This Wednesday, June 18th, 2008, we will have our second meeting of the Open Government Committee. As I write this, late Friday night, June 13th, we have no information on what to expect at the meeting, and have only a few days ago found out where it will be held. It will be held at the Champlain College Miller Information Commons (aka Library) in room 305/306 on the third floor. Apparently it is on Summit St., which has residential only parking. Ben Pacy assures us that any tickets incurred because of the meeting can be "forgiven".
I would expect that this meeting will concentrate on one or both of the top two issues that were raised at the first meeting. Development and the City's Website. Talking about the website could be pretty straight forward, if we have somebody there at the meeting who actually works on the City's Website. They could tell us what it's like behind the scenes and could provide us with immediate feedback on ideas for improvement. Talking about Development is going to much more difficult for some members of the committee (myself included) because we don't fully understand the process. I recently went to a meeting where Westlake was the main topic, and figuring out what lessons could be learned and how to avoid similar mistakes in the future. The Brown Court/Eagles Club project will be the next similar project, and you can bet that many people will be watching this one closely.
During that meeting, I mentioned an idea I had earlier in the week. Because I am a web developer by trade, I feel confident when speaking on that subject. Development...not so much. I remembered one of the comments at the first meeting mentioned something about a manual for dealing with Burlington Government. A tutorial. By far, the most widely known tutorial book brand is the "For Dummies" series. So with that, I bring you an idea whose time has come:
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Burlington Development for Dummies...
I don't plan on writing the whole thing myself. I want to try to set up a collaborative writing process where people can write on subjects they are well versed in (I'm looking at you DRB and DAB) and we can piece together a book that makes the process relatively simple to understand for a novice.
I intend to bring this idea before the committee and I will see how much cooperation I can expect from people in various positions who could help demystify this confusing process.
Wish me luck.
Steve
