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Instead of the traditional town hall forum, the City of Kansas City is taking the digital route.
Earlier this month, Kansas City launched its new interactive website, KCmomentum.com.
“It’s like a virtual town hall meeting,” said Kansas City Public Information Officer Dennis Gagnon. “The cool thing about it is you don’t have to adjust your schedule to show up. If you wake up at 2 a.m., you can join the discussion in your pajamas.”
Current topics include “Improving the community we call Kansas City,” “Business licensing and regulation,” “Google Fiber for communities and Web 2.0 apps,” “Public improvements,” “Parking and transit downtown,” and “Communication from the city.”
Powered by MindMixer, the website allows users to submit ideas related to each topic, “second” other users’ ideas and make comments. Each month, Kansas City will swap out topics to keep the site fresh.
Approximately a dozen communities in the U.S. are using MindMixer to garner community input, including Joplin, Mo., and Tuscaloosa, Ala., Gagnon said.
“They’re (Joplin and Tuscaloosa) using it as a tool to get public input on how to rebuild their cities,” he said.
To date, more than 240 ideas have been submitted and Kansas City doesn’t plan to let those ideas remain idle. The City Council of Kansas City, along with the mayor and city manager, will sift through the ideas and determine whether or not they are viable options.
“We’re discovering there are things people are asking for that we’re already doing, so that means there’s a disconnect,” Gagnon said.
Some Kansas City residents are commenting on issues the city isn’t responsible for, and in those instances, Kansas City is relaying the information to the proper agencies, he said.
“There are some great ideas people have been contributing,” Gagnon said.
A few weeks after the city swaps out the topics, city officials will begin to post the status of the previous topics and ideas.
In September, the city plans to solicit comments regarding the city’s budget and how to spend the money.
To further participation on KCmomentum.com, Kansas City will give away monthly prizes to the top five users with the most points. Points are earned by registering, seconding ideas, submitting ideas, commenting on others’ ideas and by referring other individuals to the site. This month, Kansas City will give away Royals tickets and an autographed Royals baseball. Future prizes may include things like a one month membership to a community center or free round of golf at one of the city’s golf courses, Gagnon said.
“We want to build traffic on the site,” he said. “We don’t want input from the same 500 people. We would love to see input from everybody and their brother.”
“I encourage everyone in the community with an Internet connection and a civic-minded heart to engage in the process,” Kansas City Mayor Sly James said. “Give voice to your ideas. We’re listening.”
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