09/08/2008 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION -2- September 2, 2008 APPROVED 7 put on the ballot. If the council does want to go with the dual option, Mr. Bubul suggested that 8 he would have to confer with the Secretary of State on some technical ballot issues. 49 Neither option A or B would pass without a 51 percent affirmative vote. The council has no 50 option on whether or not to put the petitioned question on the ballot. They approve the ballot 51 language however. Mr. Bubul explained that if someone doesn't vote, it would not count as a 52 "no" or "yes" vote. It is not uncommon for people to skip these questions. 53 54 In reviewing the presented ballot language, the council concurred that the language related to the 55 petition question should include "as petitioned by registered voters". 56 57 A majority of the council requested that ballot language be prepared for the September 8, 2008 58 council meeting that puts only Option B (petition) on the ballot for the November general 59 election. 60 61 The council discussed the possibility of adding language that explains the consequence of the 62 vote. That may also be part of the communication plan. 63 64 Attorney Bubul noted that the council should also remain cognizant of the language on the 65 petition that was signed. He will attempt to add some language to the proposed ballot language 66 as an requested. 67 68 The council called a special work session to be held September 8, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. for the •69 purpose of reviewing the proposed ballot language. 70 71 2. Charter Amendment Communication Plan — Chris Deets, Dustin Deets LLC, 72 introduced himself and provided the council with communication plan proposal entitled 73 "Citizens Awareness Plan — Initial Draft". Mr. Deets briefly reviewed his professional 74 experience in the area of communications and reviewed his proposal in detail. 75 76 When asked how the plan could encompass the council's desire to keep any city sponsored 77 communication plan pro -information and unbiased, Mr. Deets suggested that he is experienced in 78 providing education without bias. In explaining the "with" or "without video", Mr. Deets noted 79 that it is a different kind of message that gets through with a visual element. It brings motion 80 into the issue, brings voices that aren't the council's, and delivers the message in a way that 81 people prefer to receive it. 82 83 A council member suggested that to get a message out, you must use a multi -tiered approach. It 84 was noted that the Website was utilized well during the citizen's survey while cable viewing was 85 not so effective; a newsletter delivered to every door is fairly effective option. 86 87 Economic Development Coordinator Divine weighed in on the logistics of putting out a special 88 edition. Timing is definitely a consideration. 89 90 Mr. Deets suggested an initial brainstorming session would be appropriate (sometime during the •91 week of September 15). Mr. Deets would come prepared with more details on costs and options. 92 Citizens are going to fill in the blanks and it's the council's responsibility, in his opinion, to