2021/05/12 Council Agenda Packet

consolidation option with Community Transit. While there have been informal conversations about this possibility, it is important to understand community perspectives at an early stage. Task 2.1 Community Engagement Strategy and Plan (March -April 2020) The first step of the process is to construct a community engagement plan that carefully lays out the strategies, objectives, tactics, and timeline for each phase of outreach. In assembling this outreach plan it is important to recognize that the City has other important outreach efforts that are directly related to the direction for public transit. Those efforts include Rethink Housing and Rethink Zoning. It will be important for this outreach plan to complement and integrate with these other City initiatives to improve resident's ability to participate in multiple City outreach efforts at one time and avoid cross confusion between topics. This approach also has the advantage of building on the communication channels already in place to engage Everett's residents. To be clear, this does not necessarily mean the "Rethink Everett Transit" project will depend on existing City resources to execute the outreach plan. The concept is to use the structure, tactics, and communications already in place to facilitate outreach on the project. The approach will also coordinate with Community Transit where applicable to share project information. • Deliverable: Public Engagement and Outreach Plan for "Rethink Everett Transit" (One draft, one final) including: o Identification of public input opportunities by phase o Coordination with existing "Rethink Everett" planning efforts and other events/activities that can be leveraged o Coordination with Community Transit outreach and marketing efforts o Role of social media and online platforms o Equitable engagement opportunities, including accessible materials and activities, transcreation and coordination with community -based organizations Task 2.2 — Public Engagement and Outreach Efforts (April 2020 — February 2021) Each of the phases would include the elements necessary to build touch points with different audiences including the Administration, Council, Stakeholders (this may happen both as groups and as individuals, depending on topic), and the general population. The tactics used to communicate with varying audiences will be different, but the intent will be to use the same tactics being deployed by the "Rethink" initiatives and utilizing the same communication channels. The project team anticipates the current restrictions on public gathering due to the pandemic and as a result, outreach tactics will be limited to virtual and on-line engagement. In all phases of this effort, it is crucial to understand that at the core of either the Long -Range Plan Growth option or the Unified option, it is ultimately a voter -based decision to potentially increase tax rates. This means that all communications on the topic must carefully comply with Washington State law and regulatory guidance on such matters. Detailed and continuous guidance and monitoring of outreach messaging and materials will be a necessity to ensure Everett stays within the bounds of the law. An essential tenet of the effort will be the need to present clear and unbiased information. The importance of this aspect of outreach cannot be under -estimated or overlooked. Envirolssues will be responsible for this task, with support provided by other core team members, as needed. Page 5 of 17