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02/28/2012 City CouncilEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL APPROVED MINUTES February 28, 2012 The Edmonds City Council meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Earling in the Council Chambers, 250 5`" Avenue North, Edmonds. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Dave Earling, Mayor Strom Peterson, Council President Frank Yamamoto, Councilmember Joan Bloom, Councilmember Michael Plunkett, Councilmember Lora Petso, Councilmember Adrienne Fraley- Monillas, Councilmember Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember ECON. DEV. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Stacy Gardea Don Hall Darrol Haug Beatrice O'Rourke Rich Senderoff Bruce Witenberg Marianne Zagorski PLANNING BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT Phil Lovell (Chair) Valerie Stewart (Vice Chair) Kristiana Johnson Neil Tibbott John Reed William Ellis (Alternate) STAFF PRESENT Al Compaan, Police Chief Stephen Clifton, Community Services /Economic Development Director Shawn Hunstock, Finance Director Carrie Hite, Parks & Recreation Director /Acting Human Resources Director Rob Chave, Acting Development Services Dir. Carl Nelson, CIO Frances Chapin, Cultural Services Manager Carolyn LaFave, Executive Assistant Cindi Cruz, Executive Assistant Jeff Taraday, City Attorney Sandy Chase, City Clerk Jana Spellman, Senior Executive Council Asst. Jeannie Dines, Recorder Military Veterans Promotion Mayor Earling announced tomorrow at noon at City Hall the merchants and Operation Military Family are launching a year -long program, Military Veterans Promotion, to honor and support veterans via special promotions and discounts provided by merchants. This program is being launched in Edmonds with the intent of taking it nationally. Edmonds is challenging mayors in other cities in Snohomish County, across the state and the nation to participate in the program. Evening Magazine visited the City today and will air a segment on Military Veterans Promotion tomorrow; several media sources will attend the kickoff. He invited the community to the kickoff. 1. CITY COUNCIL, PLANNING BOARD AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION: EDMONDS STRATEGIC PLAN & VISIONING RETREAT #3 Mayor Earling recognized Community Services /Economic Development Director Stephen. Clifton and Executive Assistant Cindi Cruz for their efforts on the Strategic Plan. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 1 Mr. Clifton welcomed everyone to the Strategic Planning and Visioning Retreat #3. He explained the City Council, with the assistance of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) and Planning Board, initiated a process last year to develop a strategic plan and vision for the city. With the help of community input, the strategic plan will identify short and mid -term community based priorities, goals and objectives, in addition to outlining specific methods to achieve them. A plan adopted by the City Council later this year will also identify performance measures to ensure that the strategic plan's goals will be realized and identify those who will be responsible for implementing them. An adopted plan can also be used as a decision making tool by the City Council for focusing financial resources on key priorities. Public opinions and priorities are an important part of the strategic planning process. Consequently, the process calls for the consultant team to conduct a series of interviews and surveys and community meetings to obtain the opinions of citizens, business owners, employees, retail customers, young adults, and government officials. These surveys, interviews and community meetings provide opportunities for the public to contribute ideas and share their priorities, thus helping influence the City's future. The following has occurred to date: • Tom Beckwith and Steve Price, Beckwith Consulting Group, have conducted interviews with the City's last and current mayors, recent City Councilmembers, and each Department Director. • Surveys are ongoing and links to internet -based surveys have been posted on the front page of the City's new website, EdmondsWa.gov. Internet -based surveys include adult, youth, employee and customer. With the help of EDC Commissioner Don Hall, hard copies of customer surveys have been handed out to many business owners in commercial areas throughout the City. Anyone lacking internet access may call Mr. Clifton's office at (425) 775 -7724 to request a hardcopy of any survey. • Hard copy business surveys were inserted in over 1,800 business license renewal notices mailed in December, 2011. The survey letter included an invitation for all employees to take an internet employee survey. • In order to notify /inform as much of the public as possible of the availability of surveys, a press release was also issued, a notice posted on the City's government channel, and links posted on the front page of online newspapers such as My Edmonds News, Edmonds Patch, Edmonds KOMO 4 News, Edmonds Beacon. The City also sent out an email to 11,000 City residents last week. • To date, 590 people have taken the adult survey, up from 419 at Retreat #2. • Eighteen stakeholder focus group meetings were held with 80 participants. Examples of focus groups include the Senior Center, waterfront, downtown, Westgate, Perrinville, Five Corners, Firdale Village, arts groups, young adults and education, environmental interests, businesses groups, transportation, two sessions where individuals were invited. • The agenda for Retreat #3 has been posted on the front page of the City's website and the City's Strategic Planning and Visioning webpages. Mr. Clifton introduced Tom Beckwith, Eric Hovee and Steve Price, Beckwith Consulting Group, to present information for Retreat #3. Mr. Beckwith explained the information presented at this retreat would be divided into five parts: 1. State of Washington cities 2005 -2010 2. State of Edmonds 2001 -2021 3. Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) 4. Status Report on focus group sessions and surveys 5. Outline of public charrette process and agenda State of Washington Cities Mr. Beckwith explained this is a series of reports done by the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) and National League of Cities. The purpose of presenting this information is to provide a context of what is affecting cities in general and particularly in Washington State and their ability to develop fiscal Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 2 strategies. He explained AWC conducted surveys in 2005, 2009 and 2010. The content was most comprehensive in 2005. The 2009 and 2010 surveys updated summary issues to current economic conditions. Mr. Beckwith reviewed the following information: Services cities provide* Mandatory Discretionary Public safety — police, fire, planning and permitting, municipal court Parks — creation, maintenance, and operations Streets — maintenance and operations Recreation — for youth, adults, and seniors Utilities — sewer, water, and storm drainage Arts and culture — historical, fine and performing arts, and civic activities General administration — of the above Library — typically part of a branch system * The mandatory /discretionary categories were AWC classifications based on RCW definitions in 2005. The AWC 2009 survey redefined the classifications based on city input to add "Essential Services" which included parks and recreation and economic development. How cities measure performance with regard to public safety Service Level of service % of Budget Public Safety Response time, patrol level, traffic control, property 43% absentee or disinterested landlords, aging and surveillance, animal control, officer /population ratio, 24 hour outmoded structures and land uses Budget conditions — lack of revenue and revenue staffing raising options Streets Sidewalks, street lighting, traffic signals, signage, and increased 23% utilities, and buildings maintenance Parks and Planning Manicured lawns, paved parking, irrigation, restrooms, 20% recreation programs, enforcement, current plans and projects Public Works Centrally- treated water supply, sewer systems, curbside refuse n/a collection What pressures are impacting cities? (2005) U.S. impacts Primary Discretionary Unfunded mandates — from state and federal Downtown vitality — big box and internet retail, government absentee or disinterested landlords, aging and and state mandates, citizen expectations, and outmoded structures and land uses Budget conditions — lack of revenue and revenue Affordable housing — costs beyond what critical raising options skills (police, fire, teachers) can pay Infrastructure — aging and deteriorating streets, roads, General economic conditions —jobs and utilities, and buildings employment opportunities for all citizens of all ages and skills Staff benefits — cost of health insurance and pensions How bad is it? (2009) U.S. impacts Washington city problems Worst economic turmoil since the Great Depression Operating budget revenues are not sufficient to support level of services required to meet federal and state mandates, citizen expectations, and community priorities Burst of a nation -wide housing bubble Aging infrastructure systems inadequate to meet current needs of businesses and residents, or Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 3 sustain and attract growth Sky - rocketing infrastructure material costs, health insurance, and volatile energy costs What have cities been doing about impacts? Reactive Proactive Delaying maintenance — including cyclical or life Economic development — promoting retail, cycle to the point of deterioration office, industrial, and other nonresidential Factors cited by cites: property and sales tax bases Delaying capital investments — including new or Increasing user fees and charges — for utilities, replacement utilities, facilities, and equipment recreation, permits, licenses, and other services Reducing programs — including recreation, library, Adopting new (dedicated) revenue sources — real and other services estate excise taxes (REST), transportation benefit districts (TBD), public facility districts (PFD), business improvement districts (BID) Cutting staff — not filling planning, parks, public Increasing taxes — resetting property tax, works, police, fire, and other functions increasing sales tax, levy lid lifts, special maintenance and operating levies Using reserves — tapping rainy day and emergency reserve funds What do US cities expect in future? (2005) Worse financial condition than 5 years ago 73% Conditions will be worse next year 73% Conditions will worsen in next 5 years 82% Factors cited by cites: • Narrowing of tax base as economy transitions to a service base • Technology shifts to internet sales and other uncollectible forms • Tax limiting initiatives • Increased service demands on cities What are WA cities negative budget influences (2005)? Tax limiting voter initiatives 61% Cost of employee health benefits 56% Infrastructure needs 33% Amount of state aid to city - declining 29% State and federal unfunded mandates 18% Inadequate /declining sales tax base 17% Mr. Beckwith anticipated if the survey were done today, the same factors would be cited but not necessarily in that order. The issues most cities would cite today would be sales tax base and lack of state and federal monetary assistance. What are Washington cities positive budget influences? (2005) Availability of reserves 44% Reliance on user fees 43% Growing property tax base 39% Growing city sales tax revenues 36% Healthy local economy 21% Business and economic development 20% Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 4 What have Washington cities done about tax limiting initiatives ?(2005) Tapped reserves 54% Increased user fees 46% Eliminated staff positions 39% Reduced services 30% Adopted new user fees 17% Used service alternatives 13% Eliminated services 12% What are Washington cities' sources of revenue? (2009) General property tax* 22% Sales and use taxes* 21% Business and utility taxes 21% Interest and investment earnings 10% Intergovernmental revenues* 9% Charges and fees for services 7% Other local taxes 6% Licenses and permits 4% *effected by recession and/or initiatives What are Washington cities revenue limitations? (2009) Unrestricted revenues Restricted revenues Property taxes (I -747 1 % limitation), can be reset via voter approved levy lid lift on either a permanent basis or for a special purpose Gas tax Basic and optional sales tax Impact fees Business and utility taxes Criminal justice sales tax $0.32 Lodging tax What are WA cities share of property taxes ?(averse Washington city 2009) $0.13 City share $0.16 junior taxing districts $0.17 County $0.22 State $0.32 Local schools What are Washington cities share of sales tax? (based on city sales tax average of 8 %) $0.0085 City share $0.0015 County share $0.0050 Local option (cities, counties, etc.) $0.0650 State What are US and WA cities conditions in 2010? U.S. Washington Improved 7% 5% No change 18% 21% Worsened 75% 74% Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 5 What are Washington cities doing in 2011 to services as a result? 2009 Washington cities' service cuts • Infrastructure 50% • Public Safety 24% 2011 Washington cities service cuts • Infrastructure 54% • Public Safety 45% What are Washington Cities doing in 2010 to staff as a result? Washington cities' 2011 efforts to control personnel costs: Eliminating salary increases 75% Imposing travel /training restrictions 65% Hiring freezes 60% Increasing health costs 60% Laying off employees 50% What are the red flags and what do you do as a result? AWC's 15 red flag checklist: (if exceed more than four flags, city has a problem) 5 City has limited economic development options 6 One -time revenues not sufficient to manage long term consequences 10 Growing expenses from mandatory programs with few discretionary programs left to cut 11 City is heavily dependent on property taxes for basic services 12 Annual expenses outpacing revenue 13 City has declining unrestricted fund balance 14 Limited capital for new facilities and significant deferred maintenance 6 -10 flag response: 1 Need long range financial planning that includes analysis of potential impacts to service levels 2 Identify new sources and potential partners 3 Communicate with citizens about potential impacts on services State of Edmonds Mr. Beckwith explained some of the information is from the City's annual financial statement. The projections through 2016 were recently updated by the Finance Department. He reviewed the following: Edmonds governmental revenue sources in 2009 • Taxes (property and sales) — 69% • Licenses and permits — 4% • Intergovernmental — 13% • Charges for services — 10% • Fines and forfeitures — 2% o Other revenue — 3% Edmonds tax composition in 2009: • Property Tax — 51.8% • Sales and use —18.4% • Utility — 22.6% • Excise — 5.6% • Other — 1.3 %0 • Lodging — 0.3% Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 6 Mr. Beckwith provided graphs of Edmonds' property tax rate 2000 -2012. Property tax rate includes bonds, EMS and regular property. The rate is going up as a result of EMS passage and to retain 1% revenue growth as assessed value declined. He reviewed a graph of revenue and expenditures 2001 -201.0 and total fund balances — governmental funds 2001 -2010. Governmental funds include General Fund, special revenue funds, debt service funds, and capital project funds. He pointed out that while total revenues have increased over the past 10 years, expenditures are growing faster than revenues. Total fund balances have been kept stable by issuing debt and transferring in monies from other funds, one time actions that are not sustainable. Mr. Beckwith reviewed a graph of projections 2009 -2021 (includes $1..3 million Public Safety Reserve but not $1.927 million Reserve). By year 2021, the General Fund will be depleted. Changing growth rates on any of the revenue sources will only change the timing of when depletion occurs. For example, if $1 million in new revenue were added in 2013, the ending fund balance would be depleted in 2017 rather than 2016. A balanced approach requires involving revenue enhancements, cost reductions, and temporary use of fund balance. Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) BFO has been implemented by Washington State, Snohomish County, Redmond and Bellevue. BFO is also called Priority- Driven Budgeting (PDB) or Budgeting by Priority (BP) or Performance Based Budgeting (PBB). How is BFO different? Traditional Budgeting BFO Budgeting begins with: Last ear's budget Community Focuses on: Cost of services Value of services Is organized by: Department Priority Encourages: Low risk "same as before approach New ideas, innovation, cooperation and im rovement Motivation: Be fair to all, avoid pain Get the best results that match priorities How do budget roles change with BFO? Traditional Budgeting BFO Departments Build up costs, make cuts difficult Link expenditures to results and priorities Analysis Find unnecessary costs Improve links between results and services. Facilitate department cooperation. Identify efficiencies. Elected Officials Cut costs or raise taxes Choose services that provide results citizens are willing to pay for Citizens Rally behind special interests Help determine priorities Motivation Be fair to all, avoid pain Get the best results that match priorities Tasks involved in BFO: Task Result 1 Identify available resources A common understanding about the maximum amount of resources available to fund operations, one -time initiatives, and capital expenditures 2 Identify priorities A set of priorities that are expressed in measurable results that are of value to the public and are widely agreed to be legitimate Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 7 3 Define priority results Reveal Edmonds identity and the objective meaning of what is Strategic Plan Task 1 relevant 4 4 Evaluate services against priority Inventory current and proposed programs compared to the Surveys - retreat #3 February 2012 Charrette — retreat #4 March 2012 Survey voter households — retreat #6 May 2012 results riorit results 5 5 Score proposals against priority Evaluate proposed programs and projects for their ability to City Council 2014 budget process results achieve priority results 6 6 Compare scores Rank order proposals based on their results 7 7 Allocate resources* Fund proposals according to rank order to the extent allowable City Council 2014 budget process with maximum amount of resources *BFO allocations subject to final City Council resolution Mr. Beckwith assured this process was not done independent of elected officials or of citizens. A community process establishes priorities and measured benchmarks. Ultimately the City Council determines how resources match priorities and benchmarks. What BFO tasks will be completed in this strategic plan? BFO Task Strategic Plan Task 1 Identify available resources Internal scan — retreat #2 Jan/Feb 2012 2 Identify priorities Surveys - retreat #3 February 2012 Charrette — retreat #4 March 2012 Survey voter households — retreat #6 May 2012 3 Define priority results City Council 2014 budget process 4 Evaluate services against priority results City Council 2014 budget process 5 Score proposals against priority results City Council 2014 budget process 6 Compare scores City Council 2014 budget process 7 Allocate resources City Council 2014 budget process With regard to how the strategic plan will define priorities, Mr. Beckwith provided example priorities from Bellevue and Redmond such as clean and green environment and a sample statement such as "I want to live, learn work and play in a clean and green environment." Edmonds' priorities will be identified from the focus group sessions; surveys of employees, customers and students; and the charette. With regard to how the strategic plan will define results, he provided an example priority such as green environment and example results such as when Edmonds plans and designs the city's growth to minimize emissions, energy usage and other environmental impacts. A sample charette question could be, we achieve a clean and green environment when ... (fill in the blank with the result definitions). With regard to how the strategic plan will measure progress, Mr. Beckwith provided a sample priority such as green environment and example benchmarks such as percent of city with overhead tree canopy. Mr. Beckwith responded to questions: Do cities develop specific benchmarks for specific business districts within the city? Yes, Edmonds could have different benchmarks for Highway 99, Westgate, downtown, around the hospital, etc. Benchmarks must be unique to the city and what it wants to achieve. How do you balance priorities and benchmarks based on what you know about revenues? Do you determine priorities and then base benchmarks on current economics or forecast? It is a parallel process. The first step is determining resources under present the financial situation or maximum revenue. Then focus is on priorities, what you want to achieve (without considering cost), how to measure what you want to achieve, and then as progress through tasks, determine cost to achieve that benchmark. As to ranking priorities, determine how it affects maximum revenue. If it Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 8 exceeds revenue, determine whether reduce /change of priorities or change benchmarks to fit maximum resource limits. Do you ever look at forecasted revenues or expenditures? Yes, that is part of the first task. Also done in priorities; for example if you want job production on Hwy 99, what does it cost to get there, how long will it take and what expenditure level would be required to reach goal. For example increasing employment will be related to development activity which will be related to increased property value which will generate property revenue. There are also voluntary programs that do not involve governmental expenditure. BFO requires identifying resources and then identifying priorities. As priorities change year to year, are funds reallocated? The City still must recognize unrestricted/restricted revenue sources. BFO is a transition to an entirely different way of operating. Status Report of Focus Groups and Surveys Mr. Beckwith reviewed participation in outreach events, noting there was no participation at the focus groups from Highway 99 or developers. Participation in outreach events Focus groups 18 subject/interest group sessions involving 80 participants Adult residents 590 adult residents thus far Business owners 214 business owners thus far Employees 70 employee surveys thus far Retail customers 312 customers thus far Young adults 32 young adults thus far Chamber survey 82 members participated in Oct 2011 survey Mr. Price commented Edmonds has an incredible resource in the community; the citizens they met during the focus groups have a lot of energy, dedication, good ideas, and willingness to help address issues on community wide basis. That will also be seen in charrette. Mr. Beckwith advised adult, business owner, employee, retail customer and young adult surveys are still active and receiving responses at EdmondsWa.gov. They will continue to accept surveys until there is a week without any response. The only group where there has not been an increase in participation is young adults. E erging priorities and issues Priorities Key issues 1 Environment Sustainability, low to no impact, native habitat, community gardens, food production 2 Economic development Employment, Highway 99, Antique Mall, Westgate, fiber optics, approval process, business recruitment 3 Community development Mixed use requirements, waterfront/downtown linkage, diversity of age, income, housing, jobs, don't want to lose Edmonds' unique qualities 4 Arts & culture Marketing arts and culture, economic impacts and relationships, wayfinding and gateways, 4th Ave corridor, ECA strategic plan, fine arts gallery 5 Parks and Recreation Yost Pool, Civic Field, Senior Center, aging facilities, public restrooms, underused shoreline, follow thorough (implementing parks plan), trail linkages 6 Transportation Pavement conditions, transit services — bus and rail, non - motorized roadways, trails, funding 7 Safety Coal train impacts Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 9 8 ) Governance Fiscal strategy, transparency, integrating districts- neighborhoods with basin, entrenched positions, utilizing nongovernmental entities Mr. Beckwith remarked Edmonds has more organizational talent than they have seen anywhere; the issue is how to put it work. Public Charrette Process and A,,,eg nda The charrettes will be held: Date Time Location Wednesday, March 14 6:30 — 8:30 p.m. Edmonds Community College Conference Center — 4`h &Bell Monday, March 19 6:30 — 8:30 p.m. Plaza Room, Edmonds Library Each facility has a maximum seating capacity, therefore, participants must sign up in advance to reserve a space and receive agenda materials. The charrettes will be facilitated by members of the consultant team and City staff. Mr. Beckwith encouraged Councilmembers to attend charrettes but not participate in small group activities. Charrette workshop process: Sequence Purpose Introduction Review purpose, advance materials, outline process, disperse into Required actions small groups (12 -20) to work with facilitators. Like /dislike exercise Each group will identify characteristics they like and dislike (need improvement) then rank order the needs improvement issues. Brainstorm mandatory 4 topics Each group will identify the desired end state or result they would like to see for the mandatory topic; then define required actions to Performance measure or benchmark realize the result including responsible parties; then define performance measures or benchmarks by which to measure progress. Brainstorm optional topic Each group can continue brainstorming working on highest ranked improvement issue from the like /dislike exercise. Rank order all priorities at public Charrette workshop participants and anyone else interested will open house reconvene on Wednesday 2 May in the Plaza Room to critique and rank order a composite list of priority end results, required actions, responsible parties, and performance measures. Staff and the consultant will follow the same process for all identified priority topics that cannot be brainstormed in a time - limited public session for a public review and critique at the May open house. Example brainstorming topics Elements Illustrative example for typical parks priority Desired end state or result Access to quality open spaces, parks, and trails Required actions An action plan that integrates and plans public, school, nonprofit, and private resources into a unified, cohesive, and publicly accessible park and trails network. Responsible parties City, county, state, port, school district, college, hospital, community organizations, homeowners associations, ... Performance measure or benchmark Every neighborhood has access to a park and trail within a 0.5 mile radius. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 10 If the strategic plan is to be representative it must define the desired end state through performance measures or benchmarks for every priority identified from the public outreach events. If the Strategic Plan is to be effective it must rank order the resulting priorities with the public and elected officials in the subsequent open house, internet, and voter registration surveys. Mr. Beckwith clarified low priorities are not necessarily eliminated; they may be achieved in a different fashion. Mr. Beckwith responded to questions: • Were there participants from Westgate, Firdale in the focus groups? Yes, but due to the snow, there were only 3 -4. • Will there be outreach to get people from Hwy 99, etc. to attend the charrette? The outreach list for Hwy 99 and developers was quite short. Typically if someone does not usually participate in the process, they will not attend the charrette but they will come to an open house. Everyone who took the survey provided an email; they will all receive invitations. Mr. Clifton explained invitations will be sent to all 18 stakeholder groups inviting them to the charrette. If they do not attend the charrette, they will be sent an invitation to the open house. • If the City adopts BFO, how do you poll the public regarding priorities in subsequent years? Most cities who have implemented BFO cannot update the strategic plan every year. There is usually a six year update and an annual community survey. Council will revisit priorities via the budgetary process. Councilmember Buckshnis explained if BFO is adopted, the City will change to a biannual budget due to the amount of effort necessary to create the budget. • What percentage of the available respondents is the number of adults that responded to the survey? Do not have that information. • Who will conduct and facilitate the charrette? The consultant and staff, two per table, one a facilitator and the other a scribe to record information. • When is Redmond's Finance Director planning to describe BFO to the City Council? Mayor Earling answered a workshop is being scheduled. • Will Department Directors be involved in BFO workshop? Mayor Earling answered he always respects questions from directors. • Will there be any female facilitators ? Yes, there will be two. With regard to where do we go from here, on behalf of the City Council, EDC and Planning Board, Mr. Clifton urged the public to attend the charrettes in March; their input is definitely wanted. Over the past few months many people with interest in the City's future have been participating in this process. Some have met one -on -one with the consultants; others have participated in focus groups. The next phase in the community wide strategic and vision process is the charrettes on March 14 and 19. All citizens, property owners, and business owners are invited to participate in this community wide conversation. The charrettes will be held: • Wednesday, March 14, the Edmonds Conference Center (4th & Bell) • Monday, March 19, 6:30 — 8:30 p.m., in the Library Plaza Room (650 Main Street) To anyone asking themselves what does this have to do with me, Mr. Clifton explained input obtained from the charrette will be used to help identify and develop community priorities and strategic policies, performance measures and work programs. This is a time for Edmonds residents to come together and help set the course for the next 3 -5 and 5 -10 years and help shape the preparation of a resulting strategic plan. The plan will be used as a roadmap that will help influence city priorities, infrastructure decisions, approach to growth, the types of services and programs to be offered by City government, etc. The strategic plan will be used as a guide for decision making that affects everyone on a daily basis. Mr. Clifton urged the community to lend their time and voice to the effort; a 2 -hour commitment to share their views, concerns, priorities for the City, and ideas for keeping the City moving forward in a positive Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 11 direction. From the chorus of citizens' voices, trends and priorities will begin to emerge which later this year will be used to set out a new program of goals and initiatives called the Edmonds Strategic Plan. Mr. Clifton reiterated the meeting rooms hold 150 -200 people. It is important for citizens to sign up by calling Cindi Cruz at (425) 775 -7724 or send an email to StrategicPlanC EdmondsWa.gov. Citizens providing their email address will allow the City to create a database to facilitate emailing materials prior to the charrettes. The first page of the City's webpage, EdmondsWa.gov, also has a link to the above email address. Mayor Earling referred to Mr. Beckwith's comment that Edmonds has a very engaged community and his implication that Edmonds has many smart people. He urged the public to sign up and to attend one of the charrettes. A 64% voter turnout means the community is engaged; the City needs to hear from them and that can best be done by their participating in the charrettes. There have been 1100 -1200 surveys completed; he urged the public to continue to complete surveys. With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 8:11 p.m. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 28, 2012 Page 12