High-tech initiative

Creek launching new platform to connect with city residents

Coconut Creek has launched a new platform for residents’ voices to be heard: Speak Up Coconut Creek.

The platform will allow residents to ask questions, post suggestions and receive feedback from city staff. Plus, the city will be able to get community input through discussions and surveys on its various projects, initiatives and possible ideas.

“Speak Up Coconut Creek will allow our residents, after they sign up, to provide ideas for the city,” said Yvonne Lopez, the city’s community relations director. “… They’ll also be able to participate in discussions, forums and surveys. It’s a new … way to be in contact with our residents.”

The first discussion question the city will ask residents will be about the sort of improvements they’d like to see at Windmill Park. Lopez said discussion questions, along with the forums and resident suggestions, will be monitored and responded to by the appropriate staff member.

“If someone writes in the ideas section that they want more butterfly gardens, that will go to someone in Sustainable Development,” Lopez said. “Then other residents can see the discussion and join in. They can also vote on it. If a suggestion is completed or in progress, the city moderator can indicate that in the discussion.”

When residents register, they will be asked for their address. Lopez said this is done because if there are neighborhood-specific projects, the city can target that area instead of the entire city.

The website is at SpeakUpCoconutCreek.net. Other city social media tools are also available for residents, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest, all of which can be found on CoconutCreek.net.