco / Gringo Otro 4. ¿Cuál es el idioma principal que se habla en su hogar? 5. ¿Es parte o se conecta regularmente con una agencia o grupo no gubernamental? ¿Cuale(s)? 6. ¿Con qué frecuencia asiste a eventos públicos o de la Ciudad y por qué? Nunca 1-2 veces al año 3-6 veces al año 7-12 veces al año 13 o más veces al año 7. ¿Como se entera de los eventos actuales en su comunidad y la Ciudad de Talent? Sitio de Internet / Redes sociales Reuniones y Eventos Representante del barrio Boletin informativo Periódico de papel Radio Televisión Pro boca a boca Otro 17 Cuestionario 8. ¿Cómo podría la Ciudad de Talent aumentar su participación público? Reuniones Comunitarias Eventos Sitio de Internet / Redes sociales Boletin informativo Periódico de papel Radio Información y eventos en español Televisión Otro 9. ¿Dónde se reúne su comunidad con más frecuencia y por qué? Municipalidad Restaurante / bar local Centro de Organización Parque Lugar de adoración / Iglesia / Templo Calle residencial o propiedad privada Escuela / Colegio / Universidad Otro 10. ¿Qué es lo más importante de su comunidad que le gustaría que los funcionarios de la Ciudad supieran? Planificación Comunitaria de la Ciudad de Talent 1. Para ayudar a representar mejor a su comunidad en los esfuerzos de planificación, ¿qué tipo de información sería útil que la Ciudad recopilara sobre su comunidad? 2. Todos los datos serian anónimos y como el tamaño del hogar, la edad, la ocupación, etc. 3. ¿Cree que las prioridades y objetivos de su comunidad están representados actualmente en los esfuerzos de planificación de la Ciudad? ¿Por qué o por qué no? 4. ¿Cuáles son las principales prioridades y metas para el futuro de su comunidad? ¿Como puede la Ciudad ayudar a su comunidad a alcanzar estos objetivos? Ejemplos: opciones de vivienda más asequibles, mayores 18 oportunidades de empleo, etc. Cuestionario Gracias por participar en esta entrevista. Este cuestionario es parte de una colaboración entre la Universidad de Oregón, el Capítulo de Oregón de la Asociación Estadounidense de Planificación y la Ciudad de Talent para ayudar a comprender y mejorar la participación pública. Sus respuestas se recopilarán en un informe al Ayuntamiento para ayudar a guiar la participación pública en el futuro. Su identidad se mantendrá confidencial y cualquier cotización se incluirá como anónimo. Los resultados del cuestionario se compartirán en el sitio web del proyecto en: https://blogs.uoregon.edu/urbanecology/citizen- involvement-project/ 19 Findings T he participating organizations identified 44 interview candidates for this survey. Of these, 33 were unable to be contacted or declined to be interviewed. The 11 interviews completed do not provide a large enough sample to make reliable projections for the Latinx community of Talent. They do provide unique perspectives, and the experience of the interview teams “We really like living in Talent, and it is a good place provides insight relevant to for schools and children, but we need help. I don’t know further studies. These are further if my neighbors will return to Talent.” Interviewee addressed in the Recommendations section. The typical respondent (mode average) has the following characteristics: > 36-55 years old > Female > Hispanic > Spanish-speaking household > Non-affiliated with any organization > Attends 0-2 public or city events annually (attendance impacted by Covid-19) > Learns about current events from the Internet/social media and word of mouth 20 Findings > Citizen involvement would be increased through Internet / social media and Spanish language information and events > The community most often gathers at schools and places of worship > The most important thing for city officials to know is the need for adequate housing [see Recommendations, Planning & Design] Items highlighted in red have a high response rate. The small sample size does not allow for more detailed statistical analysis or interpolation. The expressed preferences for all respondents are addressed in more detail in the Recommendations section. Lessons Learned > Ensure the process of getting interviewee names starts several weeks before the desired interview dates. > Getting names of interviewees and in a timely fashion is challenging due to multiple steps in the process in order to create a level of privacy, anonymity, and comfort. The chain of communication will likely include working with city officials and community leaders in order to identify willing participants. > Ensure adequate access to and confirm participating of Spanish translators prior to in-person engagement. Translators were hard to find because they are in high demand and the financial compensation was not equal to what they could receive elsewhere for the same work. If Spanish translators are not available for live engagement, “My community needs more information in Spanish look for ways to provide written about things they are doing in the City of Talent.” communication and feedback Interviewee opportunities in Spanish. > If no direct link between project leadership and the community members is possible, make sure a clear purpose is delivered to them ahead of time to ensure buy-off and intent. > Ensure contact info for community members is current in order to maximize participation. > Expect that some community members may back out due to unavailability or lack of interest. > Coordinating compensation for participants and translators through grants and non-profits requires a significant amount of administrative time. 21 Findings Value Added > Development of interview questions and introduction for assessing feedback on community engagement, representation, and priorities > The process went smoothly, with initial questions and introduction being generated by the UO, and review and comment by CAPP volunteers and community leader representatives. Comments and proposed edits were helpful and timely. > The challenges experienced during this process and lessons learned will help future consultants, etc. avoid higher stake setbacks. > Initiating this interview process has highlighted the importance of the Latinx community in southern Oregon for University of Oregon students and Talent City government. > Latinx community leaders added the requests related to this project to their existing workload, reflecting their intense commitment to their community. 22 Recommendations Survey The survey was extremely challenging due to the conditions of the study population and interview teams: limited scheduling availability, information and communications technology (ICT) access/coordination, and language “Bilingual people are very important. There are not barriers. This section of the report enough bilingual people in positions to help, like at the provides specific schools.” Interviewee recommendations for future surveys and interviews with the following topics: > Organizations / Interviewers > Citizen Interviewees > Questionnaire > Scheduling > Language Translation > Interview Format / Process > Participation / Compensation 23 Recommendations Organizations / Interviewers > Interview Training—Provide interviewers and translators with education and training with the questionnaire, topics, and multiple scenarios. > Organization Directory—Compile a directory of relevant local, regional, state and national organizations. Include contacts and contact information. > Professional Interviewers—Acquire professional interviewers who are affiliated with the government. Student interviewers have the advantage of being politically unaligned, but—for some respondents—are not considered as having enough political impact. > Public Information Officer—Designate an individual to be responsible for the citizen involvement project. This should be a City employee, private sector consultant, or professional organization staff person. > Translator Directory—Provide a directory of available translators for selection by interviewers. The directory should have names, contact information, languages, availability, and any special notes. > Translator Vetting—Verify interpreter skill level and—if appropriate—ensure they are registered as required to receive translation fees. Citizen Interviewees > Confidential Database—Create a confidential database with “We seek more attention, job sources, opportunities to interviewee/referral/interviewer learn so we can integrate into the community.” contact information, and Interviewee questionnaire results (e.g. Google Docs with password). Restrict access to interviewers and project administrators. No interviewee personal information may be shared in any publication. > Language Preference—Verify the interviewee’s language preference prior to scheduling to ensure participation of an interpreter if required. > Statistical Population—Acquire enough respondents (sample population) large enough to represent the entire population of people being studies (statistically valid) > Vetting—Verify interviewee willingness to be interviewed and their contact information and preference prior to survey 24 Recommendations scheduling. This will remove the potential for “cold calls” that are likely to result in declined interviews. > Youth Interviews—Interview high school and middle school students to gain a broader understanding of community interests. Obtain parental permission and invite them to participate as well. Questionnaire > Digital/Social Media—Post the questionnaire online. Note: The Talent Facebook website has more than 7,000 members. > Focus—Redesign the questionnaire to focus on community involvement and planning. Demographics should be limited and at the end of the interview. Emphasize qualitative questions (data) over quantitative questions (data). > Ethnicity—Replace the question #3 descriptors with a blank for the respondent to answer. “Ethnicity” is linked with cultural expression and identification. “Race” is usually associated with biology. However, both are social constructs used to categorize and characterize seemingly distinct populations. There are potential conflicts/overlaps with several descriptors (i.e. Black/ African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American). This report uses the gender-neutral term “Latinx”, but the term “Latino” is preferred by respondents. > Personal Privacy—Clarify that demographic questions are for trend and analytics so participants are at ease and not worried about identity theft or recording. > Pre-Interview Preparation—Provide the respondent with a copy of the questionnaire prior to “The potential for positive community impact is rewarding, and motivating. I hope that this project the interview. The copy may be can help the people of Talent to build back better, accessed from a website and/or smarter, and more equitably.” Interviewer emailed. > QR Code—Attach a QR code to the questionnaire and other survey media. This machine- readable optical label will direct the viewer to more information about the survey and/or related citizen involvement programs. Scheduling > Appointment Scheduling Software—Select an appointment scheduling software tool (e.g. Doodle) to synchronize interviewee, interviewer and translator meetings. > Email—Provide email for all participants to enable asynchronous communications and scheduling. 25 Recommendations > Respondent Priority—Schedule the interview at the convenience of the interviewee with confirmation by the interviewer. The interpreter will be selected based on their availability for this time. Interview Format / Process > Community Events—Hold a block party or picnic as a more engaging activity to combine surveys/interviews. > Door-to-Door—Consider a door-to-door survey approach for select communities with ICT access issues. This will be facilitated by providing prior announcements via flyers and social media. > In-person Interviews—Conduct in-person interviews as an alternative format to phone calls. > Internet/Email—Allow questionnaires to be completed online and/or via email. > Interview “Hotline”—Establish a main phone number for citizens to use to complete a questionnaire. The line could be automated or have set hours for live interviewers. This line would require a Spanish automated version or live interpreters. > Interview Script—Provide interviewers with a comprehensive script that is also translated for the translators. > Mail—Include the questionnaires in utility bills or direct mail to increase participation. Provide stamped, return envelopes. > Zoom Meeting Interviews—Conduct Zoom Meeting interviews as an alternative format to phone calls. Zoom Meetings have the benefit of better communication with facial expression and body language. Participation / Compensation > Mental Health—Provide contact information for mental health care for those suffering from impacts related to loss and displacement. Persons experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and others having difficulty recovering from the disaster may need medical assistance. > Survey Compensation—Develop a definitive policy and a written guide for interviewees on incentive payments for respondents. > Translation Fees—Prepare a definitive policy and a written fee schedule for translation services. > Volunteerism—Focus on volunteerism: the use or involvement of volunteer labor, especially in community services. The use of 26 Recommendations incentive payments and service fees may reduce or remove the altruistic nature of the survey and possibly skew the results. Community Engagement and Planning This section of the report provides specific recommendations for improving City community engagement and planning with the following topics: > Events & Activities > Information & Communication > Planning & Design Events & Activities > Child Care—Provide free child care during public meetings at the meeting venue. > Community Engagement Techniques—Consider a wide spectrum of techniques: advisory committee, audiovisuals, briefings, brochures, direct mail, door-to-door outreach, door hangers, e-blast, email, electronic polling, focus groups, information center/displays, media, newsletters, open house / community fair, public hearing/meeting/workshop, questionnaire, social/digital media, speakers bureau, stakeholder/personal interviews, summit, survey, tasks force, web-based information/involvement, etc. > Community Planning Events—Consider a wide spectrum of planning events: community planning forum, conference/ teleconference, design charrette, “Our hope is that with time, everything will improve.” design competition, gaming, open Interviewee house, planning workshop, stakeholder participation day, simulations, urban design studio, etc. > Hispanic Culture—Organize annual/seasonal events that correspond to Hispanic culture. These events provide ideal venues to enhance community engagement and planning. Note: A well-organized event such as Dia de los Muertos (November 1- 2, 2021) could attract regional visitors as well as local citizens. > Hybrid Public Meetings—Conduct public meetings in person, via Zoom, and on television (CCTV). > Memorial Event—Hold a memorial event to commemorate first responders and victims of the Almeda Fire. > Public Meeting/Presentation—Organize a public meeting or other event to provide a presentation and discussion of citizen 27 involvement. Recommendations > School Programs—Coordinate with schools to organize citizen involvement programs and conduct planning meetings such as workshops and design charrettes. > Youth Activities—Organize more activities for school children and young people to provide more opportunities for social engagement and as an alternative to negative behaviors. Information & Communication > Citizen Engagement Officer—Appoint a bilingual Citizen Engagement Officer to assist with citizen involvement and regional organizations. > Disaster Prevention, Warning, Response, Recovery—Improve the City’s public information system for disaster planning. > Flyers—Prepare Spanish flyers for public events. Flyers can be distributed at public venues and private businesses. > Housing—Provide more information and resources about housing—especially adequate housing. > Media Center—Create an online clearinghouse and/or social media hub to host information and announcements about civic and professional organizations relevant to Talent citizens. > Social Media—Organize a coordinated social media campaign with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok to inform citizens about City programs and events. > Spanish Translation—Include Spanish version in all public information media and materials. > Wi-Fi Access—Provide more public Wi-Fi spots and provide information about existing sites. > Zoom Meetings—Conduct City public meetings and hearings with Zoom to enable greater participation. Planning & Design > Adequate Housing—Respondents most often referred to the need for “affordable” housing, and this study uses the term “adequate” housing to consider adequate privacy, adequate space, adequate security, adequate lighting and ventilation, adequate basic infrastructure and adequate location with regard to work and basic facilities—all at a reasonable cost. > Continuity—Return the community to previous conditions. Rebuild/restore lost homes and businesses. > Cultural Spaces—Plan for public spaces for cultural events and activities. (i.e. festival streets, plazas, etc.) 28 Recommendations > Hierarchy of Needs—Help citizens meet basic physiological needs (e.g. housing). These must be addressed prior to community engagement and planning. > Memorial Public Art—Create a public art work (i.e. mural, plaque, statue, etc.) to commemorate first responders and victims of the Almeda Fire. The public art would ideally be created by citizens, school children, and/or local artists. The Green Cities class appreciates the opportunity provided by the City of Talent, Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association, and Sustainable Cities Institute to engage in a community survey designed to improve community involvement and planning. We are also grateful to the local organizations for donating their time and energy in suggesting interviewees. And— most importantly—we are moved by the candor, thoughtfulness, and warmth of the citizens of Talent. 29