Dalton Board & Police Facility Panel Emphasizes Need for Community Engagement
DALTON, Mass. — Several aspects surrounding the proposed police facility are unclear, but one thing is for certain: the need for community engagement and education.
The Select Board and the Public Safety Advisory Committee attended the presentation. Although they did not fully agree on public engagement methodologies, they acknowledged the importance of public engagement and education in gaining community support and ensuring the project's smooth progression.
There will be another joint meeting in the next two weeks to a month, so the board can discuss next steps and ways to engage voters.
Select Board member Dan Esko emphasized that when other towns have undertaken similar projects, they did a lot of community surveying and polling engagement.
"I feel like that's what's missing here in Dalton right now, if we're going to focus on one thing as a priority, put that to the top is my advice, my thinking," he said.
"There's other things too, certainly it's not exclusive to working on other items."
Don Davis, co-chair of the Public Safety Advisory Committee, demonstrated that the committee has recognized community engagement as a necessary strategy since the beginning of this process.
Fellow committee member Anthony Pagliarulo recommended holding several informational meetings in accessible locations at various times to gather input from residents.
Select Board member John Boyle emphasized that informational meetings such as that will only reach a limited number of people because it relies on attendance.
To maximize the outreach, he recommended mailing the information sheets or surveys to every resident.
Select Board member Robert Collins recommended using an application such as Flash Vote, which allows the town to get questions out to the community and get data back quickly.
On its website, it advertises that governments use its service to get timely and scientific data "to serve residents better, to save serious money, and to build broad community trust."
Collins said it is a software that the town could also use for other projects, highlighting that the annual cost is about $7,500 annually, which allows the town to ask residents seven questions five times a year.
Craig Wilbur, public safety advisory committee co-chair, also advocated for getting input from the grant writer Lisa Frisch, as she also has experience with community development.
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