Agenda - Council Work Session - 10/03/2006

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Summary of Comments City Manager's / Administrator's Focus Group Ramsey Growth Issues March 2, 2006 Introduction: On March 2, 2006 five current and former city administrators and managers met at Springsted Inc. in St. Paul, MN to participate in a round -table discussion focused on the personal experiences each had in their careers as they managed a city that was going through a period of rapid growth. Each participant has Minnesota based experience and is familiar with the City of Ramsey and the projected growth in the northwest region of the Twin Cities. The participants collectively had managed the following communities during their careers: Maple Grove, Lakeville, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Plymouth, Coon Rapids, Brooklyn Center, North St. Paul, Inver Grove Heights Facilitating the discussion was: Craig Rapp, Springsted Inc. and former City Manager of Brooklyn Park and Hopkins, MN. Bill Joynes, Springsted Inc, and former City Manager of Golden Valley and White Bear Lake, MN. What follows is a summary of comments made by the participants in response to a series of questions and related issues generated from interviews with the Ramsey City Council, City Administrator and selected management staff. The comments are organized in general topic areas. The statements included were made by individuals, but supported by a majority of the group. Comments that were thought to be helpful but only mentioned by one participant are listed in the miscellaneous section. Visioning / What Do You Want To Be? This topic was the first mentioned when we asked them what made them successful in their efforts to manage growth. They were unanimous in their opinion that the city's leadership should spend time up front developing a community philosophy and direction. Revisiting those decisions at regular intervals throughout a rapid growth period was also deemed important. Their specific comments were: ■ You need to engage citizens in the vision and service level discussions concerning what you want to be. ■ Be inclusive in a visioning process; do not forget the schools, other units of government, business, major employers and civic groups. ■ A vision that is supported by the community through participation in its creation will give long term support for Council actions to implement it. ■ Groups who prefer the status quo will always exist and they need to feel like they have had a voice ■ The vision needs to be understood and promoted throughout the changing attitudes. It will provide benchmark satisfaction ratings. ■ Keep in mind that the market is the main factor in determining your long term potential.