Committee debates outreach plan as Dennis-Yarmouth feasibility phase begins

As the Dennis-Yarmouth Small Building Committee prepares to enter MSBA’s feasibility phase, members spent substantial time on Feb. 12 discussing how to keep residents informed over the long process, offering a range of outreach ideas aimed at reaching voters before any future town-meeting action.

The chair proposed handing out a simple QR code and a one-page flyer at town meetings so voters could access a single page of project updates: “To have a QR code ... that we can hand out at town meeting ... those are the people who would typically be voting,” the chair said. Committee members suggested repeating that link at multiple town meetings and keeping a persistent, easy-to-find web link labeled for the school’s future.

Other proposals included targeted mailings to ensure households receive a physical notice, using the district newsletter and PTO channels, hosting milestone town halls and open houses (including senior-center sessions), and leveraging a new municipal podcast studio and local radio to reach broader audiences. Emily, a committee member, noted the district newsletter is effective for reaching invested families.

Members stressed layered outreach — digital and physical — to reduce the chance that voters encounter unfamiliar material on a town-meeting floor. They recommended regular updates to PTO groups, outreach to families at parent-teacher conferences, and coordination with town web banners or the chamber of commerce to funnel residents to a consistent project page.

The committee did not take formal action on communications at the Feb. 12 meeting but assigned staff and trustees to consider a recurring communications plan and to provide recommended materials and a proposed timeline at future meetings.