Kitchen Table Meetings: Applying the Golden Rule to Property Owner Outreach

Abstract

Property impacts are unavoidable with most road construction. Rather than the owner’s first experience being a drilling rig pull up in their drive-way, the kitchen table meeting process takes a proactive approach to sitting down in the “safety and comfort” of their home, upfront to discuss the type and timing of activities that will occur during design, property acquisition and construction— reducing the “unknown” in this multi-year process that happens too fast for some and too slowly for others. Learn how this approach has not only resulted in increased project acceptance and perception, but also in valuable knowledge that can minimize conflicts, avoid costly design rework, and expedite schedules. Longer Abstract: Property impacts are unavoidable with most road construction. Worse, most property owner’s first personal experience with a project is when they see a person in a safety vest carrying survey equipment across their front yard, or a geotechnical drilling rig pull in their driveway. Imagine instead, sitting down with someone at their kitchen table in the “safety and comfort” of their home, first to discuss the type and timing of activities that will occur during design, property acquisition and construction— reducing the “unknown” in this multi-year process that happens too fast for some and too slowly for others. Not only has this personal approach been shown to reduce property owner anxiety, but it has also helped project teams gain valuable knowledge that can minimize conflicts, avoid costly design rework, and expedite schedules—resulting in increased project acceptance and perception at a comparable overall project cost. This session will provide details on how and when to implement the kitchen table meetings and lessons learned through the development and use of the process on recent major projects. Learning Objectives: After attending this workshop, participants will be better able to: » Alleviate unnecessary property owner anxiety associated with the unknown » Understand how extending a common courtesy can help reduce project conflicts » Recognize the individual differences between each and every affected property owner » Identify potential project challenges early enough to avoid redundancy in work tasks » Implement a customized kitchen table meeting approach that meets the scale of your transportation improvement project