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Tri-Valley Water Roundtable Discussion Notes Page 4 relations with the media, routinely responded to questions, and was proactive in making sure the media had the correct information. Group Discussion on Public Outreach In order to facilitate workshop discussion, participants were asked to answer the following four questions in small groups: 1. Should the agencies agree to jointly participate in an active public outreach effort, and how might this effort be structured? 2. If the need for IPR is confirmed by the Zone 7 water supply evaluation, should public outreach begin in the fall, or wait until a further study is completed and why? 3. List the key political,business and community leaders or organizations that should be the focus of early outreach efforts. 4. How should elected officials support the public outreach effort? A summary of the overall discussion that occurred in relation to each individual question is presented below. Discussion of Question 1: Should the agencies agree to jointly participate in an active public outreach effort, and how might this effort be structured? Responses from participants were as follow: • We should use the communication strategy we utilized for the drought as our model for organizing public outreach efforts for these projects. • We should move together,but have a lead agency who contracts for services and is committed to steering the effort;joint funding is important to keep us all committed. • We should move as a group and have an administrative lead agency (similar to the reciprocal service agreement) to help coordinate messaging and delivery. • We should have joint outreach and a unified message (but the solution can be tailored to our distinct communities). Discussion of Question 2: If the need for IPR is confirmed by the water supply evaluation, should public outreach begin in the fall, or wait until a further study is completed and why? Responses from participants were as follow: • There seems to be support for this already, given the nature of media articles. • Yes;public outreach should begin in the fall and we should start with a survey. • We should start now, rather than waiting for the water supply evaluation to be complete; there are some basic elements we could start and we need to take advantage of current community awareness of these issues. • Outreach is practically starting already with last two roundtables;existing use of recycled water is a potential springboard (e.g., fill stations). Discussion of Question 3: List the key political, business and community leaders or organizations that should be the focus of early outreach efforts? Responses from participants were as follow: • Veterans of Foreign Wars • "No growth" groups • Senior centers (VFW) • Friends of Livermore • Large home owner's