Agenda Date: 05/13/2025
Subject:
Title
2025 City Council Retreat Follow-up
Body
From:
James L. Becklenberg, City Manager
Prepared by:
Adrienne Burton, Manager of Innovation & Performance Excellence
Presentations:
Adrienne Burton, Manager of Innovation & Performance Excellence
Kathleen Osher, Deputy City Manager
Mike Gent, Deputy City Manager
PURPOSE:
To confirm Council direction from the March 2025 Retreat and review proposed next steps for capital prioritization, financing strategies, Authorities, Boards & Commissions (ABC) coordination, and community engagement enhancements in addition to a status report on the implementation of the top 30 initiatives identified in the city's strategic plan, Horizon 2027.
LONG-TERM OUTCOME(S) SERVED:
High-Quality Governance
DISCUSSION:
The March 2025 City Council Retreat surfaced shared priorities around fiscal stewardship, project readiness, transparency in engagement, and maximizing the impact of infrastructure investments. Council expressed a desire to balance project urgency with long-term flexibility, better align work across the organization, and ensure the public is meaningfully informed and engaged.
This study session advances that direction by proposing a capital funding framework-defining time-sensitive, transformational, and emerging projects-and outlines possible sequencing options and funding tools (e.g., Certificates of Participation, General Obligation Bonds). The presentation confirms Council direction for issuing debt for the Belleview Service Center, Santa Fe & Mineral Operational Improvements, and Town Hall Arts Center mechanical systems improvements in addition to previewing future discussions regarding Project Downtown.
Staff will also present tools to operationalize Council's engagement goals, including the development of communication and engagement timelines linked to City Council's policy and budget planning cycles, project-specific engagement matrices, and leveraging existing city even...
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