62- July 15, 2021 Retreat minutes  TOWN OF ABINGDON COUNCIL RETREAT THURSDAY,UIYIS,BI - 8:30. AM  JUBILEE HOUSE RETREAT AND CONFERENCE CENTER  A Retreat of the Abingdon Town Council was held on Thursday, July 15, 2021 at 8:30 am  at the. Jubilee House Retreat and Conference Center.  A. WELCOME- - Mayor Webb B. ROLL CALL Members of Council Present:  Mike Owens James Anderson Amanda Pillion Donna Quetsch, Vice Mayor Derek Webb, Mayor Kimball Payne, The Berkley Group Kelsey Wong, The Berkley Group  Meeting Facilitators:  Mr. Payne thanked the Council members for the opportunity to facilitate their retreat. He provided information on his background in local government. Ms. Wong also introduced herself.  Mr. Payne suggested the following goals for the retreat:  Get to know each other better and build relationships Work as at team and develop consensus Identify steps to improve Council effectiveness Develop aj plan for utilizing ARPA funding Identify major goals and priorities Craft a work plan for the next 181 to 24 months  Gain al better understanding of Council, Mayor, and Manager roles and responsibilities Identify objectives, with assigned responsibility and timelines, to advance the goals Understand constraints toj progress and identify means to overcome them He then mentioned some themes that might run through the day's discussions:  Council dynamics and processes Public engagement  Counel/managermayor roles, responsibilities, and relationship Limitations - staff, finances, time, statutes, Dillon Rule  He concluded his introductory remarks by listing some proposed ground rules for the retreat:  Everyone participates    63- July15, 2021 Retreat minutes  Engage Be honest Listen to each other Respect different opinions Noi idea is too outlandish Seek to understand Ask questions Have fun  Seek consensus (formal action at a future Council meeting) We will take breaks when it seems appropriate  Use the parking lot for issues that may evade consensus or require more background  Council accepted the goals and ground rules by unanimous consent.  Mr. Payne then asked each Council member to answer the following questions: Why do you. serve on Council? What would you like to be remembered; for? Tell your colleagues  something about yourself that they probably don' 't know.  The Council members spoke to a desire to serve the town and make it a better place for citizens. Each said that he or she didn'treally want tol leave aj personal legacy but just wanted to do what they thought was best for the community. Council members also shared interesting facts  and stories about themselves.  To get an understanding of Council's vision for Abingdon, Mr. Payne asked the members to describe the Town of Abingdon in the future (5,10, 20 years out) and to suggest what would be different or better as ai result of this Council'si initiatives. The responses were captured on  Flip Chart #1, as follows:  Future  Affordable housing Young families Vibrant downtown copy another community.) Community Tourism destination Adequate workforce Active, engaged citizenry Financially stable, sustainable Vibrant small business community  Unique (not Asheville) - be yourself [a desire for Abingdon to be Abingdon and not try to  Service center for the region (w/in 1.5 hr. drive)    -64- July 15, 2021 Retreat minutes  Mr. Payne then shared with Council the common themes and other issues that hel heard when he conducted interviews with each Council member inj preparation for the retreat.  Common Themes  ARPA funding and how to use it  Infrastructure projects: Park St, Main St. flooding, Fields Penn House; Meadows  complex CIP  Council relations; unity, communications Counci/Manager roles and responsibilities Rules of Procedure for effective meetings  Outsourcing operations at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)  Other Issues/Ideas  Tourism plan Non-profit advisory council Charter change Historic properties Events philosophy Mountain bike park Stable finances  Disposition of underutilized Town properties  He said that it was time to start discussing the issues identified by Council members and  suggested starting with Town Council expectations, relationships, and effectiveness. The following questions were offered to encourage the conversation.  How is Council doing as a governing body? What is working well? What areas might need improvement Are there any expectations that are not being met? What is the quality ofcommunications among Council members? How effective, useful, ori relevant is Council's Code of Ethics? What changes How effective, useful, or relevant are Council's Meeting Rules and Regulations?  might be appropriate?  What changes might be appropriate?  The discussion of Council's performance evolved to include the Town Manager. Mr.  Payne had offered the following questions regarding that relationship.    -65- July 15, 2021 Retreat minutes  How is the relationship between the Manager and Council?  Are roles, responsibilities, and boundaries understood and respected by Council Are performance expectations documented, understood, andj followed up on? What is the quality of communications between the Manager and Council? The facilitator reviewed the principles oft the counci/manager form of government and the roles and responsibilities, as well as boundaries, between the Council, the manager, and staff. The role of the Mayor and Council's expectations of that position were also discussed.  members, employees, and the public? What areas need clarification or improvement?  Among the principles oft the Counci/Manager form of government that Mr. Payne The Council determines the vision for the community and adopts ordinances, and sets Council acts as a body, inj public by majority vote; no single Council member has the Council hires aj professional manager to serve as the chief administrative officer oft the The manager is apolitical, is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the local The manager'ss specific responsibilities and authority are stipulated by state statute, local The manager is responsible for personnel management oft the organization and, except as may be limited by charter, hires, trains, disciplines, and terminates all employees ofthe Except for positions reporting directly to the governing body, Council has no role in personnel management beyond adopting organizational policies and procedures. Council directs staffthrough the manager; no Council member has the authority to give One ofthe manager's primary responsibilities is to keep the Council informed. Sharing Information is shared with all Council members equally and at the same time Responses to inquiries from individual Council members are shared with all  reviewed were the following:  policy, among its other responsibilities, to achieve the vision. authority solely to set or change policy, or commit town resources  organization  government, and operates under a code of ethics  charter, and local code. local government.  direction to staff  information with Council is guided by the following principles:  Council members There should be no surprises  Council learns of! bad news from the manager first  Points from the discussion were captured on Flip Charts #2 and #3. Asterisks (*) indicate  an action item.    -66- July 15, 2021 Retreat minutes  Flip Chart #2 Council  Communications could be better [among Council members]  *Behavioral expectations on agenda [ini response to concerns about certain citizens disrupting Council meetings and how the Mayor, as presiding officer, might address that  -t the facilitator offered toj provide an example] Trust - address immediately  Informed Orientation  *Agenda summary sheet [a summary of the agenda item will be provided along with Electronic agendas [four oft the five Council members agreed to receive the agenda 5calendar days in advance [oft the meeting is when the agenda packet will be delivered] [Council also agreed that it was not necessary. to include proofofpublication in the  backup information- - the facilitator agreed to provide an example]  packet electronically) agenda packets.]  Flip Chart #3 Mayor- -Expectations Presider  Facilitator of decision making Ceremonial nead/spokesperson Communicator Manager  Value of monthly reports  *Annual evaluation (template) [the facilitator agreed toj provide a template for consideration)  Council broke for lunch at noon and reconvened at 12:45 p.m.  Director of Economic Development and Tourism/Assistant Town Manager Tonya Triplett and Director of Finance Steve Trotman joined the group for the afternoon session ofthe  retreat.  Mr. Payne suggested that before addressing specific topics identified on the agenda,  Council discuss town operations. He asked the following questions:  Are there other areas ofTown operations that should be addressed?  What is the Town doing well?    -67- July15, 2021 Retreat minutes  What could be done better?  Ist there anything that the Town is not doing that it should be doing? Ist there anything that the Town is doing that it could stop doing?  The discussion was capture on Flip Charts #4-#6.  Flip Chart #4 Town Ops Doingy well Council Core Services Supporting staff Business support Financial stability County relations Flip Chart #5 Could Do Better Doing too much Chamber & others stepping up Dependency Communicate good news (brag) *Tourism plan (61 mos.), w/metrics (ROI) Code enforcement Project completion Abingdon Main Street County relations Flip Chart #6 Stop  Relationship with schools -1 facilities use  Buying and maintaining historic properties Doing things the way they have always been done; e.g.,  Tourism Non-profit funding Rec. center (Coomes) Firel Protection Services    -68- July15, 2021 Retreat minutes  Stop subsidizing the County Being adversarial  [Non-profit app*][the facilitator agreed to share an example from another community)  The discussion continued with a focus on specific action items and how to utilize the $8.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA): funds that the Town would be receiving. Mr. Payne also suggested some questions to ask when considering alternative forms ofs service  delivery, such as outsourcing operations at the WWTP. 1. Should the service be delivered by government? 2. What are the expectations related to service delivery? 3. How well is the service being delivered? 4. Can service delivery be improved in house? 5. Should the service be contracted out? 6. What are the legal implications?  7. How to measure performance and ensure accountability?  8. What willl happen to existing employees who are currently responsible for service delivery? With respect to the WWTP, Mr. Morani advised that the Town would be receiving proposals from firms interested in operating the facility and that he would be bringing together a team to review the proposals. There was a discussion about the advisability ofi including a member, or members, of Council on the review team. Ms. Quetsch expressed an interest in  serving on the review team and Council agreed by unanimous consent. Major points from the discussion were captured on Flip Charts #7-#9.  Flip Chart #7 ToDo  Expand Historic District Infrastructure tormwater/looding  Sports Complex - Finish work * complete the master plan, restrooms  Operations plan (Jan. 1) House - research, RFP?  [Set aside] $2 million [ofARPAfunds to complete the work in the original construction bid that  was deferred due to cost and available funding] *Next agenda - Aug 2nd. -1 Bike Park? (in triangle)  Spring. - Bid batting cage Review master plan - 90 days    -69- July 15, 2021 Retreat minutes  Flip Chart #8 ARPAS  Stormwater- #1, hire an engineer by Oct1  Immediately - figure out where you are on stormwater management [what  work has been done previously is still relevant?] $1-1.25 million [settled on $1.25 million]  $4 million Creeper' Trail' Trestles  Bid by March 1,2022 0.825 million Hire engineer by Oct1  Green Spring Road lCulvertreplacement and associated work]  Flip Chart #9  *Adopt CIP for FY2023 [and subsequent years) - May 2022  Aug 2-4 ARPA plan to Council  Sep 7th_ Outsourcing WWTP Ioperations/ decision  This concluded the retreat. Mr. Payne thanked the Council on behalfofhimself, Ms. Wong, and The Berkley Group for the opportunity tol be ofs service. He advised that he would prepare notes from the retreat and provide them to Mr. Morani for use as he deemed appropriate. Council members expressed their appreciation for Mr. Payne'sandi Ms. Wong's assistance.  Mayor Webb declared the meeting adjourned 4:30p.m.  Dérek Webb  Ahgy  Kimbuly5 Kimberly Kingsley, Clerk