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Past Learning Labs

2018 Learning Lab Teams

Community partnerships

As our capacity to provide services declines and community expectations continue to increase, there is a growing frustration from the public and a reduction of trust in local government overall. In the past, local governments may have been able to be the sole provider of services, while now it takes a partnership or coalitions to work together to address issues. For example, there are actions a community can take to make for a safer neighborhood – it is not solely about the number of police officers. There are actions a community can take to make for a cleaner community – it is not solely Public Works employees picking up illegal dumping. How might we create toolkits so that the community can clearly see how they can best partner to help create the quality of life they want?

Team:

  • Valente Curiel, Public Works
  • Sean Mooney, Information Technology
  • Darcie Chellew, Community Services
  • Kathryn Nelson, Public Works
  • Miriam Wallen, Library

Cultivating a positive culture

We live in divisive times and it’s easy to forget all of the good around us. Stress can cause negative health impacts, counterproductive and dangerous behaviors, and even violence. How might we cultivate a culture of positivity in San Rafael?

Team:

  • Sara Smith, Finance
  • Cheryl Meeker, Library
  • Loren Lundy, Public Works
  • Susan Andrade-Wax, Community Services
  • Kevin McGowan, Public Works
  • Omar Garcia, Public Works

Obsolete and onerous regulations

Outdated regulations are often no longer effective and can be a sense of frustration to both staff and the public. They can create unnecessary bureaucracy that slows down projects and increases costs. How might we reduce the number of outdated and ineffective regulations?

Team: 

  • Don Jeppson, Community Development
  • Brittany Bober, City Clerk’s Office
  • Josh Minshall, Public Works
  • Daniel Soto, City Manager’s Office
  • Simon Vuong, Economic Development

Employee Evaluations

Regular evaluations help employees develop their skills and advance in their careers. Right now, employees typically are evaluated by their supervisor each year. This practice is not always consistently applied or meaningful. How might we ensure that all employees get meaningful evaluations that incorporate the Together San Rafael guiding principles?

Team:

  • Margaret Stawowy, Library
  • Ali Giudice, Community Development
  • Sam Garanzini, Police Department
  • Crystal Kubala, Parking Services

Homeless encampment fire and health threats

Team Challenge: Mitigate the risk of wildfires due to homeless encampments.

Homeless encampments impact the quality of life for the entire community. How do we ensure safety from wildfires due to homeless encampments?

Team:

  • Faby Guille-Urfer, Public Works
  • Laraine Gittens, City Attorney’s Office
  • Lynn Murphy, Police Department
  • Christine Foster, Public Works
  • Carl Huber, Police Department

2017 Learning Lab Teams

NEO (new employee onboarding)

To ensure the successful on-boarding of a new employee, the hiring coordinator and involved departments need clear communication and defined roles and responsibilities from the new employee’s acceptance through their first year of work at the City of San Rafael.

Teams:

  • Jamie Poirier
  • Vinh Pham
  • Sylvia Gonzalez
  • Joan Peck
  • Christine Sorenson
  • Helena Munoz

Solutions:

  1. An application that allows the hiring manager, applicable departments and the new employee to see all tasks and activities related to on-boarding, due dates, assigned responsibility and status.

#2 (Illegal Dumping)

Increased illegal dumping in commercial areas is affecting the economic vitality and quality of life for people who work in San Rafael and is causing an excessive allocation of City and business owner resources.

Team:

  • Todd Berringer
  • Cory Bytof
  • Shirley Ng
  • Rob Cleland
  • Mark Wilkinson
  • Anthony Scalercio

Solutions:

  1. Centralized reporting form
  2. Outreach and education to business owners about crime prevention through environmental design
  3. Potential increase to fines
  4. Mini grants to business who make improvements to their property

Presentation

Knowledge is Power (internal communication)

City employees need to connect on a regular basis to learn about what other departments do in order to facilitate collaboration.

Team: 

  • Lauren Monson
  • Henry Bankhead
  • Tiffany Haley
  • Jason Fong
  • Stacey Peterson
  • Jason Hatfield

Solutions:

  1. Regular events for employees to connect around spontaneity (battle decks, ignite, improve)
  2. learning (lunch & learn, teach-in, virtual reality)
  3. Applied Skills (speed coaching)
  4. Making things (workshops, maker-space, cooking)
  5. Volunteering (trash pick-up, work-a-longs)

Presentation

A Perfect Storm (external communication)

The San Rafael community is in need of regular reminders and education regarding the responsibility and maintenance of drainage structures.

Team:

  • Dylan Frisbie
  • Barbara Reher
  • Ryan Kirkpatrick
  • Lauren Davini
  • Cynthia Morgan
  • David Catalinotto

Solutions:

  1. Letters to property owners
  2. Pamphlets for maintenance workers to hand out
  3. Banners

Presentation

Silo Busters (cross-departmental permit approval process)

The permit process is complex and involves many steps. A permit or other documents are usually routed to numerous people across divisions/departments. Inefficient communication across divisions/departments causes frustrating delays for customers and City staff during the permitting process.

  • Laura Washburn
  • Lindsay Lara
  • Zak Baron
  • Paul Jenson
  • Michele Ginn

Solutions:

  1. Smart, electronic routing form that tells you how to route the customer based on their answers to simple questions (short-term)
  2. Centralized permitting center for all City departments (long-term)

Presentation

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