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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-06-2007 SCAC MinutesPage 1 of 6 CITY OF DUBLIN SENIOR CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 6, 2007 Call to Order Chairperson Al Edge called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Roll Call: Committee Members (CM) Present: Al Edge, Beth Wood, Martin Baron, and Diane Bonetti Absent: Delilah Vanderpool, and Parks and Community Services Commission Liaison: Rich Guarienti Staff Present: Paul McCreary, Parks and Community Services Manager, Anna Hudson, Recreation Coordinator, Diane Guenther, Office Assistant Oral Communications - None Approval of the Minutes Prior to the approval of the June 7, 2007 minutes CM Baron asked if Staff had answered the question posed by CM Wood of “why numbers could not be generated through the computer registration program” McCreary stated that training would be provided to show Staff how to access this information. THE COMMITTEE APPROVED THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 7, 2007 MEETING. MOTION BY CM WOOD, SECONDED BY CM BONETTI. The July 5, 2007 minutes were amended on page 2 of 3, eighth paragraph from, “CM Wood suggested forming a subcommittee to develop a marketing plan outline” to read, “CM Baron suggested.” THE COMMITTEE APPROVED THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 5, 2007 MEETING AS AMENDED. MOTION BY CM BARON, SECONDED BY CM BONETTI. The August 2, 2007 minutes were amended on page 2 of 4, eighth paragraph, CM Baron asked that after “continuity” add “and connectivity”. On page 3 of 4, first paragraph, last sentence, CM Baron corrected that in regards to the Pareto Principle, the 80/20 rule implies that we focus 80 percent of our effort on 20 percent of the “services we offer.” instead of “what is really important.” Also third paragraph, CM Wood asked to drop “of all ages” in the last sentence. Also CM Wood asked that we drop “of all ages” in the first sentence of the fifth paragraph and replace it with “50 years and above”. In paragraph seven, take out the second bullet and add, “Bring annual implementation plan for review.” THE COMMITTEE APPROVED THE MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 2, 2007 MEETING AS AMENDED. MOTION BY CM WOOD, SECONDED BY CM EDGE. CM Wood expressed concern that the minutes are distributed to the public unapproved and without corrections. McCreary stated that the corrections are reflected in the following month’s minutes. Written Communication- None Unfinished Business-None New Business One-Year Agenda Plan McCreary provided an overview of the one-year agenda plan. Points of note from the August Team Building Workshop were: CITY OF DUBLIN SENIOR CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 6, 2007 PAGE 2 OF 6 • Revisit the Senior Center Strategic Plan in preparation for the annual City Council Goals and Objectives process. • Assist with the development and implementation of a Marketing Plan for the Senior Center that will help determine the best methods for product pricing, promotion, placement and positioning. • Assist with the planning and implementation of the new Ambassador Program. Based upon the above list Staff developed a list of proposed items (attached) to discuss at upcoming meetings. It was noted the proposed agenda items might change over time, but served as a starting point. Staff was seeking input from the Committee to make sure their comments were captured. CM Baron felt the One-Year Proposed Plan was a good start and a good way to keep the Committee informed. Baron would like to provide input at the strategic level. CM Edge stated this was a well-thought out document. CM Wood commented this was a great step forward and helps the Committee understand the cycle. CM Wood thought November was optimistic for the final review of the Senior Center Marketing Plan and that the current advertising plan should be addressed in October. CM Wood requested a short presentation in March/April on the budget prior to being presented to the Commission and City Council. McCreary stated that budgets proposed by Staff do not go before the public until the City Manager’s approval of the budget. There were no additional comments. Review of Senior Center Mission, Vision and Values Staff is seeking input from the Committee Members to review the Senior Center Mission, Vision and Values assembled by the Committee in 2005. Additionally, Staff requested input on what the current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (S.W.O.T.) existed for the Senior Center. Core Values The core values are the qualities and beliefs that form the foundation of the Dublin Senior Center and are most valued by customers. Core values are the driving force behind the way the City does business, and guides the day-to-day operations of the Senior Center to ensure the City is successful at achieving its mission. CM Baron felt that since core values imply focus, there were too many core values listed. He questioned if Diversity was core value. He suggested lumping some of the values together and making subsets, such as education & lifelong learning with availability of information and resources for seniors. The values could possibly be seen as a profit or benefit to users. CM Baron further asked, “Are the core values a profit for our users? Is there a relationship between the use of services and the core values? How do you evaluate if this is a core value?” He suggested prioritizing values into four groups, or driving forces. CM Edge and CM Bonetti felt the list should stand as it is. CITY OF DUBLIN SENIOR CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 6, 2007 PAGE 3 OF 6 CM Wood agreed with CM Baron that there were too many core values and that some items could be removed. Although the core values are all are important values, CM Wood suggested exploring the different areas of interest through programming but it was not necessary to reflect them in values. She suggested grouping the words; for example, use “Wellness” instead of healthy lifestyles, and fitness; and “personal connection” instead of warm and friendly hangout. The Committee having no further comments and agreed the Values could stay the same but asked Staff to see if they could be condensed. Vision The Vision Statement describes the preferred future of the Dublin Senior Center. Staff suggested to use language that conveys a sense of how success would look and feel. CM Edge queried if the Senior Center activities are for adults 50, or 55 years of age. McCreary indicated no one is turned away but that statistically the age group in the last two years, the average has been 65 years and older. CM Baron commented that the current Vision appears to place an emphasis on the facility and questioned whether “a warm welcoming facility” should be listed in the vision. Is the community going to profit from the facility? CM Baron wondered if the statement is too narrow referring to recreation facility, or is it an exploration facility. CM Wood discussed utilizing a distributed view of needs and services that could be possibly met in different ways by the City of Dublin and not solely by the Dublin Senior Center. CM Edge voiced that concentration should be placed on the Senior Center not on what the City has to offer. CM Wood felt that the Senior Center should be the hub, but there was also a need for a distributed program. CM Wood felt that the Committee could not architect a Vision today but asked Staff to bring back a couple of suggested Vision Statements. She suggested that the Vision not focus just on facility but investigate program opportunity that could be offered beyond the walls. Staff should take a broader view in planning. Staff should not just ask for input from people who are coming to the Center but also people outside of the Center. CM Wood asked Staff to develop a couple of prototype statements. CM Bonetti commented that people do not like to be called senior or elderly because it makes them seem or look not as useful. Time was set aside for public comment. George Zika commented that seniors openly realize the benefits from being a senior, such as receiving senior discounts and collecting Social Security yet do not like to be considered a senior. He felt that part of successful marketing may be getting seniors to admit they are seniors and visit the Senior Center. Mr. Zika requested that the Committee send a representative to the Foundation meetings each month. CITY OF DUBLIN SENIOR CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 6, 2007 PAGE 4 OF 6 CM Baron suggested that the core values not be repeated within the mission statement. There was no further discussion at this time. S.W.O.T. Staff requested for input from the Committee Members on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (S.W.O.T.) to the Senior Center. The key trends and other Committee Member input will be evaluated to identify the market opportunities with the greatest potential for meeting Senior Center’s vision and mission. CM Wood stated that bus trips were not strengths but they are a way to make money. She felt that City funding was not a strength, nor was a large number of programs or breadth of programming. She saw targeting programming as a strength. CM Edge commented that Staff is well aware of programming. CM Wood feels that we need to do a better job to reach more customers, and there is strength in program variety. Under weaknesses, she asked Staff to clarify funding, and wanted to understand what is possible based on the budget. CM Wood felt that the Committee needs to understand and digest the budget in terms of programming and was unclear of available budget. She felt that if they understood what is possible then the Committee could provide additional comments. Under threats, CM Wood saw the increased demand for social services as a threat. She shared that she read in a recent study that a third (1/3) of the baby boomers are providing adult caregiving. As caregivers, boomers may not have the time to participate in our services. CM Baron stated a strength is the progressive nature of the City, the eagerness of the City Staff, the availability of the Committee. Weakness is unfocused marketing efforts. Threats are the coming of age of the boomers in Dublin and the need for alignment of the Committee. Strategically, we don’t have a clear plan of marketing and unclear of our customers. CM Wood noted that under Opportunities that we have the opportunity to plan a wonderful future for Dublin. Staff will take comments to develop Mission, Vision and Values taking into account all of the discussion today. Marketing Plan Report presented by the Marketing Sub-Committee During the July Senior Center Advisory Committee meeting, the Committee discussed the value of marketing and community advertising and formed a Marketing Sub-Committee. At the September meeting, the Marketing Sub-Committee provided a Marketing Outline and made a presentation on possible marketing strategies and the next steps towards developing the Marketing Plan. A short marketing video from a private retirement community was shown to the Committee Members. CM Edge questioned if the Center wanted to get into this type of aggressive marketing. CM Wood responded that the marketing plan would address this question and who we will try and attract. CITY OF DUBLIN SENIOR CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 6, 2007 PAGE 5 OF 6 CM Baron reviewed the continuity of process and that the feedback mechanism is what is important. The Sub-Committee was seeking comments on the market plan outline and looking for other ways to grow. Hudson asked if the Committee would be able to recommend simple inexpensive steps to marketing to address the immediate needs of the Senior Center. CM Baron stated a truly successful plan takes effort and resources and how we do that is a measure of how many resources we put into it. CM Edge asked how much time Staff would realistically be able to dedicate to the Sub-Committee’s marketing plan. McCreary responded that plans are underway to utilize a consultant Department-wide to conduct the City needs assessment. Staff will not have a lot of time to utilize the subcommittee marketing plan. CM Edge stated that events such as the LIFE event are our biggest marketing efforts. Staff could also publicize the Senior Center activities at the department-wide events. CM Bonetti expressed that if we use a club-like setting, we will lose people since we have a diverse group of needs to address, such as cultural, religious, socio economic levels, etc. CM Baron asked “do the answers to some/any of the questions add value and advance the role of the Advisory Committee”? He is seeking consensus to answer some of the questions posed in their Marketing Plan to set goals for the future. CM Bonetti wondered if the City was responsible for offering activities that everyone can be a part of or what only a few can pay for. She did not want to see the Center require a membership fee. McCreary stated there is no membership fee; the Center is a public facility and we need to learn more about our customers and those people who are not coming to us to determine if fees are one barrier to participation. CM Edge was in favor of marketing using a softer approach. He felt that if the Center can offer certain things with a lot of advertising, people will come to the Center. CM Baron asked, how do we promote programs? He talked about ”positioning” and asked each Committee Member what business or brand do they think of first, second, third, etc when you mention a particular product, or service. It is this type of product positioning or image that we want to invoke when people think of Dublin Senior Center. CM Baron recommended developing a positioning statement by the October meeting. CM Wood expressed that although this work needs to be done first, the October time frame is too soon for so much work. CM Baron suggested creating a marketing initiative and that the positioning statement begs promotional material, a branded image and a viable term. CM Wood suggested creating a marketing plan that accomplishes two results; things that can be done immediately as well as work on a five year plan. McCreary recommended waiting for the data obtained from the Department survey that will be out in December/January. He suggested that Staff would be able to create a more concise implementation plan after this time frame. CM Edge stated the Committee should have a short term focus on advertising current events. There was discussion about additional Committee Members working on different parts of the marketing plan. CITY OF DUBLIN SENIOR CENTER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 6, 2007 PAGE 6 OF 6 CM Wood made the motion to endorse the marketing plan outline and the proposed next steps as recommended by the Sub-Committee and add a fourth step as proposed by the Advisory Committee discussion The motion was seconded by CM Edge and the Committee approved. The proposed next steps are as follows: 1. Determine how the Marketing Plan will be developed for the future. 2. Provide input on this year’s marketing material updates, such as a. Improve Newsletter format b. Target mailings c. New special events at the Senior Center 3. Prepare survey for current and potential customers to answer key questions, such as a. What is the description of our current customers? b. What barriers prevent potential customers from participating in senior activities? 4. Develop a positioning statement. New Business CM Baron noted that the San Ramon Senior Center will be closing for a month and suggested inviting the patrons to our Center. CM Wood felt this was the friendly thing to do and provided an opportunity to engage. CM Baron also recommended the Committee propose an initiative for a transportation program similar to the Caltrans Rides program. CM Bonetti volunteered to attend Foundation meetings. She attended the September Parks and Community Services Commission meeting. CM Wood said she would attend the October Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. Adjournment There being no further business the Committee adjourned at 12:05 PM. Respectfully submitted, __________________________________ Diane Guenther Office Assistant APPROVED: ___________________________________ Al Edge Chairperson