City council moving ahead on strategic plan

Strategic planning took another step forward at the City Council meeting Monday.

Councilman Ken Schulz had originally suggested using a community-based strategic plan called the COPS plan to get the process moving. However, he said Monday, the City Council had never accepted the plan so he didn’t think it should be used as a preliminary strategic plan.

“But I want to use the same premise,” he said. “It’s an excellent process that included focus groups and public hearings. There was plenty of input. We need to get it (strategic planning) off dead center and get it started.”

Schulz said the city needs to adopt some sort of strategic plan, so it can move forward. He suggested getting an experienced facilitator to head up the planning process. He also wondered if the project shouldn’t be put in the hands of the local government advisory study committee. The committee is made up of five people in the community, who look for ways to improve local government.

Councilwoman Kelani Parisien suggested using the SWOT analysis. The analysis is a preliminary to defining strategies by laying out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. She said city staff could do an analysis and the study committee could also do one and pooling the information.

“It would be very helpful in developing strategies,” she said.

She agreed with Schulz it was time to move forward on a strategic plan as “we have been talking about it for three years.”

The council voted 4-0 to place the selection of a facilitator for the city’s strategic plan on the next Building, Planning and Zoning Committee agenda. The mayor was absent.

“We’ll let the facilitator decide the process,” Schulz said.

Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. CEO Connie Ova said her office had a copy of the COPS plan. She offered to send the document to the council members for ideas. Her offer was accepted.

The council appointed Mike Williams as the fifth member of the local government advisory study committee. Williams joins appointees Alden Kollman, Dan Tweten, Liz Schwartz and Pam Phillips.

City Attorney Ken Dalsted asked the council to remove the item on the PACE interest buy down for Dean Hafner/Allen Enterprises LLC from the consent agenda. He said Mayor Clarice Liechty had sent him an e-mail with questions regarding the project requesting he answer at the meeting. She asked him “if the city can enforce a private contract between private parties. In this situation the private contract (is) between Hafner and (Kevin) Thoele that requires Thoele to pay the Flex PACE loan.”

She continued with the fact that the city’s resolution is with Hafner, not Thoele, so “would this not make Hafner responsible for the Flex PACE and should not the underlying financial documents reflect that of Hafner rather than Thoele?”

Dalsted said he read through the files of the project at the JSDC office and did not see her question as an issue. He noted the JSDC has personal guarantees with Hafner and with Thoele. If for any reason the loan wasn’t repaid, he said, “the JSDC could go after either of them based on their guarantees.”

Thoele is leasing to purchase the building Allen Enterprises is constructing. The JSDC funding for the PACE interest buy down will be paid back after the primary loan on the building is repaid. Councilman Charlie Kourajian asked what happens if the business and building are sold before the JSDC/PACE loan is due.

“The PACE loan is a lien on that property. If it’s sold that loan or mortgage would have to be paid off,” Dalsted said.

The council voted unanimously to reaffirm the resolution concerning the PACE interest buy down and to clarify the City Council’s resolution, dated Sept. 8, did not require additional documentation.

With Schulz voting against, the remaining three members of the City Council approved tabling the resolution to amend the city administrator’s job description to read “works under the administrative direction of the City Council ….” The council had approved the change at its December Finance and Legal Committee meeting. Previously, the city administrator worked under the direction of the mayor.

In an e-mail sent early Monday morning, the mayor voiced concerns and questions regarding the change. She was out of town for the committee meeting as well. In the e-mail, the mayor said “I do not read the ‘why’ in the change of the job description for the City Administrator. It has been alluded to that this mayor, Mayor Liechty, has over stepped her authority, but there should be some specifics attached to that charge.”

Kourajian moved to table the resolution “so the mayor can voice her concerns at the January committee meeting” later this month.

Sun reporter Toni Pirkl can be reached at (701) 952-8453 or by e-mail at tonip@jamestownsun.com