Jane McWilliams, LWV Observer
All councilors were present at both sessions.
Local resident Pat Allen of Learning Innovations, Inc., facilitated both sessions. During the first session, as an “icebreaker,” the members of the group took an individual learning “learning style inventory” to determine whether they were imaginative, analytical, practical or dynamic learners. Allen said knowing how we learn can help us be resources for one another in deliberating and making decisions.
City Administrator Joel Walinski presented charts depicting Northfield’s “Current Reality", including land use growth over 150 years, tax base comparisons with 5 other cities, income and demographic data, employment and business information, and city budget trends over recent years. The 2008 council goals, 2009 city initiatives were also presented.
During the second session, in addition to Walinski, the nine members of the staff leadership team joined the council in reviewing a list of values gleaned from the previous meeting by a committee consisting of Mayor Mary Rossing and Councilors Rhonda Pownell and Erica Zweifel. These were: Process improvement; Fiscal clarity, simplicity and efficiency; Implementation of Comprehensive Plan; Addition of people to vision statement; Sustainability. The committee had drafted a vision statement for the group to consider:
Northfield values its unique heritage as a mill and college town, and will reflect its community identity by preserving its historic and environmental character and enhancing its citizens’ quality of life, through economic, recreational and civic engagement.
At the suggestion of Councilor Jon Denison, the statement was revised to remove the last phrase “through economic, recreational and civic engagement.”
Allen then challenged the group to determine what are the gaps between “our vision and our current reality” and to establish goals to close the gaps. The council had before it two pages of possible goals and activities arranged under headings: projects, policy, planning, people, politics, personal and boards and commissions. (These had been generated at the first session.) She asked the group to use these to create “Smart Goals” which are specific, measurable, accountable, achievable, realistic, timed and timely.
The following draft goals were generated:
Community Sustainability; Improve Communication at all levels; Safety Center implementation; Approve by June 3 a 5-year financial plan; Systems thinking initiative; Prioritize city facility program.
Allen then distributed a worksheet to participants to use for drafting a strategic plan for each goal. When completed, these will be reviewed by the committee and revised in order to achieve final language for each goal. The next step will be to design action steps to achieve each goal. This may be done at a future work session.
