Meeting Minutes
November 2007 Public Outreach Minutes

Amberley Village Council
Public Outreach Committee
Meeting Minutes
November 26, 2007

In attendance: Peg Conway (chair), Fran Cohen, Tim Carter, Merrie Stillpass, Bernie Boraten, Jack Monahan

Newsletter matters

Consider doing a survey within the newsletter to get some understanding of how residents use the website to determine future balance of information between the print newsletter and web site. Tim offered to draft questions.

Need a group photo of the new Council at the Dec. 3 or 10 meetings. Bernie agreed to see if Wendy Saunders would be available. [Follow-up: She no longer is in the photography business; Nicole scheduled someone else for the Jan. meeting.]

Merrie suggested featuring something from the History Room each month.

Village Identity

Graphic designer Doug Klocke gave a presentation on what a graphic identity is and the advantages of such a coherent system. He also offered several alternatives that Amberley could consider for further developing our graphic identity, from simply modifying and expanding what exists (newsletter, letterhead) to starting from scratch to create something totally new. This latter approach could include focus groups of residents.

Tim raised the question of budgetary concerns (deficit budget) in regards to undertaking such a project and suggested trying to identify alternate funding sources such as grants or donations.

Merrie mentioned that this idea connects with the discussions in Council about creating a master plan for the Village, a process that would likely include focus groups that could incorporate questions related to graphic identity.

Peg noted the regularity with which identity questions arise, when stationery needs ordering. Our current design is expensive, and staff finds it impractical due to limited space for text. Any other time we need something printed, these questions come up. The need for new street signs by 2010 also.

In the shorter term, Peg also expressed concern about following through on our discussions with the realtors last month about marketing the Village, an activity that once again raises questions of what identity we want to promote. Tim suggested that web-based info could address the realtors’ concerns.

Submitted by
Peg Conway, Chair