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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-06-08Minutes Special Meeting City Council/Public Financing Authority Strategic Planning Workshop City of Huntington Beach Thursday, June 8, 2023 9:00 AM — Council Chambers Huntington Beach Central Library, Rooms C/D 7111 Talbert Avenue Huntington Beach, California 92648 A video recording and complete workshop report of this meeting is on file in the Office of the City Clerk, and archived at www.surfcity-hb.org/government/agendas/ 9:00 AM – HUNTINGTON BEACH CENTRAL LIBRARY CALLED SPECIAL MEETING TO ORDER — 9:06 AM ROLL CALL Present: Kalmick, Moser, Van Der Mark, Strickland, McKeon, Bolton, and Burns Absent: None PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Led by Councilmember McKeon ANNOUNCEMENT OF SUPPLEMENTAL COMMUNICATIONS (Received After Agenda Distribution) Pursuant to the Brown "Open Meetings" Act, City Clerk Robin Estanislau announced supplemental communications that were received by her office following distribution of the Council Agenda packet, which were all uploaded to the City's website and Councilmember iPads: Administrative Item #1 PowerPoint presentation entitled “ City Council Strategic Plan Workshop” received from Catherine Jun, Deputy City Manager. PUBLIC COMMENTS (3-Minute Time Limit) — 0 Speakers ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS 1. 23-502 Strategic Planning Workshop • Opening Comments City Manager Al Zelinka provided his opening comments to highlight the importance of creating and having a strategic plan for the City for staff to focus on the goals and tasks established by the City Council. Council/PFA Special Meeting Minutes June 8, 2023 Page 2 of 11 • Review Today’s Agenda and Strategic Plan Process; Icebreaker City Manager Zelinka introduced the Baker Tilly team and then handed the workshop over to Carol Jacobs, Managing Director. Ms. Jacobs opened the workshop with an overview of the agenda and objectives for the workshop by walking the participants through the process. Ms. Jacobs reviewed the ground rules that would set the stage for the day and help the participants have a successful workshop. Ground rules included: being respectful of each other; listening to understand each other’s point of view; seeking consensus and focusing on what is best for the community; assuming good intent; putting on the good governance hat; and staying focused. She went on to highlight the “bike rack” and noted that any items that were brought up but did not fall into the strategic plan process would be address to the “bike rack” for follow up or discussion at another time. No items were added to the bike rack throughout the duration of the workshop. Don White, Special Advisor, invited the City Council and City Manager to participate in an icebreaker exercise by finding one thing in common with each other. After the City Council and City Manager finished, Mr. White asked each participant to share with the group one of the most interesting facts they discovered about their colleagues. Steve Mermell, Special Advisor, reviewed the reasons for and benefits of having a strategic plan. He noted that with limited resources you cannot do everything and further explained that when one attempts to try to do everything at once, you end up putting out fires, and the established goals may not be achieved. He noted that the City Council as a body determines the goals and tasks, and it is staff’s job to implement the goals using their professional expertise. Baker Tilly identified the goals through interviews with the City Council and Charter Officers and the focus group discussion with the executive team. Departments also submitted information on a gap analysis form to provide information on projects, plans, and programs they are seeking to accomplish. Some of these were added to the goals as potential tasks for discussion later in the workshop. • HB by the Numbers…in 10 Minutes or Less Assistant City Manager Travis Hopkins provided background information about Huntington Beach through a series of PowerPoint slides entitled “HB By the Numbers…in 10 minutes or less (3); HB An Exceptional Place to Live, Work & Play; HB is Surf City USA…and So Much More; HB Builds and Maintains Top Notch Amenities for All; Huntington Beach is a community with diverse backgrounds and needs; Median home values and gross rents rose 35% and 36% from 2013 to 2021, respectively; The City has 10,694 businesses representing diverse industries, employment growth is projected to increase 8.9% from 2016 to 2045; Many corporate employers invest in HB, but HB small businesses represent the majority of our businesses; City staff continually plans and prepares to meet the needs of future generations; Staff operates and maintains City services/infrastructure, which are critical to sustain the City’s excellent quality of life; Staff operates and maintains City services/infrastructure, which are critical to sustain the City’s excellent quality of life; The City is making strides on homelessness, but it remains the highest priority for residents; and Residents received City information from a diverse range of sources – from word of mouth to online platforms and more.” City Manager Zelinka also shared information on the organization’s efforts and plans to sustain a healthy and thriving workforce Council/PFA Special Meeting Minutes June 8, 2023 Page 3 of 11 and the community’s quality of life. He shared a summary of the quality of life survey results that were shared with the City Council at its June 6 meeting. He also emphasized that the majority of the community is satisfied with City services and that City information is received through a variety of methods noting that 75% is through word of mouth. • City’s Financial Outlook Acting Chief Financial Officer Sunny Han presented a brief overview of the City’s financial outlook with PowerPoint slides entitled “Overview of the City’s Financial outlook; Fiscal Outlook: FY 2023/24 General Fund Proposed Budget Review; Fiscal Outlook: FY 2023/24 General Fund Budget; Fiscal Outlook: General Fund Long-Term Financial Plan; and Fiscal Outlook: Pension Update, which was the same information discussed in detail at the June 6 City Council meeting. • Discuss Status of Current Work Plan Ms. Jacobs reviewed information provided by City staff on the current 2022 strategic plan and the City Council’s H-Item outcomes on the PowerPoint slides entitled “2022 Workplan and H- Item Outcomes; 2022 Strategic Plan Outcomes; and 2022 H-Item Outcomes.” She noted that having 54 strategic plan objectives is a lot for staff to handle, but they were able to complete 29 of them. She also noted that H-Items that are requested by Councilmembers and approved by the City Council for staff to implement vary from small to large undertakings. Of those 25 H- Items approved, 16 were completed by staff. • Review Feedback Received from Council Members Ms. Jacobs started this section of the agenda by reviewing key accomplishments that the Councilmembers noted in their interviews with Baker Tilly. The list is included on the PowerPoint slide entitled “Some Key Accomplishments Cited by Councilmembers.” She next reviewed the strengths, challenges, and opportunities that were identified during Councilmember and Charter Officer Interviews and during the executive team’s focus group. The compiled lists are included on the slide entitled “Strengths, Challenges, and Opportunities.” She also highlighted the fact that the collective team of Council Members, Charter Officers, and executive leadership share the same vision of the City’s strengths. She is also shared what Baker Tilly discovered through the process, that the City was fortunate to have a strong executive leadership team citing the team respects and leans on each other to accomplish so many services daily and extends those services for the large influx of visitors throughout the year. She further noted that staff is not political and will always offer and present their professional opinion and recommendations and may tell the Council Members things they may not want to hear or agree with and reiterated that staff will implement whatever the City Council as a body decides. At 10:12 a.m., Mayor Strickland announced a ten-minute recess. • 2023-2027 Goals and Priorities Setting Mayor Strickland reconvened the meeting and handed it over to Steve Mermell and Don White who launched the goals and tasks section of the agenda by displaying the PowerPoint slides Council/PFA Special Meeting Minutes June 8, 2023 Page 4 of 11 entitled “Goal Setting; How Management Staff Allocate Their Time; and Big Rocks.” He presented the pie chart that provides a perspective on how managers (department heads, mid- managers) in a local government typically allocate their time. The intent was to illustrate that the majority of time is committed to ensuring smooth day-to-day operations and only a small portion of their time is available for new initiatives. It was noted that this was not specific to the City of Huntington Beach and was non-scientifically created by Baker Tilly. Don White presented Stephen Covey’s “Big Rocks” metaphor and noted that this metaphor represents the City Council’s established goals and tasks. Baker Tilly identified six overarching goals through Councilmember interviews that were presented to the City Council for review, discussion, and confirmation. The six goals are: Public Safety; Public Engagement; Housing and Homeless; Infrastructure and Investment; Fiscal Stability; and Fostering a High Performing Organization. The City Council was invited to discuss what each goal meant to them. Comments included: Fiscal Stability • Government is able to provide services without sacrificing other services • Residents are customers, make the economy strong and revenue equals expenses • Provide services to maintain the quality of life • Use a cost benefit analysis, such as the recent street paving analysis, as it is helpful to review and decide what to do • Find ways to grow revenue • Cost of goods and labor has risen; need to keep up with inflation when revenues do not • When making decisions, need to think if this is how we would invest our own money • Review costs, remain lean without limiting services • Providing public safety is a balance, is the community safe but are the parks are in disrepair • Should not rely on tourism, events happen (COVID, 9-11) that have proven it can be impacted Public Engagement • Need to move away from 75% of the community learning through word of mouth (per community survey) • Share what we are doing and hear back from the community to understand the issues • Build community trust • Ongoing process to improve • Continuing holding Mayor’s round table, town halls, coffees, and public service announcements for events and things happenings. Housing and Homeless – the City Council requested that this goal be converted into 2 separate goals. Homeless: • Historically handled by the county and state, cities are not equipped for it, but it has become a major issue for all agencies • Business owners are impacted when people sleep in their doorways • Want to find a solution, not just deal with homelessness Council/PFA Special Meeting Minutes June 8, 2023 Page 5 of 11 • Throwing money at homelessness is not the answer; we should not have an open checkbook • There is a cost to the City and community for not providing services • Shelter is full, but that is not success, we need to find lasting, long-term solutions for our homeless clients • Need to help individuals obtain the skills and services to become independent again • Mental health and drug addiction are factors to address • Applaud the City for the steps taken to address the issue Housing: • State says to build more housing • This is a coastal community with a suburban feel, do not want to see high rises, and it would change the city • Need to make the economy strong so employees can afford to live here • Multiple families are living in one home; there are overcrowding issues as there is little vacancy with existing homes • We cannot build our way to affordability • We can build our way to affordability if development standards are changed • High-rise and high-density living is challenging for public safety Infrastructure Investment • Consider public-private partnerships such as advertising on trash receptacles for 79 parks • Receive road improvement funding from gas tax, but have not had increases • Find alternatives to driving, we cannot make road wider to reduce traffic • Engage the public to learn more about the City’s infrastructure and future needs Foster a High Performing Organization • Restructure the boards, commissions, and committees to reduce burden on staff’s time • Invest in tools to help us help the community: o One stop shop and systems that communicate together o Tracking requests and knowing what staff is working on it and what stage it is in o Systems are not integrated, they were created in silos • Improve efficiencies, delays can lead to lost revenue • Become more business friendly, have a point of contact to support them and walk them through the City’s processes • Do not invest in new technology and try to put the current process (we’ve always done it this way) in the new system, change processes and find solutions • Encourage staff to attend conferences to learn what other agencies are doing • Supervisors and managers should work to make sure their employees are properly trained • Happy personnel are high performing personnel • Continued focus on organization culture, understand the City’s mission and values for improved customer service Public Safety • Most important role for government to provide • If the community is not safe, you cannot have prosperous businesses Council/PFA Special Meeting Minutes June 8, 2023 Page 6 of 11 • Public safety is also psychosocial, the ability for members of the public who are disabled need to safely navigate the sidewalks • Continuing to be a tourist destination is dependent upon remaining a safe community • Development standards and designing for a safe infrastructure At 11:53 a.m., Mayor Strickland announced a 30-minute recess for lunch. Mayor Strickland reconvened the meeting and handed the meeting over to Mr. Mermell who reviewed the goals with the City Council and asked the City Council for a straw vote to agree with the goals above. There was a consensus amongst the City Council to agree that housing and homelessness should be separated into two goals. Steve Mermell then continued through the presentation with a review of the identified tasks for each goal. The tasks were gathered from each department through the gap analysis conducted by Baker Tilly. The proposed tasks are identified below: Goal 1: Fiscal Stability Goal statement: Ensure sufficient funding to support programs, services, and capital investments. Proposed Tasks: • Undertake a new cost of service (fee) study and cost allocation plan. • Update developer impact fees to ensure new development is paying its fair share. • Implement a centralized contract management system. • Develop a long-term vehicle replacement plan. • Review General Fund reserve levels using the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Risk Analysis Template. • Consider options for new revenues. • Restart Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), Utility User Tax, and lease concession audits. Goal 2: Public Engagement Goal statement: Provide the community with clear, accurate, and timely information and easy access to municipal services. Proposed Tasks: • Implement a 311 system to manage and track calls for various municipal services. • Redesign the City’s website to improve the usefulness and user experience. • Enhance capacity of HBTV by hiring a production officer, building out a studio, and expanding programming. • Hire a graphic designer to design, brand, and deliver more visual content. • Expand community outreach efforts through neighborhood town halls, direct mailers, and videos. • Create an open data platform for residents to access information from the city. Goal 3: Homeless Council/PFA Special Meeting Minutes June 8, 2023 Page 7 of 11 Goal statement: Implement programs to address homelessness in Huntington Beach. Proposed Tasks: • Explore options to collaborate with faith and community-based organizations, the city’s HB Cares Volunteer program, CalOptima, and others to provide social services in a cost- effective manner. • Study the feasibility of expanding the Navigation Center to include supportive housing. Goal 4: Housing Goal statement: Implement programs to address the need for affordable housing in Huntington Beach. Proposed Tasks: • Take action to maintain local control of land-use planning. • Work with property owners to extend, where possible, affordable rental covenants on the 319 units set to expire in the next five years. • Pursue opportunities to develop affordable housing through the use of the Low and Moderate Incoming Housing Asset Fund. Goal 5: Infrastructure Investment Goal statement: Maintain, repair, and replace the City’s infrastructure. Proposed Tasks: • Provide world-class beach facilities, including the renovation and expansion of 15 beach restrooms, new lighting improvements for Pier Plaza access, security and programming. • Implement PCH relinquishment enhancements including landscape and trees, traffic calming measures, additional bike paths, and off-street parking. • Conduct an assessment of all City facilities to determine priorities for upgrades and repairs, implementation and financial strategy. • Complete major CIPs including Sand Replenishment, Bluff Stabilization. • Greer Park Storm Drain & Park Improvements, Mobility and ADA Transition Plan Improvements. • Conduct water, sewer and trash rate studies to bring rates to appropriate levels. • Undertake major planning efforts including Fleet Capital Replacement Plan, Mobility Master Plan and Infrastructure Report Card. Goal 6: Foster a High Performing Organization Goal statement: Focus on excellent customer service and an engaged workforce. Proposed Tasks: • Fill department director and other key vacancies. Council/PFA Special Meeting Minutes June 8, 2023 Page 8 of 11 • Implement the Public Service Excellence Initiative based on NorthStar’s customer service assessment. • Restructure the City’s Boards, Commissions and Committees (BCC). • Explore new learning management systems to offer a more comprehensive and innovative employee training program. • Establish a one-stop-shop to consolidate development and frequently used services in one location to improve customer service. • Conduct financial and performance assessments of each department over the next four years. • Launch TrakStar, a web-based performance system for employees. • Select a new third-party administrator for workers’ compensation. Goal 7: Public Safety Goal statement: Provide world class public safety to our residents and visitors. Proposed Tasks: • Implement a Community-wide comprehensive risk reduction strategy (optimize emergency response) • Replace Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) • Implement Police Department software updates (jail management system, First Due, Paragrine, CAD/RMS) • Replace Fire Department fleet • Complete Police Department remodel projects (dispatch center, communications center, women’s locker room, traffic unit) • Implement a mobile integrated health program • Initiate a Fire Department community risk reduction (engagement coordinator, opioid prevention, targeted risk reduction campaigns) • Implement measures to ensure Fire Department emergency response staffing meets 92% increased call volume Steve Mermell then asked for clarification on the listed priorities and Councilmembers were able to provide additional comments and items for each goal. Fiscal Stability Comment: • Often new revenue implies taxes and fees Additions: • Economic development strategy • Create a spending policy Public Engagement Comment: • 311 is a one call, one website, one app for inquiries with a communication loop for reporting and managing service requests Council/PFA Special Meeting Minutes June 8, 2023 Page 9 of 11 Addition: • Need a digital dashboard with the open data portal Homeless No additions, these two items moved to separate Housing and Homelessness: • Explore options to collaborate with faith and community-based organizations, the city’s HB Cares Volunteer program, CalOptima, and others to provide social services in a cost-effective manner. • Study the feasibility of expanding the Navigation Center to include supportive housing. Housing Comments: • Landlords may not accept County vouchers for low income, need to reduce the barriers and connect with landlords and property owners • Need to address the vulnerable members of the community who may be unable to continue to care for their home maintenance needs Additions: • Explore options for voucher programs • Maintain home ownerships (stay in homes) Infrastructure Investment Additions: • Explore additional sports and concert venues for future economic return • Need to complete efforts on Central Library improvements under major CIPs • Downtown and Main Street improvements • Complete Central Library improvements Fostering a High Performing Organization Addition: • Review the Municipal Code for outdated content such as urban farming and food trucks Public Safety Comment: • Mobile integrated health is a public private partnership the Fire department is working toward With the additional items added and clarification on items received, Steve Mermell explained the next step in the process. Each Councilmember was given nine green colored dots. The priority items receiving the most dots would be ranked higher for staff to address within the first two years of the strategic plan. All tasks will be included in the strategic plan for completion within the four years of the plan, from FY 2023 through FY 2027. The City Council was then invited to walk around the room and place one dot per priority item of their choosing until they used all nine dots. Carol Jacobs then reviewed the rank voting results which resulted in a discussion of adding Economic Development as a separate goal. The results of the eight goals are listed below: Council Goal Dots Received Ranked Task Fiscal Stability 3 Consider Options for New Revenues Council/PFA Special Meeting Minutes June 8, 2023 Page 10 of 11 Public Engagement 5 Implement a 311 system to manage and track calls for various municipal services 3 Redesign the City’s website to improve the usefulness and user experience. 3 Expand community outreach efforts through neighborhood town halls, direct mailers, and videos. 2 Enhance capacity of HBTV by hiring a production officer, building out a studio, and expanding programming. 1 Create an open data platform for residents to access information from the City that includes a digital dashboard. Homeless 2 Explore options to collaborate with faith and community- based organizations, the City’s HB Cares Volunteer program, CalOptima, and others to provide social services in a cost-effective manner. 1 Study the feasibility of expanding the Navigation Center to include supportive housing. Housing 4 Take action to maintain local control of land-use planning. 2 Pursue opportunities to develop affordable housing through the use of Low- and Moderate-Income Housing Asset Fund 1 Work with property owners to extend, where possible, affordable rental covenants on the 319 units set to expire in the next five years Infrastructure Investment 4 Provide world-class beach facilities, including the renovation and expansion of 15 beach restrooms, new lighting improvements for Pier Plaza access, security, and programming 4 Explore additional sports and concert venues 2 Conduct an assessment of all City facilities to determine priorities for upgrades and repairs, implementation, and financial strategy. 1 Complete major CIPs including Sand Replenishment, Bluff Stabilization, Greer Park Storm Drain and Park Improvements, Mobility and ADA Transition Plan Improvements, and Central Library Foster a High Performing Organization 7 Establish a one-stop-shop to consolidate development and frequently used services in one location to improve customer service. 1 Conduct financial and performance assessments of each department over the next four years. 1 Municipal Code review Public Safety 5 Community risk reduction program (engagement coordinator, opioid prevention, targeted risk reduction campaigns) 2 Police department remodel projects (dispatch center, communications center, women’s locker room, traffic unit) Economic Development 4 Develop an Economic Development Strategy (formerly under Fiscal Stability) • Next Steps and Staying on Track