Agenda - Council Work Session - 02/19/2013 - Strategic Planning

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Ramsey Final Report Grant No. 05 -1237 City of Ramsey Future Steps 1. Refinement of Checklist Matrix: Staff, members of Ramsey and consultant Dan Markel all would like to take the final results of the project to their next logical step which is to generate a matrix based on the final visioning documents that will refine and quantify the checklist items into a document that can be used to evaluate how well potential projects or policies fulfill the vision. Since this is a task suited more to professionals than the citizen group that formed the core of Ramsey it will be undertaken by staff and others with city planning expertise. 2. Combining the Vision with the Comprehensive Plan: Private consultants have been proceeding with the Comprehensive Planning Process on a parallel track with Ramsey In August the visioning and checklist documents will be combined with the draft comp plan and discussed in a work session with Council and the Planning Commission. This will be followed by a series of public hearings. 3. Providing for a More Permanent Citizen Involvement Process: Among the chief components of the vision document is the provision for a more collaborative citizen involvement process. While Open Space Technology is the logical choice is a major ingredient for this process, staff and Council will need to develop a systematic process for this citizen involvement. Conclusions Like many communities, Ramsey faces the difficult task of reconciling the feelings of residents who oppose further development with landowners who wish to sell their large lots for development. We believe the process we pioneered along with the commitment of city residents to it, will not necessarily eliminate these conflicts but they will allow us to deal with them without the rancor and suspicion of the past. This project helped us to envision our future through a process that no other city in the Metro area has undertaken. That process succeeded well beyond our initial expectations. We believe the process we used could have broad application for other communities in the region. However, we stress that the process needs to be systemic. It requires that city staff and decision - makers commit to processes, methodologies, and tools that are unfamiliar to most of them. They must understand that what we have come to call the Ramsey Process involves a complex and interrelated series of ingredients. Above all, it requires staff who are willing to "let go" of traditional control and open up the process. We in Ramsey were extremely fortunate to have Patrick Trudgeon as the lead staff member through most of this process. It is to Pat and what he represented that we dedicate this final report Most of all, the City and people of Ramsey deeply appreciate the McKnight Foundation's assistance in allowing us to reach this vision.