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City Council Meeting Retreat <br /> Tuesday,February 17, 2015 <br /> Page 15 <br /> • Determining priorities/greatness <br /> At the request of City Manager Trudgeon, Councilmember McGehee explained their <br /> group's definition of"public safety implications," (e.g. WalMart versus Target redevel- <br /> opments and greater impacts on the Fire and Police Departments) and specialized train- <br /> ing, such as for a senior housing facility. <br /> Councilmember Willmus noted that the challenge initially started out defined as "crime" <br /> and had morphed into a broader public safety picture. <br /> City Manager Trudgeon noted that public safety was also tied to development; and ques- <br /> tioned why Mr. Rapp didn't include the initial challenge of"infrastructure/roads." <br /> Mr. Rapp responded that the category "infrastructure/roads" was more of a "how" and <br /> advised that it would turn up at a later stage as participants defined what it meant for de- <br /> velopment initiatives and strategies, but at this stage, the intent was to clearly identify <br /> strategic priorities. <br /> Under governance, Mayor Roe noted two issues: what we do and how we do it. Mayor <br /> Roe questioned if that was also part of decision-making or needed a subcategory. <br /> Mr. Rapp advised that during his observations of discussions in the weaknesses/threats <br /> subgroup, he heard that involve politics and how things were discussed (e.g. backward <br /> versus forward looking), and also considered that part of the engagement model, as well <br /> as the City Council as a governing board at the table. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte opined that she found it to be two separate issues: effec- <br /> tive/ineffective decision-making by the City Council, and how the City Council engaged <br /> its citizenry in its decision-making process. Councilmember Laliberte asked that more <br /> discussion be held as the process continued. <br /> Mr. Rapp clarified that from his perspective "effective governance" involved how the <br /> five Councilmembers did their business: among themselves, with staff, and for and with <br /> the community. <br /> Mr. Rapp clarified that "civic engagement" and his suggested category of"engagement" <br /> involved a variety of settings: how to deploy into the community as well as what oc- <br /> curred in the City Council Chambers. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte felt strongly that this not be eliminated from the list. <br /> Councilmember Etten opined that"effective governance" should be a category, involving <br /> City Council decision-making, determining priorities, and which areas in which the City <br /> wanted to excel or be great, in defining its gold standard. Councilmember Etten then <br />