pages_fts: 18678
This data as json
rowid | text |
---|---|
18678 | M/S Biggs / Dailey that the Board support the staff recommendations on implementing a $2.50 charge for the Medical Return Trip Improvement Program (MRTIP) Paratransit taxi service, and that the Board also receives periodic reports as to the usage of the Taxi and scholarship programs. 3-B. JOINT DISCUSSION AND WORK SESSION WITH THE BOARD AND IT'S WORKGROUPS TO REVIEW 2011 ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND SET GOALS FOR 2012. President Wasko explained that while this agenda item allows us to take actions to accomplish our goals, it is primarily a discussion time and an opportunity to reflect and brain-storm,. Member Nielsen concurred, citing her appreciation of a meeting where we discussed the status of our Sister City Workgroup, and our December 2011 meeting where we explored options on how we could best be a voice regarding the allocation of CDBG funds, and also had a chance to connect with service providers. President Wasko initiated a discussion regarding the status of our Community Needs Survey and how the Board wishes to frame their presentation to the Council on February 21st Extensive community outreach, including articles in the Journal, SUN, and Sing Tao, helped us achieve the 1,700+ responses, 200 more than the 1,500 / 5% of Alameda HH, we felt necessary for the survey to be statistically significant. The new alamedasurvey.com domain also made it easier to promote the survey. Responses to the Spanish and Chinese language sites have been slow, but we continue to outreach to these populations. We have also received nearly 200 hard copies of the survey which were completed at the libraries, Food Bank, Mastick, faith communities and other community partners While email was our primary method of communication with partners, we have found that person to person follow-up was critical, since many partners receive scores of emails each day. It was agreed that we will be able to draw some "basic" information from the survey to present to the Council at the meeting on February 21st. However, the Board has always felt that outside, professional help should be available to help evaluate the data and help us reach meaningful conclusions. It was agreed that, the data could be interpreted in a number of ways. Options discussed to accomplish this included: help from Doug's contacts at St. Mary's, speaking with Deputy City Manager Alex Nguyen regarding contacts he used for the city's website survey, contacting Supervisor Chan for help, asking CDBG staff if there might be in-house assistance or funds with which to hire someone like David Pontecorvo, or asking the council if funding was available. When we completed our 2005-2006 survey and met with them, they asked "Why didn't you come to us for help analyzing the data?" President Wasko noted how attentive the Mayor and Council have been during our previous presentations and that we are touching their hearts. She added that Service Providers should be encouraged to bring their clients to speak. Those who attended our December Public Needs Hearing have already been extended an invitation to attend and bring clients to that meeting. Having a variety of service providers who represent the breadth and complexity of our safety net of services would also help the Mayor and Council understand why we feel this is such a critical issue. The Board reviewed the Needs Letter we will present at the meeting, agreed that it was a powerful statement, and made some minor formatting changes. Members Nielsen and Biggs, and President Wasko have met as the Assessment and Awareness Workgroup working to develop the survey format. They will meet again to finalize the presentation to the Council. Member Biggs has agreed to lead the discussion. |