City Council

MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL CITY OF DEKALB March 15, 2014 The City Council of DeKalb, Illinois held a special meeting on Saturday, March 15, 2014 in the University Suites at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois. Notice was given and the meeting was called pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2, Section 2.05 of the Municipal Code of the City of DeKalb, Illinois. Mayor Rey called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. ROLL CALL City Clerk Liz Peerboom called the roll and the following Council Members were present: Mayor John Rey, Alderman Dave Jacobson, Alderman Bill Finucane, Alderman Kristen Lash, Alderman Bob Snow, Alderman Dave Baker, and Alderman Monica O’Leary. Absent: Alderman Ron Naylor. Also present were: Anne Marie Gaura, City Manager; Gene Lowery, Police Chief; Eric Hicks, Fire Chief; T.J. Moore, Public Works Director; Dean Frieders, City Attorney; Bill Nicklas, Vice President – Operations and Community Relations – NIU; Diana Robinson, Director – Center for Governmental Studies – NIU; and Elizabeth Peerboom, City Clerk. In addition, City of DeKalb residents Ms. Lynn Fazekas and Mr. Mike Verbic were in attendance. Mayor Rey welcomed Bill Nicklas and went over the objectives for the retreat. He advised that he has seen renewed energy since Anne Marie Gaura came to the City of DeKalb. Mayor Rey said that the retreat would focus on four main objectives: 1) Opportunity to gel as a leadership team. 2) Agree on the strategic planning process. 3) Alignment of various planning initiatives. 4) Identification of budget priorities for FY15. Mr. Nicklas gave some brief remarks. Mayor Rey introduced Ms. Diana Robinson, and she asked those in attendance to introduce themselves and share what they wanted to get from the retreat. This was an interactive discussion and Mayor Rey said that this was an unprecedented opportunity. Special Meeting March 15, 2014 Page 2 of 3 City Manager Gaura gave an overview of the process and outlined three potential options, a one- year plan; a five-year plan; and a ten-year plan. Each option had pro’s and con’s and those were discussed. The Council and retreat attendees wrote down their three top priorities. Ms. Robinson read each person’s first, second, and third priorities individually and posted them on the wall. Once each priority was read, they were grouped together. The group discussed at length whether there should be a one-year plan; a five-year plan; a ten- year plan; or a mix of the three. The group discussed how to get the community engaged in their local government. Ms. Gaura said, and the group agreed, that this is an opportunity to partner with NIU in the strategic planning process. Ms. Robinson explained that after you figure out what the vision is, you have to translate that into goals. Ms. Gaura asked the group if a resident/worker survey would be a valuable undertaking. The group agreed that it would be valuable and Mayor Rey said that there is interest in re-activating community meetings. Ms. Gaura addressed some mechanisms to get the community involved. Ald. Jacobson expressed his concern that the residents don’t feel important and that the message needs to be that the residents matter and that there is open dialogue. After a 10-minute break, Mr. Nicklas shared “Campus RE-Envisioned,” which was a fifty-year plan to re-invent the campus. Ms. Gaura discussed budget priorities and about items that staff had identified. She said that she got the feeling that there is a consensus that the City of DeKalb and NIU are together on this mission. Mr. Nicklas said that it is important to have guiding principles, but you need consensus to move forward. He discussed an aerial that he distributed to the group. He added that NIU’s special geography has been land wasteful and not student friendly. He discussed campus planning and said that NIU has not been part of the solution. His message was “We Are In This Together.” He also discussed NIU’s future plan to work collaboratively with the City of DeKalb to develop the John/Harrison Street area. The group discussed how to partner with NIU to make the vision work. Ms. Robinson recapped the priorities and found that the following categories came out of the discussion:  Special Meeting March 15, 2014 Page 3 of 3  Infrastructure  Financial Sustainability  Sustain Operations and Technology  Integrated Strategic Planning and Accountability  Airport  Public Safety Ms. Robinson added that three subsets identified are subsets under Infrastructure. Mayor Rey and Ms. Gaura gave final comments and allowed final comments from the group. ADJOURNMENT Ald. Lash made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ald. O’Leary. Motion carried by voice vote. Meeting adjourned at 12:12 p.m. _______________________________________ ELIZABETH E. PEERBOOM, City Clerk Approved by City Council April 14, 2014