Northampton_RRP_Phase_1_Deliverables_Meeting_Notes_3_24_21
Phase 1 Deliverables
Meeting Notes
Northampton, Massachusetts | Civic Space Collaborative
Wednesday, March 24th, 2021
1. Ice Breaker - What is your favorite hobby?
●Gardening, Cooking, Meditation, Puzzling, Refinishing furniture, Sewing, Biking hiking
2. Review To-Do’s from last week
A.Community Agreement
B.Intro to GIS administrator, anchor institutions
a.Cooley Dickinson Hospital is 2nd largest employer (but not located on Main
Street)
b.Anchor institutions - request visitation data if available
c.Social services providers tied to economic development & viability
i.Possible optional data collection point
C.Existing studies, surveys & plans (DNA, Chamber of Commerce)
3. Baseline Data
a. Thoughts, Questions re: Data Collection Guide (PDF)?
●Provide precedent projects showing recommended strategies being implemented
by communities & the subsequent results
○Strategies based on data collected + results in data form
b. Overview of inventory management (Baseline, Physical Env., Photos) & GIS
● Photo Collection: Recommended local professional photographer (M/WBE)?
c. By 3/30, provide comments on :
i. Method for collection
●Review and confirm
ii. Data points you would like to be captured that are not required or listed
●Homeless population?
iii. Which Primary & Secondary Streets should be measured
d. Then,
i. CSC to complete Desktop Data Collection
ii. Northampton to provide assigned data (format to be provided)
4. Business Survey (+ suggested edits)
a. Templates for survey outreach (attached)
●Review, provide revisions
●Clarify with state if additions/modifications can be made to the Surveymonkey
○Can language be modified to compare to previous DNA surveys?
○Add more COVID specific questions?
b. Distribution List
●Wayne’s list, mayor ’s office, DNA, Chamber of Commerce, social media
(FaceBook, Twitter, city website), Picture Main Street list, Robo call?
○Intern’s (downtown building history project) spreadsheet
●Survey tracking for who’s completed survey and who still needs to
c. Outreach Strategy
●For the next meeting: CSC to develop outreach strategy plan for your review, to
stay on the same page in terms of roles & responsibilities
i. Distribution Channels
1. Digital
●Primary distribution to identified lists above
●social media, listservs, robocalls
2. Analog (in-person)
●Secondary, follow up 1 week after initial survey distribution
●Flyers to distribute, paper surveys for identified businesses
●Upper level business a little tricky (less likely to be present, mostly
professional services)
ii. Equitable engagement
●Identify need for Business Survey to be translated into multiple languages
●Identifying difficult survey respondents:
○Some of the Asian restaurants can be difficult to contact
(distanced from business organizations, possible language barrier)
○Older businesses (distanced from business organizations,
possibly retiring)
iii. Tracking & Timing
●Week of 3/29: Draft Strategy - 4 weeks prior to community meeting
●Week of 4/5: Final Strategy/Begin Distribution - 3 weeks prior to
community meeting
●Week of 4/12: Reminders - 2 weeks prior to community meeting
●Week of 4/19: Deadline for collection - 1 week prior to community meeting
○Who is assisting in distribution?
○Bullet point language to describe the project & outcomes
■Initial & reminder language
○Social media template posts - mayor ’s & city of noho (better for
community meetings)
■Email, Twitter ( mayor /city) & FB ( mayor /city) primarily
●Week of 4/26: Community Meeting
5. Additional Topics
●Next meeting 3/30: 11:30am
●Picture Main Street meeting mid-April
○Have an internal team member join that meeting? To observe climate and where
overlap is on these projects
●“Orientation” of the study area: 4/6: 1-3p
6. Next Steps:
For 3/30
●CSC: Develop Outreach Memo
●Northampton: Baseline Data comments
●Northampton: List of available dates & times for community meeting (week of
4/26)
●Northampton: Review Business Survey Templates
○CSC to clarify about modifications
For 4/6
●CSC: Desktop Data Collection
●Northampton: provide assigned data (format to be provided)
●Northampton: Distribution List ready
●Northampton: Photographer recommendation
●