Even in the same community, different projects require different approaches to public
outreach. What works for one project may not necessarily be the most effective
approach for another.
The City of Wilmington, NC, for example, is conducting public outreach programs for
three projects: two waterline extensions to neighborhoods that were annexed in 1998,
and a wastewater treatment plant expansion that increases capacity of the Northside
plant from 8 to 16 million gallons per day. The approach to public outreach and public
relations is very different for each type of project.
For the annexation projects, residents living in the affected neighborhood were invited to
a public meeting. At that meeting, City officials and engineers listened to the residents'
concerns and tried to incorporate solutions to those concerns in the design and
construction of the water lines. McKim & Creed's project engineer offered to meet
individually with any property owner, at the owner's home, to discuss the proposed
route, removal of trees, or other concerns.
The third project, the Northside wastewater treatment plant expansion, affects 150,000
residents of Wilmington and New Hanover County. Before going to the general public to
hear concerns and suggestions, McKim & Creed held brainstorming sessions with City
and County officials to discuss the issues believed to be a concern to certain groups,
such as environmental non-profits. From those sessions, McKim & Creed developed
outlines and budgets for different types of outreach and public relations programs
targeted toward different segments of the community.
This paper will focus on the Northside Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion and
address methods for determining the values of the community and the most effective
outreach/PR program for this project. By offering ideas for addressing a variety of
issues using different approaches, decision-makers can consider the costs of each
effort and decide what is most important to them as opposed to having the consultant
tell them what's best.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 250 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 8 |
| Published : | 06/16/2002 |
