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R2008-043 2008-03-24RESOLUTION NO. R2008-43 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PEARLAND, TEXAS, APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE GOALS PROMULGATED DURING THE CITY'S 2008 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 9, 2008, 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 2008 City Council's Goals attached hereto as Exhibit "A". PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 24th day of March, A.D., 2008. TOM REID MAYOR APPROVED AS TO FORM: DARRIN M. COKER CITY ATTORNEY Exhibit "A" Resolution No. R2008~3 CITY OF PEARLAND STRATEGIC PLANNING RETREAT - 2008 RETREAT R E P O R T INTRODUCTION The Pearland City Council and executive staff met on Saturday, February 9, 2008, at the Westside Events Center in Pearland, to create a strategic plan for the period 2008-13. The retreat was facilitated by Jim Kunde and David Tees from the University of Texas at Arlington. The two facilitators were invited back after facilitating similar retreats in Pearland during previous years. The one-day retreat began with breakfast around 8:00 a.m. The mayor, four of the five council members, the city manager and seven city staff members attended the session which was opened with brief introductions. A former city council member and one citizen attended the retreat as observers. THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN Preparations for the retreat began about ten days in advance of the retreat with 20-30-minute telephone interviews with the mayor, each council member and staff members assigned to take part in the retreat. The data gathered during these interviews, known as an "environmental scan," was summarized by the facilitators and displayed on large sheets of chart paper for review by retreat participants. Reviewed point by point by the facilitators at the start of the retreat, this data provided participants with an overview of conditions in Pearland today as they are seen by the interviewees themselves. A summary of the summarized interview results is shown in Appendix A. VISIONING After reviewing the interview summaries, retreat participants were asked to develop statements describing what Pearland could look like by the year 2013 assuming "reasonable luck, hard work and no miracles." There were 44 items identified. These items are listed in Appendix 8. The facilitators were asked to and agreed to use the 44 statements as a basis for fashioning a concise narrative vision statement. It was thought that the draft statement could be a useful concept piece for a smaller group to use to draw up a final vision statement at a later date. The requested vision statement is shown in Appendix C. Any rewrite that is undertaken we believe, however, should be reconciled with and take into account the language used in the far more extensive 2020 vision statement prepared in conjunction with a comprehensive community-wide planning process launched in 1995. Like that statement, this more abbreviated one is stated in the present tense to help residents focus their attention on their city, not as it is, but as it could be. Whatever the final product, we urge that it be made far more accessible to your citizens on the city's website and elsewhere than the existing statement. STRATEGIES AND ACTION STEPS When the vision elements were discussed thoroughly, retreat participants were asked to develop strategies -the collective means by which a vision becomes reality. In this case, participants were asked to draw up a list of ideas (strategies) which they believed would be effective for realizing elements of the 2013 vision for Pearland. To do this, the facilitators guided participants through a process known as the "Nominal Group Technique" or NGT. Twenty strategies emerged from the NGT process. With the twenty strategies in place, colored dots, each color assigned a number value, were used by participants to rank the strategies according to their importance for the attainment of Pearland's 2013 vision. It was agreed that all strategies proposed by retreat participants would be included in the retreat report. However, it was agreed also that principal attention would be given to strategies given the highest ranking by retreat participants and to the actions believed necessary to start work on these strategies. Of the twenty strategies, five with especially high ratings (top-tier strategies) were selected for detailed action planning. Initial action responsibilities and target dates were specified for each of these strategies to encourage quick responses. Retreat participants acknowledged that, as the year progresses and new challenges arise, some of the second-tier strategies might be revisited and possibly assigned higher priority for attention. TOP-TIER STRATEGIES FOR 2008 1. Strategy: Intensive engagement with the design, development and construction management community. Action Steps ^ Prepare a program management strategy for bond program including ownership and responsibility • Enhanced project updates ^ Conduct best practice conversations ^ Engagement with the construction management community. Responsibility. Mike Hodge to prepare a proposal by February 15. 2. Strategy. Linking Spectrum by rail with the Texas Medical Center from a political stakeholder perspective. Action Steps ^ Prepare a statement of facts as a starting point ^ Identify key players and their needs ^ Approach key players to begin a dialog ^ Prepare a picture of 288 showing rail line Responsibility Bill Eisen to prepare facts statement by February 29. 3. Strategy. Develop a proactive identification and marketing plan for bringing the "best prospect" companies to Pearland. Action Steps ^ Determine speculative office space availability ^ Examine existing marketing plans for available space ^ Identify prospects ^ Engagement with the developer community. Responsibility. Fred Welch to prepare monthly progress reports starting on February 29. 4. Strategy Develop amulti-modal transportation plan for improved mobility in and through the city. Action Steps ^ Get needed transportation information from the regional planning agency ^ Link prospective projects to the capital improvement plan and other initiatives that affect mobility ^ Prepare a plan for public presentations and coordinate with other players ^ Identify additional mobility issues Responsibility. Nick Finan to gather regional transportation information by the end of April. 5. Strategy: Establish a reliable method of accountability in relation to financing of past, present and future strategic initiatives. Action Steps ^ Prepare afive-year revenue and expenditure forecast for the operating and capital budgets including income sources ^ Consider the impact of possible revenue adjustments, e.g., homestead exemption ^ Take into account changes needed to assure fair share Responsibility. Bill Eisen to provide a schedule by mid-March for completing the action steps. SECOND-TIER STRATEGIES FOR 2008' 1. Strategy: Develop a visible timeline for projects and their accomplishment. 2. Strategy: Develop a plan for becoming a sustainable city for regional development, water conservation, detention, etc. 3. Strategy: Develop a formal intergovernmental relations program. 4. Strategy: Identify and tie down property for future city projects. 5. Strategy: Continue to research public transportation resources and partnerships. 6. Strategy: Continue to evaluate public safety needs annually in relation to factors like population, call times, trends, and so forth. 7. Strategy: Seek grants and other sources of supplemental financing to help pay for bond projects. 8. Strategy: Support the community work force training and development effort. 9. Strategy: Develop a plan for becoming a regional health care location. 10. Strategy: Simplify the city government agenda and story. 11. Strategy: Prepare a marketing plan for the city which ties in with the EDC. 12. Strategy: Encourage water conservation through education and incentives. 13. Strategy.• Encourage the staff to become LEED certified. (This strategy was removed from the list and combined with second-tier strategy #2) ' The second-tier strategies are arranged in order of priority based on the point value assigned to each of them by the mayor and council members. 14. Strategy: Develop appropriate office space for the commercial market. (This strategy was removed from the list and combined with first-tier strategy #3) 15. Strategy: Update the mobility plan. (This strategy was removed from the list and combined with first-tier strategy #4) These strategies and related actions steps are meant to be incorporated into the work programs of the city's governing body and operating units. Action to implement these strategies is intended to guide and coordinate efforts of the city council and the staff as they strive to achieve the Pearland vision for 2013. It is hoped that an effort will be made to make these strategies and related actions to implement them as accessible as possible to the public. This can be done by displaying them on the city website and in prominent places in city hall and in other municipal facilities. It is also hoped that this information will be updated regularly as progress is made. The city council and staff members worked together in a sustained and open dialogue to create these plans. The value of the plans to the 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. POST-RETREAT CONSIDERATIONS This is the third time we have been asked to facilitate a strategic planning retreat for the Pearland City Council and executive staff. That being the case, we wish to offer a couple of considerations in view of our experience working with you as your retreat facilitators this year and in previous years. The first consideration is to recognize the time demands of existing priorities before adopting new ones. The zeal with which a city council commits itself to a new set of strategies and actions arising from retreat deliberations can result in overlooking important work in progress on strategies and actions resulting from previous retreats. There is a risk, in other words, that new priorities may trump action to complete important ongoing projects and overload an already "full plate" of work for the city staff. We believe, therefore, that consideration should be given to a review of work in progress before the retreat and the use of a systematic way to incorporate this information into the process of strategic priority setting. This could be done in several ways. One of these is an ISM (paired comparison) method that asks participants to compare the importance of old and new strategies with each other, one by one, to produce a rank ordered list of strategies. This method has been used with success by other city councils, some non-profit boards and even state legislative bodies. Using it as a supplement to the strategic planning process in Pearland can be expected to add about three hours to the retreat agenda. Another consideration concerns accountability for follow-through on approved strategic priorities. Lack of a way to assure accountability is the reason why implementation of strategic priorities may not occur as planned. Without accountability, implementation may occur, but so little attention is given to it that no one knows anything has happened. There is one simple but profound way to assure accountability for follow-through. It's called celebration. Doing something special to draw attention to priority projects, celebrating them in other words, has been widely recognized in this country as an effective way to fix accountability for implementing important projects and programs. Those who engage in celebration to spotlight municipal progress are often surprised by the affirmative community response. Celebrating progress being made with activities that are clearly vision related makes a vision appear real and attainable to the public and not just a slogan. The appearance of success that comes through celebration is proof to the public that time and money spent on strategic planning is the best investment of public resources a vision-inspired city council can ever make. THREE APPENDICES Aaaendix A: Summary of Data from the Environmental Scan What is going well in Pearland right now? ^ The University of Houston building is in the design phase ^ Recruitment of coordinator for old town site ^ 80,000 square foot office building under construction ^ Shadow Creek Ranch and Spectrum ^ Sites developed through coordinated promotion ^ Greater Houston partnership (1) ^ Strong citizen support base ^ Concerns are addressed in a timely manner ^ Bond issue (2) ^ Overall planning efforts are good and the council is working well together (1) ^ Relationship with county officials ^ Communication with the local colleges and universities ^ A lot of "clean" industry ^ Good development in capital projects, i.e., Broadway, 288 to western city limits Fm 521 (1) ^ Growth in newer construction is consistent i.e., retail, commercial, residential etc. Tax base is up (6) • Higher standards for new construction e.g., design criteria (1) • Growing ethnic diversity ^ Active community life ^ Development of upscale homes ^ Travel plan completed ^ Trail project is underway ^ Professional staff within the finance department ^ Water department improvements and water service ^ Unified development code ^ Building a more sustainable city 2. What is not going well? What problems do you see for the city? ^ Need a better trained labor force/more white collar jobs ^ Increase in construction/capital projects is costly (5) ^ Not managing capital projects well (2) ^ Roads are congested and not efficient in moving traffic, especially east to west ^ "Say but not do" they "act like a big city" ^ Water issues ^ Communications with developers ^ Cullen road improvements and slow progress on Clear Creek (1) ^ TXDOT funding (1) ^ Potential restrictions from state ^ Economic development is not aggressive enough (2) 5 ^ Council needs to be better informed on status of bond issues and bond project implementation (1) ^ Lack of staff to keep up with bond program ^ Too much bureaucracy (1) ^ Planning and zoning codes are not flexible enough ^ Increase in robbery and burglary ^ Not enough office complexes and back-office services (1) ^ Housing construction is slowing down ^ Roads are not built fast enough ^ Issues with school district ^ Businesses with old buildings are struggling to meet new codes ^ Magnolia bridge ^ Project staff and inspectors are overwhelmed ^ Approval staff (1) ^ Growing too quickly 3. What opportunities do you see for the city right now? ^ Companies from China and Canada are interested in the Pearland area ^ Traditional industry still doing well ^ Good housing market ^ Take advantage of slow down in development in the region-be the exception ^ Broader discussion with the council needed ^ Reaching out to attract commercial and professional companies to locate here, e.g., Bass Pro Shop (1) ^ Office development clusters, e.g., soccer complex near hotels and restaurants (1) • Reaching out to work with other regional agencies ^ Good prospect in attracting university-sponsored nanotech research projects (1) ^ New water lights are a stimulus for Spectrum development and light rail service ^ Work with Metro on park and ride opportunities ^ Better engage the growing economy ^ Move towards green buildings ^ Mass and public transportation ^ Marketing effort for Spectrum 4. What barriers would have to be overcome to take advantage of these opportunities? ^ Legislative restrictions on future funding and congestion on 288 ^ East vs. West attitude ^ Real estate cost ^ Cost of improvements keeps going up (2) ^ Work force moves in and out of Pearland/oil and gas industries are sucking up engineers (1) , ^ Lack of affordable starter housing ^ Having enough time to focus on longer range opportunities ^ Coordination of different planning activities ^ Getting the right people to meet with the right prospects ^ Increase sales tax portion of the total tax structure ^ Filling key staff vacancies s ^ TXDOT delay (funding) on highway construction cost ^ Lack of funding for Clear Creek drainage facilities ^ Not part of the Metro • Parking lot locations for park and ride ^ Getting support from places that benefit from Pearland's development, e.g., Medical Center and County ^ TXDOT is a big organization ^ Not enough staff ^ Flattened real estate market ^ Financial ability for strategic initiatives (1) 5. If you could change or resolve one thing, but only one thing, what would it be? ^ Need better focus and coordination on developing work force skills to match needs ^ Keep city council from micromanaging and instead focus on policy ^ Become a regional office employment center ^ Complete the Allen Road project ^ Accelerate catching up all the pieces of the picture (planning and zoning) (2) ^ Transportation issues ^ External sources for major capital projects to reduce impact on local tax rate ^ Fully develop 288 with light rail and access lanes ^ Economic development with a strong market push ^ Make sure we have good project cost estimates; need to define the capital projects management process (1) ^ Solidify public transportation communities 6. Is there anything else you think we should know? ^ New building policy has been finalized ^ New retail centers attract criminals and challenge public safety resources ^ Continue to meet public safety needs ^ Overall the city is doing well; good staff/people ^ Paid fire department staff is doing well ^ Good response for the water lines to the new service area ^ Relationship with other government entities needs work ^ Hit with big cost project overruns; need a thorough review to make sure projects are within the ball park (1) Appendix B: Vision Statement Fra4ments. 2013 ^ Diversified city ^ Opportunity to work from home ^ Well trained workforce ^ Mobility projects in place ^ Completion of Magnolia and Bailey ^ Continue planning for extension of McHard Road ^ Some form of internal transportation system ^ Citizens understand the plan for along-term water supply including the underlying economics and conservation principles 7 ^ Acceptable level of fire, hazardous materials control and emergency medical service is available at reasonable cost ^ Destination city ^ Visible build-out plan • Performing arts facility ^ Well staffed public safety departments ^ Perception of swell-protected public ^ Efficient and speedy movement of people on roadways ^ Program in place for improved intergovernmental relations ^ Planning underway for next bond election ^ Centennial softball complex complete ^ Designs complete fora 10 million gallon water plant ^ Fire station No. 7 under construction ^ Soccer facility serves as a hub for bringing in light rail ^ Drainage plan included in bond program is completed and implementation underway ^ Planned park system improvements in the West Side of town are complete ^ Land acquired for regional parks and recreation facility ^ One million square feet of office space is occupied or. close to occupancy ^ Full-service hospital is in operation ^ Policy/plan developed for all needed detention facilities ^ Park and ride facilities is fully operational • Metro rail system is operational ^ Park projects in bond program are complete ^ Seven to eight mile trail project is complete ^ Policy finalized for green building ^ The expansion of Cullen Road is completed over its full length ^ Enhanced commercial development ^ Good progress toward an interconnected transportation system ^ High quality development designed to make Pearland a destination city ^ First phase of University of Houston campus complete and second phase underway ^ New policy facility ^ Completion of SH 35 widening ^ Recreation Center and Natatorium completed ^ Dixie Farm Road completed to SH 35 ^ Three to five Spectrum area office complexes complete include two or three regional headquarters ^ National recognition comes to Pearland through tie-in with Visitors Convention Bureau ^ Enhancement of relationships with federal and state agencies Appendix C: Sample 2013 Vision Statement Pearland in 2013 is recognized as the best place on the Texas Gulf Coast to raise a family and build a healthy and prosperous business. This development is no accident. It is the result of deliberate and intelligent planning by local government leaders. Eight characteristics combine to make Pearland the viable "destination" city it is today. These eight characteristics include: 1) a perception of universal safety; 2) an economic climate that emphasizes job creation and corporate diversity; 3) green building and other forms of environmental sustainability; 4) lifelong educational opportunities; 5) an abundance of cultural and recreational activities: 6) state-of-the-art health and medical care; 7) efficient movement in and through the city by road and rail; and, 8) active partnership by city officials with other Gulf Coast jurisdictions and with federal and state agencies that demonstrates the city's commitment to regionalism. Pearland residents today are active participants in the life of their community. They wouldn't live anywhere else. They share a sense of community pride in what has been achieved. And they understand the critical role of their local government in sustaining the quality of life they value and enjoy.