12-18-2024 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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STAFF REPORT TO: Mayor Fischer and Members of City Council FROM: Chris Heineman, City Administrator Laura Linehan, Community Relations Manager DATE: December 18, 2024 RE: Approval of Consulting Services Agreement with HueLife for Strategic Planning Services ACTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED: Staff is requesting the City Council's consideration in accepting the consulting services agreement with HueLife LLC in the amount of $8,000 for 2025 strategic planning workshop services. This item is an unbudgeted item and requires City Council approval. BACKGROUND: Historical Context Prior to the adoption of the 2019 Strategic Plan, the City Council held annual goal-setting workshops with members of the Planning and Parks Commissions and representatives from other local community organizations. This process was effective in developing four-to-five annual goals. However, this process hindered the development and implementation of a long-term vision. Therefore, following the seating of the 2018 elected council members, at the February 13, 2019 City Council workshop, staff proposed engaging Hue Life to complete a city-wide strategic plan. The goal of the proposed strategic planning initiative was to establish a practical vision for the community and identify the city's steps to achieve that vision. Following a number of strategic planning sessions, interviews with Council members and Commission members, and feedback from staff, a five-year strategic plan was presented for City Council adoption on September 11, 2019. Four strategic directions shaping first-year imperatives and two-year results action items were adopted as part of the strategic plan. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of action items within the 2019 strategic plan were accomplished. Therefore, staff proposed a strategic planning update session with Hue Life on April 22 and April 23, 2022, to discuss accomplished items, future direction, and new initiatives. With the seating of several new City Council members in 2022, an update rather than undertaking a new strategic planning process was beneficial to ensure buy-in and continuity of strategic direction. At the April strategic plan update meetings, council members and staff participated in a session targeted at reviewing and re-envisioning the 2019 Strategic Plan. The 2022 Strategic Plan update was presented at the workshop on July 13, 2022, and was formally adopted by the City Council on September 28, 2022. To ensure strategic planning initiatives are continuing to fruition, staff established a re-occurring meeting every six weeks and has provided the City Council with updates regarding the status of the action items. Additionally, staff updates a public-facing progress report on the city website following the six-week check-in meetings.