The purpose of the Public Participation Plan is to establish coordination goals and achieve valuable public involvement and input during the Sidewalk Master Plan development process. Public participation will be gained through the following:

• Formalizing overall public involvement and available tools and strategies for consistent communication with stakeholders;
• Outlining overarching roles, responsibilities, and strategies for public involvement;
• Facilitating and documenting the process by which the HDR Team will interact with stakeholders;
• Promoting an efficient and streamlined process and good project management through coordination, scheduling, and early resolution of issues; and
• Establishing the anticipated schedule for outreach activities.

Guiding principles for the Public Participation Plan include the following:

• Transparent and honest interaction with stakeholders;
• Listen to and value the input of stakeholders;
• Engage in meaningful, constructive and open dialogue with stakeholders;
• Collaborate with stakeholders; and
• No preconceived notions about the ultimate outcome of the process.

Goals and Strategies

The goal of the Public Participation Plan is to ease project implementation by formalizing agency involvement. The Public Participation Plan consists of the following strategies and corresponding action items:

Strategy #1 Inform stakeholders/public by providing easy-to-access information regarding the project. Information must be meaningful, accurate and timely.

Action Item

Create a project website and provide a project update email every quarter .

Benefit:

Wide access, ease of dissemination.

Schedule:

Completed Website live.

Completed  1st Email Update.

Strategy #2 Engage the stakeholders/public through meetings and workshops providing interactive, two-way communication.

Action Item #1

Conduct two (2) public open house meetings to understand sidewalk infrastructure challenges within the City. The meetings will encourage feedback regarding sidewalk priorities and will facilitate the development of those challenges. The first open house will be conducted after completion of the data collection and field inventory. The second open house will be conducted after completion of the sidewalk prioritization process. Each public meeting will use an open house format to communicate the purpose and process of the Sidewalk Master Plan and gather input from the attendees; allowing participants to sign in and collect input through the use of common techniques (e.g., comment forms, interactive exhibits including maps, project update email distribution lists, etc.).

Meeting notices (including print and electronic mailings, flyers, posters and push cards for distribution in the study area), letters to public officials, and media release announcements to publicize these meetings shall be distributed no less than 30 days prior to the meeting in order to maximize participation. All records of participation and comments received shall be documented and made available for internal use and summarized for public use.

Public Open House #1 Introduction to the Sidewalk Master Plan Process

1. Overview of Sidewalk Master Plan Process
   1. The Vision
   2. Goals and Objectives
2. Present Existing Conditions
   1. Sidewalk Locations
   2. Sidewalk Deficiencies
3. Describe the Public Input Process
4. Dialogue to focus on elements/improvements important to stakeholders

Public Open House #2 Present Draft Sidewalk Prioritization and Master Plan

1. Overview of Sidewalk Master Plan Process
   1. The Vision
   2. Goals and Objectives
2. Present Existing Conditions
   1. Sidewalk Locations
   2. Sidewalk Deficiencies
3. Describe the Public Input Process
4. Discuss Proposed Improvements, Prioritization, and Strategies

Benefit:

Provide an opportunity for two-way communication between project team and the public regarding the project.

Schedule:

Completed 1st Open House will be conducted in the 4^th quarter of 2014.

Completed Finalize methodology and schedule for announcement of Open House meetings.

Medium	Message/Purpose	Schedule
Paper of Record	Publish Meeting Notice	No later than 30 Days prior to meeting
City Reporter	DRAFT Sidewalk Plan	After Prioritization Process
City Social Media Accounts	Get Involved, Be Heard	Prior to Open Houses & Council Adoption
City Website	Project Updates	July 2014
Email Account	Project Updates, Public Input	July 2014

 

Action Item #2

The Plan Team will create an electronic version of the Open House presentation materials for hosting on the Citys website as well as a summarized mail stuffers. This will include opportunities for citizen comment.

Benefit:

Because people may be unable to attend meetings in person, an online open house meeting is a useful option for citizens who find themselves unable to participate in person. The online open house provides an additional option for people to get information and provide feedback about the project, in a manner that may be more convenient, comfortable and accessible.

Schedule:

Completed The HDR Team will provide materials from open houses to the City for hosting in Citys website for virtual open house.

 

Strategy #3 Document, thoroughly analyze and promptly provide feedback regarding comments or concepts suggested during development of the Sidewalk Master Plan.

Action Item #1

Document written comments related to the project, including those submitted via mail, fax, online comment form or direct email.

Benefit:

Provides a record of written comments and manages proper response to those comments.

Schedule:

On-going Develop a project comment log.

On-going Written comments received will be forwarded to the Plan Team.

On-going The Plan Team will include comments in the project comment log to document feedback.

Action Item #2

Document the Open House meetings.

Benefit:

Provides a record of activities at Open House meetings.

Schedule:

Following the Open House meeting(s) Develop a Public Meeting Summary Report which will include comments received, attendance sheets and handouts, documents, displays and presentations provided during the meeting.

 

Action Item #3

Ensure that public comments/feedback is provided in a timely fashion to appropriate Project Team members.

Benefit:

Allow proper consideration of public comment during the planning process.

Schedule:

On-going The City will forward a summary of comments received for that week to the Project Team and request a response.

On-going Responses, prepared by HDR or Altura and approved by City, will be provided to the person who submitted the comment.

On-going HDR will include comments in the project comment log to document feedback.

 

Public Comments/Feedback Tasks	City of Georgetown	HDR/Altura
Project Website
Set-Up/Ownership	Lead	Support (HDR/Altura)
Content	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)
Project Email
Set-Up/Ownership	Lead	Support (HDR/Altura)
Responses	Lead	Support (HDR/Altura)
Project Comment Log
Set-Up/Ownership	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)
Comment and Response Documentation	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)

 

 

Strategy #4 Presentation of the Sidewalk Master Plan.

Action Item#1

Provide a briefing of the study to the City Council in Workshop format after the draft Sidewalk Prioritization and Master Plan report is developed.

Benefit:

The presentation will provide an opportunity for direct input from the public to elected officials. The presentation will also provide the general public an opportunity to hear direction and guidance for the Plan by elected officials.

Schedule:

13 Jan 15 After City approval of the Study, finalize presentations for City Council.

 

Action Item#2

Provide a briefing of the study in Public Hearings after initial City Council workshop. One GTAB hearing and two City Council hearings are anticipated.

Benefit:

The presentation will provide an opportunity for direct input from the public to elected officials. The presentation will also provide the general public an opportunity to hear direction and guidance for the Plan by elected officials.

Schedule:

24 Feb 15

 

Communication Plan and Protocols

The City of Georgetown Transportation Services Director will be the primary point of contact for media, elected officials, City Staff, and agency requests. All requests will be directed to the Transportation Services Director through the Citys Project Manager.

The Citys Project Manager will share comments with the HDR Team, as appropriate, within five (5) business days of receiving the comments.

The HDR Team may coordinate directly with City Staff and/or other government agencies during development of the Sidewalk Master Plan. The HDR Team will share comments with the City, as appropriate, within five (5) business days of receiving the comments.

Public Participation Tasks and Responsibilities

The following matrix highlights outreach and informational tasks identified in this Public Participation Plan and indicates the group responsible for the task. If listed as “lead on a task, that member of the Team is responsible for implementing the task, and utilizing the member marked “support to assist in coordination and participation as necessary. Assignees marked “lead are held responsible for implementing their tasks. Outreach materials and strategies will be reviewed and approved by the City.

Public Coordination Task	City of Georgetown	HDR/Altura
Public Participation Plan	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)
Project Comment Log, Project Emails, Project Website	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)
Communication with GTAB and City Council	Lead	Support (HDR)
Elected Official & Community Leader Briefings	Lead	Support (HDR/Altura)
Public Open Houses	Support	Lead(HDR/Altura)
Meeting Scheduling	Lead	Support (HDR/Altura)
Meeting Agendas	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)
Meeting Minutes	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)
Meeting Exhibits/Flyers/Forms, etc.	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)
GTAB and City Council Workshops/Hearings Meetings	Lead	Support (HDR/Altura)
Meeting Scheduling	Lead	Support (HDR/Altura)
Meeting Agendas	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)
Meeting Minutes	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)
Meeting Exhibits	Support	Lead (HDR/Altura)

 

Public Involvement Schedule*

	Public Coordination Task	Start	End	Scheduled
4.1	Public Participation Plan	1-May-14	31-May-14	Complete
4.4	Public Open House 1	22-Sep-14	30-Sep-14	Complete
6.2	Public Meetings and Hearings	3-Nov-14	31-Dec-14	Ongoing
6.2.1	Public Open House No. 2	19-Jan-15	23-Jan-15	TBD
6.2.2	City Council (Workshop)	13-Jan-15	13-Jan-15	13-Jan-15
6.2.3	Georgetown Transportation Advisory Board   (DRAFT Review)	11-Dec-14	11-Dec-14	11-Dec-14
6.2.4	City Council (Public Hearing/1st Reading)	24-Feb-15	24-Feb-15	24-Feb-15
6.2.5	City Council (2nd Reading/Adoption)	10-Mar-15	10-Mar-15	10-Mar-15
10.0	ADA Transition Plan Support	1-May-14	31-Dec-14	Ongoing
10.1	ADA Public Meetings and Hearings	1-May-14	31-Dec-14	Ongoing
10.1.3	City Board/Commission Meeting No. 1	1-May-14	04-Aug-14	08-Aug-14
10.1.4	City Board/Commission Meeting No. 2	1-May-14	08-Sep-14	12-Sep-14
10.1.5	City Board/Commission Meeting No. 3	1-May-14	31-Dec-14	TBD
10.1.6	City Council Meeting	1-May-14	31-Dec-14	TBD

*Dates are preliminary and subject to change