Town of Mansfield - Communications Advisory Committee - 09/08/2008


TOWN OF MANSFIELD

COMMUNICATIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Monday, September 8, 2008

Audrey Beck Municipal Building, Conference Room C

Minutes

Members Present: Toni Moran, Aline Booth, Bill Powers, Joyce Crepeau, Patrick McGlamery, Leila Fecho and Richard Pellegrine

Absent: None

Staff Present: Jaime Russell

I. Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm by chair Moran.

II. Minutes from last meeting were approved.

III. Public Comment: No public were present.

IV. Old Business:

    1. Meeting dates:
      1. September 15th: Jaimie Russell report on current communications practices, policies and procedures in the Town Office.
      2. October 6th: Lee Duffy and Committee on Committees
    1. Mission statement: Discussion on what was required informed by a document put together by Leila Fecho.  A subcommittee was named to draft a 'mission/goal' statement for CAC.  Members are Aline Booth and Patrick McGlamery with Leila Fecho advising. Draft for the Oct. 6th meeting.
    2. Comparable towns: Discussion on what towns, in Connecticut and outside Connecticut might be peers or aspirant peers to Mansfield. A subcommittee was named to report in an on-going manner what comparable towns might be and how they manage policiies and procedures for communication.  Bill Powers and Richard Pellegrine are members.
    3. Newsletter:  Discussion of Mansfield Today (http://mansfield.htnp.com/)  The site indicates, "Mansfield Today on http://HTNP.com is a community newspaper dedicated to providing you with the local news and events that are important to the Mansfield Townspeople." Joyce Crepeau will contact Scott Bates and and/or Brenda Sullivan to see if they can meet with CAC for Sept. 15th.
    4. Press releases:  Discussion on whether there is a statutory requirement vs. 'news' with the Hartford Courant.  CAC needs to investigate more fully.
    5. Reminder: Jaime Russell with report on current communications on Sept. 15th.
    6. Cable Program:  On August 12th Helen Koehn brought a request to CAC, "There might be someone who is willing to tape Town Council meetings using Charter equipment and then playing on Channel 14.  Would there be any interest in this approach until the money is available to have the Town tape the meetings?  The person may not be able to do every meeting, but is willing to give it a try.  I've been trying to get the Council meetings taped for over 4 years.   Suggesting that a citizen do the taping might move the video project along.  Let me know what you think and I'll pass along the information to the gentleman."  After general discussion a Leila Fecho made a motion, "Motion that CAC support the Town going forward with a volunteer to tape the Town Council meetings for the purpose of airing the meeting on Channel 14.  CAC noted that there may be issues of copyright, retention, and document of record if there is a public document."  The motion was seconded by Aline Booth and Richard Pellegrine and passed unanimously.

V. New Business: Joyce Crepeau brought to the CAC's attention that the Mansfield School Board's Building Committee was planning to hold a workshop on Sept. 17th.  Toni Moran will contact the Superintendent's Office and the Chair of the Board of Education to recommend that as many avenues of communication as possible be used.

VI. Report: Toni Moran will contact Lee Duffy, Committee on Committees to confirm a date.

VII. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.

Respectfully submitted, Patrick McGlamery, acting secretary