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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – MARCH 10, 2025 21 <br />Mayor Grant asked if we have a State. <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer Swearingen confirmed. Met Council Regional <br />Solicitation. <br />Councilmember Monson said something we haven’t been able to get done over the past couple <br />years is strategy. It would help Staff knows what we want them to prioritize. Once we get to <br />budget season, in July, we know what we want to spend our money on. She would like to <br />strategically line up those priorities. It isn’t fun going into budgeting when there is no alignment, <br />in terms of strategy. She said Mayor Grant was against that last year and she wondered if he <br />thinks any differently about it now. <br />Mayor Grant said he agrees with Councilmember Monson’s earlier comment on knowing what <br />the funding gap is on Old 10 Trail. <br />Councilmember Monson said she was speaking more broadly about budget. She said it’s a day <br />and a half or maybe it was whittled down to a day. <br />Mayor Grant asked if she was talking about a retreat that happened in years past. <br />Councilmember Monson confirmed. <br />Mayor Grant asked when she is proposing to have the retreat. <br />Councilmember Monson said it would have to happen soon. She thought it would have to be in <br />April because budgeting is coming up. <br />Mayor Grant thought budget discussions would begin the first week in June. <br />Finance Director Yang said we usually discuss CIP toward the end of June. <br />Mayor Grant said he thinks Staff would have to put something together. It would have to be a <br />weekend. <br />Councilmember Monson has some flexibility on Fridays. <br />Discussion ensued regarding a date could not be agreed upon last time and how to coordinate <br />schedules to make this happen in April or May. <br />City Administrator Jagoe said she would have to double check, but she didn’t think there was <br />any funds budgeted for the services. We knew how much the consultant services would be. She <br />doesn’t recall budgeting anything for this year. She will verify and will follow up to confirm what <br />the cost would be. <br />Finance Director Yang verified that $10,000 was budgeted for Strategic Planning.