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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 6/21/2011 *PLEASE NOTE: Since the Glendale City Council does not take formal action at the Workshops,Workshop minutes are not approved by the City Council. rITPi IS I GLENDr MINUTES OF THE GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP SESSION Council Chambers—Workshop Room 5850 West Glendale Avenue June 21, 2011 1:30 p.m. PRESENT: Mayor Elaine M. Scruggs, Vice Mayor Steven E. Frate and Councilmembers Norma S. Alvarez, Joyce V. Clark, Yvonne J. Knaack, H. Phillip Lieberman, and Manuel D. Martinez, ALSO PRESENT: Ed Beasley, City Manager; Horatio Skeete, Assistant City Manager; Craig Tindall, City Attorney; and Pamela Hanna, City Clerk 1. INNOVATE PROJECT: CENTRALIZE/COORDINATE MEETING ROOM RENTALS FOR CITY FACILITIES CITY STAFF PRESENTING THIS ITEM: Bill Schwind, Deputy Parks and Recreation Director and Ginger Eiden, Web Content Program Manager Mr. Bill Schwind, Deputy Parks and Recreation Director,presented this item. This is an opportunity for staff to provide City Council with an update on a recently completed Innovate project involving the centralization/coordination of meeting room rentals for city facilities. This project is consistent with Council's goal of one community with high-quality services for citizens by providing information that is easy to find, understand, and is viewable based on facility need or location. This project also supports Council's goal of one community that is fiscally sound by providing employees with the information they need to make appropriate referrals to other city facilities in the event the initial facility the customer inquires about is booked or does not meet the customer's needs. This enhances the potential for capturing additional reservations that could otherwise be lost to non-city facilities. 1 This unique project centralizes information that already existed in various locations to create a one-stop, web-based point of reference for customers and internal staff. The project impacted seven departments, utilized existing resources, and was implemented with no cost. Julie Frisoni, Executive Director of Marketing & Communications, submitted this project to the Innovate Team for consideration with the goal of examining the feasibility of creating one point of contact for city-owned room/meeting space rentals. Prior to the implementation of the team's recommendations, customers interested in renting a city-owned facility had to inquire with each department individually since the booking of facilities are managed by individual departments. This created a potential for customers to pursue other alternatives due to the difficulty of providing appropriate inter-departmental referrals. The project team collectively identified the inventory of city-owned meeting/event facilities available to the public, conducted research on best practices of other municipalities, and designed a one-stop web portal that provides streamlined access to information. Individual departments know their facilities best and have the ability to provide the greatest level of personalized service; therefore, reservations are still managed by individual departments. The project team included the following: o Innovate Team Members: Bill Schwind, Deputy Parks & Recreation Director; Randy Huggins, Senior Development Services Representative; Bruce Kline, Police Planning & Research Analyst; and, Trevor Ebersole, Traffic Signal Supervisor o Cross-Departmental Subject Matter Experts: Ginger Eiden, Web Content Program Manager; Christine Fredrickson, Management Assistant Parks & Recreation; Mitch Ervin, Police Detective; Judy Skeen, Airport Administrator; Michelle Yates, Recreation Coordinator Sahuaro Ranch Park; Susan Seils, Secretary Glendale Adult Center; Martin Brown, Acting General Manager Civic Center; and Sue Komernicky, Library Director. This project has a positive impact on the city, our residents, and visitors by providing an effective and efficient means for locating information about city-owned meeting/event facilities in an easy-to-understand format and can also be used by employees to make appropriate referrals to help retain potential reservations. In researching best practices, the Innovate project team found no other valley city with centralized information about meeting/event facilities indicating that the City of Glendale is a leader in offering such a customer-focused service for citizens and visitors. This project stayed true to the goal of Innovate, which is to create viable solutions utilizing existing resources whenever possible. As a result, there was no additional cost incurred for this project. This is for Council information only. Staff is available to answer any questions regarding the presentation or information provided. Ms. Ginger Eiden, Web Content Program Manager, explained how the website worked and the many useful links that can be easily utilized. She demonstrated the many features connected to the website and how easy it was to access the information. The web page also features information in map format. Mayor Scruggs asked if the Civic Center was the only facility that accommodates weddings. Ms. Eiden indicated there were other Glendale facilities also offering wedding accommodations. She added anyone can access the website to find out what each facility offers. Councilmember Clark wondered how people knew they could rent a ramada at the Western Regional Parks since it was listed as a sports center. Ms. Eiden explained the ramadas were listed separately and contact information can be easily accessed. Councilmember Knaack stated she was pleased with the wonderful work done on the website. She noted it seemed easy to use and navigate even for people not used to the internet. She stated they had done a great job. Councilmember Clark inquired how the public was able to apply for rentals. Mr. Schwind explained all the contact information was on the site and once they click on the link, they receive a direct line to the person responsible for booking. Councilmember Clark asked if they had the ability to apply on-line. Mr. Schwind replied no, and added they still do not have that capability. The customer would need to talk to an actual person for bookings. Councilmember Clark asked if like facilities had similar rates. Mr. Schwind replied yes. Vice Mayor Frate stated the website appeared very user-friendly and seemed to create a lot of options for the user. He stated it would be interesting to compare the amount of bookings prior to when the website was improved. He believes bookings will definitely be up. Mr. Schwind remarked they will be tracking that data. As no further business was discussed, Mayor Scruggs adjourned the meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.