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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MARCH 28, 2016 3 <br /> Councilmember McClung appreciated the fresh set of eyes that Councilmember Wicklund was <br /> bringing to the City Council. <br /> Mayor Grant discussed how a goal setting session would benefit both the Council and City staff <br /> in order to keep the City moving forward in a positive direction. <br /> Community Development Director Hutmacher indicated that she would like to have better <br /> direction from the Council on its priorities. It was her hope that she could focus her time more on <br /> items of strategic priority such as the Comprehensive Plan and TCAAP and less time addressing <br /> lower priority issues. <br /> Interim City Administrator/Director of Finance and Administrative Services Iverson <br /> explained that the Council may also have an easier time finding a City Administrator with a goals <br /> document in place. <br /> Interim City Administrator/Director of Finance and Administrative Services Iverson <br /> discussed several potential consultants that could be contacted for the goal setting session. She <br /> indicated she would contact a few consultants and would report back to the City Council. <br /> Mayor Grant encouraged staff to pull together its current plans and priorities prior to the Council <br /> bringing in a consultant to assist with goal setting. He requested that this work be completed in <br /> April in order for a retreat to be held in May with a facilitator. <br /> Councilmember McClung requested that a list of goals and priorities be drafted for each <br /> department, along with a list of items that have not been completed. <br /> D. Discussion of Council Comments and Staff Workloads <br /> Mayor Grant stated that Council Comments was originally intended to be comments or simple <br /> questions for staff. He indicated that as of late, the Council has directed staff to complete tasks <br /> which are longer-term and carry a considerable workload. He encouraged the Council to keep <br /> Council Comments to simple comments and questions. He wanted the workload assigned to staff <br /> to be done as a Council and not be directed by a single Councilmember. <br /> Councilmember Wicklund questioned what the best practice should be for work items for staff. <br /> Mayor Grant believed that the best way to manage these situations would be for the requests to <br /> go through the City Administrator. <br /> Community Development Director Hutmacher discussed how staff feels uncertain about how <br /> to allocate staff resources when receiving work direction by one Councilmember. She would <br /> greatly appreciate that all work requests come to staff through Council consensus. <br /> Interim City Administrator/Director of Finance and Administrative Services Iverson stated <br /> that staff would also appreciate Council requests coming up at work sessions rather than at <br /> televised Council meetings. Therefore, a discussion could be had with the Council on what level <br /> of detail they want as sometimes it is a quick answer and other times it is more detailed research. <br />