a big focus of their council has been facilitating civil discourse. The previous council fought all the time and were too focused on personal issues. In addition, they had a tendency to blindside staff. They put in place much more structured work sessions than had existed and have them two weeks prior to council meeting which provides time to really look at what is brought, ask staff questions, gives staff two weeks to research issues, and also gives council time to get out into the community. Staff now knows what to expect and what questions are likely to be asked. They schedule the work session in the middle of the day and all department heads are there.
She emphasized taking small steps, focusing on something positive and coming together as a council-once a decision is made need to go out to the community with a consistent message. She also shared that they did a total redo of city code 3 years ago and came up with many housing incentives including in kind, taking sidewalk and gutter responsibility away from developers and placing on the city, adding ADUs, and working to make it easier for developers to come in.
They formed a rec district 30 years ago but only 3 years ago they passed a sales tax to build a $28 million rec center with many kids programs and set up public transport to take kids to the rec center for after school activities. The first time they tried it failed miserably because they did not have an exact location selected. The second time they bought the land and listened to people and got community buy in. Outside of the city people were assessed a mill levy and today approximately 1/3 of memberships are with people who opposed and fought vehemently against it. This has built confidence which has led to strong partnerships between the city and rec district.