The City Council Workshop will focus on receiving updates and discussing the status of the City Council’s current list of Strategic Priority Projects. Additionally, during the workshop, we aim to gather input from the public and provide direction to staff regarding the prioritization of each project on the list. There will also be an opportunity to discuss potential new priorities for inclusion on the list. Any action resulting from these discussions will be considered at future scheduled Council meetings.

In order to ensure effective strategic planning and decision-making, it is recommended to conduct a workshop where City Council members can have a comprehensive discussion on the existing strategic projects, the level of prioritization, and the level of staff capacity needed to complete. This discussion will allow for the collection of vital input from the public and enable Council members to provide direction to staff regarding project prioritization.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The City of Carmel-by-the-Sea Strategic Priority Projects have been developed over the last few years through careful deliberation by the City Council with input from the community and city staff to advance the mission and vision of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The priority level and direction of the projects can change over time, based on interest, need, and resources.

The goal of this report and the workshop discussion is to provide Council a status update on the City’s Strategic Priorities, the level of staff capacity needed to complete each project (high, medium, low).  With this information, Council will be asked to provide guidance on which of the current projects should remain as a true #1 priority, while perhaps moving some to a level #2, and level #3 or even to a “parking lot list” to designate items will not receive immediate attention until the higher priorities are completed. When considering each priority, time constraints and legal or regulatory factors should be taken into consideration.  This request for direction from Council is in response to feedback received from both the community and some members of Council that the number of “top” priorities has grown too large to be completed in a reasonable amount of time with the existing staff resources.  It should be noted, however, that there are no “bad projects” on the existing list.  The issue at hand is only about the capacity to complete a certain number of tasks efficiently, not whether those tasks are worthwhile.      

Workshop Background

The following is a brief chronological summary of how the City Council Strategic Priority List has evolved over the last few years: 

• November 19, 2019 – City Council met with a consultant to develop a Vision Statement, a Mission Statement, Guiding Values, and establish Council Priorities. Council defined 5 Priority Goal categories: Financial Sustainability, Natural Environment/Village Character, Community Engagement, Infrastructure, and Business Environment.

• February 3, 2020 – The Vision Statement, Mission Statement, and Guiding Values and were adopted by Resolution 2020-014, included as Attachment 1. 

• October 12th, 2021 - City Council held a public workshop at Sunset Center to discuss roughly sixty (60) different projects associated with the Council’s adopted Strategic Initiatives. Following a hearty and productive discussion, the Council reduced the list of priority projects to a total of thirty (30), recognizing that some tasks were “day to day” or belonged on other lists like the Capital Improvement Program (CIP).

• January 4th, 2022 – Council received a presentation from staff on the list of thirty (30) priority projects. To aid in managing the Council’s priority projects, staff created a worksheet called the “Council Priorities Tracker”, which includes information about project completeness and month-by- month updates/forecasting.

• March 10th, 2022 - Council held another public workshop. Department heads presented and discussed each item on the full priority list of thirty (30) projects. Following these detailed discussions, and in consideration of available staff resources, Council opted to elevate sixteen (16) projects as the highest priority and directed staff to focus their efforts on these projects before working on any of the remaining projects on the larger list of thirty (30). The concept behind this top priorities list was that as projects were completed, and resources became available, another project from the larger list of thirty (30) could move up to become a top priority at the direction of the full Council.

• September 13th, 2022 – Council received a brief update on each project contained in the tracking list of thirty (30) strategic priority projects, including the percentage complete and the items that have been completed, which were moved off the tracking sheet to a separate “Completed Projects” worksheet. Council gave direction to staff to give an update to Council after the election when the new Councilmember is seated.

• January 31st, 2023 – Council conducts another public strategic workshop at Sunset Center. Department heads presented the status of each project on the full priority list of thirty (30) projects. This update included percentage of completion for active projects, and those which had been finalized and moved over to a separate list (5 total completed, not including the Climate Action Plan). Council discussed the active projects, and provided some preliminary direction about elevating certain projects to “top priorities”. Council also suggested moving other projects to the list of those that are fully completed (Vacant Positions, and Pandemic Recovery). Council directed staff to return in March at their regular meeting to present the outcomes from the strategic workshop and to receive direction on specific projects.

• March 7th, 2023 – Council received a report on the outcome of the January 31, 2023, City Council Strategic workshop. Staff gave a brief summary of the direction received from Council on each item on the priority list, such as items to keep as a top priority, items to elevate, and items that have changed status or to combine.

• August 30, 2023 – Council held a public workshop at the Sunset Center, discussing the status of the current priority list, and added 6 new priorities to the list. 14 projects were deemed “Top Priority”. Ad hoc committees were assigned to some of the projects.

• October 3, 2023 – Council received a report on the outcome of the August 30, 2023, City Council Strategic Workshop. Staff gave a brief summary of the direction received from Council on each item on the priority list, such as items to keep as a top priority, items to elevate, and items that have changed status or to combine. 

Workshop Overview

Each year, Council holds 1 or 2 Strategic Priority Workshops to review the status of the priority projects and provide direction to staff on what projects to prioritize. At an upcoming regular Council meeting, staff will present a report of the direction received at the Workshop to receive clarification and confirmation of which priorities to focus on. 

Objectives for workshop

• Review the list of in progress Strategic Priorities
• Receive input from the community on priorities
• Amend the list of “top priorities”, if needed
• Provide direction to staff  on which priorities should be a focus for FY 24-25

Review of Accomplishments

Originally a list of 60 projects, and then narrowed down to 30 priority projects in October 2021, City Staff has made a great amount of progress on the Priority Projects.

8 Priority Projects have been completed since October 2021:

• Develop a multi-pronged financial strategy to address pension liability
• Restructure peninsula messenger service for at-home letter delivery
• Develop organics/recycling ordinance
• Forest theater facilities manager
• Review and update sign ordinance
• Filling vacancies
• Pandemic recovery
• Update Purchasing Policy

Since the last Workshop in August 2023, 4 Priority Projects are nearly complete (95%):

• Develop Telecommunication Ordinance consistent with federal law
• Stormwater Ordinance Update
• Car Week Safety and Impacts
• Review barriers to construction of affordable housing (Housing Element Adoption)

This staff report and attachments will provide an overview the current list of 29 active strategic priority projects and the direction noted at the August 30^th Priorities workshop, and confirmed during a Priorities Recap discussion at the October 3, 2023 meeting.

Attachments to this staff report include:

• 2020 Vision Statement, Mission Statement, and Guiding Values
• Strategic Priority Matrix - updated March 2024 (detailed version)
• Strategic Priority Matrix - updated March 2024 (summary version)
• Completed Projects List
• Projects by Department/Category

Staff is requesting Council review the list of 29 active priorities and provide direction on what items remain a top priority, items to move off the list as complete, or provide other direction to staff. Once this direction is finalized, the Priorities Matrix will be updated and will determine how staff time will be focused until the next strategic workshop or otherwise directed by Council.  

Priority Setting

The priority focus area of the City can and does change over time based on interest, need, and resources. About half of the active priority list projects are deemed as “top priority”.

To quickly summarize the active priorities:

• 14 projects are designated as “Top Priority”
•  15 projects are “normal” priority level
• 6 projects are “New” (added in August)
• 12 priorities are over 50% complete

The list of Active Priorities below are in order of percentage complete, with the projects closest to completion at the top.