8.1. SR 05-04-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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MnDOT Contract No. 1028386 Work Order No. 1 Exhibit B Detailed Scope of Work and Deliverables 6 Virtual Open Houses The consultant team understands and values the importance of offering opportunities that mirror in-person engagement. The consultant team has proposed hosting virtual open houses that can be shared to a study website, social media channels, or additional platforms in conjunction with the in-person event, or shortly thereafter. Each virtual open house will visually walk the user through the various elements of the meeting. Additionally, these meetings can be made available on local cable access television or a project partner’s YouTube channel. The consultant team will prepare all materials necessary and coordinate the provision of this virtual open house. Focus Group Meetings Transitioning the TH 10 corridor to a full freeway facility will require careful attention to the accessibility of the adjacent land use and businesses that exist today. Therefore, the consultant team will host focus group meetings with key stakeholders along the corridor to engage them in the process of determining viable options for access modification/consolidation and adjacent roadway network improvements. The Local Government/Agency has already done a good job with this conversation and coordinating with property owners as part of other activities related to the Twin Lake Road and Yale Street improvements. Providing these smaller group meetings in conjunction with the open houses will ensure adjacent property owners have multiple opportunities to share their input and participate in the process. Each focus group serves as an opportunity to dive deeper into freight, school, neighborhood, or other business issues in relation to the TH 10 corridor, gain useful information, and build strong relationships. Spending additional time listening to their concerns, identifying their priorities, and strategizing ways to develop a workable solution will help in addressing potential concerns at the onset of the study. The consultant team feels this will help mitigate future issues, demonstrate that the study team values the community’s perspective, and ensures the public has multiple chances to participate in the decision-making process. The consultant team has accounted for up to four focus group meetings in two separate time periods (coordinated with the first and second open houses). It is anticipated this would account for two distinct groups meeting twice. Online Engagement and Survey The consultant team recognizes the need to offer varied, interactive, and personal community engagement opportunities in conjunction with the traditional outreach methods to gain input that is representative of all stakeholders and the general public. The consultant team will implement online engagement to help dissolve any perceived barriers to attending an in- person event. The consultant team has accounted for the development of a branded website to promote the TH 10 Corridor and Subarea Study and provide meeting materials and other documents/materials produced for this study. The consultant team will also deploy an online Wikimap that will enable easy two-way information sharing within the defined study area context. A wikimap offers residents an opportunity to provide detailed information about specific locations, respond to other public comments and interact with project partners through an online platform. Another useful tool that the consultant team has in its toolbox of engagement is Story Maps; StoryMaps are user friendly tools that are very graphical providing the public an opportunity to receive and share information visually with the study team. We are prepared to use either or both tools for this effort. Further, the consultant team will distribute two online surveys during the study process (beyond the Wikimap/Story Map tools) to enhance outreach efforts for gathering input on corridor needs, opportunities, and barriers. General community surveys help establish current perceptions and provide insight for guiding future improvements. The use of an online survey is a much more cost-effective way to gather input than widely cast mail or telephone surveys. A properly notified survey facilitated online could capture a large portion of community members and general commuters traveling the TH 10 corridor. The consultant’s Public Engagement Team takes pride in designing and facilitating public surveys that are convenient, accessible and results driven. Visually rich surveys can help to educate the community and gather public feedback that is detailed and actionable. The consultant team uses multiple survey platforms that are easily tailored to meet the needs of a project (ESRI Survey 1-2-3, SurveyMonkey, MetroQuest, etc.). The consultant team’s tools provide the latitude to get the appropriate level of feedback for our projects. The development, facilitation, and review of up to two online surveys is included with our scope outline.