HomeMy WebLinkAboutCompass Kitchener - 2018-10-03COMPASS KITCHENER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
OCTOBER 3, 2018 CITY OF KITCHENER
The Compass Kitchener Advisory Committee met this date, commencing at 4:00 p.m.
Present: Mr. L. Collins, Chair
Ms. J. Stephens -Wells, Ms. L. Trumper, Ms. L. Gazzola and Messrs. A. Hammoud and. J.
Brown
Staff: K. Cooper, Manager, Strategic & Business Planning
J. MacDonald, Community Engagement Consultant
L. Korabo, Committee Administrator
REVIEW OF PREVIOUS MINUTES / CURRENT AGENDA
The previous minutes were reviewed with no changes.
PLANNING FOR NEXT ALL ADVISORY COMMITTEES MEETING
Ms. K. Cooper shared a draft agenda for the next All Advisory Committees meeting, proposed
to be held in late January 2019. This gathering will be helpful to advance the strategic plan
preparations and to gain input on the evaluation of Council's progress in implementing the 2015-
2018 strategic plan. Input gathered could also be used by Compass Kitchener to prepare for
the next report card presentation to Council (tentatively scheduled for a Strategy Session in
Spring 2019). Additionally, the Committee will discuss the draft report card evaluation criteria
as its next item of business and, Ms. Cooper suggested the Committee approve the criteria at
its' November meeting in order to ensure that evaluations can begin in the new year.
In reviewing the draft agenda, Ms. Cooper stated she is open to suggestions for changes but
also confirmed that both the Mayor and CAO would like to speak at the meeting. The majority
of allotted time will be focused on gathering input on the report card evaluation process through
the use of table discussions in a workshop -styled setting. Members were advised that all City
department heads have agreed to act as facilitators again with appointed representatives
reporting back on their group discussions prior to the end of the meeting.
Ms. L. Gazzola questioned if other advisory committees should be canvassed for additional
questions to be asked at the meeting. These could be related to the report card or open ended.
Ms. Cooper noted that open-ended questions could be beneficial as they would ensure
communication between advisory committees; however, a request for additional questions from
other advisory committees would need to be sent soon. Two possible issues regarding this
suggestion were identified, being: 1) the draft agenda does not allot any time for additional
questions; and, 2) as the newly -appointed advisory committees will only be meeting for the first
time in January, there may not be an opportunity for their members to achieve an understanding
and consensus of any information gathering that would be of benefit to their particular committee
mandate.
In response to a question regarding attendance by ward Councillors, Ms. Cooper advised they
are welcome to attend as observers.
Compass Kitchener was advised that appointments to all advisory committees will be finalized
at the Council Inaugural meeting scheduled for Monday, December 3, 2018. Once a meeting
date has been determined, Legislated Services Division staff will assist Ms. Cooper in
determining the most appropriate date for meeting invitations to be sent.
The Committee approved the draft agenda as presented this date.
Ms. K. Cooper advised the Committee's 2017-2018 work plan anticipated the development of
performance measures reflective of the community's goals (priorities), monitoring of
performance against goals included in the Strategic Plan and preparation / presentation of a
combined 2018 / End of Term Citizen Report Card to Council (tentatively scheduled for Spring
2019).
COMPASS KITCHENER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
OCTOBER 3, 2018 -21- CITY OF KITCHENER
DRAFT EVALUATION STRATEGY (CONT'D
Further to the Committee's discussions at the September meeting and in order to assist with the
evaluation of progress on community priorities and strategic plan actions, updated information
on progress against the current Business Plan is required; however, the next update will be in
mid-December and will share anticipated outcomes by year end. This information will be
reported to Council by staff in January 2019. Ms. Cooper distributed copies of the current 2018
Business Plan to allow members to re -familiarize themselves with the document in advance of
beginning the evaluation process. She commented that any newly appointed committee
members will find this document helpful to gain an understanding of what has occurred in the
past. Other documents that will be used to evaluate are the Environics survey results and the
recent community engagement feedback.
It was suggested the November committee meeting be extended to include sufficient time to
debrief on past evaluations and documenting what has and has not worked. Additionally, it
would be important for evaluation criteria to be approved in November to allow evaluation work
to begin once the new committee is in place. Ms. Cooper advised that, prior to the November
meeting, information on progress will be shared with members and will include an indication of
which items are considered as core, strategic, or business plan.
It was agreed the November committee meeting would be scheduled for two hours to allow for
a full discussion on the evaluation criteria as well as debrief on the concluding term.
ORIENTATION MATERIALS
Ms. K. Cooper requested feedback on information that members felt would be useful as part of
the orientation of incoming committee members. Feedback was provided as follows:
• Review all information shared on USB stick (K. Cooper will review previous version);
• A review of the committee's Terms of Reference / mandate; clearly indicate there will be
required work outside of monthly meetings (e.g. community engagement work, sub-
committees);
• An initial review of what previous committees have done in the past regarding the Report
Card, Strategic Plan work, Community Priorities. Sequencing of these documents and a
clear indication of how they tie together to produce deliverables;
• Indicate which documents will be reference/needed for each meeting and indicate
timelines for required reading. Be clear about required reading between meetings. This
will ensure members come ready to engage;
• Glossary of terms (e.g. strategic plan, report card, etc.);
• Hard copy of some documents rather than all electronic;
• Option to 'opt out' of paper;
• Indicate clear division between actions of staff and committee members. Make the most
use of volunteer time and input;
• Ensure that other advisory committees receive some orientation of the relatable parts of
the Strategic Plan. Communicate to other advisory committees that their input would be
valuable for specific items within the Strategic Plan (be explicit);
• Consider ways to improve communications/collaboration between advisory committees.
Consider using advisory committees with expertise to audit parts of the report card (e.g.
cycling goes to Cycling & Trails Advisory Committee), integrate their feedback when
evaluation of report card is done.
• Name tags for new members;
• Consider also sharing a small personal detail about new people to help get acquainted
and include on name tag;
• Clarify role descriptions;
• Consider inviting department heads to meetings to provide an explanation of the
responsibilities of each department and how they all fit together. Suggested that this
occur during the second year of the appointment term;
L. Collins and L. Gazzola left the meeting.
COMPASS KITCHENER ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES
OCTOBER 3, 2018 -22- CITY OF KITCHENER
AGENDA ITEMS TIMELINE
Compass Kitchener was circulated with a draft outline of monthly agenda topics for 2019
meetings. Ms. K. Cooper noted the schedule incorporates feedback from members regarding
topics and timing and provides a good overview of workto be accomplished in a one-year period.
It was suggested that each agenda could include the high level bullet points for the next meeting,
giving members a quick overview of what will be discussed.
ADJOURNMENT
On motion, the meeting adjourned at 5:10 p.m.
L. Korabo
Committee Administrator