The Sweet Home City Council affirmed most of the goals it had for the current fiscal year, 2000-01, and added an element recognizing the environmental protection work the City of Sweet Home is doing and will be asked to do as new regulations are created by state and federal agencies.
The City Council and City staff drafted an update to its goals for the next fiscal year, 2001-02, during a work session Thursday night.
The Council’s proposed sixth goal is to “balance the needs of the community with responsibility for stewardship of our natural resources.”
City Manager Craig Martin said the goal was the top priority coming out of the community’s latest round of strategic planning and it was a strong concern in the City’s community survey last year.
The City needs to add a goal for protecting the environment because a number of new regulations will affect City operations, City Planner Carol Lewis said. Those will mostly affect planning and Public Works.
The Council developed five focus areas for the goal.
The first is to encourage and educate the citizens of Sweet Home in conservation measures.
The second was to develop strategies to address regulations and requirements, such as the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, to protect watersheds, including waterways, wetlands and riparian areas.
Thirdly, the City needs to monitor the impacts of natural resource limitations on the community. The Council talked about this goal in relation to last year’s cancellation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of the annual Foster Mud Flats, which drew thousands of four-wheel drive enthusiasts to Sweet Home each year. The event has been replaced by the Santiam Mountain Mud Festival.
Public Works Director Mike Adams said the City should also start developing strategies to deal with environmental requirements that come with population growth. When the City of Sweet Home reaches a population of 10,000, a number of new regulations go into effect.
Staff proposed that creation of a plan for hazard mitigation projects also be included as a focus area.
The Council’s final focus area is to identify and secure funding for restoration and enhancement projects, such as the Ames Creek Restoration Project, which will include the redesign of Sankey Park.
The Council changed the wording of some goals and focus areas, adding new focus areas but essentially retaining last year’s goals.
Goal one
The first goal, “Be aware of community values as they relate to and affect City policy” remained unchanged. The council maintained focus areas to maintain an outreach program to identify community values, to implement a community-wide measurement-based strategic plan, to involve the community in establishing and prioritizing a capital improvements program and to integrate results of the outreach program and strategic planning processes into city policies and codes.
The Council added a focus area to get census information and put it to use in understanding changes within Sweet Home’s population.
Martin identified a number of accomplishments under this goal. Among them were the “Neighborhood Conversations;” the completion of a community survey; participation in media activities, community forums and special articles; implementing a community-wide measurement-based strategic planning process; and evaluating results and integrating them into city documents and work on periodic review of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, the strategic plan and City goals.
Goal two
The Council’s left its second goal, to “provide sufficient infrastructure programs and services to improve the quality of life in the community” alone, but altered the focus areas a little.
Focus areas under the goal include continuing development of a long-range infrastructure improvement plan; identifying and securing funding through grants and other sources for infrastructure improvement plans; continuing to improve parks, recreation and related facilities and programs; pursuing establishment of partnerships with schools regarding developing infrastructure and community facilities; and improving and updating City ordinances to accommodate infrastructure needs for current growth.
A new focus area is to establish long-term funding for infrastructure to address immediate and critical infrastructure problems.
Accomplishments under this goal, Martin said, include development of water and sewer capital improvement plans, development and implementation of a comprehensive water and wastewater rate study, re negotiation of an agreement with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for mandated sewer improvements, expansion of the summer recreation program, partnering with School District 55 in Community Learning Centers and a proposed new swimming pool, the annual Tree Fair and initiation of a city beautification project.
Goal three
The City Council didn’t change its third goal, to “support efforts to create, maintain and expand a healthy economy, but did alter the language in its focus areas somewhat.
The council combined its first two focus areas to work with community groups to enhance communication, cooperation, collaboration and effectiveness among community and economic development groups to perform vital leadership in economic development.
Its third existing focus area is to support development of a comprehensive, cohesive community marketing effort involving community leaders and key organizations.
The Council wanted to add more to this goal and proposed two new focus areas. One was to support the work force development component of the community’s strategic plan.
The Council and staff discussed at length what the City’s role in economic development should be, whether to support it or actively pursue it, but were unable to establish a concrete answer. The final additional focus area was to identify what role the City should play in economic development.
Accomplishments within the goal, Martin said, included coordinating a strategic plan review and update, facilitation of merger discussions between Sweet Home Economic Development Group and the Chamber of Commerce, assisting SHEDG in securing funding for an economic development coordinator position, financial support to Wilderness Village and pursuit of the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Practices police academy.
Goal four
The City’s fourth goal, to “provide a responsive, efficient, customer-oriented organization,” was retained with few changes.
Focus areas include service improvement through training opportunities; continuing to improve the image of City personnel, equipment, facilities and service; and evaluating and modifying City policies for internal consistency.
One focus area, to determine the focus areas for improvements and changes within the City was altered to conduct a citizen satisfaction survey.
Accomplishments listed under this goal by Martin included increased training for staff in customer service, upgrading to a full-time customer service representative for utility billing, publishing the City’s new web page, software upgrades, construction of a new police facility and starting a process to consolidate permitting functions.
Goal five
The Council dropped the last half of its fifth goal, “through well-trained, well-equipped public safety departments” leaving the goal simply to “provide for protection of life and property.”
The focus areas under the goal included establishing stable, long-term funding for essential emergency services, including dispatch and police services. The focus area had included fire and emergency medical services, but the creation of the new Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District addressed this area over the last year by providing fire and ambulance services with a permanent tax rate. Police and dispatch services continue to be funded via a four-year local option levy.
The Council added a focus area to monitor and maintain its intergovernmental agreement with the new district to ensure high quality fire and emergency medical services.
The Council retained two focus areas, planning and implementing a comprehensive emergency operation plan for the community and pursuing additional funding for upgrades and maintenance of local dispatch services. Police Chief Bob Burford has been pursuing 911 tax dollars to assist in upgrading local dispatch services.
To address the second half of the goal, which was eliminated, the Council retained a focus area to retain qualified and experienced personnel, something that Chief Burford said has been improving.
Martin will prepare a draft of the proposed city goals for review and approval by the Council during a regular Council meeting.