HomeMy WebLinkAbout#10 - Adopt Strategic PlanSTAFF REPORT
DATE: February 18, 2025
REGULAR
AGENDA ITEM: 2025 Lake Elmo Strategic Plan
SUBMITTED BY: Nicole Miller, City Administrator
BACKGROUND:
Council, Department Heads, Consultant Staff and Commission Representatives, held work sessions on
January 15-16, 2024 to develop both long-term strategies and short-term goals for the organization. The
discussion was facilitated by Phil Kern and included long-term vision, organizational values and
expectations, and short-term goal setting. The group heard presentations from all departments, contracted
staff and commission representatives.
ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL:
Should the council adopt the 2025 Strategic plan?
PROPOSAL:
A copy of the 2025 Strategic Plan is attached.
FISCAL IMPACT:
TBD
OPTIONS:
1) Adopt 2025 Lake Elmo Strategic Plan
2) Adopt 2025 Lake Elmo Strategic Plan with amendments
3) Table to further date
RECOMMENDATION:
“Motion to adopt 2025 Lake Elmo Strategic Plan”
ATTACHMENTS:
• Lake Elmo 2025 Strategic Plan
• Lake Elmo 2025 Strategic Plan Presentation
LAKE ELMO
STRATEGIC PLAN
JANUARY 2025
2025 STRATEGIC PLAN 1
STRATEGIC PLAN
PROCESS
On January 15-16, 2024, the Lake Elmo City Council and Staff Leadership Team held work sessions to
develop both long-term strategies and short-term goals for the organization in 2025. The sessions
focused on three key areas of strategic planning: long-term vision, organizational values and expectations,
and short-term goal setting. The group explored the elements of the long-term vision, crafting strategy
statements to define that vision. They then assessed the current state of the City and organization to
create a list of goals for both the Council and staff, aligning with that vision. Through discussions,
participants reflected on strengths, weaknesses, potential impacts, and emerging opportunities. The group
also reached consensus on how various functions of local government must collaborate to succeed, establishing shared organizational values and expectations. The City Council will now review the outcomes
of these sessions as part of adopting the 2025 Strategic Plan.
LONG TERM VISION
One of the primary outcomes of the Strategic Planning process is the development of a long-term vision.
The vision is a description of the future the participants see for the community and the organization, often
expressed in aspirational terms. The purpose of the vision is to establish a long-term direction that can be
communicated both within the community and the organization, providing stakeholders with an
understanding of the leadership’s direction. The vision is communicated through a series of descriptive
and detailed organizational strategy statements, labeled core strategies. These statements can be both
the embodiment of the areas the organization values and the direction of its leadership. Accomplishing
progress on the core strategies will bring the organization closer to achieving its vision and provide the
areas in which more manageable, short-term goals can be derived.
Prior to the session, participants were asked to consider the characteristics and qualities they hoped
would describe Lake Elmo and the organization in 2050. Participants individually shared their thoughts in
writing in advance. The comments and input were collected and shared anonymously with the group in the first exercise of the session. The participants were given the opportunity to discuss the results of the
pre-session work, identifying areas of consensus, emphasis, and importance to the long-term vision of the City and organization.
The participants then reviewed a draft of core strategies areas based on the input from this activity. The core strategies are action statements that identify the organization and City’s long-term key areas of
focus. The group refined the strategy areas before breaking into small groups to work constructively on developing strategic objectives that support each core strategy area. The strategies provide consistent
and stable organizational priorities for the years to come, and serve as organizational guideposts for day-to-day action, policy formation, and program decision-making. It is anticipated that the core strategies may be modified over the long-term, but generally all agreed as to the key priorities of the leadership
team.
2025 STRATEGIC PLAN 2
The core strategies are supported in this plan by strategic objectives. These objectives provide more
specific action areas that the City’s leadership team believes are integral to achieving success with the
core strategies. Each objective addresses an internal or external area of action or improvement. The
strategic objectives, combined with the core strategies, provide direction for all areas of leadership.
Following the presentation of draft core strategies and strategic objectives, the full group reviewed and
discussed the body of work and modified the proposed statements of the Leadership Team’s
vision. Without objection and subject to further modification prior to adoption, the group agreed to the
following draft core strategies and strategic objectives:
Core Strategies and Strategic Objectives
The City of Lake Elmo is committed to leading and guiding the City towards the following long-term Core
Strategies and Strategic Objectives:
1. Building a vibrant, inclusive, and connected community through celebration, engagement, and
shared spaces.
• Actively communicate and promote achievements and milestones to foster pride and unity
among residents.
• Support events and initiatives that cater to diverse age groups, cultures, and interests, ensuring
everyone feels welcome and valued.
• Develop and maintain parks, gathering spaces, and a thriving downtown core that serve as
destination-worthy hubs for community connection.
• Prioritize clean, safe environments to encourage active use of public spaces.
• Expand and diversify recreational assets and opportunities to meet the interests and needs of
community members.
• Promote walkability and connectedness through planned and maintained sidewalk and trail
systems.
2. Manage Growth with Purpose and Intent.
• Protect historical charm and character.
• Enhance infrastructure and spaces that bring people together.
• Align growth with community values to nurture a shared sense of pride.
• Focus on projects that reflect long-term community goals.
• Balance growth with efforts to maintain the city’s unique sense of community.
• Support local business and encourage new businesses through community collaboration
3. Balancing finances consistent with current needs and future growth.
• Align financial decisions with current needs and long-term sustainability.
• Maintain transparency and clear communication with stakeholders.
• Manage resources carefully to support city services and future growth.
• Explore alternative funding sources to reduce and eliminate debt.
• Coordinating growth and development to provide financial resources to support City services
• Prioritize well-planned, thoughtful investments for lasting impact.
2025 STRATEGIC PLAN 3
4. Maintain responsive, transparent, and adaptive governance.
• Proactively address current needs and future challenges while responding to immediate needs.
• Foster open communication and active collaboration with stakeholders.
• Uphold ethical, transparent, and fair decision-making processes.
• Embody principles of servant leadership for the well-being of the community through selfless
service and guidance.
• Ensure actions are purposefully aligned with long-term community objectives.
• Welcome new ideas and collaborative solutions to address evolving opportunities and challenges.
5. Deliver efficient, reliable, and innovative public services.
• Foster a safe and secure community by investing in and maintaining engaged police, fire, and
public works services.
• Maintain a highly trained, responsive staff dedicated to excellence.
• Be innovative and adaptable with services to meet the community's changing demands.
• Embrace a team approach centered on serving the community effectively.
6. Build and sustain resilient infrastructure to support a thriving and sustainable community.
• Implement effective water management strategies to ensure long-term availability of safe
drinking water.
• Manage Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to align asset management with fiscal responsibility.
• Construct and maintain street and utility systems with care and foresight with appropriate
management.
• Adopt environmentally responsible practices for infrastructure and resource management.
ORGANIZATIONAL EXPECTATIONS AND VALUES
The second part of the session focused on how the organization desires to conduct its matters and how
the different members of the leadership team interact with each other. Effective local governance
requires respect and understanding of the difference in roles between the elected body, the City Council,
and its professional staff. The City Council should focus on governance through establishing policy,
providing direction, and acting on official matters before the City. Staff, through the City Administrator,
focus on execution of services and implementation of Council directives. Understanding those roles and
what each body provides for the other is important in setting the context for a strong, working
relationship and good governance.
For this exercise, the City Council and staff leadership teams respectively split into two groups to discuss
two questions: what it expects of the other group and what it provides for the other group. The Council and staff leadership team then reconvened and shared with each other providing an opportunity for
discussion and feedback.
The outcome of this work are the following expectations and values for the City of Lake Elmo.
2025 STRATEGIC PLAN 4
City Council Provides for Staff Leadership Team (Staff) Provides for City Council
Clear direction Transparency
No surprises Information and data, facts
Communicate need for additional information Options, comparisons, recommendations
Respect Background and solutions
Support staff within the community Financial implications
Resources needed for their roles/support Perspective
Collaborative Continuity
Encouragement in career
growth/advancement
Connection and communications
No late meetings, reasonable SME
City Council Expectations of Leadership
Team (Staff)
Leadership Team (Staff) Expectations of City
Council
Critical thinking Resources to meet Council expectations
Professionalism Clear, direct expectations
Data/research Support, respect, and trust
Anticipation of future risks/needs Feedback – Council and community awareness
Collaborative space Collaboration
Analysis of problems/issues Stay in your lane, respect the different roles
Follow through on Council actions Cohesive Council
Reporting back on issues Council/staff relationships
2025 STRATEGIC PLAN 5
Realistic communication of capacity Perspective
Situational awareness Boundaries
Know and understand your role
Respect diversity of elected leaders (different
needs, tones, styles, backgrounds, etc.)
The second session also included a brief discussion of the organization’s values. The chart below indicates the nine current values. Prior to the session, the participants were asked to each identify their three
priority values from a long list of organizational values. As a session activity, the group reviewed the
similarities between the existing values and the brainstormed values of the group’s participants.
The group was asked to consider the organizational values and if fewer values (suggested 3, up to 5) would better serve the organization. Current research and trends on organizational effectiveness suggests
that organizations are better served by fewer values that are both memorable for people within the
organization and meaningful for the community. Several members of the group spoke up and supported the idea of trimming the goals to 3, if possible, or perhaps 4-5 if needed. Within that conversation, there
were several guiding suggestions from the group that seemed to have consensus:
• Both the existing City values and the brainstormed responses place a high emphasis on excellence
when it comes to performing the work the City does. Excellence can describe many elements of
the City’s efforts, from the quality of the services it provides to the value of continuous
improvement and not settling for satisfactory or good within staff and organizational performance.
• There were a number of character traits in both lists, and perhaps finding a value that summarizes
the key responses from the group related to the character expectations would be helpful. Some of the character values that were high on both the existing values list and the brainstormed list
included integrity, transparency, accountability, trusting, and professional.
• The responses also provided value statements related to the City being a service-driven
organization, and not just simply a service provider, but one that is engaged, collaborative, and strives to meet its stakeholders needs. In keeping with the concept of servant leadership, the value of serving the community was a common response.
With this group feedback and input in mind, I am recommending the City consider the following values
and value statements to summarize and support the City’s mission and how it expects the organization to perform.
The mission of the City of Lake Elmo is to provide planned, quality public services consistent with the City’s character in a fiscally-
responsible manner in partnership with our community.
The organization intends to meet this mission by committing to performance consistent with the following values:
2025 STRATEGIC PLAN 6
• Excellence
o We strive for excellence in everything we do, ensuring the highest quality in the delivery
of services. Our commitment to excellence is reflected in our continue pursuit of
improvement and innovation.
• Integrity
o We uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity in our actions. We are
transparent and accountable, fostering trust and respect among our stakeholders.
• Service
o We are committed to serving our community through collaboration, innovation, open communication, valuing diverse ideas and creative solutions. By respecting individuality and actively engaging with the community, we ensure our efforts are inclusive and
responsive.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
As the session moved into the short-term actions phase, a key activity was conducting an environmental
scan of the City and organization. This scan aimed to assess both the external (community) and internal
(organization) environments from multiple perspectives. Throughout the two work sessions, participants
were regularly prompted with questions to guide their analysis of Lake Elmo's strengths, challenges, and
emerging trends. These discussions were conducted in small groups and also as a whole, where
participants explored issues and opportunities facing the City in the years ahead. The insights gained from
this environmental scan formed the foundation for developing the organization's goals later in the
sessions.
The questions posed throughout the sessions included the following:
• What do you most appreciate about the City of Lake Elmo?
• Where is your City/Organization momentum present?
• What are you doing well?
• What challenges are you facing or see coming?
• What are you doing that you shouldn’t be doing?
• What aren’t you doing that you should be doing?
• What trends/opportunities do you see coming?
One of the key activities to help highlight the assessment involved individual presentations by departments and service providers for the City. Every department of the City offered a brief presentation
of primary activities, opportunities, challenges, and areas of focus. Additionally, representatives of the City’s Parks and Planning Commissions, along with the Economic Development Authority, presented areas
of focus and potential projects for the coming year. The group also heard from Metro I-NET and the Clark Schroeder regarding water issues.
These questions and discussions helped frame the present status of the City and the organization, setting the stage for goal setting to meet the challenges and opportunities in a fashion consistent with the City’s
long-term vision.
2025 STRATEGIC PLAN 7
SHORT-TERM GOALS
The third portion of the Strategic Planning process was to develop a short-term goals platform and
workplan to guide the organization in the coming years. Participants were offered the opportunity to
present draft goals that addressed any of the following objectives - short-term actions that lead to a core
strategy or strategic objective, goals to address weaknesses, opportunities, or potential impacts discussed
during the assessment process, or other goals that individual members viewed to be important for the
City. The process encouraged the brainstorming of SMART goals - specific, measurable, attainable,
relevant, and time-bound (2-3 years) - and objectives that would support the core strategies and vision.
Following the brainstorming process, a prioritization process was used to develop the following list of
high priority and priority goals. Participants were given the ability to choose a limited number of
brainstormed goals as their top priorities. As each participant’s choices were collected, the draft goals
were bunched into three categories. The categories and prioritization followed these guidelines:
• High Priority Goals - goals that were identified by at least three members of the Mayor/City
Council as top priority and also received support from City Staff.
• Opportunity Goals - goals that were identified as a top priority by at least two of the Mayor and
City Council or a majority and received support from City Staff.
• Other Goals - goals that did not have an initial priority ranking by more than one of the Mayor
and City Council. (Included as an appendix to the report.)
Proposed 2025 Short-Term Goals
High Priority - goals that are the top priority of the organization in the coming two-year period.
1. Develop Master Plans, including community engagement for recently purchased 77 acres, and
existing 180 acres (Core Strategy #1).
2. Address water appropriations and PFAS with appropriate agencies and promote water
conservation (Core Strategy #6).
3. Develop comprehensive financial strategy that encompasses multiple long-term goals (Core
Strategy #3).
4. Develop vision for Comprehensive Plan including future MUSA area development (Core Strategy
#2).
5. Keep external and internal communications fresh and innovative – connect with all ages and
cultures (Core Strategy #4).
6. Develop Old Fire Station site (Core Strategy #2).
7. Work with community and partnering agencies to evaluate emergency service response to
southern portion of the city. Including future growth of city, response times, roadway designs and
intersection improvements. (Core Strategy #5 & #6).
8. Analyze and assess water, sewer, and street light fees (Core Strategy #3).
Opportunity - goals that have organizational support, to be pursued when opportunity is available.
9. Examine and meet staffing appropriate for desired service level needs, including fire and police,
based on current and future service level expectations (Core Strategy #5).
10. Create working group of property owners (City, 834, Fury) to establish a work plan for
redevelopment (Core Strategy #2).
11. Identify location for water treatment plant (Core Strategy #6).
2025 STRATEGIC PLAN 8
12. Start development process for 180-acre parcel (Core Strategy #2).
13. Improve GIS mapping (Core Strategy #5).
14. Explore and develop plan for future of old City Hall (Core Strategy #2).
15. Adopt CIP to include deferred maintenance on City buildings (Core Strategy #3).
NEXT STEPS
The next step in the goal-setting process is to develop action plans for each short-term goal and
establish benchmarks to measure progress. A key recommendation is identifying measurable outcomes
to evaluate the City’s success in achieving each goal. These benchmarks will also help guide the creation
of action plans to reach desired results. It’s important to revisit the goals periodically to hold both the
Council and staff accountable. Additionally, integrating these goals into the organization’s processes will
further drive success. Building on Lake Elmo’s past successes, while exploring new strategies to keep
these goals at the forefront of leadership efforts, is encouraged. It was a pleasure working with Lake
Elmo again to assist your team in establishing a strategic plan for the years ahead.
City of Lake Elmo
2025 Strategic Plan
2025 Strategic Plan
•Develop a Long-Term Direction
•Establish Organizational Norms –Values,
Mission, Roles & Responsibilities
•Discussion and evaluation of current conditions
•Development of a Goals Plan
The Process
•Pre-work questions
•Characteristics and qualities to
define the community and
organization
•Values of organization to
community
•Presentations from Department Heads, Contract Staff,
Commissioners
•Brainstorming-small group and large group
•Vision
•Core Strategies
•Strategic Objectives
•Organizational Values
•Roles and Responsibilities
•Strengths, Challenges, Threats, Opportunities
•Identify Short term goals and prioritize
Build a vibrant, inclusive, and connected community
through celebration, engagement, and shared spaces.
•Actively communicate and promote achievements and milestones to foster pride and
unity among residents.
•Support events and initiatives that cater to diverse age groups, cultures, and interests,
ensuring everyone feels welcome and valued.
•Develop and maintain parks, gathering spaces, and a thriving downtown core that serve
as destination-worthy hubs for community connection.
•Prioritize clean, safe environments to encourage active use of public spaces.
•Expand and diversify recreational assets and opportunities to meet the interests and
needs of community members.
•Promote walkability and connectedness through planned and maintained sidewalk and
trail systems.
Short Term Goals
•Develop Master Plans, including
community engagement for recently
purchased 77 acres, and existing
180 acres.
Manage Growth with Purpose and Intent.
•Protect historical charm and character.
•Enhance infrastructure and spaces that bring people together.
•Align growth with community values to nurture a shared sense of pride.
•Focus on projects that reflect long-term community goals.
•Balance growth with efforts to maintain the city’s unique sense of community.
•Support local business and encourage new businesses through community
collaboration
Short Term Goals
•Develop vision for Comprehensive Plan including future MUSA area development
•Develop old fire station site.
•Create working group of property owners (City, 834, Fury) to establish a work plan for redevelopment.
•Start development process for 180 acre parcel.
•Explore and develop plan for future of old city hall.
Balance finances consistent with current
needs and future growth.
•Align financial decisions with current needs and long-term sustainability.
•Maintain transparency and clear communication with stakeholders.
•Manage resources carefully to support city services and future growth.
•Explore alternative funding sources to reduce and eliminate debt.
•Coordinating growth and development to provide financial resources to support
City services
•Prioritize well-planned, thoughtful investments for lasting impact.
Short Term Goals
•Develop comprehensive financial
strategy that encompasses multiple
long-term goals
•Analyze and assess water, sewer,
and street light fees.
•Adopt CIP to include deferred
maintenance on City buildings.
Maintain responsive, transparent, and
adaptive governance.
•Proactively address current needs and future challenges while responding to
immediate needs.
•Foster open communication and active collaboration with stakeholders.
•Uphold ethical, transparent, and fair decision-making processes.
•Embody principles of servant leadership for the well-being of the community
through selfless service and guidance.
•Ensure actions are purposefully aligned with long-term community objectives.
•Welcome new ideas and collaborative solutions to address evolving
opportunities and challenges.
Short Term Goals
•Keep external and internal
communications fresh and
innovative-connect all ages and
cultures.
Deliver efficient, reliable, and innovative
public services.
•Foster a safe and secure community by investing in and maintaining engaged
police, fire, and public works services.
•Maintain a highly trained, responsive staff dedicated to excellence.
•Be innovative and adaptable with services to meet the community's changing
demands.
•Embrace a team approach centered on serving the community effectively.
Short Term Goals
•Seek community input on fire
response.
•Examine and meet staffing
appropriate for desired service level
needs, including fire and police,
based on current and future service
level expectations.
•Improve GIS mapping.
Build and sustain resilient infrastructure to
support a thriving and sustainable community.
•Implement effective water management strategies to ensure long-term
availability of safe drinking water.
•Manage Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to align asset management with fiscal
responsibility.
•Construct and maintain street and utility systems with care and foresight with
appropriate management.
•Adopt environmentally responsible practices for infrastructure and resource
management.
Short Term Goals
•Address water appropriations and
PFAS with appropriate agencies and
promote water conservation.
•Identify location for water treatment
plant.
Mission
Provide planned, quality
public services consistent
with the City’s character in
a fiscally responsible
manner in partnership with
our community.
Organizational Values
•We strive for excellence in everything we do, ensuring the highest quality
in the delivery of our services. Our commitment to excellence is reflected
in our continuous pursuit of improvement and innovationExcellence
•We uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity in our actions.
We are transparent and accountable, fostering trust and respect among
our stakeholdersIntegrity
•We are committed to serving our community through collaboration,
innovation, open communication, valuing diverse ideas and creative
solutions. By respecting individuality and actively engaging with the
community, we ensure our efforts are inclusive and responsive.
Service
Roles and
Responsibilities:
City Council
•Council provides staff
•Clear direction
•No surprises
•Advance communication
•Respect
•Support staff within
community
•Resources
•Collaborative approach
•Encouragement in career
growth
•No meetings until
midnight!
•Expectations from staff
•Critical thinking
•Professionalism
•Data/Research
•Anticipation of future
risks/needs
•Collaborative approach
•Analysis of
problems/issues
•Follow-through
•Realistic communication
•Situational awareness
•Know/understand role
•Respect diversity of
elected leaders (needs,
tones, backgrounds,
etc.)
Roles and
Responsibilities:
City Staff
•Staff provides Council
•Transparent information,
data
•Facts
•Opinions/comparisons
•Recommendations
•Background
•Financial implications
•Perspective
•Continuity
•Connection/communica
tions
•Solutions
•SME
•Expectations from Council
•Resources to meet
Council expectations
•Clear, direct
expectations
•Support, respect, and
trust
•Feedback – Council and
community awareness
•Collaboration
•Stay in your lane, respect
the different roles
•Cohesive Council
•Council/staff
relationships
•Perspective
•Boundaries
2025 Strategic
Plan
Implementation
•Linking Long-Term Direction to Short-Term Action
Plans
•Keep consistency and focus in uncertain times
•Communication within organization and
community
•Develop Action Plans - measurables, action steps,
resource needs
•Implement and monitor progress