Governing Body Retreat

City of Lawrence, Kansas

November 19-20, 2004

SUMMARY NOTES

Objectives

· Review and revise Strategic Goals.

· Identify key objectives to be accomplished in the next 12 to 18 months.

· Discuss internal and external issues.

What I like about living in Lawrence.  This is essentially a listing of the assets that Lawrence has as a community.

· My neighborhood – walkability, close to downtown, friendliness, concern of neighbors.

· KU and its changing student population bring vibrancy to the community.

· The energy of the community to celebrate all of our assets.

· Friendships that I have developed over the years.

· The sense of community.

· Tolerance that exists in our community.

· Something new happens everyday; the vibrancy of the community.

· We are ahead of the curve on so many things.

Public transportation that is available.

· I can walk to work.

· We are proud of our heritage and we have one to be proud of.

· Social and intellectual stimulation.

· Human scale of the town.

· Commitment to children.

· Great place to raise a family.

· The pride that we have.

· The synergy that comes from all of these things.

Issues that we need to address in order to maintain and enhance our assets.

· We need to address how we grow – the type of growth, the substance, the process.

· We value process and deliberation but it is time-consuming.  Some people can become impatient or lose commitment.

· We need to maintain civility and collegiality as we make policy decisions.  We need to maintain an open dialogue with all our stakeholders.

· We need to address the gaps in services, especially services for our young people.

· We need to provide efficient and value-added government services, even those that some may consider amenities.

· We need to address the issues of affordable housing, affordable living costs, and wages that will make this possible.

· We need to maintain working partnerships both with other governmental entities and the private sector.

The strategic goals and priorities set by the city commission are listed separately.