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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 02/24/1998 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL TUESDAY,FEBRUARY 24, 1998 7:00 p.m. CITY CENTER CITY COUNCIVSTAFF WORKSHOP Heritage Room IV 8080 Mitchell Road COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Jean Harris, Councilmembers Sherry Butcher-Younghans, Ronald Case, Ross Thorfinnson Jr., and Nancy Tyra-Lukens CITY STAFF: City Manager Carl Jullie, Assistant City Manager Chris Enger, Director of Public Works Eugene Dietz, Director of Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Bob Lambert,Director of Public Safety Jim Clark, Director of Human Resources, Community Information & Services Natalie Swaggert, Communications Coordinator Terry Kucera, and Recording Secretary Barbara Anderson I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Tyra-Lukens called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. Mayor Hams was absent. Enger reviewed the results from the Community Forum and the Executive Summary of the results of that discussion. He noted that Bill Moms of Decision Resources, Inc.had made a presentation to the City Employees which was taped. He explained the difference in the way items were referred to in the speech versus how staff chose to refer to them in the Executive Summary. H. VIDEO PRESENTATION OF COMMUNITY FORUM RESULTS Councilmembers and staff watched the video presentation on the forum results. IV. NEXT STEPS Enger reviewed the next steps on the process which will include mailing the Executive Summary to forum participants, telecast of the Bill Morris presentation on Cable TV, the presentation of the Community Forum results to Boards and Commissions, and share the results of those presentations with the City Council and then beginning the formulation of a strategic plan. Swaggert commented staff wanted to show the video on cable by mid-March. Enger recapped the status of the Community Forum at present;he noted the focus groups did not focus on social issues but were more intent on the realistic issues of today. Enger showed a matrix containing the focus areas identified and the boards and commissions and the areas where the boards and commissions would be most concerned. The worksheets contained in the packets were devised with the idea of having the boards and commissions CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES February 24, 1998 Page 2 identify issues and goals that were within their purview and what strategies could be used to accomplish these goals. These worksheets would be tied into the commission and Council values and used to develop a strategic plan. Enger asked if those present agreed with the goals and values and that the correct boards and commissions had been identified and associated with each value. Tyra-Lukens commented that Park and Recreation should be included with the Public Safety because they were involved with that aspect within the parks and on the trail systems. Butcher-Younghans commented the Heritage Preservation Commission should be included under the Environment and Protection of Natural Resources because they were involved in preserving landscaping around historical buildings and things such as Miller Spring. Enger stated that if each commission does the worksheets they will have a good start on creating their strategic planning for the future as each commission will be looking at these issues from their point of view. This would give staff a large jump on developing the strategic plan and they could bring it back to the City Council for review. Case asked if staff would have some examples that were specific because he thought the blue sheets were very obscure and needed more definition to be useful. Swaggert stated staff will hold facilitated meetings with the boards and commissions to explain exactly what the blue sheets were designed to do. Case commented the marks on the chart were not weighted as to their importance, and some issues were more important than others and some boards and commissions had much more impact on the values than did others. Enger responded the chart was simply designed to allow staff to reach agreement as to what areas each commission was involved with and then to solicit input from these commissions on those issues that were relevant. Lambert commented he thought the Park and Recreation Commission should be included with transportation as they make recommendations to the City Council on pedestrian walkways and trails. Discussion ensued regarding how the presentation would be made to the boards and commissions and it was felt that staff should meet with the staff liaisons to explain the goals and objectives of the exercise and how it would be conducted. Dietz commented perhaps the presentation could be made to all the boards and commissions at one time and then they could break off into small groups to hold their discussions. Enger stated staff intends to do something along those lines,but had thought perhaps two or three sessions would be needed,but staff would look at alternatives. Enger stated there was the potential to use a similar matrix for City Departments to solicit input from each department and that would help give management a good perspective on the views of the City employees. The process is flexible and they can put other values into the matrix to get different information. Staff feels that going to the boards and commissions for input is the next step in this process, and getting input from City staff could be done later on as the process is flowing along. This would give the City a comprehensive list of goals and objectives that would be fairly complete. Enger noted that such things as conservation easements and density transfers could be included as tools that a certain commission may feel fit into the category of"do more with less". CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES February 24, 1998 Page 3 Tyra-Lukens commented the process would give the Council validation for the premises they have set forth. Lambert asked about the"do more with less"mandate, and noted the Park and Recreation Commission has been talking about holding a referendum to obtain funds to renovate some park facilities, and accomplish some things they have been wanting to do. Enger responded that they need to identify the services that are being suggested as the means to drive the bond issue. If the bond issue fits into the identified values that the community wants to hold and accomplish, then there is a valid reason to hold a referendum. It all has to balance out. Swaggert commented they need to tie the values in the referendum to the focus areas. Butcher-Younghans stated that she felt it was healthy to discuss these things and it should be something that the citizens have input about. Tyra-Lukens stated it may be a way to look at optimizing current services and there may not be a way to do that so they may have to implement an incremental plan to accomplish those tasks. Enger clarified that the maxim means"do more with less increase"so as not to raise taxes more than is absolutely necessary. Lambert commented planning has to be all-encompassing and the values need to be the focal point rather than the issues of today to be ready for the future when these immediate issues of today will be resolved. Swaggert asked if it would be helpful to send out the Executive Summary to board and commission members ahead of time, and everyone present felt that would be best. Dietz commented they were all making the assumption that the population of Eden Prairie was going to age,when that may not be the case. People could decide to move away as they get older, to be replaced by younger families, and the demographics of Eden Prairie could remain relatively stable for quite a long period. Enger responded that the City needs to be able to react to that scenario by having a system of checks and balances because it was too difficult to predict accurately what would occur in the future. IV. LEADERSHIP PROFILE RESULTS Thorfinnson arrived at the meeting at 8:40 p.m. He stated the Leadership Profile detailed the results of the values that the City Council had established as being desirable in a City Manger. The document was confidential, as it was personal, and would not be allowed to leave the building. Councilmembers would be allowed access to it by contacting Human Resources if they wished to read it. Discussion ensued regarding when to take formal action to confirm the new City Manger. Swaggert stated she would discuss this with City Attorney Roger Pauley to see if the date of appointment could be moved forward. V. ADJOURNMENT Tyra-Lukens adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m.