R2005-0050 03-07-05RESOLUTION NO. R2005-50
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PEARLAND, TEXAS, APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE GOALS
PROMULGATED DURING THE CITY'S 2005 ANNUAL PLANNING
WORKSHOP.
WHEREAS, the City Council realizes the necessity of identifying primary goals
and priorities to ensure the constant pursuit of improving the quality of life for the
citizens of Pearland; and
WHEREAS, the City Council held a workshop with City staff on February, 5,
2005, at which time specific goals and objectives for the City's future were enumerated;
now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS:
Section 1. That the City Council hereby adopts and embraces the
2005 City Council's Goals attached hereto as Exhibit "A".
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 7th
March , A.D., 2005.
day of
TOM REID
MAYOR
ATTEST:
(.~I-Y SE~'RETARY ~' '-
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY ATTORNEY
Exhibit "A"
Resolution No. R2005-50
CITY OF PEARLAND
STRATEGIC PLANNING-2005
****** REPORT ******
The Pearland City Council and staff met on Saturday, February 5, 2005, at
the Holiday Inn Express in Pearland, to create a strategic plan for the
period 2005-10. The planning session was facilitated by two University of
Texas at Arlington faculty members, Jim Kunde and David Tees, who have
experience with similar activities elsewhere in Texas, outside the state and
abroad. The two facilitators began the process by 30-minute face-to-face or
telephone interviews with the mayor, each council member and most
department heads approximately two weeks to ten days before the February 5th
planning session. The information gathered during these interviews was
summarized and the summary statements prepared on large sheets of chart
paper for display at the planning session.
The one-day planning session began with breakfast around 8:00 a.m. The
mayor, all council members, nearly all of the city's key administrators, and one
citizen attended the session. After a welcome by the mayor and introductions,
work began with a review of the pre-session interview summaries. The review
provided participants with an "environmental scan" of conditions in Pearland
today as they are seen by the interviewees. The summarized result of these
interviews is shown in Appendix A as they appeared on the wall of the meeting
room.
After reviewing the interview summaries, the participants were divided
into two groups. Each group was asked to develop a list of desired outcomes for
Pearland for the year 2010 based on the assumptions of "reasonable luck, hard
work but no miracles." The result of each group's work is shown in Appendix B.
A vision statement that captures the major elements of these outcome statements
is shown as Exhibit I on the next page.
Exhibit I
Pearland 2010 Vision~
In five years, with hard work and reasonable
luck, the city of Pearland will be a
community with a single, common identity.
The needs of Pearland's diverse citizenry
will be met through a diverse economy based
upon new industry, professional and health
services, colleges, retail regional centers and
an advanced infrastructure (utilities,
drainage, wireless systems, technology, etc.).
The city of Pearland, actively involves its
strong, talented citizenry in planning and
volunteering to carry out projects,
community events and recreational
activities. With a strong regional identity,
the city of Pearland is a leader in
government service delivery and in regional
concerns such as Clear Creek, integrated
transportation systems, and sound public
policies that support balanced growth.
A suggested shorter version
of the vision which might be used
in city publications as a
community slogan or motto, is
shown below.
Growing fast; growing smart. A great place
to visit, raise a family, grow a business.
Pearland. On the Texas Gulf Coast, it
doesn't get any better than this.
After the vision elements were talked through, the participants returned
to their two work groups and developed lists of possible strategies for achieving
the vision by the year 2010. The strategies were developed and prioritized
through a process know as "Nominal Group Technique" or NGT. The complete
1 Written as a draft vision statement by Nick Finan, Director of Community Services, city of
Pearland. .
2
results of the process are shown in Appendix C. The nine highest priority
strategies resulting from the group process are as follows:
1. Continue and complete current bond program.
2. Plan and hold a future bond election for infrastructure.
3. Develop a multi-year financial plan and CIP.
4. Develop a "oneness" plan.
5. Strong and continued lobbying for Clear Creek.
6. Develop a strong relationship with TXDOT to obtain needed funding and
continue the strong relationship already established with HGAC.
7. Identify sources of funding for these strategies.
8. Reduce ISO rating from five to three.
9. Centralize police and courts buildings near the center of town.
After careful examination of the priority strategies, retreat participants
developed specific action steps that would be needed to get these strategies
underway. The result of this process, shown below, includes the actions agreed
upon, to whom each is to be assigned and completion dates.
Action Description
Action Assigned To
Completed By
Workshop to decide on meeting
time and format for town hall-
type meeting on the West Side.
Assistant City
Manager
February 28, 2005
Clear and regular updates on
current bond program using
newsletters and the city website.
Project Management
Director
March 2005
Communications plan to keep
citizens informed.
Public Affairs Manager March 2005
Develop financial projections for
drainage and everything else,
except parks, in preparation for
development of a financial
model and CIP.
Project Management
Director
March 2005
Implementation of an Old Town Executive Director of
site plan. Community Services
March2005
3
Meet with citizens on West Side
using focus groups to discuss
how to achieve the concept of a
single Pearland.
Hold a pilot city council meeting
on the West Side. Young.
Organize a joint public safety
task force to launch an
examination of public safety
overall including the city' ISO
rating.
Find location for marquees in
central locations, particularly on
the West Side.
Collect e-mail lists of citizens for
direct contact. Mattie, April 1.
19. Submit budget implications
for the Old Town site plan.
Hold an infrastructure bond
election including the
construction of a police and
courts facility near the center of
town. Note: Certificates of
obligation may be used to fund
police and courts facilities.
Investigate the employment of a
lobbyist either in Austin,
Washington, or both.
Adoption of a unified
development code for the city.
Director of Parks and
Recreation
City Secretary
EMS Director
Public Affairs Manager
and Administrative
Analyst
Public Affairs Manager
Executive Director of
Community Services
City Manager
City Manager
Executive Director of
Community Services
March 15, 2005
March 15, 2005
March15, 2005
March 20, 2005
April1,2005
May 2005
May 2005
Late May 2005
June 2005
Develop a plan for analyzing
alternative funding sources
(including grants) and building
relationships with influence
groups including state agencies
and the Texas Legislature.
City Manager
May 2006
Develop financial projections for
parks in preparation for
development of a financial
model and CIP.
Director of Parks and
Recreation
October 2005
Continued promotion of a
University of Houston branch in
Pearland.
Mayor
Ongoing
Continuing focus on the
development of key facilities
and industries including high
tech/bio tech and nanotech
industry, education and
medical.
Economic
Development Director
Ongoing
Provide leadership for Clear
Creek.
City Manager
Ongoing
Produce quarterly financial
progress reports.
Finance Director
Ongoing
The actions steps are meant to be incorporated into the work programs of
the city's governing body and operating units as the case may be. The strategies
are intended to guide the coordinated efforts of the city council and the staff as
they strive to achieve the Pearland 2005-10 Vision.
It is believed that the city council and staff will keep these action priorities
on clear display throughout the city facilities and update them as the initial
actions are implemented. Council and staff members worked together in a
sustained and open dialogue to create these plans. The value of the plans to the
5
city's future depends on a continued effort by the council and staff to "stay the
course" and to encourage and welcome citizen opinions and concerns as the
work proceeds.
6
Appendix A: Interview Summary
1. What is going well in Pearland? What are the city's greatest strengths?
· Image (2)
· Location--proximity to NASA, medical center, downtown (6)
· Attract two-wage earner families (1)
· Growth--retail and housing (7)
· Sales tax offsetting bond debt
· Growth in tax base (1)
· Good and very knowledgeable staff (6)
· Mayor and council work well together
· Council focused on policy--not micromanagement (3)
· Good foundation from previous councils
· Schools (1)
· Many opportunities
· Available land close to "ring" (1)
· Council open-minded
· Council support of staff (3)
· Community spread out and not physically congested
· Neighborhoods--a sense of place
· Attractive to homebuyers
· Attraction to younger families (1)
· Affordable housing
· Community groups creatively involved in beautification
· Management of the growth (3)
· Study of the old town site
· Roads and drainage actions/bond issue (2)
· Improvement in services
· Quality of life improvements
· Come a long way in getting information out
· Partnerships with school districts, YMCA, etc.
· Quality of construction (1)
· Diverse community
· Council's vision
· High quality economic development opportunities
· Strong department heads/executive staff (1)
· Eisen great to work for/professional (2)
· Still see cows grazing
· Not a small rail crossing anymore
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· Successful transition from farm land to urban suburb
· City planning favors neat, clean appealing construction
· Bio research medical center going in
· City infrastructure well maintained
· Exceptionally good services compared to other cities--especially seniors
· Well planned and proactive in turning plans to action
· Information availability-internet
· Traffic light timing
· Council supported EDC that is professional and well-staffed
· Excellent relationship between city government and citizens
· City is customer friendly
· Low crime rate/good policing (2)
· Great place to live and work
· Staff work together across dePartments (1)
· Park system
· Strong, pro-business attitude
· Schools--high standards
· Taxes stable
2. What is not going well? What are the city's biggest problems?
· Traffic (11)
· Drainage (6)
· Infrastructure (7)
· Need for large, regional and local repositories
· Finding resources to pay for everything needed (3)
· Road network based on semi-rural
· Council consistency in what they want
· Moving labor force to a higher tech level
· Need to bring in high tech work places
· Not as "business friendly" as we ought to be
· East/west division (4)
· Owner occupied homes on East side turning to rentals
· Council battles sometimes over non-issues
· Maintenance of city facilities; taking responsibility
· Parks and park amenities
· Fire coverage; volunteer department stretched
· West part of city not well covered for emergency services
· Need to be more "customer focused"
· Need to manage growth, follow master plan (2)
· Need to require more from developers (1)
· Growing too fast-people think we are catering to developers/MUDs (1)
· Communication--especially with the West side
· MUDs unhappy, trying to take over council
· Manpower--overwhelmed trying to keep up with growth (3)
· Need more fire stations
· Water supply concerns
· Vacant land rapidly disappearing
· Need for city to be "connected" better
· Too much fast food
· Lacking cultural activities
· Medical facilities not conveniently located
· Not completing streets on public works schedule
· Existing schools full
· Strong anti-department bias
· No discernable town center
· Internal funding controls not strong enough
· Short on police office and jail space
· 10% of work force should be replaced--need to pay enough to attract go-
getters
· Departments information disconnect
· Council goals not always understood
· Interdepartmental jealousies/9-80 schedule
· Too much high density development; too little green space
· More clean industry and warehousing
3. What opportunities do you see that you think Pearland should take advantage of?
· The 1000 acres--potential for high-end business (1)
· University of Houston branch campus (2)
· Current vacant land (1)
· Lifestyle center with mid rise residential coming in
· Rooted planning tradition
· Getting a longer-term focus from council
· Paradigm shift to a place with good service resources
· Health related center/new hospital (4)
· Plan for roads and drainage
· Rovitalizing old part of town
· Town center
· Excellent staff to work with
9
· City property on Pearland Parkway
· Incubator spot for businesses
· Become more active in bringing in business and new employers
· Two main arteries at our doorstep-location (2)
· Commercial growth--rooftops are there
· Managing growth--codes and comprehensive plan
· Expand services to keep up with growth
· Connect with the public--website, TR channel, etc. (1)
· Coalition of communication with all departments
· Parks and wildlife--Master Trails Plan
· Grant opportunities--transportation, etc. (3)
· Get people focused on community as a whole
· Bring West side into the community
· Clear Creek
· Ecotourism/heritage tourism
· Partner with businesses to promote the city
· Parks development
· Focus on high tech business and high end retail
· Sports, entertainment or other type of attraction
· Convention center--draw in people's events
· Build reputation around an annual event
· Home for Texans and Rockets
· Attract desirable chain restaurants
· Center marquee to inform citizens of events
· Convention facility
· TV channel discourages citizen attendance at council meetings
· New shopping center on 288
· An affordable public golf course
· Promote volunteering--"Eyes of Pearland'
4. What barriers would have to be dealt with to take advantage of those opportunities?
· Railroad track
· 288 physical barriers
· Ability to keep up with infrastructure needs (3)
· Staggering debt commitments
· Tendency for council to focus on means versus ends (1)
· East vs. West (2)
· Diverse population
· Road network and the railroad
10
· Need for regional collaboration
· Staff stretched thin and need for customer service (1)
· University of Houston-ball is in their court
· Recognition of what Pearland Parkway could become
· Having available spots for businesses to move into
· Tax rates--school district
· Time
· Some council members over concern for green space, etc
· Ability to develop commercial property we now have
· Need to strengthen role of county
· Public perception--focus on roads
· Amount of money you have to invest
· Getting the word out about available channels of communication (1)
· Financial resources
· Getting all departments on the same page, re: electronics
· Interdepartmental communication
· Two newspapers only once a week for local news (1)
· Footprint we have to work with
· Need to become a whole community with divided past
· Lack of master plan for parks
· Low voter turnout
· Younger residents tend to be commuters--disengaged
· More chain stores equals more rooftops and aggravates the problems of
growth
· Schools stretched on facilities
· Growth comes with another price--rising crime
· Resistance to adoption of unfamiliar construction designs
· High cost of construction bonds
· Comply with federal requirements for wetlands and habitat
· Willingness of staff to work with volunteers--liability
· Transportation issues need more planning attention
· Insufficient information supplied to citizens
· Hard to get attention of commercial broadcast media
· Lack hotels and restaurants that could handle significant number of new
visitors
If you could get one thing accomplished, but only one thing, what would it be?
· Improve capacity to keep up with infrastructure needs (2)
· A social infrastructure that ties the community together
11
· Technology park
· Get all stakeholders behind the same vision (1)
· Consistency in message and image
· Next round of bond projects (2)
· City needs to do its own traffic model
· Hospital
· Unified development code to handle growth
· Another major east-west corridor (1)
· New combination fire/EMS station west of 288
· Communication to everyone in every format and venue
· Complete the $130 million bond issue projects ASAP
· Add manpower for critical positions
· More equipment and vehicles for fire service
· Stand-alone recreation facility
· Improvements in mobility
· Assign employees to most critical need areas
· A capacity to finance government from sales tax alone
· Modernize old town side on Grand with shops and public buildings--
central focal point
· Televised council meetings
· More positive citizen interaction with city
· Computer assisted capital improvement management in-house
· Greater appreciation from the public
· Act quickly to lower densities and require more green space
6. Is there anything we have not covered that I should know?
· In any suburban community you risk losing your identity
· Building "community" is difficult
· Staff tends not to be interactive in council discussions
· Have tended to have minutia stuff in goals
· Reasonably good council in civility
· Don't have newspaper coverage that reaches the community
· Full discussion on hospital opportunity needed
· Vacant buildings--barrier of full new code requirements
· No "hidden agendas" in council discussions
· Need more frank input from staff
· What to do with senior tax issue
· Chamber and city have good relationship
· Road impact fee is an option
12
· Shift in council--now pulling in different directions
· Need to expand services for seniors
· Need programs for school children
· Alienated people with a road project that was different than originally
envisioned
· Need equipment and vehicles for fire service
· More appreciation to employees from governing body
· Prevailing attitude is to avoid raising taxes at the expense of increasing
demands
· Update city's master plan to include 2005 retreat decisions
· Need for a city council that serves more like a corporate board
· Give priority to training managers on how to manage more efficiently
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Appendix B: Vision Elements
Group I
· Continued growth
· One or two city annexes located strategically for payment of water bills,
traffic fines, permits
· Good developer commitment for the Old Town site
· Good, attractive residential areas that attract residents
· Good working relationships with the seven school districts for attractive
school systems, elementary thru high school
· Strong, reliable, comprehensive plan--applied to development
· Good mobility, free flowing access, easy access to Houston--but not
bedroom
· Attractive town center
· A balanced growth good for young professionals, seniors, diversity
· A new bond program for city facilities under construction
· University of Houston branch campus started
· Expanded park system including Westside trail link system connecting
city properties
· Continuing infrastructure improvements
· Health center
· Several cultural attractions
· Strong metropolitan force for 100,000 population
· One or more centers for innovation
· A more balanced tax base--non residential balance
· Progress on infrastructure-but still a bit behind the curve
· Westside people have become more involved--clubs, churches,
institutions
· A well planned community with parks and green space--reputation for
planned development
· A strong reputation as a place to live and work
· An enviable financial position compared to peers
· Steady, well regarded professional staff
· A strong "professional" service base--regionally
· Strong citizen/city relationships and trust
· A leader in government professional practice--strong national reputation
· A strong emergency service--professional and volunteer
· Available medical resources
· A regional retail center
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Group 2
· Hospital completed
· City-wide wireless communication available for all
· Enlarged college campus
· Westside city facilities
· Free East-West traffic movement
· Development of a Westside park
· Strong relations with other political subdivisions for joint facilities,
services
· Completion of current and planned traffic projects
· Money to pay for it all
· Better preparation and financial support for disaster recovery
· Expand size of council and modify district vs at-large structure
· Focus commercial/industrial development on high skilled employment
base
· Develop a Beltway 8 corridor
· Celebrate the completion of Dixie-Farm Road
· Home delivery of permits
· Founder's Day event involving all parts of town
· Development "Spectrum" as huge bio-tech/nanotech, lifestyle center
· Combination civic/recreation center
· Develop and promote a structure to attract tourists
· Draw East and West together through old town re-development
· Apply results of ISO study when developing and locating facilities
· Special event or services in old town to bring East and West together
· Office/retail complex on city-owned land along Pearland Parkway
· Citizens do business with the city at convenient locations in town, like
kiosks
· Indoor/outdoor cultural space for the performing arts
· Large conference center to attract major events
· Maintain clear lines of communication across city departments as city
grows
· More partnering between government, citizens and local businesses
· Eco-tourism is promoted outside city boundaries
· Development codes reflect how we really want the community to look
· Utility and other services are available when needed to support new
dovolopmontg
· One-of-a-kind veterans memorial
· Issue of the city's "identity" is resolved, once and for all
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· City government is adequately staffed to meet growing service demands
· The level of service provided is in line with available funding
· All parts of the city are connected by corridors, trails and other physical
connections
· Pearland is a driving force for the Clear Creek project
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Appendix C: Group Strategiesz
Group I
· Establish a joint public safety task force to develop a strategic plan for
public safety services. -10
· Plan and hold a bond election for infrastructure. -33
· Conduct a personnel review of staff needs and assignments.
· Develop a public communication plan. -15
· Develop a multi-year financial plan and CIP. -19
· Maintain and enhance a professional workforce with enhanced job
opportunity -11.
· Build industry clusters that complement each other.
· Create a staff openness to bring in citizens as team members.
· Strong and continued lobbying for Clear Creek. -17
· Examine comprehensive plan and UDC and current zoning to assure
consistency with the city's vision. -7
· Develop a marketing and advertising plan for Pearland.
· Develop a clear annex plan (city facilities)
· Complete updating of the park master plan. -10
· Develop a community meetings plan.
· Actively pursue getting West side residents on city boards.
· Develop a plan for holding community events on the West side.
· Develop a relationship strategy with key partners- and private.
· Develop a .... plan. 20. -18 * Add in 14, 15 16 and 20 into 18. *
· Develop website and other technology and staff capacity to communicate
for quickly and effectively with citizens. -4
· Construct marquees in key locations to advertise city events.
· Develop/continue a staff training and appreciation program. -7
· Promote strategic planning for all utility functions.
· Develop an entertainment function into a city center.
· Develop a national recruitment plan. Add 26 into this. -8
· Recruit an old town site developer. -9
· Review business incentive program.
2 The numbers following many of the strategies indicate the number of points received by
these strategies from participants and thus their importance to group participants in relation to
the other proposed strategies. Strategies with no numbers following them received no points
from participants when they were asked to assign value to their respective lists of strategies.
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Group 2
· Develop a relationship with TXDOT/HGAC to obtain needed funding. -20
· Identify wireless needs for the city as a whole. -3
· Develop a strong visibility in Austin to influence legislation and funding
favorable to Pearland. -10
· Continue and refine long range planning for roads, drainage and other
improvements.
· Determine how approved projects will be initiated and financed.
· Engage citizen input early on for projects that affect them. -7
· Coordinate with school districts on projects that affect them all. -5
· Centralize police and courts near real center of town. -15
· Reduce the ISO rating from 5 to 3. -18
· Develop a marketing plan for better exposure of the city and its merits. -2
· Five year forecast of cost for products and materials. -5
· Prepare a model that predicts future traffic loads and costs. -6
· Develop a plan for avoiding placement of billboards in Brazoria County.
· Job shadowing to improve understanding of departmental functions. -12
· Broad recruitment for candidates for boards and commissions.
· Identify the mutual interests of Pearland and Houston for development on
Beltway 8. -10
· Develop a common vision of what the community should look like. -8
· Identify sources of funding for the strategies developed. -12
· Create a more user friendly environment for citizens and business
prospects. -8
· Formulate a plan based on council consensus for a community hospital.
· Take a lead role in determining how to use the hotel/motel tax. -3
· Insure that every department knows the strategies and what they are
expected to do -6
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