Draft Minutes - October 15, 2012 Work Session

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—OCTOBER 15, 2012 4 Community Development Director Hutmacher provided a copy of the draft Website Policy and noted that the City has designed a new website that will become active in December. As such, the website ad hoc committee has suggested adopting a policy to provide guidance on what should and should not be allowed on the City's website. She stated that some of the guidance items include: what external links will be allowed on the City's site; what types of events will be promoted; what news and announcements will be displayed on the home page; the duration that information and documents are displayed on the site; procedures for updating and editing the website; and site standards for formatting, punctuation, and graphics. She stressed that the main goal is to keep the home page updated and "clean". Councilmember Tamble stated that any information found on the home page should be timely and current. City Planner Beekman affirmed that the thought behind information appearing on the home page is that it will be newsworthy to all residents. She said that a downed power line or a water main break would be good examples of information worth putting on the home page. Councilmember Holden inquired about the section of the policy stating that the City will not post information related to fundraisers. Community Development Director Hutmacher confirmed that the proposed policy states that no fundraising information, whether for profit or nonprofit organizations, will be promoted on the City's website. Councilmember Holmes stated that she agrees with having no fundraisers at all on the site because otherwise it is difficult to determine where to draw the line. Community Development Director Hutmacher stated that the City will be creating a Facebook account, so items that are not allowed on the City's website could potentially be posted on the City's Facebook page instead. Councilmember Holden questioned if the Lake Johanna Fire Department's minutes would be found on the City's website because the draft Website Policy states that documents and information generated by other entities would only be provided through a link to the entity's website. City Planner Beekman stated that the intent is to only post documents on the City's site that the City has created. In the scenario of the Lake Johanna Fire Department (LJFD) minutes, the City would provide a link to LJFD's website, which is where people would be able to access those particular minutes. Community Development Director Hutmacher noted that the policy does state that the City Administrator ultimately has the authority to oversee all aspects of the City website. City Planner Beekman added that this document is a policy and not an ordinance, which means that exceptions can be made.