2025 Strategic Planning Session

The City Council and staff meet annually to update the City's strategic plan.  Attached to the case is the 2024 plan with progress notes.  In recent years, the Values, Vision, Mission, Objectives and Strategies within the plan have been reviewed but have received minimal changes.  In reviewing these sections, we may want to refocus our goals, strategies, objectives and action items on unique one-off items.  A number of items in the plan have remained in the plan for a number of recent years.  The efforts began as newer initiatives or a refocus on tasks we should have been doing better.  These efforts have arguably been incorporated into our annual routine, and have dedicated funding behind them.  For example, infrastructure maintenance, street lighting, pedestrian safety, playground replacement and communication efforts have all seen improvements in the recent past with support by the council through the budget process to continue those efforts.  If an item of this nature should be improved even more, or we want to focus on it and take it a step further in our efforts, then it could remain on the list.  If a project is routinely being discussed at council meetings, or through the budget process, but it does not seem to gain the necessary traction, then we could add a more focused plan to address the project through the Strategic Plan.  For example, the Mississippi River Bridge crossing to Dayton has found a home on our annual Legislative Priority List, but it has not been a main focus of staff's efforts throughout the year.  Another example may be to move the Waterfront Park more into focus and establish a framework to complete the project.  We will be able to expand on additional ideas throughout the planning session.

Attached to the case is a status sheet on the 2024 Strategic Plan, a summary of the 2024 Strategic Planning Session activities and a draft of the new format for the 2025 Strategic Plan. 

Below is the proposed schedule for this evening:
Time                      Item
5:30 PM                 Welcome & Meeting Objectives
5:35 - 5:45              Confirm Values, Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies and brief review of progress on 2023 plan
5:45 - 6:05              What's working well?
6:05 - 6:25              What's not working well?
6:25 - 6:45              What are we not doing that we should be doing?
6:45 - 7:05              What are we currently doing that we should not be doing?
7:05 - 7:15              Break
7:15 - 7:30              Impacts in the next 1-5 years
7:30 - 7:45              Opportunities in the next 1-5 years
7:45 - 8:30              Begin brainstorming additions, deletions or amendments to the action items
8:30 PM                 Closing Comments & Adjourn

N/A

This meeting is generally scheduled to adjourn at 8:30 pm.  Additional follow-up discussion will be scheduled at a future work session as needed.  Following this evening, staff will work to identify outcomes and indicators to satisfy action items.  If needed, staff will also further brainstorm additional objectives and action items that could be considered for implementation to accomplish the identified strategies.

This is handled under normal staff duties.

N/A

The main objective of the evening is to establish goals to implement into the plan.  From there, we will build on the strategies with supporting objectives and action items.  Additional work session time at a regular work session meeting will be scheduled for a final review of the plan.