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Commissioner McKenzie said the United Way representatives would document the pilot <br />program to provide feedback and as a planning tool for future forums. <br />Commissioners McKenzie and Oftelie noted the interest of Barb Ball representing J. C. Penney, <br />and her suggestion to keep the discussion alive by providing a plant bulb for each participant to <br />take with them and plant as a way to "bloom where you're planted" or "bloom where you live." <br />Discussion included types of bulbs that would be appropriate, volunteer donation of bulbs by <br />individual commissioners, greenhouses located in Roseville and recommendation for daffodils. <br />Commissioners Oftelie and McGehee volunteered to pursue the bulb idea. <br />Commissioner McKenzie said that each participant would be asked to address an envelope to <br />themselves at the end of the village portion of the forum and the United Way representatives <br />would mail to each participant after one month to remind participants of their commitment. <br />Welcoming Center <br />Commissioner Oftelie reported on her discussions with the Director of the City of Austin's <br />Welcome Center; noted their updated website; whether to pursue Councilmember Pust's <br />suggestion for having a virtual welcome center on the City's website; suggestions for individual <br />commissioner review of the G1obalPittsburgh.org, and their identification of "regional <br />communities of various cultures" that were featured on their website, including the cultural <br />history in the region; and potential funding sources to develop a prototype to provide helpful <br />information to newcomers to Roseville. <br />Commissioner McKenzie noted that the City's Communications Specialist Tim Pratt was adept <br />at putting those types of materials together. <br />Discussion included Foundations that could fund such an undertaking; review of more regional <br />websites (i.e., Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the State of MN); and how to incorporate <br />the virtual welcome center into the City's existing website, initial preparation and ongoing <br />maintenance of up -to -date materials. <br />City Manager Malinen said the City's website had a template to put together pages, including <br />hosting and security considerations and confirmed that Tim Pratt was the contact person. <br />Further discussion was held on questions for participants at the forum that would provide <br />additional cultural and demographic information which could be used to develop the virtual <br />welcome center based on ethnicities and their information needs. <br />Commissioner Oftelie said she would continue reviewing local websites and report at the next <br />meeting. <br />A bench handout, the City of Shoreview HRC's example entitled "Dialogue Villages, was <br />distributed <br />