esidents can help Village Council members set priorities for the future during a strategic planning workshop this weekend in Coconut Grove.
Council members will convene Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19, at the Mayfair Hotel & Spa at 3000 Florida Avenue in the Grove. Although residents are welcome to attend the entire workshop – 8:30 a.m. through 5 p.m. Saturday and 8:30 a.m. through noon Sunday – the specific public participation session is Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
The Village is not providing transportation but will reimburse residents for valet parking costs.
Jennifer Duque, Executive Assistant to the Village Manager, said all residents are encouraged to attend, and Saturday’s public session will last as long as residents have something to say: “It will function like a public comment session at a Council meeting,” she said. “It’s open to everyone.”
The Village has contracted with Managing Results, LLC to lead the weekend workshop and then draft a new strategic plan for the Village.
Duque said Managing Results staffers planned to conduct individual 45-minute phone interviews with Council members this week, and then create a list of local leaders’ priorities.
According to Manager John Gilbert, “The intent is the facilitator will have discussions with each member and the Manager on their areas of interest.”
The Council will then discuss those priorities Saturday morning from 8:30-10:30, before giving members of the public a chance to weigh in on their top issues. After breaking for lunch, Council members will be joined by Village department directors to discuss the topics that have come up.
That will give the decision makers a chance to outline a work plan for the future: “We’ll knuckle down and do the business of discussing and prioritizing these things,” as Gilbert put it.
Finally, on Sunday, Duque said, Council members, department directors and department seconds-in-command will all get together for a recap of Saturday’s activity, followed by specific discussions of how to make the goals revealed during the workshop a reality – meaning talk about finances, implementation strategies, available resources, timelines, etc.
Gilbert said he’s hoping the schedule will give everybody who is invested in the Village’s future a chance to contribute.
He said by giving individual Council members, department representatives and residents a chance to first develop a list of topics – some areas of interest Gilbert expects to come up include Bear Cut Bridge, beach restoration, the new local high school at MAST Academy and problems at the Virginia Key Sewage Treatment Plant – Managing Results will have a solid basis to draft a strategic plan that truly represents the Village’s goals for the next few years.
The Manager said the consultant has indicated it can draft the plan in 10 days; the document will then be presented to the Council for discussion and adoption.
About the Author
Kelly Josephsen graduated with a degree in Mass Communication from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. While there, she served as editor of the student newspaper, The Daily Vidette.
After working for three years as a business and higher education reporter at The Pantagraph in Bloomington, Illinois, Kelly relocated to South Florida in 2003. She currently covers local government for The Islander News.
During her tenure with The Islander News, she has received several editorial awards from the Florida Press Association and the National Newspaper Association for her writing.
Kelly enjoys running, reading and spending time with friends and family. She is married to Brandon, an attorney, and they both have a son, Anthony.
