HomeMy WebLinkAboutBrightSide Newsletter Special Edition - Update-Reprint-MailLC,-X[L - y
STAFF REPORT
CITY OF PALM DESERT
MEETING DATE: August 22, 2019
PREPARED BY: David Hermann, Public Information Officer
REQUEST: Approve the updating, reprinting, and mailing of a special edition of
the City's Brightside newsletter focusing on earthquake
preparedness and authorize the translation into Spanish of that
newsletter and other key municipal communications
Recommendation
By Minute Motion:
Approve the updating, reprinting, and mailing of the earthquake
preparedness special edition of the City's Brightside newsletter;
2. Authorize the City Manager to enter into agreements with vendors to
accomplish the aforementioned tasks as well as the translation of the
earthquake preparedness newsletter into Spanish and
translation/production services for other key City communications;
3. Appropriate $25,000 from unobligated General Fund reserves to pay for
this work.
Strategic Plan
The requested actions would directly support Priority Three in the Public Safety &
Emergency Services Strategic Results Area as it will: "Help the community be more
prepared for disasters and public safety emergencies."
Executive Summary
Updating, translating, reprinting, and mailing the special edition of the BrightSide
newsletter to encourage the community to plan and prepare for a major earthquake will
provide timely and potentially lifesaving information to more than 35,000 Palm Desert
residents and businesses. Similar services for other key communications materials will
be necessary to accomplish the City's civic engagement objectives.
Background Analvsis
In 2010, the City produced a special edition of the BrightSide newsletter encouraging
Palm Desert residents to plan and prepare for a major earthquake.
August 22, 2019 - Staff Report
Earthquake Preparedness Newsletter
Page 2 of 3
Welcomed by residents, the publication also received positive coverage in The Desert
Sun newspaper and is still available digitally on the City's website and in print here at City
Hall.
Recent earthquakes, including the 6.4 and 7.1 magnitude quakes in Ridgecrest in July,
underscore the importance of disaster planning and preparedness.
Staff agrees with suggestions it has received from constituents that it would be
appropriate and helpful to recirculate the special edition earthquake preparedness
BrightSide. Prior to that, however, some of the newsletter's content should be updated as
10 years have passed since its initial publication.
Staff believes it would be wise to use this opportunity to translate the earthquake
preparedness newsletter into Spanish. This would help ensure that as many Palm Desert
residents as possible are aware of, and have access to, this important and potentially
lifesaving information.
Such an action would also be consistent with goals found in "Enhancing Civic
Engagement in the City of Palm Desert — Developing a Plan to Engage Spanish -Speaking
and Latino Community Members," the report prepared by the City's civic engagement
consultants. These goals included municipal outreach in Spanish, including the
translation of key City communications.
Pursuant to City Council direction, an Ad Hoc Civic Engagement Committee made up of
community members was recently created and is scheduled to hold its second meeting
on August 29. Working with the Staff Civic Engagement Outreach Task Force, the
Committee will help identify key municipal communications that should be prioritized for
translation. This could potentially include regular editions of the BrightSide newsletter.
Fiscal Analvsis
Council's approval of the request to appropriate $25,000 from unobligated General Fund
reserves will ensure the updating, translation, reprinting, and mailing of the earthquake
preparedness newsletter and will fund similar services for other key municipal
communications.
Authorizing the City Manager to enter into agreements with vendors to accomplish the
aforementioned objectives will ensure timeliness and efficiency while allowing the
flexibility to pursue the most cost effective options.
While it should not be necessary to reproduce the earthquake preparedness newsletter
for several years, staff anticipates that translation services related to civic engagement
r
August 22, 2019 - Staff Report
Earthquake Preparedness Newsletter
Page 3 of 3
will be an ongoing expense that will be included in the City's annual budget going forward.
Prepared by:
David Hermann, Public Information Officer
LEGAL REVIEW
DEPT. REVIEW
Robert W. Hargreaves Lauri Aylaian
City Attorney City Manager
FINANCIAL REVIEW CITY MANAGER
t M. Moore Lauri Aylaian
Director of Finance City Manager