Why wasn’t my question answered during the public information meeting Q &A?

The objective of the public information meetings was to share various project design concepts and get public input to inform the development of a final design that both addresses community concerns and achieves the goals of the project.

The format of the second public information meeting was intended to provide a variety of opportunities for the community to ask questions and talk to staff one-on-one. Before and after the presentation, staff subject matter experts from partnering agencies were available for discussion at stations focused on specific aspects of the projects. Because addressing every question during the presentation would make for a very long meeting, questions were collected, grouped, and responded to by theme to provide the most information to as many community members as possible. Questions responses were also posted on the County website.

Again, the intent of the public information meetings, and this FAQ, is to ensure that as many community questions as possible are addressed. In hindsight, additional time could have been spent on the group Q&A session during the presentation, and this is a lesson learned for staff.

The timing of public engagement in this type of project is important. In terms of sharing design concepts with the community, concept designs should reach a 30% design completion PRIOR to public input to ensure that the concepts being publicly shared are, in fact, technically feasible. To be clear, none of the designs shared to date have been considered complete. The current concept is still in the early phases of the deign process, and changes based on public input will be incorporated.