Minutes - Council Work Session - 04/24/2023 - Special Strategic Planning

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Councilmember Riley asked again about the streets. He shared that in his mind, the streets are a crisis and until the streets are under control he does not care about anything else that is on the list. He stated that either the streets need to become imperative under each item or become its own. He reiterated that few of these things matter until the streets are under control. Councilmember Musgrove stated that the roads seem to be an action item under improving safety and quality of the transportation corridors. She stated that working on the streets and getting them done are just an action item. She asked if Councilmember Riley wants this as a strategy as well as an action item. Councilmember Riley stated that he does not know where it should go but until the roads are under control, not many other plans matter. Councilmember Olson agreed with Councilmember Riley that roads need to be elevated, which may be an action plan at its core; however it needs elevation based on its importance and so that the residents see that the City is working on the roads and taking them seriously, which is critical. He added that fixing the roads feeds into a lot of the other items, such as improving the image and making the City more safe. Councilmember Specht agreed that this needs to be a top priority. He stated that this could be an action plan under almost every strategy. He agreed that this is the number one issue facing the City. He stated that he does not think this needs to be a strategy. Mayor Kuzma stated that this could go under the communication strategy by communicating to the public that work is getting done. Economic Development Manager Sullivan stated that having the roads in more than one strategy is okay; however, he would just add it to the strategy concerning improving safety and mobility of transportation corridors by adding local streets to the end of this strategy. Councilmember Olson shared his thoughts that rather than relegating this to action items, he would be more inclined to bring it up to an objective. He stated that this would be an on-going objective forever. Mayor Kuzma noted that the residents give the City a hard time about how the roads are. He stated that they have been bringing this forward to work on and a lot has been getting done, proving that this is priority number one of the City. City Administrator Hagen suggested adding an objective about high quality basic needs. Councilmember Riley recommended high quality infrastructure. City Administrator Hagen stated that water, roadways, emergency responses, and others are all the basic needs and core services of the City. He said there is not an objective that addresses these things. He noted that if there was an objective on core services with strategies on this that have a high focus on roads and the water treatment plant. City Council Special Work Session /April 24, 2023 Page 13 of 21