05.15.23 CEC MinutesMINUTES
Community Engagement Committee
TOWN D [; Prosper Town Hall, Executive Conference Room
P � � � � � 250 W. First Street, Prosper, Texas
Monday, May 15, 2023
A Place Where Everyone Matters
1. Call to Order / Roll Call.
This meeting was called to order at 6:01 p.m.
Committee Members Present:
Christine Strobush, Chair
Brent Kirby, Vice Chair
Stacy Cate
John Hamilton
Chris Wardlaw
Trovette Tottress
Kari Willis
Gretchen Darby
Britt Beene
Committee Members Absent:
Grant Mendeljian
Kristin Meier
Councilmembers Present
Jeff Hodges
Amy Bartley
Councilmembers Absent:
Marcus Ray
Staff Members Present:
Robyn Battle, Executive Director of Communications & Community Engagement
Devon Jett, Community Engagement Specialist
2. Consider and act upon the minutes of the April 5, 2023, Community Engagement
Committee (CEC) meeting.
Brent Kirby made a motion, and Britt Beene seconded the motion to approve the April 5,
2023 minutes. The motion was approved unanimously.
3. Brainstorming ideas for Life in Prosper (CS)
The Committee had conversations about what can be done as a Town to be better
prepared in an emergency, whether natural or otherwise. Because we have many
residents who move to Prosper from other areas of the country, they are not aware of how
to respond to certain weather emergencies. One idea generated from the discussion was
hosting a Town Hall type of meeting, presenting different scenarios and how to respond
using digestible steps and protocol. An additional suggestion was made to host a video
series that can be pushed out via different marketing avenues while maintaining the format
of having several tips that are quick and easy to understand. The Committee also
discussed various ways to promote being a good neighbor and as the Town grows, finding
ways for residents to plug in and be engaged with others. A suggestion was made to tie
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in being a good neighbor with National Night Out, held on October 31d with the theme of
having different viewpoints and being able to civilly discuss issues and understand others.
The Committee will consider ideas for how to incorporate the being a good neighbor theme
with National Night Out and disseminate them to the HOAs through the quarterly meeting
or via email.
4. Discuss Proposal for Mayor's Youth Advisory Council (RB)
Robyn Battle gave an overview of the presentation that was given by Rithika Chakrapani,
a rising senior at Prosper High School, on May 3rd. Rhithika presented an idea for a
Mayor's Youth Council which included engaging students in city government, creating a
sense of community and service, and providing a way to build a network and develop
youth ambassadors for the Town. The Youth Council would consist of 12-15 juniors and
seniors from Prosper ISD. The CEC agreed to form a subcommittee and they will be
tasked with deciding on parameters for participation, how to apply, establishing deadlines
for application, and determining what type of merit -based system will be used to select
members. Britt Beene, Christine Strobush, John Hamilton, and Stacy Cate joined the
subcommittee. Once criteria for participation are established by the subcommittee, the
CEC will take on vetting and selecting the members to form the Mayor's Youth Council
sometime in September or October.
5. Comments from the Public
No one from the public was in attendance.
6. Discussion & Brainstorming about CEC Marketing & Communications (CS)
The Committee continued their discussion and brainstorming on how best to market and
communicate the role that CEC plays in the community. Items discussed include the best
avenues for CEC to get their messages out to the public. The CEC wants to define its key
messages, create a call to action and leverage its message. Currently, the CEC's "Top 3"
which includes their top three items to promote for the month are included in the HOA
newsletter, which allows HOA board recipients to then disseminate their information to
their respective neighborhoods. Since the HOA board members are not always the most
active people on their neighborhood social media sites, the Committee would like to find
ways to get this information to the neighborhood social media ambassadors. Each
Committee member would find the ambassador for their designated neighborhood which
is defined by the CEC's community map. Given the addition of new CEC members, Brent
Kirby will need to rearrange the community map to include them. Christine Strobush will
reach out to Brent to communicate the need for the updated map.
7. Feedback on Special Events (CS)
a. New Resident Mixer
Feedback members received on the New Resident mixer was good attendance
and an appreciation for hosting a community event targeted specifically to new
residents. The Prosper Passport was also piloted at this event and was extremely
successful and well -received by the new residents as well as Town staff. The Fall
New Resident Mixer is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 28. For the upcoming fall
mixer, a suggestion was made to have a photo booth, separate from the passport
photo, where residents could hold up signs and post to social media. There were
also discussions on whether we should change the time to earlier, with a 4 pm start
so that those coming straight from school, could arrive immediately. Robyn Battle
will follow up on the start time with Dan Baker as well as some of the other requests
made by the Committee, including asking PISD for the use of their mascots and/or
cheerleaders and also to see if their high school culinary groups or bbq team would
be available to serve snack food during the event.
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b. Prosper Exchange Event
Stacy Cate, a CEC member, was in attendance at the event and reported that it
was an informative session involving school taxes. Other ideas for topics for future
Prosper Exchange events included defining property tax rates, distinguishing
which roads belong to the Town, getting to know our neighbor, and setting norms
on Facebook. All ideas centered around getting neighbors to meet and connect.
c. Cinco de Mayo
The Cinco de Mayo event feedback was that it was a well -attended event. The day
was hot but many were in attendance even though it fell on a date with many other
activities, including the final day for voting.
8. Review Work Plan/Activity Schedule (CS)
The Committee reviewed the work plan, editing the date for the Fall New Resident Mixer,
which will now take place on September 28 and the Town will reschedule the balcony
reception which is currently scheduled for that date. Also added to the work plan was
National Night Out on October 3, BBQ & Blues on October 7, Veterans Day Fun Run &
5K on November 11, and the Prosper Christmas Festival on December 2. The Committee
also has committed to giving feedback on the comprehensive plan when it is ready in July.
Robyn Battle will send calendar appointments to all committee members for the
outstanding calendar items discussed.
9. Subcommittee Updates:
a. Downtown Advisory Subcommittee (CW)
The Downtown Advisory Subcommittee will meet and review the downtown master
plan. They plan to bring back comments and suggestions from that meeting to the
June CEC meeting.
b. Survey Subcommittee (CW)
Chris Wardlaw stated the need for a new survey for the New Resident Mixer. Some
of the questions on the survey were not as relevant to new residents and it will be
revised for the fall New Resident Mixer.
c. Prosper Passport Subcommittee (BK)
Prosper Passport Subcommittee suggested an update to the Prosper Passport to
include the Finance department.
10. Discuss and receive any updates regarding:
a. Community Map (BK)
Brent Kirby will update the Community Map so members can utilize it to reach
out to the social media users of their designated neighborhood.
b. Social Media Graphics (KW)
Kari Willis created the social media graphics and will send images out to each
CEC member. Everyone will have the same graphic but they can write their own
information in the graphic. Committee members will anchor to the CEC's goal
and tagline: Listen. Understand. Engage. The goal is for the Town's social media
to post on the same day with a target of Thursday, May 25.
11. Discuss and consider CEC "Top 3" (CS)
1. Broadband Survey & Public Input Meeting on May 25
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2. P-Town Pickleball Throwdown Tournament on June 3
3. Prosper Pride in the Sky July 1
4. Save the Date -Fall New Resident Mixer September 28
12. Request for future agenda items
Emergency training is to be conducted in Executive Session at the June meeting.
13. Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, May 15, 2023.
These minutes were approved on June 7, 2023.
APPRQVI�,
Christine Stroliush, Chair
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❑evoCommunity Engagement Specialist
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