CITY COUNCIL
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
MINUTES FROM APRIL 23, 2024
Huntington Beach City Hall
Call to Order at 3:32 PM
Roll Call
• Council Liaisons: (Present) Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark; Mayor Pro-Tem Pat Burns; Council Member Tony Strickland
• Staff Liaisons: J. Carey, J. Toledo, S. Frakes
• Public: Matt Liffreing, Amory Hanson, Kathie Schey
Public Comments (3 minutes per speaker)
• Amory: gave feedback on new City website and its feedback form.
Approve Minutes from March 26, 2024 meeting.
• APPROVED
ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS
1. Public Information Update
a) Website update has been a success. The City has received great responses and reviews. Jennifer Carey is responding to any questions about the site that are not department specific, while departments are responding to any that are specific to their department. Customer service has drasti cally improved. Google search reindexing is taking a little time, and that is what most of any negative feedback is about. Google analytics will be available next month.
b) Surf City Break: 2% increase in newsletter sign ups; 236% increase in page views. c) Social Media: Facebook engagement down 43% and because this is the second week of negative engagement Jennifer will be reaching out to Facebook and researching; Instagram engagement down 18.7%; “X” engagement was at 16.1k.
d) Ongoing projects:
i) In conjunction with the new website launch, we will be phasing out Surf City Break. ii) Branding guide: Continuing to roll out with Public Works next. iii) Email newsletter: Will be rebranding in the next month to match new website. iv) Studio in the Lower Level: Will be completed in the next 2 weeks for one full-time staff member, and room to grow with two part-time staff.
v) Fentanyl/Opioid messaging: Jessica Cuchilla is working with Captain Reilly to interview Ralph Ornelas for video and social media clips.
vi) Independence Day: Working with Molly Uemura in Community & Library Services to get a meeting with PSQ (new Independence Day producer).
vii) Beach/Summer Safety: Working with Marine Safety to create spots prior to summer. viii) City Celebration Calendar: May will include the Bill of Rights and Holocaust Remembrance. e) Celebration Calendar - May:
i) The Bill of Rights & Holocaust Remembrance
ii) Asian Pacific American Heritage
iii) Bike Safety
iv) Motorcycle Safety
v) Mental Health
vi) Older Americans
vii) Drowning Prevention
viii) Military Appreciation
ix) National Day of Prayer
x) International Firefighters’ Day
f) Upcoming Events:
i) April 25 Homeless Veterans Town Hall
ii) April 27 Easter Hunt Family Fun Day (rescheduled)
iii) May 2 Community Prayer Breakfast
iv) May 10 Fire Academy Graduation
v) May 11 Marine Safety Drowning Prevention
CITY COUNCIL
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
vi) May 11 &12 Sunset Beach Art Festival
vii) May 14 Public Works Night @ SCN
viii) May 17-19 AVP Volleyball
ix) May 27 Memorial Day Ceremony
x) May 28 Mayor’s Spotlight Awards
xi) May 30 Miss Huntington Beach Rose Dedication Ceremony HBTV Programming:
g) HBTV Programming - Current:
i) HBPL Storytime
ii) Mayor’s Spotlight Awards
iii) Hidden Huntington Beach – Red Car
iv) Fire Explorer Graduation
v) HB Art Center Opening
vi) Vietnam Veterans Luncheon
vii) Surf Scene with PT
viii) Hidden Huntington Beach
ix) HBPD Crime Prevention Series
x) FlasHBack
xi) Voter ID Press Conference
xii) City Council & Planning Commission Meetings
h) HBTV Programming - Upcoming:
i) Surf Scene with PT (Two more episodes due)
• Season Featuring Local Surfers, Students, etc.
ii) FlasHBack
• Five more episodes forthcoming
iii) Monthly City Celebratory Themes
• Bill of Rights & Holocaust Remembrance
iv) Event Highlights
• Spring Extravaganza, Fire Academy Graduation, Public Works Open House, Homeless Veterans Town Hall
v) Public Works in Action
• Edinger Sewer
• Beach Maintenance
Adjournment – 4:04pm.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for May 28, 2024 at 3:30PM.