Arcata City Council heard a staff presentation on June 4, 2025 about FlashVote, a third‑party online panel the city could use to run short, rapid public surveys across multiple languages.

City Manager Merrick Perry said the tool would complement workshops, social media and in‑person outreach by making it easier for people who cannot attend meetings to answer short surveys about transportation priorities, proposed projects and other city decisions. ‘‘This could be a way to get input for more people who have an opinion about the city but aren't passionate enough to be able to come to every council meeting,’’ Perry said.

Jason Race, a FlashVote representative who joined by videoconference, described the product as a panel that citizens sign up for and remain anonymous to the city. Race said the company’s model centers on short, 3–5 question surveys that stay live for two days, and that the standard subscription quoted to the council included up to six surveys per year with multilingual capability. ‘‘When people sign up, they're signing up because they care,’’ Race said. ‘‘A 1‑minute survey is a 1‑minute ask.’’

Council members asked about language support, cost, participant verification and the ability to add more surveys if needed. Race confirmed FlashVote can deliver surveys in Spanish and other languages end‑to‑end and that every issued survey could be bilingual; he also described address and demographic fields used to filter results and to show respondents inside city boundaries. Perry told the council the draft budget for the next fiscal year contains funding that could be used for a subscription but no contract decision was requested that night.

Council members broadly welcomed trying a new tool. Council Member Meredith Matthews asked staff for a written contract and price breakdown; Council Member Sarah Schafer and Vice Mayor Kimberly White expressed support for a pilot and asked staff to return with more detail. Perry said staff would bring a formal proposal and contract for council consideration in the next fiscal year.

No ordinance or formal action was taken at the meeting; council feedback was limited to questions and a request that staff return with a procurement proposal and pricing.