How to Hold and Organize Neighborhood Meetings

Communication Fosters Neighborhood Involvement

Communication is very important to the success of your association. Sharing information is a great way to build a sense of community in your neighborhood, get to know your neighbors and enlist support for your events and programs.

Ideas for promoting neighborhood meetings:

• Publish a neighborhood association newsletter four to 12 times a year.
• Team up with a nearby association to share the cost and work.
• Distribute fliers door-to-door.
• Distribute a neighborhood survey (and the results) by email, mail, phone or door-to-door.
• Ask permission to place notices, posters or fliers in laundromats, libraries, supermarkets and local businesses, etc.

• Set up a telephone tree and develop an email contact list.

Invite City Guest Speakers

Use this form to request a speaker from the city of Clearwater for your meeting or event, ideally at least three to four weeks in advance. Evening presentations can be made available based on the availability of staff. Confirmations and denials for participation will be provided to the event organizer by the RSVP deadline on the request form.

The Neighborhoods & Community Engagement Division receives the form and forwards the speaker request to the designated department. You will be contacted within 5 business days.

Note: To reach out to Clearwater Police Department’s Community Engagement Team for a safety presentation or facility tour, visit the Clearwater Police Department's website. To reach out to the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department for a station tour or engine demonstration, visit the Fire Department's page. To request a presentation from Keep Pinellas Beautiful, visit their request page.

If you have specific questions, please reach out to neighborhoods@myclearwater.com after submitting the request form.

Request a Presentation

Plan the Meeting

People will more likely attend meetings if they are organized, brief, useful and in a convenient location. Set the time, date and location by consulting with the core group of members. Try to keep meetings to one hour in length. Select a place that is centrally located and familiar to your neighbors such as a home, school, church or public building, and then remind them of the time and date by phone, email or flier. Before the meeting begins, arrange the tables and chairs and place any handouts near the entrance of the room. Allow time for neighbors to introduce themselves. Be sure to test any equipment such as projectors or computers before the meeting starts.

Establish Meeting Agendas

All meetings should have an agenda. The agenda lists what will happen at the meeting, including committee reports and any business that needs to be discussed. The president and secretary are responsible for preparing the agenda.

An agenda is important because it:

• Serves as a guide.
• Ensures important issues are not overlooked.
• Gives neighbors a chance to prepare for discussions.

To prepare an agenda:

• Check the minutes of the last meetings. Note any unfinished business.
• Include the committee chairman or chairwoman, special meeting guests and members who are to make reports.
• Check on all new business, which has come up since the last meeting.

Robert's Rule of Order

Neighborhood associations often use Robert’s Rules of Order to help run meetings in a fair, organized and respectful way. These rules give everyone a chance to speak, keep discussions on track and ensure that decisions are made properly. You don’t need to know every rule to get started. Learn more at RobertsRules.com.