Public Hearings: Evolving to the Hybrid Format - Q&A with Jason Zimmerman, Planning Manager, City of Golden Valley
The City of Golden Valley, MN, adopted remote meetings during Covid, like many cities across the world, but when in-person meetings were possible again they evolved to a hybrid format – supporting both remote and in-person attendance, synchronous and asynchronous. They partnered with People Speak to allow residents to participate not just from anywhere, but also at any time. Their first hybrid meeting was a huge success. We caught up with Jason to learn more about how they drove engagement.
People Speak: Over the years we’ve helped a lot of cities move to a hybrid format, Golden Valley was not only nimble in adopting the technology but also the community was engaged right from the start. How did you know that your community would have interest in this format?
Jason Zimmerman: We had a controversial code amendment a few years ago and at that time, in an effort to try and manage all of the public input we knew would be forthcoming, we set up a page on the City website where residents could leave comments in advance of the public hearing. We advertised it at an open house and it ended up generating 59 comments, which drastically reduced the number of people who actually got up to speak during the live hearing. Based on this experience, we suspected our residents would be well primed to utilize an asynchronous online tool.
People Speak: It’s great that you had that experience and recognized the community's interest. Can you share a bit about your experience in delivering public hearings for this format, operating with a condensed schedule, creating videos, and so forth? How has it been on staff and Commissioners?
Jason Zimmerman: Our Commissioners have loved it, and say that it not only helps them better prepare for the meeting, but the format in which the software organizes the agenda items makes it easier for them to track in real time. There is a bit more work for staff, but it isn’t much and we feel it has been worth it. Our internal deadline is to post staff video presentations 10 days before the hearing – about the same time property owners in the area receive their hearing notices in the mail. Printed on the letter we include a QR code (and web address) that links directly to the agenda item on Golden Valley Speaks, so finding out more information is as simple as pointing their cell phone at the page. The morning of the meeting we download all of the comments as a PDF file and email them to the Commissioners to ensure they have them on hand. We print out a paper copy as well and provide a QR code at our check-in table at City Hall that links to the online comments. That way, attendees can browse what was already submitted while they sit and wait for the agenda item to come up.
People Speak: That’s great. The process sounds really buttoned up. Now I’d love to hear you walk us through your first meeting in October. We were impressed that you had 35 online comments before the meeting, even as your staff and Commissioners were just training up. Can you walk us through what happened next, at the in-person meeting? How did you manage that? What happened?
Jason Zimmerman: As we still offer in-person and remote “live” comments, we were thoughtful about how to structure the public hearing portion of the meeting. At the end of the staff presentation, which was a repeat of the online presentation, we summarized the main points from the Golden Valley Speaks comments submitted in advance. Before we opened up the hearing, we first acknowledged all of the online comments and discouraged anyone that might have been in attendance but who had already submitted a comment from speaking again – we assured them their points had already been read and added to the record. Then we took any remote comments, and ended by taking testimony from those in the room. While we had approximately 15 people there in-person, only four got up to comment. The meeting ran smoothly and ended much earlier than anyone had been anticipating.
People Speak: Thank you for the details. The hybrid format seems to be meeting your goals in terms of making the in-person meetings more efficient, driving equity, and of getting more people from the community involved and engaged! So great.
Jason Zimmerman: Yes, we certainly hope it continues to do all of those things. We plan to monitor the number of comments received at our public hearings over time to compare the ‘before’ and ‘after’ levels of engagement. Our hope is that the ease of use with People Speak software leads to an overall increase in participation as well as an expansion of the diversity of those contributing.
People Speak: Can you share a bit about what you did from a communication standpoint to let people know about this new option? And any additional things you are planning to implement in 2023?
Jason Zimmerman: We were already sending out a postcard with information about the October public hearing (because it was a “big deal”) and so we simply added a bit more description of the Golden Valley Speaks option and encouraged people to utilize it. We also shared the link via the City’s social media tools and included a story on the Golden Valley home page. In 2023, we will be working to really take advantage of more of the features of the software, including video presentations by applicants (which was missing late in 2022 because the City was the applicant…).
People Speak: This has been truly inspiring. Any other tips or advice for other cities considering moving to a hybrid format like this?
Jason Zimmerman: I think it is important to stress that the submission of asynchronous comments not only helps staff be better prepared to address questions that would otherwise be sprung the night of the meeting, but it also helps Commissioners (or Council Members) by providing them the time to craft thoughtful points or do the research they might otherwise not have had the opportunity to do. It makes everyone look good!
People Speak: Great insights all around. Thank you so much.