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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.24.25 - Equity and Public Safety Commission Meeting MinutesCity of South San Francisco Minutes of the Commission on Equity and Public Safety Monday, February 24, 2025 City Hall: City Manager Conference Room 6:30 p.m. Committee Members: Present: PaulaClaudine Hobson-Coard, Carol Sanders, Arnel Junio, Krystle Cansino, Steven Yee, Ruby Harrison, Bianca Bedigian Staff Members: Present: Devin Stenhouse, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Rich Lee, Assistant City Manager Others: Present: Kevin Lyons, CEO of FlashVote CALL TO ORDER The Meeting was called to order at 6:31 p.m. AGENDA REVIEW There are no changes to the agenda. ITEMS FROM STAFF MEMBERS 1. Announcements from Officer Stenhouse • Chief Campbell will be presenting the 2024 annual crime statistics at the upcoming City Council meeting. • The new park at Linden and Pine is going to have an open house on Saturday. • A week from Saturday (March 8) is the youth baseball parade. • March 15 will be another Cafecito with Mayor Eddie and Vice Mayor Addiego at Starbucks. • March 16 is the Holi celebration event at the Library | Parks and Recreation Center. Commissioner Yee asks for clarification about the Citizens Academy and the Police Community Academy. Officer Stenhouse responds with information on both events. 2. School Traffic Safety Enhancements for Everyone (S.E.E.) at School Street Officer Stenhouse gives an introduction to the project. He asks if the commissioners are interested in joining the stakeholder group. Commissioner Harrison asks if stakeholders would share updates with this commission. Officer Stenhouse says a request can be made for an update to be presented to the Commission. Commissioner Yee asks if the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee has reached out. He indicates that it would be nice to collaborate. Officer Stenhouse says that if any commissioners are interested in joining the stakeholder group, they should reach out to him in the next two weeks. He also states that people can leave the stakeholder group at any time. Chair Hobson-Coard inquires about the dates and times of meetings. Officer Stenhouse believes stakeholders would be contacted a couple weeks prior to their first meeting. Vice Chair Sanders asks if this has been publicized by the City. Officer Stenhouse mentions that it was promoted in last week’s Mayor’s update. PUBLIC COMMENT No public comments were made. MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION 1. Approval of Minutes from January 13, 2025. Vice Chair Sanders motions, and Commissioner Junio seconds. The Commission votes to approve the minutes 6-0. 2. Presentation from FlashVote Officer Stenhouse provides a summary introduction to what FlashVote is. Commissioner Yee appreciates this information because the Commission has been interested in seeing data. He expresses concern about how data may not be captured for those who do not have access to technology since FlashVote is a digital mechanism. Assistant City Manager Lee explains that the digital divide is accounted for. He says printed mail is sent out in addition to text and email. Commissioner Harrison asks if other languages are accounted for. Assistant City Manager Lee confirms. Vice Chair Sanders wonders if residents feel suspicious about receiving the survey link on their phones. Officer Stenhouse agrees that everyone should be cautious when it comes to clicking on unknown links. He points out that is why the City notifies and informs the public that they may receive a survey. Commissioner Harrison believes questions that measure what the Commission is trying to achieve should be incorporated. Officer Stenhouse says FlashVote will assist with framing the questions. Commissioner Yee wants to make sure they are also aligned with the initiatives of the General Plan. Officer Stenhouse asks the commissioners to think about what they are interested in. Commissioner Bedigian wants confirmation that the survey participants are anonymous. She is sensitive to those who may be afraid to answer questions. Commissioner Harrison points out that there is difference between anonymous and confidential. Assistant City Manager Lee shares that City administration does not have access to see identifying information of survey participants. Commissioner Cansino wonders if demographic information is provided. Commissioner Yee is curious to know what happens to the data if the company was sold. Commissioner Cansino asks how the City uses the survey. Officer Stenhouse explains that the surveys offer a quick way to receive feedback from the community. Commissioner Cansino wants to know if the FlashVote survey is a way to gather more information about the LGBTQ community. Officer Stenhouse thinks it is important to understand FlashVote’s capabilities. The group takes a five-minute break at 7:20 p.m. Presentation from Kevin Lyons at FlashVote Officer Lyons provides background information on FlashVote. Surveys take 48 hours, and the response rate is 40-70%. Officer Lyons shows a sample survey from South San Francisco. He shows the different breakdowns in the information gathered. Commissioner Yee asks to see the survey in another language. Officer Lyons shows a Spanish version of the sample. Commissioner Harrison asks about the process of getting users to opt in to the survey. Officer Lyons explains how they keep the messaging neutral and how they build trust with the public. He talks about the extra outreach necessary to reach certain categories of people. He says the specific targeting is decided by the City. Commissioner Harrison requests clarification on the type of demographic information FlashVote already has. Officer Lyons says that they have some information and explains how demographic information can be collected along the way, and then added to individual profiles. Commissioner Yee feels it is possible to perform trend analysis with the data collected. Officer Lyons agrees the system is great for that because the data is collected from the same people over time. Commissioner Cansino asks what basic demographic information is required from participants. Officer Lyons shares that the only requirements when signing up are an email address, birth year, and gender choice. Additional information is acquired along the way. Commissioner Cansino asks what the options are for gender choice. Officer Lyons confirms that the City currently offers two choices—male or female. Commissioner Bedigian inquires about the confidentiality of the surveys. Officer Lyons states that anonymity is important. The database is encrypted, and they try to minimize the amount of personal information collected. There is a system in place to protect user identity. Commissioner Cansino asks where FlashVote gets their funding from. Officer Lyons responds that the funding is coming entirely from the City. Commissioner Harrison wants to know if there are opportunities to look back at past results for information. Officer Lyons confirms that filters can be added retroactively. Commissioner Bedigian asks how many residents have signed up for FlashVote. Officer Lyons says around 370 to 400. Commissioner Harrison asks how often FlashVote looks for new sign-ups. Officer Lyons says when and how often the outreach happens is up to the City. Commissioner Yee wants to know more about participants seeing the survey results. Officer Lyons explains that it is automated. Within 48 hours of taking the survey, survey takers receive an email with a link to the results. Commissioner Yee wonders about comparisons with surveys performed by other cities. Officer Lyons explains that while a comparison with other cities is possible, it may not be all that helpful. Commissioner Harrison asks if FlashVote helps with action implementation post-survey. Officer Lyons says there is an option to have a debrief call to share insights. Commissioner Harrison points out the word cloud in the sample results. Officer Lyons provides more details on the word cloud. Commissioner Harrison asks if AI is used for insights. Officer Lyons says the information is organized, but FlashVote doesn’t know what is already known, so they cannot determine what is “new” information. Vice Chair Sanders asks if there are trained models being used. Officer Lyons explains that models are used for sorting, but they may not be “true” to South San Francisco. AI is not used in the results presented to the City. AI is used in advanced analytics and insights, but that feature is not released yet. Commissioner Yee is curious about which AI models FlashVote has been experimenting with. Officer Lyons goes through the different AI models that have been tested. Commissioner Yee asks about the privacy of data when using AI. Officer Lyons confirms that no personal data is used when testing the AI models. Commissioner Cansino asks if FlashVote has a contract with San Mateo County. Officer Lyons says they do not. Commissioner Cansino wonders if information gathered between cities and counties can be shared. Officer Lyons agrees there are opportunities there. He indicates that if he can be connected with someone from the County, he will follow up with them to see if they want to become a customer. Commissioner Bedigian asks what the ideal number of questions is to ask in a survey. Officer Lyons says up to five, but shorter is always better. They get a 90% completion rate on a survey with five questions. Vice Chair Sanders wants to confirm that they are all multiple choice. Officer Lyons says yes and goes into details the different type of multiple choice questions. Commissioner Cansino wonders if there is currently any data pertaining to the LGBTQ community, veterans community, and people living with disabilities. Officer Lyons says they do not have data at that level of granularity. It would be up to the City to ask for that type of information in the surveys. Commissioner Harrison wonders if demographic questions can be incorporated into the surveys. Officer Stenhouse says it would be up to the departments and whether it makes sense to ask that type of question. The group discusses targeting specific subgroups, and Officer Lyons explains how it would be difficult to gather data from small sample sizes. Commissioner Cansino asks if the surveys are used to gauge how much money residents are willing to put toward a particular cause or service. Assistant City Manager Lee provides details on a couple of past surveys performed and how the results guided Council to make certain decisions. He also explains that there is a difference between spending on a general purpose versus a special purpose. Two thirds of voters would have to agree to a special purpose, which is statistically very difficult to get. Commissioner Yee asks what the minimum age is for participants to take the survey. Officer Lyons says as young as 13 under federal law. He goes on to say younger people generally do not care as much as older folks. Commissioner Yee inquires about the difficulty level of language used in the survey. Officer Lyons talks about how surveys are scored in terms of timing and readability. There is a science to making the surveys easy to understand. Officer Stenhouse wants to know the official process for developing a survey. Officer Lyons goes through the process starting with the initial idea or questions. There is collaboration and feedback via email or meetings to fine tune the survey. The commissioners thank Officer Lyons for speaking with them. Officer Lyons thanks the group for their questions and welcome any feedback they may have. Commissioner Cansino asks if there is access to old surveys and results. Officer Stenhouse recommends reaching out to the City’s Communications Manager. Commissioner Cansino wants to know if any mental health surveys have been done. Assistant City Manager Lee says no. Commissioner Cansino expresses concern that the City does not have its own mental health clinic. Assistant City Manager Lee confirms that the City does not have its own clinic, but the County is building a brand new facility in South San Francisco. It will be a health clinic offering various services. Assistant City Manager Lee mentions money will be received from an opioid settlement that can help pay for the mental health clinician who is on staff with the Police Department. Commissioner Harrison asks when the mental health clinician can be made into a permanent position. Assistant City Manager Lee explains that more funding is needed to make that position permanent. ITEMS FROM BOARD MEMBERS, COMMISSIONERS, COMMITTEE MEMBERS 1. Commissioner Cansino Commissioner Cansino expresses that she wants to present to the Commission about possible mental health trainings for different demographics and hopes the Commission will recommend to City Council to require the Mental Health Clinician to complete these trainings. Assistant City Manager Lee offers to connect with the Police Department to invite the Mental Health Clinician to present on the types of training received before recommending additional training. 2. Vice Chair Sanders Vice Chair Sanders wants to discuss how the current politics affect South San Francisco. Assistant City Manager Lee talks about a rally in front of City Hall where the Mayor stated that the City is committed to diversity. He believes the entire City Council is in support of that sentiment. Commissioner Yee asks if there are federal ties that affect funding. Assistant City Manager Lee explains that about a month ago, the Budget Standing Committee estimated that the City had roughly $13 million in federal funding. There are discussions happening about what to do and whether work needs to be paused should that funding be removed. Vice Chair Sanders asks if they need to start using different nomenclature in order to get the funds to continue the work. Assistant City Manager Lee says the City is careful about making certain statements (the City does not call itself a “sanctuary city”). Officer Stenhouse shares that some cities are being cautious with the language used, but the work itself does not change. Commissioner Cansino wonders how this messaging is reaching the public. Officer Stenhouse talks about the different methods the City has communicated this information to the public. He also shares that the City plans to collaborate more with nonprofits and other organizations in hosting programs and events. 3. Commissioner Harrison Commissioner Harrison shares her experience with attending the Cafecito event. She relays concerns from Marisol Durand, a Promotora with the City. There is a large demand coming from the community for the services the Promotores provide, but they do not have the staffing to accommodate. The second issue is sometimes people get turned away from referrals even though they are qualified for the services. At the event, Commissioner Harrison also heard that the Maltese American Club will close because of the In-N-Out project, but she is not sure if that is true. Another comment she heard was that the South City Shuttle, which many seniors use, does not offer a route to the “good Safeway.” Officer Stenhouse says he will follow up with Promotora Durand about presenting to the Commission. He mentions that the City had three promotores at one point, but currently, there is only one. ADJOURNMENT Chair Hobson-Coard adjourns the meeting at 8:44 p.m.