CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Receive the June Strategic Plan update
body
DEPARTMENT: City Manager’s Office
SUBMITTED BY: Pam Gallahue, PhD, Director - Community Services Department and Linda LaCloche, Communications Director
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
In December 2019, the City issued RFP 20-012, Strategic Planning Consultant Services, to contract with an experienced and qualified consulting firm to guide the City Council, DLT, community members, and other stakeholders in the execution of a comprehensive visioning process, facilitation of community engagement exercises, and development of an updated strategic plan. Having a current, up-to-date work plan gives staff and the Council a common direction and will allow both to be proactive, prioritize requests to avoid work overload, and appropriately allocate resources.
Originally, the project was to begin in spring 2020, however, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City halted all in-person activities. Staff remained in contact with Shockey Consulting throughout 2020 and discussed how to adjust the plan, timeline, and engagement process.
The strategic planning process began in January 2021. Since that time, staff and Shockey have met on a bi-weekly basis and performed discovery focused on data and document/plan collection and project branding. In May, Shockey began meeting with the directors to gain further information on operations in order to develop the Snapshot document. Components of the Snapshot are now shown on the project website www.BridgetoPossibility.org <http://www.BridgetoPossibility.org>.
On May 13, the “Naperville Next” Community Survey went live. The survey is intended to gather input on two critical pieces of the strategic plan:
• Vision and goals
• Citizen priorities for City services
Additional engagement activities will be added to the project website and will be marketed directly to those who have completed the survey as well as the general public.
Participants will have the opportunity to offer input on current issues like public art, special events, diversity and inclusion, and more.
Also in May, Shockey met with all councilmembers to provide a project update, an overview of the June 7 workshop, as well as answer any questions.
DISCUSSION:
Shockey Consulting will begin the workshop with a presentation organized by issues/focus areas emerging from the project discovery phase, including recent conversations with elected officials and the community survey. Results of the pre-workshop activities will also be included.
Next, using the results from the community survey, results from the Council’s survey exercise, and highlights of the comprehensive plan vision, Shockey will facilitate a discussion around a vision statement, building off the City’s mission statement. Shockey will also facilitate a discussion to develop a list of top issues for refinement.
Lastly, elected officials will discuss the top issues and what should be done about them. During the discussion, facilitators will offer suggestions based on research and discovery meetings with staff and/or pose questions:
• Housing Choice
• Inclusion and Belonging
• Infrastructure
• Public Safety
• Economic Development
• Sustainability
• Governance
The workshop will conclude after the small group exercise.
Next Steps:
After the workshop, Shockey will take the notes and develop a comprehensive list of strategies and options for the vision statement. Shockey is also meeting with the DLT on June 8 to debrief the workshop.
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A