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Latino Advisory Board launches bilingual WhatsApp channel; trustees support recognizing it as official town outreach
Summary
The newly formed Latino Advisory Board told trustees it will roll out a bilingual, one-way WhatsApp channel for town announcements and asked the board to recognize it as an official communication channel; trustees expressed support and urged two-way contact options for residents.
Members of Carbondale’s Latino Advisory Board gave an update to the Board of Trustees on a new outreach plan and asked the town to recognize a bilingual WhatsApp channel as an official communication platform.
The board, which launched in January and has been meeting weekly, said it plans a two-phase rollout for the WhatsApp channel. Phase 1 will transmit one-way notices such as meeting alerts, trash-pickup information and safety alerts; Phase 2 will expand to trusted community resources such as health fairs, nonprofit events and educational opportunities. The board said all content will be bilingual and reviewed by LAB members before distribution.
“We chose WhatsApp because it's widely used in our community,” the Latino Advisory Board’s president said at the meeting. Vice President Viviana Quintero and other LAB members described outreach efforts that include inviting Latino residents to LAB meetings, attending other town boards and planning a parks tour to familiarize residents with public spaces.
Trustees and staff thanked LAB members for volunteering and broadly supported the WhatsApp plan. Several trustees praised the board’s work and asked that the project ensure an easy way for Spanish-speaking residents to communicate back to the town. Trustee Chris emphasized that the town should ensure incoming messages can be handled in Spanish and that residents can reach staff or trustees who can respond in the same language.
Trustees suggested LAB coordinate with Parks & Recreation and Parks staff to present findings from the planned parks tour and encouraged LAB members to engage with other boards and commissions. The town’s public-information officer was named as a staff contact to help manage the channel.
No formal vote was taken. Trustees said they support moving forward with the WhatsApp channel and encouraged LAB to continue building participation and to bring future ideas to the board.
