Times Observer file photo Councilman Jared Villella, right, has spearheaded a marketing committee at the council level to both undertake marketing initiatives but also drive increased public engagement.

Part of public service is finding where one’s skills meet a need.

Warren City Council’s Marketing Committee is one such example.

It’s comprised of council members Jared Villella, Wendy McCain and Phil Gilbert.

“It started when I was running,” Villella said. “Every candidate is trying to figure out the unique skillset they can bring…. I looked where I’d like to maybe help.”

He’s been working in marketing since 2003 so he viewed something in that space as “an easy fit.”

“A lot of it was we want to increase visibility — what’s going on in the city? — and present the city to both residents and visitors,” he explained. “Recreational dollars make up a significant portion of the economy” here.

The challenge in front of the committee is to capture those “hard-earned dollars.”

The transition from 2021 to 2022 brought a new majority to city council — four members, Villella, McCain and Mayor Dave Wortman among them — came on to the board at the same time.

As a result, it’s taken some time for the committee, created by council in early 2022, to find its footing.

Villella said the committee first looked at “whatever low-hanging fruit items, the easiest things to provide the most impact” and the most notable in 2022 was prominent signage at the Clark St. Parking Garage reminding patrons of businesses in that area that parking is free on weekends and evenings in the garage.

It was a small thing to start but something that the committee felt would “make life easier and better to the extent that we’re capable of doing.”

Heading into 2023, though, the committee has a much sharper yet broader focus that Villella said grew out of observed needs. The three “buckets” include communication, connecting businesses with resources and improving gateways to the city as well as directional indicators.

The communication piece is looking at steps the city can take to drive public engagement.

Recordings of council meetings will now be available on the website and the city’s YouTube channel.

The meetings will go live in the days following and remain live until the minutes for that meeting are approved, typically the next monthly meeting. That timing was set by prior council action. The video for the March meeting can be found at cityofwarrenpa.gov/council-video.

“We’re hoping to drive some more active participation,” Villella said. “We all need to be better at being more involved on a regular basis.”

It’s not engagement for the sake of engagement, either.

“If we’re going to continue to have these great ideas (for) projects to advance the city and the region, we need to make sure we have people involved,” he said.

That will also include expanding public information made for what is discussed at council meetings, a step council plans to take at the April meeting in light of concerns raised at the March meeting.

Expanding that information, Villella said, is a step in “allowing the public to feel they have a more active role when it matters.”

There are several organizations that play a role in the marketing space that the committee is working to enter. Does it leave too many hands in the cookie jar?

“I don’t think it’s too many hands,” Villella said. “Look, if we all are thinking of ideas as groups, the plan is to partner and come together.”

Many of the ideas floating out there, like improved wayfinding signage, will require funding.

“The formation of the marketing committee was an imperative,” Villella said. “We’re the elected officials that are going to actively participate” in approving and funding projects. He said the committee has a role to connect with and partner with entities like the WCCBI and Warren County Visitors Bureau to “make sure (we) are all looking forward.”

He stressed the “intent was never to replace or to subvert” any organization. “The thought was we could be better and improve the process… if individuals at the council level were involved ahead of time.”

Elected councilmembers are only guaranteed a four-year term. But the scope of the committee is both now and later.

“Let’s get some good stuff done,” Villella said, and also “lay the framework and foundation for moving forward…. We’re hopeful as more folks see more things, more folks become involved.”