082409 CC WS MinCITY OF S O EWOOD
CITE' COUNCIL WORD SESSION
MONDAY, AUGUST 24, 2009
Mayor Lizee called the meeting to order at 6:32 P.M.
A. Roll Call
session 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
6:10 P.M. or immediately
following executive
Present. Mayor Lizee; Councilmembers Bailey, Turgeon, Woodruff and Zerby; Assistant
Attorney Sonsalla; City Administrator Heck; Finance Director Burton; Planning Director
Nielsen; Director of Public Works Brown; and Engineer Landini
Absent: None
B. Review Agenda
Woodruff moved, Turgeon seconded, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed 5/0.
2. COUNCIL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Administrator Heck stated when Council last discussed the 2010 goals and objectives Councilmember
Bailey offered to work with him to identify a draft outline of goals and objectives. The goals are
organized by the City's six operating categories. They are: 1) infrastructure; 2) parks, recreation and
environment; 3) public safety; 4) city finances, services and personnel; 5) city planning; and, 6) resident
communication and feedback. He had e- mailed the Councilmembers a copy of the goals and objectives a
few weeks ago, and a copy of them was included in the meeting packet for this meeting. He clarified
these were intended to be possibilities. He sated he hoped Councilmembers would have thoughts about
how to improve the list of items. He asked Council if the format of the document is acceptable, and if the
six categories are appropriate. He also asked if the draft goals were appropriate and extensive enough.
Councilmember Bailey stated the approach he used was to create broad categories that could be viewed
like silos, noting that is not necessarily how the City operates. The choice of the six categories is open for
discussion. The categories could have been broken into smaller categories, but having six categories
appears to be a manageable number. The intent was to make the goals for each of the six categories
tangible. The goals need to be specific. For example, the first goal in the infrastructure category is "To
provide for the maintenance and improvements of Shorewood's roads." The goals and objectives listed
could be considered placeholders.
Councilmember Turgeon asked Councilmember Bailey what he thought the next step in the process
should be. Bailey explained this is a top -down approach, and it would be a mistake to start at the bottom.
He stated he thought the first thing Council should do is come to agreement on what the goals should be,
and then what the objectives should be. He cautioned Council not to micro manage this process; at some
point it has to be turned over to staff. He thought staff should identify the action items for each of the
objectives and the timetable for completing them.
CITY OF SHOR WOOD WORD SESSION MEETING MINIJ rES
August 24, 2009
Page 2 of 3
Council ember Zerby stated he thought it appropriate for Council to prioritize the goals and objectives.
Councilmember Turgeon stated Council has to remember that priorities shift throughout the year.
Councilmember Bailey stated he thought the infrastructure category is a good example because Council
has had a number of conversations about roadway maintenance. He thought the three objectives he and
Administrator Heck identified for roads are consistent with past Council discussions. A financing plan
needs to be developed and implemented, a roadway improvement plan needs to be implemented, and the
roads have to be properly maintained.
Administrator Heck concurred with COUncillmember Bailey that the first two priorities for Council are to
identify and prioritize the goals, and then agree to what each goal's objectives are. He stated staff can
define the action items for each objective.
Councilmember Bailey stated Council could spread the discussion of each goal and its objectives across
three work sessions; two categories could be discussed during each meeting. The discussion of each
category will be limited to a defined time limit of 30 minutes. Councilmembers should come to each
work session prepared to discuss the goals and associated objectives they thought were important.
Councilmember Turgeon stated she liked the format of the document. She thought it was very clear,
while noting the approach was different then what the City has used in the past.
Councilmember Zerby stated if the category of infrastructure was changed to public works then all the
categories would tie to the departments. Councilmember Bailey stated the categories were consciously
chosen to align with how the staff is organized.
Mayor Lizee suggested the work sessions be conducted as a round table discussion. She requested there
be a white board or flip chart available during the meetings. Administrator Heck stated future work
session discussions about goals and priorities will be discussed in that format.
Councilmember Woodruff stated he liked the format of the document. He thought discussing and
prioritizing the goals first was a good idea. Each of the goals has some type of maintenance function and
that was not articulated in the goals. He recommended this topic be discussed first during a work session
because when it's further down on the agenda the discussion is often cut short.
Councilmember Bailey stated he thought it would be prudent to have a moderator during the discussions.
The moderator should be somewhat aggressive about managing the length of the discussions. Mayor
Lizee agreed with Bailey's suggestions.
There was Council consensus to have Administrator Heck serve as the moderator.
Mayor Lizee asked if the discussions about goals and objectives should be done in September.
Administrator Heck stated the August 31, 2009, work session is devoted to discussing the rate structure.
Councilmembers Bailey and Turgeon stated they would not be in attendance at that meeting. Director
Burton stated the meeting is scheduled from 6:00 P.M. — 8:00 P.M.
After discussion the following dates were agreed to for work session meetings to discuss goals and
objectives. One is scheduled for September 8"' from 5:30 P.M — 7:30 P.M. A second is scheduled for
CITY OF SHOREWOOD WORK SESSION MEETING MINUTES
August 24, 2009
Page 3 of 3
September 14 `x' from 6:00 P.M. – 6:55 RK A third is scheduled for September 28"' from 6:00 – 6:55
P.M.
N�" Hilm
Turgeon moved, Woodruff seconded, adjourning the City Council Work Session of August 24,
2009, at 6:52 P.M. Motion passed 510.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
Christine Freeman, Recorder
Christine Liz6e, Mayor
ATTEST:
B 4 ri - a eck,,C i tor/Cler