Agenda - Council Work Session - 10/03/2006

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City of Ramsey City Council Interview January 31, 2006 A marketing effort was felt important by several members who spoke of "selling" the city to prospective residents. The comment was made that people historically have moved to Ramsey to take advantage of affordable land prices and affordable housing. They want to expand that appeal to become a community that people seek out because of quality services and amenities. What are the major obstacles to providing the quality services discussed above? Participants were very aware of the need for a balanced tax base and financial support for the efforts they want to make. They want to maintain an attitude of staff support through ample training and an environment of respect. They are aware of how quickly the citizens' feelings about growth can change, and how they need to "manage" residents' expectations. They need to tell the City's story to the community and they need to develop the capacity to do that. Is there a consensus among Council, staff and residents about the mission of the City and the direction Ramsey is heading in? It was the general belief that staff and Council were on the same page in terms of where the City was headed. Participants uniformly felt that the residents had much less of an understanding about the direction of the City, and the volume and complexity of the issues it is facing. They all expressed some unease at their ability to keep.up with the pace of their existing workload and are concerned they are not doing the best work that is possible. They expect at some point to be required to "manage" the growth of the community and fully expect that residents will say "enough is enough" at some point. Other Comments Councilmembers are very aware of the changes that have occurred in their population and want to be able to respond to what they know will be increased service demands, and perhaps also requests for services the City has not provided in the past. They want to find a way to do that while still maintaining the small-town feel they currently have and the responsive customer service they strive for in their service delivery.