UCityUnited

UCityUnited Monitoring
Background Information

UCityUnited is committed “to shaping the future of University City by facilitating communications among the diverse groups of the City on matters of mutual concern. We are University City residents who believe great cities are created by informed and involved citizens.” As part of that effort UCityUnited has decided to set up a program whereby University City residents will regularly monitor the work of the city’s Boards and Commissions and report on the board and commission meetings on a timely basis.

We appreciate your willingness to be a part of this monitoring program.

There are a few simple points we want to convey to all monitors.

1.) At the beginning of every month the Monitoring Coordinator Mark Siegel will be sending out an e-mail reminder of all monitoring assignments in the month ahead. Please check to confirm if you are or are not on the schedule. (Note: If you have questions of Mark he can be contacted at (pfpactt@sbcglobal.net or
314-727-1714.)

2.) If you cannot cover your assigned meeting, please arrange to have another volunteer cover it. You should have received an updated list of monitors from the Communications/Monitoring Committee. If you have not, please contact Mark Seigel.

3.) Please make sure you review monitoring reports from previous months prior to attending your meeting so that you are familiar with the on-going business of the committee. These reports should be available on the UCityUnited website at __________.

4.) Please make sure you arrive at the meeting location 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time so that you may review the meeting agenda. Feel free to talk with any board or commission members present to obtain other information you might want to add to your report.

5.) Mark Seigel will send out a monitoring template at the beginning of every month. Please fill out the template after your meeting and send an electronic version of the report WITHIN ONE WEEK to BOTH of the following people:

Mark Siegel: pfpactt@sbcglobal.net
Michael Donovan: editor@eventsnews.com

A Few Notes:

There is no need to capture everything that is said and done. You are not taking minutes. You are capturing the high points. The key focus question is, “what would citizens of U-City want to know about this meeting? For example:

* Which committee members and staff are present?
* What is on the agenda and who are the major speakers on each item?
* Is there a major focus for the meeting?
* Were there any important that arose off the agenda? Who spoke to them?
* What was the primary focus of the conversation on each topic?
* What major concerns or questions arose about each topic?
* What was the resolution, action steps for each topic? Timeline?
* Is there citizen participation called for? (citizen comment, nominations, etc)
* When and where is the next meeting? Are there special topics?
* Other comments

Please endeavor to keep your summary of the meeting concise. People may lose interest in your report if they think it is too long.

Remember, you are being asked to report on the meetings NOT make personal comments on them. Your monitoring report should be an unbiased accounting of what occurs at the meeting. Any personal observations or comments you want to make known can be shared on the UCityUnited blog at __________.

Thanks again for your help in keeping University City residents informed!