City intern outlines Block 16 outreach plan for downtown redevelopment

The commission heard a presentation on a proposed community-engagement plan for Block 16 (the Red Rock Quarter parking lot near Depot Park and the Mississippi Regional Trail). Natalie Rogus, the city’s community development intern, described a short, primarily multiple-choice survey to gather baseline information on how residents and visitors use and perceive the site, paired with informal interviews of downtown business owners and residents.

"We want to target Hastings residents broadly and visitors who may use the site, but we also want to focus on those who would be most impacted by any development in the area, so downtown residents, business owners ... people like that," Rogus said. She said the team plans to distribute the survey online and in hard copy, tabulate results at weekly music-and-market events and provide an update with preliminary findings at the commission’s July meeting.

Rogus described additional outreach techniques such as short interviews to add context to survey responses and interactive tabling (for example, poster boards where people place stickers to indicate preferred uses). She said the survey would be short (around 10 questions) to encourage participation and that staff will explore posting the survey on the city website and promoting it on social media.

Commissioners encouraged outreach to downtown apartment property managers to help reach nearby residents. One commissioner asked whether completing the survey would pose a conflict of interest for downtown residents; staff replied that completing a community survey would not present a conflict.

Staff will launch the outreach this summer and report back with a progress update or preliminary findings in July.