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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,June 15, 2015 <br /> Page 17 <br /> Given her familiarity with and appreciation for the way the HRA handled the <br /> Dale Street project and community involvement, Councilmember McGehee ex- <br /> pressed her support of the proposed Old Highway 8 project. <br /> Chair Maschka noted that the HRA had identified numerous sites throughout the <br /> community, and with little land left for development, it was the goal of the HRA <br /> to get what the city most desired and what was most amenable to those surround- <br /> ing neighborhoods. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte agreed that the Dale Street exercise had been phenome- <br /> nal, and agreed with Councilmember Willmus in the possibility of having lost all <br /> that good work or have it done for naught toward the end of the efforts. Coun- <br /> cilmember Laliberte expressed her interest in the HRA exploring consistencies <br /> with escrow funds to ensure future efforts are sufficiently covered. <br /> Chair Maschka agreed, advising that this was among his top priorities for discus- <br /> sion by the HRA in its strategic planning, that of escrow funds, and the need to es- <br /> tablish a different market for profit and not-for-profit projects, including address- <br /> ing timeline and other metrics of such a development process. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte agreed with the timeline point, noting identified mile- <br /> stones and whether they were met or not was a good idea. Councilmember <br /> Laliberte expressed her interest in hearing more from the HRA about those pro- <br /> grams being utilized and allotted resources; and those needing to be done differ- <br /> ently or those that should be sunset. <br /> Chair Maschka advised that was also part of discussion items for the strategic <br /> planning discussion; noting the annual Home & Garden Fair may be one that goes <br /> away given the considerable amount of staff time and effort expended compared <br /> to results. <br /> Commissioner Elkins agreed with Chair Maschka on the future of the 1-Tome & <br /> Garden Fair. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte concurred with that statement, noting programming du- <br /> plication was available from other areas of government, and wherever else those <br /> duplications were found, the funds could be used elsewhere. <br /> Councilmember Laliberte stated her full support for the HRA and its ability to de- <br /> fine what was needed in their Executive Director and matching skill sets accord- <br /> ingly. While not saying that doesn't already exist, Councilmember Laliberte <br /> agreed that the HRA should be able to annually review that position to set their <br /> strategic priorities; and supported their need to evaluate experience, licensing and <br />