Engage and Inform Committee - 07 Apr 2021

A G E N D A

ENGAGE AND INFORM COMMITTEE MEETING

1:00 PM

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Page

1. Call Meeting to Order

2. Motion to Accept Agenda

3. Minutes 3 - 6 Review and Approval of March 3rd minutes

4. Business Arising From the Minutes 7 - 9 Geocache Updates

Child Care Survey

10 Earth Day

11 Trivia Night

Fridge Magnet

12 - 13 Communication Strategy

5. Correspondence

6. Discussion Items

7. Standing Items

of 13

Page

Review of SWOX 2030 Action Item List (minutes of August 12th, 2015 meeting)

1. Social Responsibility 2. Communication 3. Active Living 4. Safety & Security

8. New Business

9. Adjournment

of 13

Engage and Inform CommitteeMeeting Minutes

for March 3rd, 2021

Members Present: Mayor David Mayberry (1:12), Councillor Valerie Durston, Councillor Paul Buchner, Catherine White, Jen Thomson (1:30)

Staff Present: Nicole Chambers, Julie Forth

Regrets: None

Call Meeting to Order

The meeting was called to order at 1:06 p.m. by Chair Valerie Durston and a quorum was present.

Approval of the Agenda

Resolution No. 1 Moved by Councillor BuchnerSeconded by Catherine White

RESOLVED that the agenda for the March 3rd, 2021 Engage & Inform committee meeting be approved.

DISPOSITION: Motion Carried

Approval of the Minutes

Resolution No. 2 Moved by Catherine WhiteSeconded by Councillor Buchner

RESOLVED that the minutes of the February 8th, 2021 meeting be approved.


Business Arising from the Minutes

Geocache Updates

Councillor Durston has submitted Robert Gourlay and discussed his history with the Committee as a visionary in Mount Elgin and Dereham Centre.

The Committee reviewed the letter from Curator Stephanie Radu regarding the consolidated Geocache project documents. The Committee’s goal is to have this be complete in advance of the Earth Day event, by April 24, 2021. Additional sites can be added to the circuit in the future.

AGENDA ITEM #

Review and Approval of March 3rd minutes of 13

2March 3rd, 2021 Inform & Engage Committee - Minutes

Child Care Survey

The child care survey has been circulated on social media and the Township will continue to post about it. Heart FM picked up the survey and posted about it on their website and social media. There have been 22 respondents so far. The Committee has discussed if they are speaking to individuals about child care to suggest that they take the survey. The survey will close on March 31.

Earth Day

The Committee reviewed the message from Curator Radu and discussed the drive-thru location for the event. The Committee decided to use the front driveway and utilize the barn to store the items.

The Committee also reviewed the Seedlings Flyer from the supplier (Sommerville), we have 50 white spruce seedlings on order. The Committee agreed to order more recycling bins versus last year’s order (we will order at least 10 quantity more).

The event will run from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on April 24, 2021. There will not be any food or refreshments supplied due to the COVID-19 protocols. The protocols and colour coding of our Public Health Region will also determine what is open and available outside of this event (e.g. whether or not the Museum will be open). The event details will be provided to the local news outlets, Village Voice, SWOX Talks, social media, etc. as well as the Beachville Parks and Recreation to display on their sign.

SWOX Refrigerator Magnet

The Committee reviewed the proofs and decided to proceed with proof #2, as amended: the website text will be changed to green (same colour as logo); the font size of the phone number to be increased to 12pt and the font size of the website to increase to 13pt.

Resolution No. 3 Moved by Mayor MayberrySeconded by Councillor Buchner.

RESOLVED that the Engage and Inform Committee approve the purchase of 500 of the revised proof #2 refrigerator magnets for distribution by the Township.


Discussion Items

Communication Strategy

The Committee is looking to discover how successful they are at communicating to community members. The Committee has directed staff to communicate with the President of each Hall and Committee board to invite them to participate in this discussion.

AGENDA ITEM #



The Committee discussed the possibility of a mayor call-in discussion evening (similar to what Zorra is doing).

The Committee decided to revert back to the original Trivia Night event. The next Trivia Night event has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 21 at 7:00 p.m. and will be held via Zoom.

Community Safety/Photo Radar

The Committee reviewed the letters of support received by multiple municipalities in regards to the use of photo radar in the Township.

Standing Items

Review of SWOX 2030 Action Item List (minutes of August 12th, 2015 meeting)

1. Social Responsibility 2. Communication 3. Active Living 4. Safety & Security

New Business

A Greener Future (Presentation by Catherine White)

Catherine White provided the committee with a weblink to ‘A Greener Future’ for information. Discussion took place regarding an upcoming documentary the organization has produced which may be of interest to the Oxford County library board; Catherine will follow up on this.

Action Items

Clerk Forth to set up Geocache account for the Township and provide the username and password details to Catherine White, as well as Curator Radu’s contact information (email, phone number).

Committee Members will provide their Geocache Items and GPS Coordinates to Catherine White for importing to the Geocache Website when complete. Catherine will discuss this with Curator Radu (if necessary) and is hoping to import these documents by the April meeting.

Mayor Mayberry to discuss the Windmill (near 2nd concession) Geocache site with Curator Radu to see if she has any information on this.

Nicole to create poster for the Earth Day event and share it on all outlets. Nicole to order the supplies for the Earth Day Event. Nicole to order 500 fridge magnets of the revised proof #2 with changes. Nicole to send out action items to the Committee once the meeting concludes. Clerk Forth to send email to the chair of each hall board regarding communication

strategies from the Township. If the feedback is that they would like to participate, Nicole will add this to the agenda for the next meeting.

AGENDA ITEM #



Clerk Forth to cancel the Kahoot membership.

Next Meeting

Wednesday, April 7 at 1:00 p.m.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 2:32 p.m.

AGENDA ITEM #


AGENDA ITEM #

Geocache Updates of 13

in support of FutureOxford's goal for ZeroWaste

APRIL 24 | 1-4PMBEACHVILLEDISTRICT MUSEUM584371 BEACHVILLE RD

*Cash or Cheque Only*

Proof of South-WestOxford TownshipResidency Required

Join usJoin usJoin usforforfor

EarthEarthEarthDay!Day!Day!

Available for Purchase(includes HST):

Blue Box+Lid: $5.00Green Cone: $25.00Composter: $5.00Rain Barrel: $25.00First 50 households will receive afree white spruce seedling

AGENDA ITEM #

Earth Day of 13

AGENDA ITEM #

Trivia Night of 13

2

CAUTION: This email originated from outside your organization. Exercise caution when opening attachments or on clicking links from unknown senders. Hi Julie. I hope you are doing well! I'm not planning on attending the meeting, but I do have some thoughts and I'm happy to pass them on to you, the committee, and David, Peter and Valerie. My best/favourite sources of information are currently the Township newsletter, which I receive via email, and "What's Up in Mount Elgin" on Facebook. If I want more information, I go to the Township's website. I glance at the Village Voice, but It's pretty much the same every time it's published, so I don't find it as helpful as the others I've mentioned. I like the Township's newsletter a lot, I find the Township's updated website much easier to navigate (it's easier to find what I'm looking for), and "What's Up in Mount Elgin" on Facebook keeps me in touch, engaged, informed and up‐to‐date on a day to day basis. It's very grass roots and I like that. It's dynamic and fluid on a daily basis in a way that none of the others are able to be. I never read the updates David and the ward councillors post to the website in all honesty. I find "What's Up in Mount Elgin" the best way to stay informed. These 3 sources of information (the "What's Up in Mount Elgin" Facebook page, the Township newsletter, and the Township website) are so helpful that I don't think the Engage and Inform Committee is even required any more. Previously, the Engage and Inform Committee would attempt to find ways to engage and inform the community, but it was really challenging to do that formally. "What's Up in Mount Elgin" does that very thing, but it's informal and grass roots, which means it flows in the opposite direction to the Engage and Inform Committee, and it's far more effective. (I used to sit on the Engage and Inform Committee so I feel comfortable saying that.) On a go forward basis, I recommend each community have its own "What's Up in...." facebook page (if they don't already) and use that as the Township's basic communication structure (in addition to the Township's email distribution list). The Township Office could then post all its communications to each community Facebook group. For example, whenever a SWOX Talks is published, it would be emailed out but also posted on each "What's Up" facebook page. Local businesses are starting to do the same and so is Oxford County. (Or someone from Mount Elgin is posting Oxford County stuff there. I'm not sure which direction that information is flowing.) To me this is the very best structure to use on a go forward basis. It's already happening organically (at least in Mount Elgin) and it's highly effective. This would eliminate the need for an Engage and Inform Committee entirely and perhaps even the monthly updates from David and the Councillors. These folks could just post any updates they have or want to make to the "What's Up In..." Facebook page for their community (or for all communities). Once this structure (or something similar) is firmly in place, people would be informed and engaged within their own little community, within the Township, at even within Oxford County at large naturally. In my humble opinion, this is the best way forward. The timing is perfect. With Covid‐19, almost everyone adjusted to online connecting, even our elderly population. I hope this helps.

AGENDA ITEM #

Communication Strategy of 13

3

Warm regards, Debbie

Good Afternoon Everyone,

The Township’s Engage and Inform Committee has recently had some discussions regarding how the Township communicates information to its residents (website, social media, village voice, eNewsletter, etc.) and the type of information that is shared. The Committee requested that I reach out to all of you to ask if you would be willing to share your insights on this topic with the committee. The Committee wants to know, is the Township sharing the kind of information that the public wants to receive? And what is the preferred method of receiving this information? Being the active and engaged members of the community that you all are, we would really value your input on this topic.

The Engage and Inform Committee will meet again on Wednesday, April 7th, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. Please let me know if you would be interested in participating in this meeting (virtually) to share your ideas and thoughts on this topic. Or, you may also respond to this email as well to share your thoughts.

Thank you for time and consideration.

Julie

Julie Forth

Clerk

312915 Dereham Line, Mount Elgin ON N0J 1N0

P: 519-485-0477 x 7023 | F: 519-485-2932

C: 226-970-1343 | E: [email protected]

Website | Facebook | Twitter

AGENDA ITEM #

Communication Strategy of 13

Engage and Inform Committee - 07 Apr 2021

Documents

Transcript of Engage and Inform Committee - 07 Apr 2021