FAQs

Traditional community engagement usually involves attending scheduled meetings or submitting written correspondence.  While these involvement opportunities will continue to be offered, we realize that for members of our community, these methods can often be time consuming, inconvenient, and sometimes intimidating. Engage Owatonna will give you the opportunity to virtually share your thoughts and ideas on select project topics directly with those leading any efforts.

Benefits of online engagement:

~It is a quick, safe and convenient way to have your say on a range of issues and topics.

~It is a great way to keep up to date and contribute your views on issues affecting the community.

~You can see what other community members think about an issue or topic, respond with your own views and engage in a discussion.

~You don't have to attend community meetings at a set place and time, you can contribute at a time and place that suits you.

~It allows for a range of different people, with different views to discuss matters that impact on their community.

You can lend your voice to projects and initiatives listed on this site in varying ways. Submit your feedback via the online discussion forums, quick polls, forms, and surveys relevant to open projects.

To participate for the first time on the website, simply:

• Sign up for Engage Owatonna by clicking on the "Register" button on the website's home page or on the top right of any page
• Choose a username and password
• Complete a few questions about yourself
• You will receive an email to validate your email address
• Return to the website and click the "Sign In" button

While registration is not required to access Engage Owatonna, it is necessary for many of the more interactive engagement opportunities. We ask you to register to the website for a few reasons.

~It helps ensure that a broader set of perspectives have an opportunity to be represented by attributing feedback and frequency of feedback to individuals.

~It promotes accountability and encourages people to provide more thoughtful responses because feedback can be attributed to them.

All public comments are moderated 24 hours a day seven days a week, for inappropriate language, comments that disrespect other participants, and for comments that are off topic.

All moderation is carried out by Bang the Table and all moderation is independent to the community of Owatonna.  The moderators do not edit or alter any comments and will only remove comments deemed to be significantly off topic, offensive or malicious, in which case they are removed from the site immediately and the person who posted the comment is advised by email. See the moderation policy for more details.

All comments, ideas and suggestions are collated and used by the relevant project teams to inform the development of strategies, programs and activities, or to gain an insight into community views and opinions. Often, feedback provided online is used in conjunction with other face-to-face consultation activities such as meetings, open houses or surveys. When each consultation closes, all contributions are compiled into a report, which will be presented to a decision making body when considering the particular matter. All feedback provided during consultation will be considered; however, this does not mean that every suggestion will affect the project or be adopted as proposed. Note: All comments you make through this website will become public records for anyone to read.

Yes! Your privacy is absolutely protected.  Your email will only be used to contact you with updates and to invite you to participate in different projects posted on the platform.Your email address will not be distributed to any third party or used for any other purpose. We do not ask for your personal details or require them at any time as part of your participation. For more information, see the Site Privacy Policy.