Public Information & Customer Relations Committee Minutes – June 27, 2017
For your consideration, please read the minutes from the Public information & Customer Relations Committee meeting held on June 27, 2017 at 2:00 pm.
Public Information & Customer Relations 6-27-17 Minutes with Attachments
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Brunswick-Glynn County Joint Water & Sewer Commission
1703 Gloucester Street, Brunswick, GA 31520
Commission Meeting Room
Tuesday, June 27, 2017 at 2:00 PM
PUBLIC INFORMATION & CUSTOMER RELATIONS
COMMITTEE MINUTES
PRESENT:
Steve Copeland, Chairman
Cornell Harvey, Commissioner
Donald Elliot, Chairman of Commission
Jimmy Junkin, Executive Director
Jay Sellers, Public Information Officer
ALSO PRESENT:
Thomas A. Boland, Sr., Deputy Director
Pam Crosby, Director of Procurement
ABSENT:
Robert Bowen, Commissioner
Chairman Copeland called the meeting to order at 2:02 PM.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
There being no citizens that wished to address the Committee, Chairman Copeland closed the Public Comment Period.
APPROVAL:
- Minutes from the May 2, 2017 Committee Meeting
Commissioner Harvey made a motion seconded by Commissioner Elliott to approve the minutes from May 2, 2017 Public Information & Customer Relations Committee Meeting. Motion carried 3-0-1 (Commissioner Bowen was absent.)
DISCUSSION:
- Update on Everbridge Implementation – J. Sellers
Jay Sellers presented an update on the Everbridge Emergency Notification System implementation to the Committee. He noted how many subscribers there are at the current time and presented a video he created to help the public learn about the system and its uses. The video also provides a thorough tutorial for subscribing to the Everbridge System through the BGJWSC website. Mr. Sellers then continued to discuss the attributes of the system and the notifications. With it being an unlimited service, persons in any area, including other states, can choose to subscribe to the system and also select any of or all of the local geographic regions in our area the notifications are relating to. Currently there are 304 subscribers to the JWSC website updates and notifications. Jay indicated that he plans to automatically add those subscribers to the Everbridge System. The website will continue to send non-emergency notifications, while the Everbridge System is intended for use regarding emergency notifications only. He also noted that the subscriber must send a response of “yes” to acknowledge any alerts sent by the system, or it will continue to send the alert two more times. The additional contacts are currently set at one minute intervals. The Committee continued to discuss general information about the system, its uses, and the implementation.
- Social Media Campaigns – J. Sellers
Jay Sellers discussed social media uses with the Committee, and the intent of communicating through the various social media interchanges, such as Facebook. He noted that the use of social media can be very powerful and even provide customer service answers. Also mentioned were the different intended uses of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and how these function and are used by the public. He also noted that postings on the BGJWSC website can be automatically posted on Facebook and Twitter, but not on Instagram. Jay is very actively using and monitoring the social media, especially Facebook. Social media does allow immediate responses to the public’s questions and commentary.
- BGJWSC Website Design Changes – J. Sellers
Jay Sellers advised that Committee that there have been a few recent subtle changes to the BGJWSC website in addition to the original re-design. As part of the update, he briefly discussed the organizational chart and that the previous form has been very large and detailed including the names of all personnel, and it is very labor intensive to frequently update. The organizational chart has been broken down into more manageable divisional charts for more ease of use by the public and for posting on the website. It was noted that it may be more beneficial for the names of the superintendents to be included on the divisional charts. Jay and the Committee further discussed the website in general, along with the contact information that is provided on the website. It was noted that the JWSC is centered around customer service and it is beneficial to provide some levels of contact information for public use. Discussion included refining the draft of the Public Information Policy regarding the use of the website and the information posted.
- Advertising Campaigns with Local Print and Radio Media – J. Sellers
In his discussion regarding advertising campaigns, Jay Sellers noted that there have been some inconsistencies in the images presented in advertising. For example, he mentioned that the image used in the Fats Oils and Grease Campaign presents a more cartoon style. So, the question noted was that of, “What message do we want to present?” Mr. Sellers then presented a JWSC video to the Committee regarding Fats, Oils and Grease, which provided information in a humorous manner. Visual messages and styles of presentation were discussed, along with possibilities of local advertising, as well as education in the public schools, and cooperative efforts between the P.I.O.s for the JWSC, the City, and the County. Jay then presented an example of an informational demo video (draft) that he created with the assistance of a JWSC meter reader, Sylvestre Cruz-Lopez. The intended use for this particular video is to educate the public on how the meter readers take the meter readings (manually and automated) for billing, and explains answers to questions such as, “How are they reading my meter when they do not even get out of their vehicle?” Jay then continued to present some ideas of future videos he would like to create for use in educating the public on many various issues related to the JWSC. Also noted were additional ideas on other types of and themes for advertising and educational campaigns.
- Focus Group – J. Sellers
Jay Sellers discussed focus group formation with the Committee. He noted Facebook, and recognized that not everyone does Facebook, but that it is a very effective tool in getting people together without having to get them into the same room. He mentioned ideas of how to start group chats via invitation for discussions with the public within private chat rooms. Further discussion regarded: how to deliver a message; the style and tone of the voice used; knowing the audience and their needs; consistency of the message; and tailoring the message to the audience. It was noted that perception and understanding of the JWSC is important in messages, along with trusting in the JWSC to provide the services for the good of the community and its long term interest.
Executive Director’s Update
There was no update at this time.
Meeting was adjourned at 3:17 pm.