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Home My WebLink About02-15-00 Regular Meeting of La Porte Complete Count Committee• • City of La Porte Census 2000 Complete Count Committee Meeting Minutes of February 15, 2000 Members Present: Beth Rickert, Colleen Hicks, Tim O'Connor, Vicky Abshire, Mark Snider, Jeannie Zemanek, Joeena Davis, Linda Barley, and Lorraine Jeffery. Members Absent: Marlin Fenn, Tom Rawls, Kathy Alberts, Ada Bowen, Wayne Spears, Susan Parastar, Steve Jacks, Randy Gilchrist, and Debra Kurz. Others Present: Jerry Grey, Census Bureau City Staff Present: Mayor Norman Malone, City Secretary Martha Gillett and Planning Coordinator Masood Malik. I. Call to Order. Committee Chairman Jeannie Zemanek called the meeting to order at 5:35 P.M. II. Consider approving minutes of regular meeting on January 18, 2000. Motion was made by Tim O' Connor to accept the minutes with changes. A second by Linda Barley. The motion carried unanimously. III. Review tasks list and sub-committees activities plan. Jeannie Zemanek acknowledged Mark Snider, Tim O'Connor, and Mayor Norman Malone on the letters sent out to Chamber members. City Secretary Martha Gillett stated that the letter was also sent out to the La Porte Home Owners Associations. Tim O'Connor reported John Black has been running ads in the Bayshore Sun and will continue to run ads every Wednesday and Sunday through April 1, 2000. Linda Barley stated that Life Magazine had an article on the importance of the census. Vicky Abshire reported she had been distributing census posters to businesses. Ms. Abshire also announced the census at the Head Start program and she will be announcing it at the Rotary Meeting next month. Ms. Abshire will continue to contact all clubs over the next several weeks. Beth Rickert -Education -has received curriculum from the census bureau and is distributing at the school district. Ms. Rickert distributed the letter from the Mayor and Mark Snider and these letters will be sent out to all home students. Ms. Rickert would like Mayor or a Councilman to speak at the March Board of Trustees meeting. • • Page 2 -Census Minutes Ms. Rickert also notified the committee that on March 9, 2000, there will be an Education Celebration at the high school and she will reserve a table for the census. There will be students and parents present. Mark Snider -Business Committee announced local plant managers had approved funds to cover census magnets to be mailed with water bills. In addition, he will draft a letter to go out at the same time. Mr. Snider spoke with local grocery store managers about advertising the census on their bags but this would be a major undertaking and there is not sufficient time. Mr. Snider requested 10 volunteers to distribute posters at the Library and other high traffic areas. Colleen Hicks reported on ads in the Bayshore Sun as part of the Chamber of Commerce newsletter. Ms. Rickert requested Mayor Malone attend Soul Food Cookoff at the Northside on Friday, February 18, 2000. 1V. Develop a list of census activities up to census day 2000 -April 1, 2000. City Secretary Martha Gillett introduced Field Representative Jerry Grey from the Census Bureau. Mr. Grey informed the committee of the Be Counted & Questionnaire Assistance Center. Mr. Grey informed the committee they are in need of volunteers to help and he requested each member of the committee to ask 30 people if they have filled out their census forms. V. Other items Masood Malik reported he received material from the census bureau and that he had updated reports and returned them to the Census Bureau. Mr. Malik requested Ms. Hicks to add April 1, 2000 as Census Day to the Chamber information. VI. Adjourn There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:35 PM. Respectfully submitted, Martha Gillett City Secretary Approved on March 21, 2000 • • . MEETING NOTICE CENSUS 2000 COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: FEBRUARY 15, 2000 TIME: 5:30 p.m. ****PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE**** PLACE: CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS 604 WEST FAIRMONT PARKWAY LA PORTE, TEXAS 77571 RSVP: CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE - 281-471-5020 EXT. 233 SUBWAY SANDWICHES, CHIPS, SOFT DRINKS, AND CAKE WILL BE PROVIDED. PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU WILL BE ATTENDING SO WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH FOOD. (To be published under Sun Spots on Wed. & Sun. till April 14~`.) Census 2000 Questionnaire Assistance Centers (QAC) The City of LaPorte has designated two locations to be served as Census 2000 QAC's; LaPorte Library & the City Hall. A representative from the Census Bureau will assist persons who may have questions about the Census or who otherwise needs help in completing their questionnaire can walk-in on the following schedule: Tuesday & Thursday at the LaPorte Library, 625 San Jacinto and Friday at the City Hall, 604 West Fairmont Pkwy. from 12:00 to 4:30 p.m. The Long and Short of It D-3239 (Rev. 6-99} U.S. C7ep~tia~it of ~crtnm;~~ ir~onarn~c~ end ~tall~~,AidlflflC~t~!-~ttllEln lauiR~~,u t~i;• ~~ c~niaus ~y Does the Census Ask so Many Questions9 The questions asked represent the best balance between your community's needs and our commitment to reduce the time and effort it takes you to fill out the form. The census is as important to our nation as highways and telephone lines. Every question is required by law to manage or evaluate federal programs or is needed to meet federal case law requirements. Federal and state funds supporting schools, employment services, housing assistance, road construction, hospital services, programs for the elderly and more are distributed based on census figures. What's New for Census 20009 Most housing units in the country (about 83 percent) will receive the short-form questionnaire in Census 2000. The Census 2000 short form will be the shortest form in 180 years. Five subjects that were on the 1990 census short form have moved to the Census 2000 long form: marital status, units in structure, number of rooms, value of home and monthly rent. The long form can reliably collect this information. Five subjects that appeared on the 1990 census long form were dropped: children ever born, year last worked, source of water, sewage disposal and condominium status. These subjects were not explicitly mandated or required by federal law. Only one new subject was added to the Census 2000 long form: grandparents as caregivers. This information was needed for the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 (welfare reform). Why Do We Need the Long Form9 The long form provides socio-economic detail needed for a wide range of government programs and federal requirements. Nationwide, it goes out to one in six housing units. But to assure the same level of accuracy everywhere, a larger share of housing units in small towns and rural counties receive this form. Community leaders use the long form for planning a wide range of activities, including neighborhood revitalizal3on, economic development and improved facilities and services. To build highways, roads, bridges and tunnels in areas that need them, planners need information about where people live and work and the times they leave for work. An Equal Opportunity Employer U.S. Census Bureau "~- To speed disaster relief to the affected areas, emergency management agencies ,, use census numbers to determine the number of people displaced by earthquakes, ~ ~ hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters. In cities and towns across the country, community leaders use census numbers to decide where to locate police and fire stations and other public services. The census helps local government and community organizations locate fadlities such as day-care centers, senior dtizen community centers, health-care dinics and even playgrounds. What Is Asked on the Short Farm? YOtlr participation in Census 2000 is important, safe and easy. Just complete the form and mail it back. For additional information about Census 2000, visit the Census Bureau's Internet site at http://www.census.gov or Dell one of our Regional Census Centers across the country: Atlanta 404331-0873 Boston 817-424-4977 Charlotte 704344-8824 Chioago 312-383-9789 Dallas a14-e8e-3oeo Denver 303-23I-8029 Detroit 248-987-9824 Senses City 818-801-2020 Los Angeles 818-9048822 New York City 212-820-7702 or 2I2-820.7703 Philadelphia 218-897-8312 Seattle 208-883-8882 The short form asks about six population subjects and one housing subject and takes 10 minutes to complete, on average. Name Sex Age Relationship Hispanic origin Race Tenure (whether the home is owned or rented) What Is Asked on the Long Form? The long form asks about the same subjects as the short form plus 27 more, for a total of 34 subjects. The average household can complete this form in approximately 38 minutes. Population Marital status Place of birth, citizenship and year of entry School enrollment and educational attainment Ancestry Residence five years ago (migration) Language spoken at home Veteran status Disability Grandparents as caregivers Labor force status (current) Place of work and journey to work Work status last year Industry, occupation and class of worker Income (previous year) Housing Units in structure Number of rooms Number of bedrooms Plumbing and kitchen facilities Year structure built Year moved into unit House heating fuel Telephone Vehicles available Farm residence Value of home Monthly rent (including congregate housing) Shelter costs (selected monthly owner costs) The Law Protects Your Answers. By law, the Census Bureau cannot share your answers with others, including welfare agencies, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Internal Revenue Service, courts, police and the military. Anyone who breaks this law can receive up to five years in prison and $5,000 in fines. The law works -millions of questionnaires were processed during the 1990s without any breach of trust. U.S. Census Bureau