Minutes - Council Work Session - 04/26/2016

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of the document would be enhanced if priorities were defined. It would work better in budgeting. Councilmember LeTourneau disagreed and stated he is on the Council for a short time, and the priorities will change with the Councilmembers. Each Council will set its own priorities, and those will change every two years. Councilmember Shryock noted sometimes the residents do not read the fine print. She suggested the document doesn't need to be very complicated; only a few clarifications are needed. She said the Community Center could be listed as an optional item, whereas adding a bathroom to a Park building that's already been committed to would be a necessary item. Mayor Strommen suggested formatting the document in a way that shows the top five projects easier. Currently, there is nothing that makes that easy to find. Councilmember Kuzma stated he approved of one idea to extend the forecast out to 10 years so everyone can see what the possible future projects are. Councilmember Riley questioned how projects can be taken off the list if they are not approved. He noted some items stay on the list for a very long time, and may not come to fruition for years. Mayor Strommen replied the item would need to be discussed and can be removed if there is a consensus. Councilmember LeTourneau stated the Armstrong overpass was not planned to happen for years due to funding. Then the funding came, and the overpass was built years before the original plan. It is helpful to have long term projects on the plan so it is kept in sight at the very least. Councilmember Kuzma commented he has had residents ask him about a community center. He said he thought this project should stay on the planning document. As the budgeting process takes place, there could be a time the City can add to the fund to start make it a reality. City Administrator Ulrich pointed out the Community Center cannot be funded by the City alone at this point. Other community centers or YMCAs, for example, may want to partner in the future. This would be a benefit to keep large future projects such as this on the plan. Finance Director Lund asked how she should list large future projects. The City's cost could be listed separately from the funding that would be needed, or only the City's cost could be listed. Councilmember Riley responded the full price should be shown. Mayor Strommen stated the challenge is to understand the full cost and what it takes to get there. She expressed concern at the possibility of misleading people. City Council Work Session / April 26, 2016 Page 4 of 6