Commission members question use of outside consultants for park survey; staff says SCJ Consulting will run short follow-up
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Summary
Commissioners asked why the city hired SCJ Consulting to run a short, three-question park survey instead of using the commission or the city's Zen City platform; staff said SCJ is running the phase-two survey and that staff will relay the commission’s concerns to department directors.
Commissioners pressed city staff on Nov. 19 about the city’s use of outside consultants for public engagement and whether the Community Engagement Commission should play a larger role in surveys.
One commissioner asked, "Why isn't the public engagement us? Why aren't we running the survey?" and raised a broader concern that consultants sometimes proceed without soliciting input from local advisory bodies. David, a city staff member, said the upcoming phase-two park survey is being conducted through SCJ Consulting and that he would relay the commission’s concern to the community development director and the parks director.
Commissioners also noted the city maintains a paid subscription to a digital engagement platform, Zen City, and asked why that tool was not being used for the short follow-up survey. Staff confirmed Zen City was not used for this survey; they did not provide a policy rationale during the meeting but agreed to relay the commission’s comments to the responsible departments.
Commissioners suggested the commission should have a clearer role—both to contribute local knowledge and to ensure continuity between consultant work and on-the-ground outreach. David agreed to pass the feedback along to departmental leadership for consideration.
Next steps: staff will share the survey when it is posted and will forward the commission’s concerns about consultant use to the community development and parks directors.