Participation Guidelines
The City of Flagstaff (the “City”) has partnered with OpenGov, a third-party online forum provider, to create a civic engagement platform that will allow the citizens of Flagstaff get more involved in City government. Flagstaff Community Forum is a forum for the discussion of proposed City projects and upcoming policy topics related to local government in the City and its partner agencies. The topics are generated by City staff, commissions, and Council for the purpose of public participation in current government decision making.
To ensure that all voices are heard and that forum participants are able to speak freely about the posted topics, participants who register to use the forum must agree to not post disruptive statements. Disruptive statements include the following:
- Statements that do not relate to the posted topic;
- Personal attacks and statements that threaten or abuse other forum participants, members of the public, City staff or City officials;
- Statements that discriminate on the basis of race, religion, nationality, gender, sexual preference, age, region, disability, etc.
- Hate speech of any kind;
- Statements containing any sort of commercial advertising or soliciting funds, goods, or services;
- Repetitive or meaningless messages (“spam”);
- A statement from a user who has falsified their registration information with the intent to post multiple statements in one topic or to misrepresent their city of residence; and
- Statements that include obscene, pornographic, abusive, or otherwise illegal material.
OpenGov, acting as the forum monitor, will remove any disruptive statements that are posted on the forum. Forum participants who post disruptive statements may lose their posting privileges.
Frequently asked questions about the participation guidelines
Why does Open Town Hall monitor for disruptive statements?
OpenGov is a non-partisan company dedicated to building public trust in government and broadening civic engagement. Many people will not participate, if the forum has disruptive statements.
Does Open Town Hall find many disruptive statements?
No. Disruptive statements are quite rare - less than one in a thousand statements on OpenGov moderated topics nationwide are disruptive.
What does Open Town Hall do if they find a disruptive statement?
OpenGov
- moves the statement to a different web page,
- describes the problem in an email to the author, and
- invites the author to change the statement.
Does Open Town Hall ever edit or delete statements?
Never. Only the statement's author can edit or delete a statement. If a statement is removed from the public website, it will still be seen by the City of Flagstaff and be part of the public record.
If I disagree with someone, can I post my opinion?
Yes. Open Town Hall encourages open dialog and debate which, by necessity, includes disagreements.
How do I know if my statement is a 'disagreement' or a 'personal attack'?
Personal attacks are disparaging remarks which impute motives to a person's action. Statements of fact, or of your own opinion are generally not personal attacks.
Here are some examples of statements which are, and are not, personal attacks.
Personal Attack v. Not A Personal Attack
He is a liar. V. He said he did X, but in fact he did Y.
She misrepresented the truth. V. I don't believe what she said.
He is greedy. V. He is making money from this project.
It is merely a power play on her part. V. She will announce her candidacy soon.
Translate
Do you ride Mountain Line? (Pre-COVID-19 or currently)
What would you add or change about the DCC to improve your transit experience (examples include more seating, larger waiting area, food/ beverage)?
Better shelters. But more importantly, buses need to be consistent about where they will stop, and that needs to be clearly labeled. Too often I've been waiting for a bus, expecting it to pull into a certain spot, and unbeknownst to me it stopped somewhere else and left before I figured it out.What transit and multi-modal amenities would you like to see available at the new DCC?
If there is capacity to serve additional community purposes, what would you like to see?
Partnership with human service providers for onsite services.
Publically rentable meeting space.
Hardscaped, public areas.
Partnership with private entity for cafe style service
Please describe any preferences in next question.
Leasable office space.
Please provide specific suggestions on items above. (i.e. For public art, do you prefer sculpture versus mural or other details? For retail, what type would you like to see? Etc.).
If food and beverage is included, ensure it is not just a soda and crappy food vending machine. Offer a fruit and veggie stand with local baked goods.Would incorporating any of the previous ideas convince you to take transit more often?
If so, what?
Indoor spaces would help a lot in inclement weather or in the evenings.Which, if any, designs below do you like?
Please explain what you like and dislike about the above options.
I think A looks most like Flagstaff. Aim to make the center fit the character of Flagstaff.Is there anything else you would like to be considered in the design?
Yes, thanks for asking! Please ensure that all building materials and design are constructed to the highest sustainability standards, with both embodied carbon emissions and building energy usage as top priorities. Also, safety may be a big concern. I don't have answers on that, but keeping it clean and maintained will encourage it to be a safe and respected space.
Lastly, I have long felt that Mountain Line should create park and ride spaces at the edges of town (for people to drive in, for example, to the mall, then park and take the bus; or drive in from Kachina, and park on the southern edge of town; etc.)