At a Town of Bluff workshop, staff, elected and appointed members began building a “knowledge tree” to capture laws, procedures, contacts and documents intended to help new officials and employees perform their roles and preserve institutional memory.

The exercise, led by a staff facilitator, divided required material into three layers: roots (foundational elements such as laws, ordinances and the general plan), trunks (day‑to‑day processes such as meeting procedures, budgeting and systems access) and branches (external partners, grant sources and operational contacts). The facilitator opened the session by saying, “This activity, I am calling the tree of knowledge or the knowledge tree.”

Workshop participants said the project aims to make the town’s most critical resources easy to find: the general plan, strategic plan, town ordinances and resolutions, Open Public Meetings Act materials, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and contact lists for county and state partners. Participants repeatedly flagged the Utah League of Cities and Towns and the Utah Local Government Trust as recurring resources for training and risk-management materials. The facilitator said she will “take pictures” of the boards and begin distilling the sticky‑note output into a more navigable, hyperlinked format.

Key next steps assigned during the session include: individual “if I leave tomorrow” forms (individual contributor worksheets) due the following week by 4:00 p.m.; SOPs and role‑specific lists due by the end of the month; a mid‑October check‑in before the scheduled work session on the 14th; and a plan to compile high‑priority, easily accessible documents by November. The facilitator said the compiled material will be prioritized so new appointees or elected officials have a short “first‑things” checklist and links to fuller resources.

Participants emphasized three practical requirements: (1) an accessible index (online or shared drive) with hyperlinks to the general plan, budget reports, grant files and meeting minutes; (2) clear job descriptions and reporting lines or a simple org chart so staff know who to contact for routine and supervisory matters; and (3) documented project histories (grants, procurement timelines, and deadlines) so new staff do not lose track of expiring funds or required deliverables.

The group discussed records access and archiving: several attendees noted project studies and grant documents exist in hard copy archives (room 4) and in some electronic folders but are not consistently indexed on the public website. One participant suggested an intern might be assigned to catalogue archived grants and project histories and to post a summary list on the town website.

Workshop participants and staff agreed to prioritize materials that (a) are required by law (for example, Open Public Meetings Act training and standard financial reports), (b) affect near‑term deadlines (grants and expiring contracts), and (c) reduce operational friction (login and shared‑drive instructions, payroll and time‑reporting procedures). The facilitator said she will produce a consolidated document with links and recommended a small team approach for drafting each item rather than relying on a single person.

Less urgent matters discussed included ADA accommodations for printed materials and color‑coded sticky notes, and the suggestion that planning and zoning could prepare a short new‑member checklist (read the general plan; familiarize with key ordinances; take Land Use 101) that new members could complete over their first months on the commission.

The session concluded with logistical follow‑ups: the facilitator will photograph and collect the boards for synthesis, staff will schedule the check‑in prior to the 14th work session, and participants will turn in their individual worksheets electronically where possible.