e e e e e e e e e I feel like with the way things have have changed since the the hurricane and the direction that we're going while a lot of things stays the same a lot of things change you know and getting a clear mission and vision and I know in the previous uh strategic plan there was a proposed one I'm it I'm not sure how far that got you know because if you look at it's Pro proposed Mission and proposed Vision um you know clear timelines for our strategy so we all know which what direction we're going to go how we're going to measure it how we're going to you know uh communicate that type of thing um and you know we just we just want to help us focus on specific things now that we've kind of started shuffling things and gotten the some of the heavy lifting if you will done with you know um permitting and and and starting to get debris removal from the you know the initial impact of the storm the dust is settled now where are we going to go what's what's our path forward and so we reached out to Angela and we're excited that she's here to kind of lead we're not sure that it'll take the whole 3 hours but we're we appreciate your cooperation as we move into uh this next phase of how I manage coming up on a year now we kind of had I I kind of guided the ship for the year now you need to make sure you're guiding the ship for the next you know 5 10 15 years ask question yeah a question for Andy uh given your you've got a lot of history and you and Frankie both have a lot of history of of a municipal governance uh we had a strategic plan prior to when councelor Ellers and I came on to council and we never heard it referenced in any capacity we have I don't think I've ever seen it in your experience and what as we move forward what's your how do you plan to utilize the Strategic plan and and how would how will we know that this won't just go on a shelf somewhere A and B I have another question about maybe this is a good question for the for the moderator we're going through I see uh uh John mlan here from the LPA they're we're doing a heavy lift as we redo our comprehensive plan right now we do that every 10 years and and that's a that's a that's a kind of a a directional footprint for where the island is headed how does this differ what are what are the similarities is there is there duplication just curious on those two issues you firstand if you would yeah it took a little while for me to to to obviously get my feet on the ground and figure out we had one a strategic plan of course it was 2017 I believe so obviously you should review these every you know three to five years for sure if you if you prepare it properly and you use it properly it helps with budgeting it helps with forecasting it helps with the direction you come back it's a living breathing document with my experience and and it can change from year to year there could be something that happened a hurricane happened now you have to change your strategic plan because now you refocus maybe you were about to to to build a new park we were about to build a new park well that had to change because now we had to focus on getting the Old Town Hall down so things change you should review this this should be something the town manager uses daily weekly monthly quarterly there should be quarterly reviews there should be uh goals set with our budgeting uh performance measures put in place everything tying to the Strategic plan it's it's the road map for the whole organization LPA fits into part of it that's one part of it that doesn't help with uh storm water that doesn't help with uh Capital Improvement projects whether we build or buy a town hall whether we build or improve a park those things are separate they're usually not in the the the LPA you know and that that willhouse if you will I'll let you add Angela come up and introduce you should proba had you do that at the beginning but yeah so uh good morning Angela Christ I am the director for the Florida Institute of government at the University of South Florida it is a pleasure to be here and um Andy said it very eloquently um your comprehensive plan is just one piece of a strategic plan and we're going to talk a little bit later about really when you look at the differences between operational and strategic planning I know there was a comment made about oh well not really done it this way or that's not my understanding of strategic planning um we use a very different process um and we've done these all over the state uh it's a participatory method and what that means is we're engaging all the key stakeholders so whether that be businesses residents um employees but it's really the first kind of part of our process is really just kind of collecting data and getting a baseline for where you are and that data comes from all of those whether it's resident surveys or employee surveys and then taking that information and working with all of you to really create those goals those those goal statements those objectives um and those action items we see it exactly as Andy said it's a living breathing document a lot of people think a strategic plan is just that's the road map and that's all you follow but when you work in government it cannot be that at least in our professional opinion it must be fluid it must be flexible when there are unfunded mandates that come down when there's a cat 5 hurricane you have no control over those but yet you have to respond to them and so when you get to the implementation stage of the process when you are having meetings your agenda items should be referencing a strategic goal your budget decisions should be made based on your vision of your strategic plan and so it's a very unique process it's very different um it is not what I would consider a uh kind of private sector model it is a really a government sector model and so those are kind of the differences um in what we're doing thank you okay so um am I good to go or take it away okay all right sounds great okay so um I just want to tell you very briefly uh just a little bit about the Institute so and the school just so you know who we are so we're actually part of the school of public affairs uh so we have the masters of public administration and the Masters of urban and Regional planning within uh my school so we have a lot of resources um we've been around we were created The Institute by the legislature so we serve the entire State of Florida um I serve mostly the Central and the Southwest Park uh my partners at FAU kind of do uh Broward Miami kind of that area um and then uh Florida State really does the whole top half uh so um we have a lot of resources we have Affiliates across the state so um I just wanted to share that with you so you know a little bit about us um okay let's talk about today's agenda I need you to take the journey with me today I'm sure you're going to have a lot of questions and that's okay I'm happy to answer them to the best of my ability but this is not about me talking this is about you participating today so I need you to put your thinking caps on so we're going to do a little individual activity um and it's around milestones and successes there'll be a brief kind of status update on current work plan activities that you have going on um we will take a break it doesn't mean it's going to be exactly at 10:05 we may be able to move into the group discussion but we will have a break at some point um we will have a group discussion on the treasures uh there will then be a group activity on beginning to develop the vision I'll talk a little bit about the keys to strategic decision-making uh what I had just mentioned a second ago I have some slides that will kind of help you I think understand it a little better um we'll have an opport for you to address any uh thing that we have not covered up at that point so if there's anything during the open discussion that you'd like to bring up that would be your opportunity as an elected official uh we will also have time for public comment um and uh then wrap up does that sound good to everyone okay let's dive in so you should each have a little packet of sticky notes at your seat so I want you to just individually I want you to write down only one item per sticky note so there should be a sticky it it's sticky that's sticky it's sticky I was just being a smart Al I'm like I got a big piece that's okay um so the question you're answering is what are the people in events whether in the town the surrounding area or the World At Large that had made a difference in the history and successes of Fort Meers Beach you can only put one per sticky note and if you know the approximate time frame please put that on there so you know and one person well we all know the obvious one you're going back now milestones and successes before the last peran and we can only do one no you can do as many it should be what comes to your mind okay that's what I'm saying it's one per sticky note oh got it St for what now s shoot one well if you have a big piece of paper you may write two on you have to cut it in half though if you have space just don't cut it in no don't cut it in half cuz I need it stuck somewhere got it okay yeah I'm just this m think that's right yes a dead air dead air it's a moment of silence brought to you by the fordt Myers Beach Public Library yeah all right well we normally do oh the line really to the music styling bringing you Toto so what do you want done with these done I would like okay if you can't read a writing read my here a long time I know I know so I'm glad Angela Angela there's there's two with Direction I know I've seen your past report cards okay there's a bunch interesting question are we going to need more sticky P they don't seem like they're very full I should be able to see like a want me to grab some more in this Scott turning in book big Rider went to the bottom no you're the you're the base all right it's important how you look at it f girl I know as I said I'm setting the framework here folks [Music] want to use M would you write one thing per piece of paper yeah are your markers scented yes cool that's a good facilitator and they don't B through it's funny when you would bring Scented Markers people would put them in then you'd see the markings on their not o that was a good one ni it was airplane glue ah remember MH the mograph yes look at you show that's cuz I'm old we all know what you're talking about vintage yeah I read I read a lot is that it remember you used to it was like special when you got to go to the office and like oh I know make them yeah and then you sit smell it okay any others that I missed yeah got everybody do I have everyone's okay great okay so let's walk through these together and then I'm going to ask where you go think you may you may want to be on the mic do I need to yes folks can hear you pretty loud we need a wireless no it's not loud it's so the public can hear oh okay sorry okay so let's start can you guys see though cuz I need to have it next to me okay let's just move it here okay so we have can I stand on the side of you're have to maybe put it on can you put in front of Frankie closer we can only get it so close oh that would be great yeah thanks we need a wireless M put Frankie in the corner we need a walk M you have a wireless mic Jacob it's okay I'm good I can do this m I can do is that better little okay no problem no worries it's all good okay so we have uh shrimpers and Industry in the 40s let's see Town incorporation 199 5 so someone had Town's Founders so is that was this referring to the 40s or the incorporation in '95 corporation okay so we have two of those doesn't want to stick okay um Hurricane Charlie I put here this was in 2000 red tied 28 yeah was a 20 2004 yeah oh it just says 2000s 2000s yeah okay hold I didn't know okay then let's see obviously the pandemic in 2020 um I'm not sure new Sky something 1979 what's that bridge brid the bridge bridge okay um Beach school all decades and then I don't have no clue what that says that's Jim's ready first oh First Council in the 90s that's you that you said that yeah yeah okay that's is that correct that is correct okay perfect all right Town incorporations so we have all these three Lo this is leaders of the Town successfully fought to make Fort Meers Beach a town so that's kind of all this Incorporation this is the leaders who I can't read your writing who's is this it's it's the leaders who had the foresight to to preserve and create the beach access points all along the beach which kind of democratized the beach for everybody on Fort Meers Beach okay that is a huge Point okay and can you turn your microphone just I know we're kind of being a pain but make sure they can hear you and then there's a second one on that one okay a similar theme it's it's those leaders and and and some of them have names some of them don't who who thought to preserve bage Park linal Park Crescent Park uh Newton Park and and matan's P kind of our our nature preserves for our Island they had the foresight to preserve those lands okay and and and when did this occur oh it's very various stes throughout our history each park has its own story okay so so 40s and then you weren't Incorporated until 1995 right correct so let's see what else we have Co a Town's Founders uh Dan Hughes who wrote that one of the founders here's one of the founders of the town okay perfect put this here okay all right then let's see so now we have 95 the next thing I see is 2004 is that is that correct probably well I'm sure some of the other stuff filled in there that that the vice mayor was referring to kind of fell in to that time frame between 95 and 2004 okay M house I put M house when was that it was yes I had a couple that I wasn't sure where they went moundhouse development that was one of them that was after 95 I'm pretty sure when the town bought it I don't remember the exact dates it was but it was after 95 before 2004 yeah okay probably 96 97 okay didn't realize we had to know all specific dates today though there's there's a there's a reason for it yeah there's a reason for it okay so then I have uh I'm not sure about these two um well enhanced Improvement of fire department and EMS I think Karen you wrote that um when did that occur you know I we bought here in 2016 so it was before that can't hear you we bought we bought here in 2016 so I know it was all in place before that but I don't remember exactly what those dates were it probably was you know early 2000 okay I'm thinking okay then we have um Margaritaville 2014 to 2022 that was a long planning session we actually have covid so covid came what 2020 and then now we're into new Council election New Town manager and new legal council so that was 2022 through 2023 and then interestingly enough what I found is that these are all what I would call kind of Milestones things that actually happen that have gotten you to where you are but these down here nonprofit participation in town activities the Chamber of Commerce the citizens the previous councils those are all the people that have made all these things happen I'm sorry I put sand sculpting where did that go that's just one of our Marquee events it's a big event is it well so it stopped in 2019 so it was a huge huge event now we're bringing it back this year okay so it's just it's the US championships there was another one too I should put in Little League not sure when they started here I don't know where it went at B since the school been around yes since the school so it we go up with the school okay so look at the timeline and what do you see if you can if you can see it a lot of Post-it notes yes yeah big gaps gaps okay what else I think the biggest Gap is obviously the first one you know from the 40s to 95 and then a lot of stuff between 95 and 2004 is what you were talking about you know the sand sculpting the all the events that that happened throughout the island shrimpfest things like that are all kind of in that time frame Fourth of July parade yeah all all of those things but third half of that is when they've been up when they've been part of this process 2019 well I think a lot of the reason this is my speculation but between the 95 and the 2004 many of us weren't here then yeah you know you know the history but you don't necessarily know the exact dates of the history from the time that you know like the mount house for example probably should know the exact date but yeah I don't think any of us know the exact date no I don't think you need to know the exact date that wasn't the purpose of the exercise the purpose was to say where's the vision been along the way you guys have responded to what so you were moving along we we've just been we've just been reactive since 04 I mean Charlie wiped out a great portion of our downtown area and it it took Margaritaville to bring that back 18 years later and we we you know had Irma which was very impactful it missed us but um then we had red tide then we had covid and then we had the hurricane I mean every everything's just been all the thrown at us and we keep surviving all the punches but it's just been reaction reaction reaction and we need to you know be set us up so we're proactive and and Andor respond to the whatever next punch is coming so absolutely so the strategic planning process is about being that Visionary you as leaders have the opportunity to do that and to make sure that in the next 10 years there isn't gaps that you're prepared for that and that's what the Strategic plan is about so you have to recognize where you came from and what the founders and why um but at the same time now you have a huge opportunity to set the vision for where you want the town to go whether that is being prepared for another major hurricane uh that's only one piece of it yes mhm okay all right let's move on so you guys have done a lot my thing's not working can you just you can just forward the slide it's fine okay I am going to turn it over toy if you want to talk about some of the current activities doing obviously as as as we all know since I got here uh about a year ago um Beacher nourishment started um prior to that we just started the storm water tier one projects they're going um been working on the town facilities you know one thing that we we focused on right when I got here was removing you know removing the Old Town Hall that happened in June I believe May if that's right when in June um and then the town facilities for getting these trailers put in place and of course since you know U September 2022 hurricane inan recovery began and has continued um you know worked with the ball getting the Little League filled uh worked with um um getting the um Bay Oaks Community Center back up and running um hiring staff moving staff around you know all that's part of a plan um and now as we focus going forward you know we we we we need to continue the planning um just because we get people put in right places it doesn't mean that we shouldn't always anticipate the next thing Scott hit hit right on it pretty good earlier you know about how we need to prepare ourselves it's one thing I continually do is is always anticipate that somebody could decide to leave or any number of things can happen um so we always need to be prepared for replacing staff for replacing uh equipment for replacing um uh ball fields for replacing water line sewer line that that type of thing so we've got to you know our plan our activities are uh day-to-day type things they're big projects but they also are something that create an opportunity for us going into the next several years the beach obviously is something that requires 100% of our attention constantly there's always things happening out there the ball field you know with with grass and lighting and and and things of that nature the lighting project that we have going on those activities we continue to do these These Boots on the ground type things and some of this is reactive you know it's all what happened to the beach we got to do this what happened to the ball field we got to do this U you started planning uh prior to to me getting here to redo this park well then the hurricane happened you didn't plan for that so not that you could obviously but we we are planning for emergencies we are doing more meetings with our our comprehensive emergency man management plan but all those things fit into this umbrella so it's just more and more of the guidance and the vision that you want to share with me and and having been here a lot longer than me and and having various experiences as we continue together um hopefully into the next several years to to continue to set the standard set the bar you know one thing I told staff and and I mentioned a few of you Poss possibly that I want other towns and municipalities in a post hurricane situation to come to us and say how did you do it how did they how did Fort Meers Beach get back um I've been here a year so it's been what 19 months since the hurricane and if we could just could take a an aerial shot a 30,000 foot view or 10,000 foot view this is where we were on September 29th and here's where we are on on you know April 29th you know the 29th not I guess it's coincidental that it's the 2 nth but I think you understand I mean we have we you have moved the bar we have created a different expectation here just by you being here that changed how the town thought and we do have a different mindset uh we talk about it individually with each one of you um every week we talk about the mindset and not necessarily those words but what are we doing what what's happening so we want to you know we want if something sure would were to happen to me and the next person comes in you we don't want it to be since 2017 when that person dust this off and says oh what are we going to do it's just it's there it's oh where's the first place that a manager should look when he comes to a town the budget and the Strategic plan and not necessarily in that order because this budget comes under this so those are the things we're doing you know Joe and and the way that the budgeting process is done now and that just the the transparency that that creates and this is a transparent function that we're doing you know that that that type of government is what what I believe in and I and you do too because that's why we're all sitting here together uh you felt like that was the direction we need to go we added the attorneys and you know just and the way the staff and the way we we go about our business and um it it it's all part of the plan the work plan which is a part of the Strategic plan you know you said something very interesting there that kind of and I think it goes kind of along with what you said Scott is you know the town I think has learned since '95 how to operate as a town and since the storm it's been kind of accelerated as to you know since you and I have been on the council we've all kind of tried to work to get it more transparent to make it so that you do have a road map because I saw how difficult it was for you and Chris and I know we all did and then when you came in to actually have to you had nothing to really go off of right so you had to learn from the five of us so to speak to like where's this how does this work you know is that how was the budget run I remember right after it was one of the first things Chris said to me was how do how do you pay your employees there's no there's nothing in place as to who you know there's no pay scale how does this work so it was trying to redo all these processes and I think that's part of the evolution of the town and learning how to operate as a municipality so this is going to be very interesting to see how it goes forward to be proactive to be able to to head things off should something happen or something change we're not going to be up here forever you're not going to be in that seat forever so the next person needs to be able to understand where we started and where we're trying to get to I think one thing you know I obviously draw my experiences with emergency preparedness there's certain things you can't prepare for you can anticipate and you say okay that can happen but as you get as prepared as you can and watch how staff and you react just in that one piece but yes it's it's it's the whole dynamic it's having the purchasing policy in place it's having hiring policies in place it's having our employee handbook in place it's having all those things so if something were to happen we all decided one we've had enough we're retired we're going somewhere else and then the next people group comes in they can plug and play and then we left it better than we found it and I know each one of you feel that way and I know I do I'm you I've always been taught leave it better than you found it and I think that's what we're doing I think we see that that this group we we have and I say it in public I'd say it in private I'd say it anywhere we have a good relationship that's a rarity sometimes in in in government because this person thinks that they're bigger than the hole well this person thinks the other way I'm a small slice of the the hole so I I think this is where your expertise and your experience and Dan did hit on it exactly I was leaning on you for the next day and the next day it was just a day at a time this more gives us a a bigger Road mapap a year at a time how are we going to function this next year and hopefully the next year and it helps Joe and helps staff as we start to prepare the budget and plug things in oh we want to do more of this we want to prepare this you know what do we need to purchase how many employees do we need to hire do we need to cut back do we need to do there's just the everything kind of plays off of this document it really it really is the focus Point focal point of how all of us should operate it's it's being more proactive instead of reactive correct and I think that's fair but I think we have to design it in a way that uh Scott did a nice summation I mean literally since Dan and I've been here and you you throw out the word red tide it sounds like some generic term it was a it was a it was a cataclysmic event for Fort Meers Beach it literally shut down our Island for months and then you add Co onto that then you add Ian onto that so whatever plan we put forth has to be able to absorb those kind of blows and and that has to be the plan has to be designed to you just think about that just how different each one of those three events were but they were each I mean so uh uh impactful to the island in an adverse way that we had to absorb those blows to then move forward fortunately we have a very resilient Island but I think the plan I think all your points are well taken Andy but I just think it has to be designed for to to to be able to absorb the blow of of any Ty type of natural or man-made disaster that may come our way because we we've certainly seen it and it's been it's been quite dramatic the last four or five years I think and Joe will probably love he will love this but it's also with what do you do with your fund balances you know what what what do you do for that rainy day what are you preparing for financially you know we need to put policies in place and and a procedure or an ordinance in place that says all right we're going to put 25% of our budget away a minimum of I've been places we put we actually had an Ord it was a minimum of 25% and then we tried to increase it every year not you know we didn't have a but of course you also got to be mindful that you just don't put all that money in the bank you have to do projects too I mean you got you're supposed to spend that money back into the community you also need to prepare for for the what none of us can even sit here to think about and we can think about a lot of things that we've experienced and and continue to list them off but there's you just got to be prepared for the UN unexpectable and unexpected and having that you know fund balances to me are are a key to to you know future growth if you will to use that term or just reaction react being able to react and withstand a tied or be able to withstand a hurricane be able to stand up and and and and make those you know continue to pay staff continue to do things like that but but that again all part of a a a a global uh plan and I was just going to comment real quick um and just say I think this is the reason we started the way we started today is because it's a culture shift in in my professional opinion it's very hard because you have been what I would say so in the reactive mode of really survival um and responding that it's a culture shift to kind of think of where you want to be right you're still you're still trying to take down buildings that were affected by a hurricane and rebuild but visioning is the foundation the key to strategic planning so part of this is Shifting your mindset um and I think Andy said it great is there's a lot more to it than just the comprehensive plan or absolutely responding to Red Tide there's other things that go into it so you guys have to come up here to this kind of 100,000 ft level even though I know it's so hard because you're down here right now um but that's what we're trying to do is kind of set that tone up here yeah I'm sorry well I know we talked about You' mentioned we should be looking at this every 3 to 5 years reality is we should be looking at it quarterly because everything we do and once we get this in place we have to go back and look at performance appraisals goal setting job descriptions where do they all fall in accordance with the Strategic plan and what do we want to get done who are we hiring for what are the growth of our departments going to be so it is the absolute Baseline of everything we do and it should be used as such I mean it should always be in front of us yeah absolutely Yeah in our process the implementation plan is quarterly it's quarterly updates um I think the overall plan needs to be looked at every 3 to 5 years but there should be status reports given at a minimum on a quarterly basis so other comment other things any other thing you want to share about the work plan okay I I have a thought in terms I assume this will be built into your your your philosophy but we've talked about some of the structural things that have been done as we respond to Ian and as as the town gets a governance plan together but we also have some ch Alles on the island as well that in terms of quality of life challenges I'll just use for example traffic congestion yep it it's probably the one of the most impactful things in terms of quality life on this island there's so many variables to it I I get tired when people say there's nothing we can do about it uh we can't solve it with one solution but there are a Litany of things we can do to help address it uh and and I think that I I assume we're going to be talking about that today because we'll want to shape our plan and metric our success based on how we address issues like traffic congestion yeah so I don't know that we will get to that specifically today that is way further in the process today it's really about the vision and the next two exercises um the last exercise that's a group activity is really around that Vision setting you really need to know who you want to be and where you want to go you have to answer that question first before we could ever get into those details and so I don't know that you have that again yet because you've been such in survival mode you don't have that Vision yet of where you want to go at least I haven't seen it you may have it in your head but it hasn't been articulated okay so I think we have to get there first and part of what we're doing today is trying to get there but that will be eventually part of the oh absolutely all right oh yes yes yes yes you could have a strategic usually uh we have strategic themes that kind of come out of all of the data um one could be quality of life one could be Communications one could be Economic Development I mean there's a lot of different strategic themes um that are broader so yes absolutely that all pulls through it but we we are we are starting remember I'm said I'm trying to get you up here that's where we're starting really high up okay let's move on this is just going to be a um we're just going to I'm going to flip chart this but so again oh I I'm so sorry I'm not used to I told you I like to walk around I'm Italian we talk with our hands and we move so it's like it's it's hard for me to stand here that's okay um so this is what I want to talk about so again remember when I was talking about the visioning and kind of where you want to go we have to wa one recognize where you came from those milestones and successes which we did over here your history talked about kind of your current projects that you have going on but now we need to say what are those things about Fort Meers Beach that as you move forward in this process should remain and not change this is a hard question so and this is this is group participation so whenever you want to speak you speak and I'm going to flip chart it but just think about it for a second what are those things that should remain and not change for Fort Meers Beach so you just want us to Thrill things out well I guess I I'll start I guess and I think obviously the sense of community is very important you know when I say that I mean the beach School the the vibrant you know getting too far one way on the Spectrum to me is not something that I'm a big fan of you know you you have to keep that equality I guess if you will between business residents and visitors in order to keep the island what it's always been and it's and it's vibrant it's eclectic it's Unique um it's fun so keeping that that community that Community feeling is probably the the number one thing for me I think the water and the the areas around the island that are protected stay protected MH The Preserves the parks the beaches the beaches water quality in fact it should probably be improved but that's not us that's another meeting that's another meeting you know I think with the sense of community there also has to be a balance with tourism um and sometimes it's a push pull scenario but I think we have to come to the reality that we are the number one tourist spot and I think that in well in Lee County and probably within the top three of the entire state so I think we have to find that balance and be at I think I think it's even more than that I I I think if you look at our community it's it's almost like a table with four legs one leg is the residence one is the business one is the snowbirds and one is the uh tourists and you can't that balance needs to be there it can't be all about tourism tourism tourism it's it can't be all about the residence there has to be a fine balance between the four of them because most what was the other two I got I'm sorry what was the other two I got resence tourism um business businesses uhhuh and snowbirds snowbirds seasonal residents seasonal residents cuz what happens is usually a tourist be turns into a snowb that turns into a resident It's usually the that's that's the path and they they buy a hotel yeah I think that's a very good point cuz so most people come here as a tourist and then they kind of evolve into a seasonal resident and eventually they end up becoming a resident and that seems to be how it's always been at least as long as I've been paying attention so I think it's kind of to Scott's point it is a you lose one of those and and it takes away that whole sense of community so question I have a question is that a treasure or is that part of your vision I think it's both yeah yeah it's both it's it's to preserve that it's preserve yeah I think you just have when you're doing planning you have to realize that it's not just and I it's not just about the businesses it's not just about the tourists it's not just about you know the resonance It's a combination of the four and it has to there has to be a a balance there Vice May well deep thought thing that comes to mind for me is it's difficult to put on a piece of paper uh and in fact it's it's sort of crude but I mean you could be I don't know how else to describe it you could be sitting at a bar in Fort Meers Beach and on your left you could have a retired steel worker and on the right you could have a multi-millionaire venture capitalist both wearing the same t-shirt nobody cares what kind of car you drive drive it's there's a there's a there's a sort of a an egalitarian feel about this island where you don't have to put on airs and you can be yourself and do your own thing and and that's what creates the vibe uh and and you you know how do you characterize that in a plan I don't know but certainly the the the wide variety of socioeconomic uh folks we have here uh creates a very interesting place to live yeah I think you know the residents I think the reason the residents like to live here is because they feel like they're on vacation even though you're working you still feel like you're on vacation because you're never more than a half a mile away from the beach you're never more than a mile or two away from something to go out to have dinner or meet with your friends or meet new people so that that all kind of ties into everything that's up there but the vibe guess a good word so would you say inclusive and welcoming that's very good way to put it so John I think that's pretty much captured um what my I'm more of a feelings person and and that's the feel I got when I used to come here and vacation and then uh spend a time during Co down here to figure out if this is where I wanted to spend my time and the community that was so inclusive and welcoming made me want to stay and be a part of it okay so I think what we're hearing sense of community inclusive and welcoming I want to talk a little uh preserving obviously parks and beaches so um but I I want to talk about this last one a little bit and how we Define it a little bit better because I think what you're saying is it's almost when you think of the circle of life right that's kind of what this is is what I'm hearing you say this is kind a circle of Engagement almost and so what specifically is it a is it making sure that the plan addresses all of these or is it making sure that you continue to provide the opportunities for a person who comes in as a visitor to then if they come in as a tourus then they become a seasonal resident and then they you know permanently live here so I think what's The Treasure of this is it that you provide the opportunity I think it's the balance of the four it's the balance because when the tourists leave you are relying on your residents to support the businesses so it it to me the word balance comes to mind because you have to have the balance of all four of those okay in order to survive as a community otherwise if you get too far one way or the other you just become a tourist town or you just become a town that nobody wants to come and visit and and I don't think the division is that we want to stray far away from what I think what it's been all along and it's been those four things yeah right right now just so you know that the businesses that's that's where we're hurting the the goods and and that's I don't know how long it's going to take that's that's probably our biggest issue right now we're still getting tourists they're not staying as long they're they're not staying here they're not staying here they're but they're still coming down here for the day checking things out um um but the the lack of just base I mean we just got a gas station two weeks ago so um we but we still don't have a liquor store we still don't have a doctor we still don't have it just basic stuff and I think that's creating what Jim had mentioned about the traffic I mean people are making more touches every day going off the island and in in turn they're spending their money elsewhere so I think our our shortterm plan whatever that is needs to focus on getting that balance CU right now the there sure there's there's the you know the tiki boat tour and and stuff that's helping tourism but it's not helping the seasonal residents nor the residents because we just don't have enough goods and services on the island right now um I think we've lost a lot of residents too yeah since the hurricane I mean I have no idea what the numbers are right now but I would say we we've lost at least 20% of people that just can't afford or don't want to or you know stay or whatever and it's just too hard so I think a word that comes to mind b s like what you guys are saying is sustainability how in Your Vision do you use that sustainability so if you do have a catastrophic event like we had how do you envision that going forward to make it viable for businesses to come back you know we're dealing with a lot of cost of goods and things like that how do you build that sustainability into those four things so that as it goes forward there's a path in place for people to be able to still come back that want to come back and I think part of the issue that Scott alluded to is you know we lost a lot of our buildings so people are temporarily here now when you start building things back that cost is going to be so far Out Of Reach for a lot of the smaller businesses that we had before to be able to come back and rent space how do you how do you make that sustainable into the future how do you make it cost effective effective is there something that the municipality can do to put in place policy-wise to ensure that there's always going to be a place for people that fit within those four those four legs if you will and that is all part of visioning yeah and particularly essential businesses I mean we've talked we've given some examples but you can't with the exception of Margaritaville and I'm sure it's a wonderful place to get your haircut but that's probably not the most practical place for residents to get their haircut and there's no place to get a haircut you can't there's no no play there's no dentist on the island I mean these are the essential services that make quality of place quality of life critical for our residents and I think the lack of retail outlets that are open that so so that that could be incubators for our small businesses that's a huge Challenge and I think the town could play a role in providing incentives for those to to get either reopened or rebuilt part of part of the key you know that we have a chamber of commerce but you look at the at the economic development aspect of the residents tourism seasonal residence businesses the leakage Scott mentioned it but actually the leakage the money is going somewhere else that used to stay here and we've got to identify methods and ways to get the businesses back open the the boutique hotels that you know those type of things back open um I know you know part of what we what we don't have a lot of control over is the pier you know how how's that happen our Parks what but what we can control um but that that Economic Development engine that focuses on those four legs is a big big part of of our budget strategic planning traffic everything we do so we have to and it's part of that traffic thing too is you know how how do we manage Economic Development um is is a is a huge key when we've never had to manage Economic Development you know who's the expert in the room for economic development you know those type of things we have to drive that a little bit as well what what also happens too is when you don't have the small you just take any small business and you know they they become part of the community they they spend their they keep their money they spend their money here and it just snowballs and then they're the ones that sponsor the Little League teams they're the ones that advertise in local paper they're they're keeping that economic money flowing back and forth in our community and we just we're we need to get that back because it it's once you lose that and you know you you just and and you don't have you have less kids in the beach School you just it's just a spiral in effect so I mean we we need to be really laser focused on doing everything we can to encourage small businesses to get back on the island yeah and and just another part to the leakage we need to identify our Mosaic which tells us what is being purchased what people are leaving to go by uh we mentioned Barber we mentioned dentists we metion those are Givens doctors those are given but what else you know what else are they buying we we have a boat couple boat dealerships here you know they buying that many boats I I don't know I but there's there's a lot that will go into this as we get a little closer to the surface that that all plays into the big picture and I think you're understanding how it's maybe you're starting to understand how it's important to Scott's Point yes the businesses are very important but if you don't have the residents here when those tourists leave those businesses don't make it MH so you have to have the people that actually put the money into the small businesses outside the three or four months that they're here to be able to support the small businesses that then support the little league and support everything else so the more you talk about one it makes you think about how important the other three are because one doesn't make it without the other and it's just it's just that simple and so as you go into visioning in the next exercise you need to remember all these you guys are all agreeing to this you're agreeing to that sense of community you're agreeing to that inclusive and welcoming uh Vibe you're saying hey we have to have this balance um that it's really to me it's a circle right that if you're a resident and you want to come or you're a tourist that you have the opportunity to go to any one of those other Lakes so I'm hearing you all say if there is consensus that you value these for Fort Meers Beach and if you value those then as we get into the next exercise you need to think about that when you begin to talk about your vision right are we are we are we in agreement that this is okay so are there other things or I think this is solid it's very it's a good starting point and and I think to the vice mayor's Point earlier if you just look at that whiteboard right there that encompasses the comp plan essentially it really does because everything in there has been there since the comp plan was written there's nothing new there that we that we're discussing we're just rehashing and how we can tweak things to make it fit better within what the initial Vision was but the comp plan only addresses certain things certainly so the Strategic plan is a much broader much higher level the comp plan is only one piece of it one you you I would be shocked if this wasn't in line with the comp plan it should be in line with the comp plan right uh because they've probably already vetted and done a lot of stuff to and you should have the same answers um but the Strategic plan is going to be much greater than just that one piece but there should be there should it should uh comp they should compliment one another absolutely all right let's take a uh five minute break if that's okay um coffee water whatever you need and we'll come back and um I will set up for the next activity all right we'll break at 10:01 come back at 10:06 e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e Angela take it away wonderful don't get too comfortable in your seats cuz next is a group activity oh boy I'm going to uh we're going to break you up uh a group of three and a group of two don't laugh cuz it's oh it's not working okay beginning to develop the vision you're going to work in groups and this is what you're going to address you're going to pretend that you write for a newspaper or a blog or a column and it's the year 2034 and you've been asked to write a guess column about the town's accomplishments over over the past 10 years and what it's like to live here now far what would you write see I could be dead okay just saying you guys are going to write it so you're G to write it and then we're going to discuss it that's count you have to have your thinking cap on are you ready get set okay right just break up into two and three not everybody at once I mean I know y'all are so excited I can see come on let's go we need one group here of three and one group here of two my last name starts with the K and ends with the K okay let's go and somebody needs to write on the flip chart can technically do well well as long as kind of a training and and it's not to come specifically make sure there make and and when you report out you won't be reporting out from here you'll be going back to the Adas to report okay so yeah I I yeah just no foreseeable subjects yeah this is a a newspaper May's on the doesn't matter we'll hold on the table for you okay you don't want me to be the corresponding secetary yeah so somebody can just either write on the FP over here okay okay all right got the chair out sorry have very good handwriting we'll give it a run well and if we had little wireless mics we could technically put a mic on them you could put a mic down there we what they're not doing any yeah these are all stuck [Music] there we bullet points or do you want like an actual I want you good Lord line no points off for spelling or grammar or grammar we don't worry about that well do this first yeah so so used myig I get on this I'm like when you're trying to manipulate docents what is your biggest dresser no just getting the six going and you guys have 20 minutes for this good work exclusive work e e e e e e e e e e e e e just talked [Music] about that's okay not being judg just observation if you if you look back at the bill rights and all Chicken Scratch smell like I draw mustache those are some amazing markers St see what happens when you take cive out of the school system it's terrible you guys take your time they just got done early you have okay okay are you right figger hello something like that e e e e e e e e e e e I didn't know we were technically on a break but you ready Jacob all right let's try this again okay I don't have my gabble one time I could worries do you want it no I'm good okay okay so who is the spokesperson um who was it this table and who's the spokesperson okay thanks can you please read your article but before you do a quick question did you guys take these into consideration yeah oh yes okay okay let's see okay here we go okay thank you well there we go thank you further back it up to Cleveland all right so the past 10 years have proven to be the dedicated outcome of planning resiliency development development and compromise stronger buildings cleaner water improve improved transportation and waterways the town is in excellent Financial shape and we have truly discovered the Fountain of Youth thank you for our continued commitment thankful for our continued commitment to music arts history culture and the environment sounds like an article I know it's supposed to be an article yeah let [Laughter] not this this does not dece need to be public visible got uh it's certainly not as uh as as as articulate as our our colleagues here the recovery postan this these past 10 years began with a philosophy that stressed the town works for the people getting folks back into their homes and getting key essential Services open ASAP was a priority policy decisions were made that institutionalized resiliency better communication improved permitting and responsive governing all this was accomplished while preserving the unique Vibe of the town the town is now better prepared for the next potential disaster at the same time we retained The Eclectic nature of our architecture Parks beaches and overall quality of life the town as a whole forced with enormous challenges of red tide Co and Ian came together at a time of great turmoil and Rose to the challenge of rebuilding our great Island and way of life GL you could read it good both of them yes you didn't find the Fountain of Youth though no not even I don't think we're going to be sending our resume to the Packers won five Super Bowls did they yeah he tried to get that on there and I Viking still none that's okay okay is there any crossover sure a lot of crossover a lot where is it I can't read that I even have new contacts well it was resiliency came in through that it was compromise compromise it was working together I think essential Services just worked worded a little differently working as Scott said working together yep yep working together environment mhm I think that eclectic and the vibe kind of goes in you you broke it down more Gran granular than we kept it more of a but I think they're all was that the wrong word sorry Frankie you're the scholar I not he did I not looking at him well we got the economic development in there with the financial stronger commitment to environment I think you guys had that one in there too didn't yeah resiliency quality of life goou on the Fountain of Youth well that's the Fountain of Youth quality of life that be use your imagination that could be a lot of things I know okay what are they not saying we had zero Discord we had zero disagreements we had zero when you think of a vision what is a vision it's what you aspire to is what you aspire to desired future State mhm so if you were writing an article and it was 2034 what does that desired future State look like in a better place it's staying true to who we are what made us who we are okay at least that's what I see in that but it ties into the resiliency to you know stronger obviously building and so a great example of a future state is right here the town is in excellent Financial shape that's a desired future state so when you begin to talk about essential Services resiliency they're still down a little bit but we need to get up here so what's that desired future state where do you want to go where do you see going we talked about a little bit over here and the Treasures of the things that you like but now it's about taking it up a notch so it's not just about preserving the vibe it's that Vision right if you had a crystal ball and like a tram that could run across the we don't want to be specific like do so let me give you an example based on what I heard over here I think your desired future state would be that you are the premier and I'm just throwing this out premier destination where you can come as a tourist become a resident and live forever oh and see that's why I find this challenging because that goes without saying I think that everybody believes that so you're just essentially asking us to put it down on a piece of paper no but I don't think that anybody doesn't think that way or does that's how we all got here you may think that way but you're elected officials well I think we represent the town pretty well yeah yeah I think the reason we became elected officials is because we believe that way and we wanted to strive to keep ourselves that way so I guess that's why to me it sounds like you're asking us to write down the obvious I guess let's put it that way but but but how is that obvious because I think you had a a little bit when we talked about this and sustainability we talked about those are the things you love and that's why you're here but what's that future State what's the desired future state is that that you have the right uh people resources financials in place to sustain these things is that the desired future State well again to me and I'm not trying to be argumentative trust me to me I think that's common sense I think we certainly don't want to be not financially stable right we certainly don't want the water to to turn to mud and visit we don't certain want the beach school to go away so again I keep to me it sounds like you're asking us toate the obvious and the vision is exactly in what you're saying we want to be financially stable we want to make sure we have clean water that people in beaches that people come back to we want to make sure that we have that good balance between residents seasonal residents the four things that we described up there I mean those are those are the key values that got us to where we're at and we certainly want to make sure those are there into the future I guess I'm I'm trying to figure out what outside of the obvious those few obvious things what you're you saying what we don't have there is we're in 10 years we want to be the place in Southwest Florida or the nation where you can not only live come live live yeah come visit but turn in eventually live work and play and it's safe it's inclusive more green inclusive um you know I I'd like to see that's what the TDC says yeah you want to be yeah live work and play but in a safe environment in clean environment with opport with multiple opportunities yes yes yes and yes okay so it in a sense it's stating the obvious but it's really not because it's reframing what you're doing cuz in your mind you're already doing some of these things but but remember your vision everything is going to be built based on that vision and so we have to articulate it in a way that makes sense uh not just to you but to the community to the businesses you want to come in that you want to come in that you want to rebuild all of those things um and not be so far down in the actual tasks and work plan um but really who you want to be in 10 years do you want to be that Premier Community that does that yeah what makes what's the unique Vibe besides inclusive and welcoming is it that you can come and you know you have this sustainable opportunity I think a lot of it which we haven't really articulated yet but I I think everybody as Dan says just it's just who we are I mean we want to be that place that's does It's Not Orlando with nothing against Orlando with five big big boxes you know and we we want to be that place with boutique hotels uh funky bars cool wine bars what just some something different with the different with a Southwest Florida flavor That's Unique that's welcoming yeah no you're right unique yeah we just don't want to be you know the thing about what's cool here is you can go to any major city in the United States outside of New Orleans and you know maybe New York and and every every Town's the same I mean they've got all the same you know big big box stores big box hotels it's it's antiseptic it's it's it's we we want our own we want to be like Key West you know but not Key West we we want to be unique and different people like hey I want to go down to Fort Meers Beach it's it's a cool place M and what makes it cool is it's it's got It's not like everywhere else I guess you know I I I think of you know it's kind of like Key West Santa Bel parts of Orlando parts of you know you could put that into a bowl and mix it all up and that pretty much describes Fort Meers Beach you've got a little bit of Key West you do have a little bit of Santa yeah you do have a little bit of the not necessarily maybe use clear water or maybe use something else that you know there's always something here for someone to do yeah no matter what you want to do whether it's kaying whether it's to gim's point sitting at a bar having dinner or having a drink and you don't know who you're talking to whether it's fishing you know whether it's just walking or biking on the beach I mean there's something really for everyone to do once we get you know you can have the kids come to the pool so it it to me that is what fort Meers Beach is it's it's the ability that all different walks of life can come here and not just do one specific thing but they have many different things that they can do it it encompasses the whole state of Florida you think about the Panhandle a lot of fishing up there a lot of shrimp boats things like that you have that here you got the tourism you got the the environmental ecological part of it you got the Back Bay the front Bay and then you also got a diverse diverse population that came from basically the Midwest but country I mean you do a lot of a lot of cities in Florida do but there are a lot of bigger cities in Florida that have that this is a small city that has that that big city feel if you will um that has that that diversity that Dynamic that that is a little different here than other places that I've lived and I've lived in you know and and interviewed in other parts of the state but it's it's this this part has Florida flid may we have Florida no oh down there sorry you know and now I think more than ever since I've been around at least we're starting to bring in things we've always had kind of Arts but now we're bringing in the music part of it we started you know bringing in the things that you would expect to find in a small town Florida town you know small little people playing on a stage somewhere or uh you know things of that nature I think are part of things that we maybe didn't have a whole lot of in the past we had some but it's now just expanded it's you know getting people outside getting people outdoors and enjoying the outside is really kind of what we're all about I think I I know you don't want to I know you don't want to get it specific Angela but what the mayor just said I think kind of epitomizes sort of where I think we're headed and I think it's good we had a Bayside Park before but the town never really partnered with the town the town never really partnered with the businesses nearby now we've got this concert series we partnered with the chamber with the local businesses around the park with the community so we've got music that people can everyone can enjoy you just didn't see that before and that's a I think that's a Vibe everybody likes and supports and the tourists can enjoy it the residents can enjoy it it helps business everybody wins you look beautiful we counted 300 something people there last night at one time I mean it's and it's the end of April this didn't kind of happen before I just no and I think that I've always used these words at least over as long as I've been involved in this again Fort Myers Beach is very inclusive exclusivity is not something that is drawn even with the things that are coming in and whatever is going to be new inclusiveness is is what Fort Myers Beach is about everybody feels included or wants to be included into what's going on and the and the vibe and the future and I think that's important so I I think that I love this so I I'm trying to get you from the article which is different than a vision statement but I I I love where you're going and this sense of experience all of Florida and Fort Meers Beach that is paints a picture experience everything Florida has to offer even better there it is I hear a new advertising campaign nice jingle trademark that Nicole Nicole you got that write that down was an old jingle singer and again obviously there's a little more to it with the inclusive welcoming in the vibe but that paints a picture for me as an outsider if I were to see a vision statement that had that that's that wow okay I get you know when I think of Florida I'm a Florida native so you know I think of all the different things you mentioned right I could have the cultural amenities I could h i could go fishing I could go to the beach um I could be casual there's all those different things of Florida that I think about that that that is a statement that is a vision to me again needs tweaking but do you kind of see the difference we can talk about resiliency we can talk about those other things but it's getting that kind of highlevel vision of what you want to do all the things you mentioned all these things here would fall under something like that yes no yeah yes yes okay comments thoughts I'm very happy with where you got by the way we did good you did good thoughts on it what's the next step okay anything else before I go there no I think you got okay so I just want to talk I'm going to show you some examples but I just want to talk very briefly about this and then talking about next steps I'm going to show you some examples of some of these that we've done because I always think a visual is easier um for you to kind of understand so again as I mentioned at the beginning we use a very different method the participatory method um but I just want to share with you because you guys have been again such in survival mode rightfully so that um it really takes both strategic planning and action planning and it has to be a balance that's why you see my little man in the mirror he's in the middle he's trying to balance um because with strategic planning it's really important that you're thinking in advance right that was that whole exercise that we just did is kind of forward thinking again when you get to the next steps it's about what needs to be done to accomplish the mission and vision a strategic plan has to be internal and external remember at the beginning I talked about the need for involving all the stakeholders and Gathering data where action planning and you heard from Andy around some of those projects that status projects that work plan that you're actually doing so usually very tactical right um it's really concerned about internal what needs to be done you were talking earlier about you didn't even know where to look or what to do when he came on board and he was relying on you some of those action things uh that need to happen and and the action steps should align with the resources so just remember as you embark on this process that these are very distinct action planning and strategic planning are very distinct um they have different methods for reporting um their goals are going to be somewhat different um and they need to be revised at different rates so I think we already talked about this a little bit but I just I feel it's really important that you understand the differences and the similarities and how they complement one another so um I always like this visual on the bottom right because is when you guys are really right now you are on the right the bottom right that operational planning right you have a ladder you are just building from the ground up that's the reality and so the strategic planning is taking that Vision which we started with and then trying to the last piece of it is really that strategy piece and so you know you think of strategic planning it's longterm um it usually lasts long longer um while you as leaders are going to set the tone and the direction the staff is going to be critical to the implementation of the Strategic plan and that is why it is important to get their input early on in the process um so I just wanted to share these with you um I just think it's important for that frame of reference because when you are in that bottom right corner and you're on a ladder and you're just trying to rebuild it's sometimes very hard to step back and to do what you did today so I think it's really good I think you started a good conversation so I want to talk to you about next steps so he is going to pull up I want to show you some examples before we get to that can you pull up the yeah thanks so I feel like a visual is always better so I just want to kind of share with you so this is one uh oh actually can you do tarp and Springs please the other one um um so we completed uh city of Tarpon Springs we're still in their implementation plan um but I just kind of want to show you the process that we've used so um if you could go to the actual document it should be the top right document I think you already down yeah here we go so just do I have access oh I do okay so I just want to show you this is um we used a similar process with them this is just you don't need to this is all so this talks about this is what I wanted to show you is there any way to pull this up just blow it up a little make it bigger thanks oh so they can see okay so as you can see in the middle here the process involves um setting expectations um doing kind of a kickoff and expectation um re really defining those vision mission core values and guiding principles we think of core values and guiding principles as those non-negotiable behaviors that is how you want to interact with each other with your staff with the community um and there's a process for that but again even though you started today you really need the input of all the stakeholders again doing a lot of data collection um doing some Community engagement that's really important to our process that we would that we propos to you employee engagement I already mentioned and then there is kind of developing those goals and objectives and then the kind of the last piece is the implementation uh plan and the action steps needed to accomplish it so you can see for tarp and springs we went through a lot um to get through this process and what they ended up coming out with are these six strategic theme areas so I'm just going to walk you through so this was kind of the different process we used used um obviously uh stakeholder interviews were conducted and you can see that's just kind of a word map of what we heard a lot from them we did a resident survey um we had themes come out of that we did an employee feedback survey um we did a focus group but I want to get down to if you can scroll down a little bit we had some uh newly elected officials so we also did a workshop with them uh community Forum we um had a discussion with the community twice I just want to get down to leadership Forum one excuse me I'm sorry uh this is something else that we do with st can you scroll up so they can see it no other way sorry um so this is something else that we like to do it just kind of creates a visual um for the community as well and it really just kind of shares what we've come up with in terms of a mission and vision statement and obviously if you know Tarpon Springs uh very uh the sponge dos and the Greek culture have a huge influence there but you can see like under quality of life uh their two big things were um protecting their water quality and multimodal transportation which I heard from you guys as well but again this is something that kind of creates that visual um for them I just want to get to the goals can you scroll up for me I'm sorry no other way I keep saying up oh so you can see guiding principles and then yeah so here we go so strategic goals so you can see like goal one quality of life so this is where you where where you want to get to in the next steps of the process is having all of these goals and then the objectives that fall underneath of them you want to minimize it a little and then um um I'll also show you we did Cape corals as well so if you want to pull up Cape Coral um and I think I can click through uh can you I think you can do it double paged but you can see um y just slide up for me there we go yep so here were their goals their strategic theme areas city services and amenities you can read through those um and then you know they were very whoever your Communications person is they were very uh they wanted to use waypoints and set of goals so they were trying to be creative um so yeah so I just wanted to share that with you because the process and the next steps is kind of getting together uh what that would look like what is appropriate for you uh in terms of your community and then and then beginning that's really it but this is kind of the final document and again um yeah so okay questions about that I just think it's important that you kind of saw that does it make sense so Angela just can you give us some practical examples of how this plan has changed Tarpon uh Springs do they do they use it I mean do they l i mean they literally are you just saying that or they actually use it if you actually they um so one of the things that we do is um in the implementation phase um with Tarpon we work with them to um determine the best way to report out as we were talking earlier so there are some software tools that we recommend there's two or three um that we would recommend um that the town would use um and Tarpon Springs is using them and so it allows for them to embedd it into their culture report out at meetings uh they we work with them I think we're just finishing up one year of implementation I think we have one more so every quarter we work with them in terms of reporting out um but it is now embedded in their culture so that's what I was saying earlier if they have an agenda item on their um agenda it references what goal it is referencing and there are quarterly status updates um and so yeah it is it is it's a great example they used it for budgeting um yeah I don't I mean it's we also are working with um Wellington the Village of Wellington in South Florida and um and den Eden city of den Eden um and they're uh doing it as well so I'm tring just for the viewer who may be watching just trying to get give them a better sense of what the Practical impact of this is I know it's referenced throughout these governmental processes what's the Practical impact of it I think the practicality is is that it is an opportunity I think somebody mentioned the train right and so the train is moving and you have to have a clear vision and you're all behind it and so it becomes challenging when you're in survival mode or you don't have a plan so right you're just re responding and reacting instead of saying well we need to plan and so the practicality is in government it's going to take a little while to do things doesn't happen overnight as we all know and so I think it is a document that allows you as elected officials and the community to get behind initiatives and the vision for where they want to be and it's used in day-to-day operations and I I asked that very genuinely because I I think I think Fort Meers Beach is blessed in a unique way right now and that I think that you've got a a legislative body here who has a Unity of purpose and you see a lot of dysfunctional councils who may not have gone through this kind of adversity and there's no common there's no Unity of purpose and there's sometimes a breakdown in civility Etc we don't have any of those issues fortunately so we have we know we know where we want to go so I just think it's a it's it's a unique situation where we have and I think even in conjunction with our advisory committies or LPA I think everybody's kind of roughly on the same page so we we have this inherent uh uh sense of where we're going so I guess really in essence what we're doing is codifying it on paper well I think you have a sense of where you're going but again I think it's the culture shift so you may know where you want to go but it's also the how you get there and I think the how you get there is the most critical point and remember you can't do everything that's the other thing about the process use you may come up with five strategic goals and under those goals you may have five objectives for each goal you can't do all 25 things it's not real you're going to have to prioritize that's the reality and so you as Leaders will set that you will say okay these right now are the top five or top seven that we're going to focus on remember a lot of what you're going to wanting to accomplish will also be dependent upon other things there probably some internal things that you have control over but there are some external things that you don't so could I just get in the weeds for one second sure when you talk about um Community involvement Community input surveys all that kind of thing so we're actually talking about open Forum Community meetings at some point right about a survey that would go out on the town website um is that separate is it is it residents is it businesses is it all lumped into one do do business owners have a separate survey or how does that all work so I would say how we like to do it is we like to create that scope of work based on the needs of your community some communities we have done Community forums only with a resident survey uh we did the town of Bair and they're they don't they don't use they don't do a lot of online stuff they're not very internet savvy so we actually had to do paper surveys so we have a spectrum of what we can do traditionally we like to do uh online resident surveys that goes out to everyone however we will accommodate whatever those needs may be um we also conduct an employee survey and an employee focus group and then also Community forums in addition to all that we usually start with key stakeholder interviews and in those key stakeholder interviews usually you would have um businesses anybody from boards and committees um so there's kind of like five or six kind of key groups uh that we feel that are really important and we would ask you to identify those individuals and then we would we would conduct key Stak holder interviews so if you wanted a forum for businesses which I would assume you would probably want based on kind of what's going on here um then we would Absolut absolutely do that so time frame on that whole process I mean ideally the time frame if we don't get bogged down in any certain area what is that time frame before we can get all of this input together and head to the final results so I would say so take out the implementation phase because by that point that usually takes a year the implementation phase but you already have the plan right and so I would say we traditionally about 9 months to 10 months if there's no big hiccups 12 months maximum um but that's usually what it takes to um to kind of get to where you have a document like you just saw and then how does it work you said quarterly you work with staff quarterly to review and yeah so we would we would actually work with Andy and his team and figure out like what's best for them I can tell you when we did City of Newberry which I don't know if you know where that is it's right outside of Gainesville when we did theirs they're like listen we're not sophisticated they were dishonest and so they're like we don't really want to use a software we just want to use Excel right now and so we work with them to figure out to figure out what was best for them internally and then we worked with their um city manager to figure out how to like are there was he doing um um monthly meetings with his department leaders and if so that became part of the department leader meetings that the city manager had so yeah so we work with the city manager Town manager Village manager to figure out what works best and what process they already have in place to do that and then they would report to you on a quarterly basis so official officially report right so yeah you mentioned dened to me Denon is is of close similarity to the town of Fort Mars Beach without the beaches in the water I mean it's it's a very unique eclectic small town it's very Community focused and it's to me when you said that that reminds me a lot of Fort Myers's yes and ironically um you're a little different but yes inclusive welcoming we heard the same thing from them we're in the uh we're actually in the kind of end stage pages of theirs we have we don't have the final report yet they're still working on their objectives um but I would say in the next probably 60 to 90 days their final report will be ready so we're very we're we're working through it with them and we used uh the process um we did Community forums we did all the employee stuff the stakeholder interviews we did all of that so yeah I think those are going to be key involving the community and and MH stakeholders I guess if you will we're just five people that are are the voice of the bigger group so I think I like the fact that they're involved yeah I don't think they were involved much with the last right the last goar around of of the Strategic plan but with what we're faced with now it certainly is very important to have their input absolutely you and as we mentioned you've already got your road map this is what we're going to be building off of so it's not Reinventing the will correct yeah and I asked you that beforeand is you know we've got this document it's just a it's the our vision and Mission and all that kind of stuff in here just oops prosing through it it's a lot of things that are just not correct correct they're not even viable I think that's where you just hit on the public didn't have a lot of input because you if you look at that it's like what what it didn't doesn't make a lot of rhyme and reason well it does to me and and you guys looking at it but uh yeah public input is so key to this this process well and it also goes back to to that document I think is very internal mhm remember remember I had this up here and so that's really action where strategy is internal and external so any other comments or thoughts before we move on to the next nope move on okay perfect so um I always like to put on the agenda just an opportunity for you guys if there's any open discussion uh anything we haven't covered um any projects or or anything that just may impact this process it's just really your opportunity to if you'd like to make a comment or whatever um well we'll just go I think we've kind of all thrown out our ideas and comments as we've been going but John you have anything else for no I don't think I do at this time I'm good for now thank you Council Woodson no I'm good for now Safford I'm good too okay we got it you guys are an easy Bunch that's just a rumor yes not cheap expensive right inexpensive and then I know that we wanted to open it up for public comment so I will let you take that over yes ma'am does that sound good okay so we'll open it up for public comment if there's anyone here that would like to speak in public comment please come on up I wrote a vision yeah can I read it sure you got three minutes to say whatever you'd like it's just real um it has been 10 years sure you identify yourself please for that sorry my name is Christy Thorton I'm a resident of Fort Meers Beach it has been 10 years since our quaint little Beach town was devastated in a cat cataclysmic hurricane Ian Wow have we come a long way this Historic downtown area of Fort Meers Beach is the best feature of the entire Island the town constructed a fantastic roundabout with a beautiful marble Fountain reminiscent of the Trevy fountain in Italy which some say was not made by the hands of man just like our remodeled Beach the old Fort Meers bridge is now for pedestrian bike and EV use only because the entire Historic downtown is blocked off by to cars by B ballards everyone who enjoys everyone enjoys the walkability of the historic downtown which is lined with all of the best shops restaurant and bars sure we developed the island north and south of the historic downtown but we also built a North and South End Bridge traffic on Fort Meers Beach is a thing of the past we built a multi-use pth on the BM along the beach and now it just doesn't make sense to drive a car so most don't 90% of the traffic on Fort Meers Beach are buses and Uber esque Transport Services because of the robust off Island parking structures available every bridge hit Fort Meers Beach is the best place to live and work because all businesses receive a 10% property tax discount if they improve and keep up with their immediate property L property line shared with the city and county and I ran out of time that thank you is anyone else all right we'll close public oh one more oh sorry I'm stuck behind I didn't yeah you're behind I couldn't see you uh good morning my name is Matthew Thornton uh mayor last time I was at a a meeting with council members and yourself you asked me if I wanted to come up and speak I told you at that time I said no I didn't but I will so here I am and I will uh I currently running for uh County Commissioner for District 3 here in Lee County uh we are residents of Fort Meers Beach we actually don't live on the island itself we live just off the island uh we've been coming to the City Council meetings uh for months now and we've been going to the Commissioners meetings my reason for doing this is dual fold number one was to hear you personally say that you didn't think that my wife's idea and plans would work and I I sense the issue and that is is that your communication with the Commissioners is limited at best my plan is to not only be here to listen to the beach communities not only just Fort Meers Beach but Estero and Benita Springs also I grew up here in Florida I grew up on an island AIA Island to be exact I've watched bad decisions made I've seen Islands taken away from their residents and turned into just big gigantic hotels I can give you several examples I think that the strategic planning for this community is dire I think that keeping this a small town feel and making sure families and residents are here is dire and I think communication with not only the county on a regular basis but the State of Florida is also very dire in this case I wish you all well with this I I'm very excited I'm also very excited to to be running so anything that I can do in the meantime over the next couple of months I'll be more than happy to do uh I encourage you to visit you know Thornton for Lee uh that's number four at any time uh and send me an email if you have any questions thank you for your time thank you is there anyone else all right see you now we'll close public comment next [Music] steps so we already talked a little bit oh my quotes not up there my quote's not up there oh it's okay I had a quote I wanted to leave you with but for for some reason it didn't it's not up there so next steps would be um we will obviously uh write a report um about today and kind of what we came up with and then we will also um kind of provide what we anticipate based on discussions kind of what that scope of work would look like and we will have those conversations with Andy um and Jason uh to kind of move forward if this is you know this is the direction we want to go I think that but um yeah I think I think you're in a really good place in terms of um you have an opportunity with new leadership to meaning he's only been here a year um and so um yeah so those are really the next steps I wanted to leave you with a really great quote but I don't see it can you pull it up on your phone maybe we anxious I always like to end on like a positive I hope it's not one of those you really got to see movie and yeah right then you can't remember the name really can I just ask one more question you sure can um so you know re one of the reasons I was asking about timing is I know this takes a long time to do it right and we're basically talking 9 to 12 months but I think if we could have at some point we don't have to do it right now but at some point maybe in our next M&P meeting what are the five maybe strategic goals or five priorities that we have in this next year to get done while we're in the process of doing the strategic planning what are some of these short short-term action five priorities that we can be moving forward with and I would I would highly Rec recommend that and I don't think you call them goals no that is why yeah that's why we that's why I had current project status update on there and so it would really be you guys working with Andy and figuring out okay this is these are kind of those action items that we're going to focus on over the next year not goals um because I don't think that you're ready for that yet um but you do need to know what you're going to work on and so I know he alluded to a couple of items um but I I would highly recommend that you come up with whatever five seven action items that you're going to do for the next year and that's what you focus on you guys agree to it um while you're going through the process so yes so can we agree that we maybe put that on our next M&P agenda to discuss that's a good idea yes okay so I found my quote so uh Robert I don't know if you know who Robert Jordan is but he's a writer have you ever The Wheel of Time probably not he's anyway so I just thought that there was this what this quote was um very appropriate uh based on your current situation so the oak fought the wind and was broken the willow bent when it must and survived thought it was very profound for where you guys have come and what you're working on so kudos to you thank you for time today thank you thank you Angela thank you with that is there a motion to adjourn so moved motion by councelor King second second by councelor Safford any further discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I oppos we are adjourned at 11:14 thank well thank you