Poway council meets Friday to plan goals

Members of the Poway City Council will be spending all day Friday in a goal-setting workshop session to which members of the public are invited to attend.

The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to about 4:30 p.m. in Templar’s Hall in Old Poway Park. The day’s agenda includes a 15-minute public comment period starting at 8:45 a.m.

Mayor Steve Vaus on Tuesday said the workshop will give the council a rare opportunity to “state our sense of purpose” and to discuss a broad range of topics.

“It will almost be like a family meeting,” Vaus said.

Guided by a professional facilitator, councilmembers will first be asked why they sought office and then get to work developing a mission and vision statement. They will discuss what makes Poway unique and will attempt to develop between five and seven goals.

Following lunch, the council members will be directed toward defining strategies to meet the proposed goals. Finally, they will review the goals and strategies and develop tactics to implement the goals.

Leading the exercise will be Kendall Flint, owner of Flint Strategies in Half Moon Bay. Her company’s web site says that Flint has 25 years of experience in marketing, advertising and “public engagement.”

City Manager Dan Singer said the firm was selected based on its response to a “request for proposals” (RFP) that was sent out last fall. Flint will be paid $9,750 for the development of the city’s strategic plan, Singer said, adding that the city has the option of using her firm to facilitate the action plans that city staff will be developing following establishment of the council’s goals.

Vaus said he’d like to see similar workshops held every two years as part of the city’s two-year budget cycle.