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Minutes January 28, 2003CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL M1NUTES January 28, 2003 After determining that a quorum was present, the City Council convened in a Planning Session on Tuesday, January 28, 2003 at 4:00 p.m. in the City Council Work Session Room at City Hall. PRESENT: Mayor Brock; Mayor Pro Tern Burroughs; Council Members Fulton, McNeill, Montgomery, and Phillips. ABSENT: Council Member Redmon 1. The Council received a report, held a discussion, and gave staff direction regarding long range planning issues and their prioritization including without limitation economic development, transportation, planning and zoning, budgetary and financial issues. Mike Conduff, City Manager, stated that the Council would look at the long range planning issues discussed last year, would talk about issues for this year, and prioritize issues by date. Council Member McNeill asked about "closing the loop" from session to session throughout the year. Conduff touched on the idea of opening each session with a review of the outcome statement from the previous session. Conduff introduced the idea of having a "planned" legacy. Each Council Member was given 20 minutes and asked to write what they would like their "political obituary" to say. Several members shared what they wrote at the end of the writing time. Based on what they wrote in their political obituary, Conduff asked each to write on post-it notes things they would like to see accomplished, issues they felt Denton needed to be focused on. All Council Members combined their post-it notes and grouped them into categories. Ten categories were created as follows: Sensitivity/Diversity Education and Partnerships Balanced and Sustainable Growth Future Acquisition Image Economic Development Transportation Historical Emphasis Convention Center Utilities Comments under each of the categories were as follows: Sensitivity/Diversity: · High city workforce sensitivity to citizens (including, but not limited, to achieving the perception of diversity a reality) · Stay open to the folks! · Be readyto lead · Be willing to soldier City of Denton City Council Minutes January 28, 2003 Page 2 Economic Development · Get a major investor to take over Rayzor "Hill" and do a master plan (city partner for infrastructure) · Help UNT get grants for engineering school and research park · Apply your knowledge to suitable problems · Achieving high quality development · Downtown improvements - streets, sidewalks, conference/arts/museum (bring investors for multi-purpose buildings, townhouses...) · Industrial Growth · Enhance the recruitment of information-based business firms Education and Partnerships · City / Education partnerships-leveraging Transportation · Airport - runway extension, re-configuring taxiway · Continue to develop the airport · Regional transit · Continue with mass transit development effort · Get 288 done · Transit-enabling legislation for regional system through legislature · High quality road maintenance · Continue with a major emphasis on local transportation improvements Balanced and Sustainable Growth · Alleviate sub-standard/unsightly housing areas · Balanced growth (comprehensive plan implementation) · Events for all citizens · Build on the great working relationships that are developing among the many segments of Denton's various populations Historical Emphasis · Use history to guide to the future · Get help when you are confused · Forget the money-do the job Future Acquisition · Current acquisition of future-oriented assets (e.g. open expansion/sites) · Northwest quadrant of Denton development TOTAL consideration space/parks, landfill Convention Center · A multi-purpose convention/arena to make Denton a destination - more revenue for the city City of Denton City Council Minutes January 28, 2003 Page 3 Image · · · · · · · · Clean up the trash along city streets Restaurants/shopping to make Denton a destination - more revenue for the city Denton as "Third City" accepted in Metroplex Encourage volunteers Improve community spirit and pride Be optimistic Continue to work on Denton's image Outside management study of City government processes Utilities · A healthy, air, water, medical care available community · Greater than minimum open space preservation/park space · Long term water availability secured (50 years at least) · Denton with moderate utility/tax costs to citizens · Infrastructure and city services top rate · Money-making recycling program · Methane retrieval from landfill Council Members were given 25,000 "Denton dollars" (25 - $1,000 bills) and they "put their money where their mouth is" by anonymously voting on the importance of each of the ten categories. The results were as follows: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) Image - $31,000 Economic Development - $21,000 Transportation - $19,000 Balanced and Sustainable Growth- $18,000 Convention Center - $17,000 Education and Partnerships - $13,000 Utilities- $12,000 Sensitivity/Diversity- $9,000 Historical Emphasis - $5,000 Future Acquisition - $4,000 There were seven dates outlined for planning sessions, April 2003 through January 2004. The council decided to combine some topics to make the following the seven session topics, with dollar value indicating priority: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Economic Development w/Convention Center - $38,000 Image and Historical Emphasis - $36,000 Balanced and Sustainable Growth w/Future Acquisition - $22,000 Transportation - $19,000 Education and Partnerships - $13,000 Utilities- $12,000 Sensitivity/Diversity- $9,000 City of Denton City Council Minutes January 28, 2003 Page 4 The Council decided on the following changes to the planning sessions for 2003. The Council requested that they get the white paper ten days in advance. They would like to ask questions regarding the white paper in advance of their meeting. Any questions asked could be shared with the entire group via the reading file, and then staff would only need to clarify, not recover, the materials outlined in the white papers. Council complimented staff on the quality of the white papers over the past year. Council agreed they would like to try starting at 4:00 to have time for review of outcome statements from the previous session, but were committed to wrapping up by 4:30 so they could begin on the topic for that evening' s session. It was discussed that the ability to dialogue with constituents, with all seven Council Members present, was valuable. The community was frustrated when they could not converse with all seven members at the same time and the synergy was lost when citizen input was only received though separate individual dialogue with Council Members. Council agreed that it would be appropriate to forewarn speakers of time constraints and use a timer with presenters. Following is the time schedule for the planning sessions for 2003: Review of prior month's outcome statement Staff clarification of white paper Experts' presentations Partners' presentations Citizen/Community input Short break Council dialogue 4:00- 4:30 4:30- 4:45 4:45- 5:15 5:15- 5:45 5:45- 5:55 6:05- 6:30 With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m. EUL1NEBROCK MAYOR CITY OFDENTON, TEXAS JANE RICHARDSON ASSISTANT CITY SECRETARY CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS