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■ Mentoring new employees and elected officials in the history and the creation of the vision <br />works well. <br />Service Quality, Community Image, Community of Choice: <br />The Ramsey City Council spoke of their desire to be a community that people chose to live in for its <br />amenities and quality reputation. Our focus group was asked to discuss what elements, in their opinion, <br />create that kind of community reputation, particularly during a period of high growth. They said: <br />■ The commitment to community quality must be city-wide. <br />■ A centerpiece development is a great initiator and elements of it must be spread to the rest of <br />town. Those elements would include building standards, zoning, aesthetics and something as <br />simple as cleanliness. <br />■ You need to figure out who your competition is. <br />■ Visual desirability is important. Pay attention to your signage ordinance and landscaping <br />requirements. <br />■ What is next to the town center is as important as what is in it. <br />■ Pay attention to the older sections of town and stay with the plan when chances to improve come <br />about. <br />■ The market determines what you will get but the Council does have the ability to influence how <br />it will look and how it will work. <br />■ Cheap gets cheap and quality gets quality. <br />■ People do not seek out a community or live in a community because it has "good government". <br />They make that choice based on what "good government" can provide: a safe and secure <br />community, good schools and high quality services., <br />■ Do not make Town Center an oasis. <br />Communications: <br />The need for communications planning and consistency was a theme that ran through each area of <br />discussion. It was thought of as both telling your story and listening to your citizens. Success was <br />defined as understanding what your constituents want and letting them know what you are doing. This is <br />seen as a necessary city activity. In the present day environment you can not expect the established <br />media outlets to tell your story. Their comments: <br />■ Community opposition groups have become more sophisticated and you need to be as proficient <br />in public relations as they are. <br />We used surveys as initial input and developed an entire public information office to get our <br />message out. <br />0 You need a coordinated, centralized message. It should be coordinated in a visual and contextual <br />