##VIDEO ID:yuOcI9u3LXo## all right good morning everyone today is Thursday February 6 uh 2025 it is 10 01 now all council member this is our regularly scheduled uh management planning session all council members are present including Town attorney Town manager and town clerk please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance I PL aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republ for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liy and justice for all all right today's discussion will be the strategic planning workshop you want to come on up and introduce yourself can't hear us us Angela can you hear us now she's muted you're muted Angela can't hear yet can you hear me we can hear you he you Angela do you want to unmute and see if you can talk to us no worries don't delay okay sounds good well good morning everybody welcome and I'm excited to be here my name is Tina fiser I'm with Collaborative Labs at St Petersburg College we partner with Angela Chris and her team from USF Florida Institute of government we're your conveners your facilitation experts so whenever she has to get a group together to gather some ideas she pulls in Collaborative Labs so happy to be here sorry Angela can't be here in person but she'll be here for the next one so first of all uh can you switch to the slides please Josh all right all right let's go ahead and I switched the QR code just so it would be I will the microphone we're going to use the poll everywhere uh QR code because we're going to collect some ideas we're a very technology forward collaboration group so instead of using uh sticky paper and Post-it notes we use our polling technology so we just want to make sure if you could activate that poll Josh so we can click their name so please you can skip registration but please log in with your name okay so so it's going to show hi I'm Nancy hi Nancy so it's going to show their name and what their comments are is that correct yes thank you so do you need to get the um app you do not need the app okay so I can just skip that part but do you register you do not need to register but do put your name in want to come make sure CH J and that just hold us in a holding pattern for now once you put your name in yes okay and if I logs out again use the QR code again I'm just uh this is just my technology test to make sure everybody can get in before we go into the fun brainstorming part got three in so just just for the record so all this does is just a eliminates the paper correct and it's very transparent as to what they're punching in yes thank you yes and Jim brings up the rear somebody keeps asking what is my name it's just a holding thing there you see you're up on the screen gotta I asked the same question well yours hasn't gone in so type your name in again your name will show upow that in the blue on you Dan there you go I see you there you're up there now good thank so you're on the screen thank all right looks like everybody is in great we can forward to the next slide oh do I have the power you have the power I have the power so that's me I'm Tina Fisher Angela Christ is online today is our kickoff setting expectations and team building for the strategic planning project so I'll turn it over to your town manager thank you so much Tina we I appreciate you guys coming out uh mayor vice mayor counselors um it's a great opportunity for us as we talk about Capital Improvement comp plans um strategic planning plays a huge part in all that and I think this is going to give us an opportunity to set the tone for you to set the tone for the next several years to come on how you Vis your vision on the town there'll be other um stakeholders are going to be interviewed there's other people in the community we're going to have more Community meetings and things of that nature so it's just it's going to be a collaborative effort from the whole entire community so we're we're hoping that everybody participates in in a very positive way and has a lot of input all input's going to be welcome and I know that the process that's set up is really going to be something that that we're all going to be proud of when we get the finished product so I'll turn it back over can I thank you very much I want to ask a question if I could so Andy you mentioned we we just had an excellent presentation recently about the impact fees and how important having a capital Improvement plan is yes and how it's going to be tied to the impact fees we've got we're renewing or refreshing our comp plan uh and then we have the Strategic plan do we have a strategy in place to prevent redundancies because I know they're all unique and different but at the same time there's a lot of uh redundancies between the three correct and how do we prevent that from happening I think obvious it's always difficult to do but I think the the continuity of you and having you involved at this step and then all every phase as we go through the way that that it's all tied together you might can answer some more of that that better than me but I think that's the key you guys the five of you are the key to to making sure it all stays focused and it doesn't get too far out there you know something over here count is counterproductive to something over here it just all and this is the the driving force for everything for you know staff evaluations for how you know how how Joe does his budgeting for how how we do our redevelopments and things of that nature this is all tied together Tina I don't know if you have any additional yeah she can hear you have any additional to add to that yeah actually if I may go to the next slide I think the project plan might answer some of those questions you also have that in your agenda it's the second page of your agenda which you may or may not have in front of you page three all right great thank you all right so before you is the project plan and timeline this is sharing and this is uh usf's project plan so I am standing uh in the place of Angela to share this they are the drivers of this project plan we have partnered with them with a number of different cities and municipalities and this is an amazing process phase one is the data Gathering and collection phase two is where we actually design the plan and phase three is implementation so starting with 1.1 that was uh January Town Council kickoff that's today and then you'll see 1.3 Communications Outreach uh 1.4 individual group stakeholder interviews that will happen in March resident feedback survey April and then so forth Community Focus Group which is where Collaborative Labs comes back is for Community Focus Group Forum one May 28th so uh on behalf of a uh Angela wanted to let you know they use a participatory methodology which allows us to be fluid and flexible so this is a building process they use one step in the process and it builds on another so for example after they do the stakeholder interviews the information they glean from the interviews is used to build the survey and then the survey data is used to help with the Community Focus Group so every step just builds and builds and builds collecting as much information as possible so your role Your Role is to be sponges during this process attend the forums and listen to what our residents have to say read the real-time records which I'll share that in just a minute and stay update via the Strategic plan portion of the website so this phase is an opportunity for Citizens employees residents to provide their feedback and if you're a resident as well you provide your feedback via the resident survey phase two is where we get to the nuts and bolts because you don't want to start throwing out ideas now until we collect all the information we want you to have all the data from interviews from focus groups from surveys so you will in phase two review all collected data add your insights and develop or tweak the vision mission goals and objectives so you'll see Phase 2 2.1 leadership Forum that's where you look at all the material that has been gathered and you contribute your nuts and bolts ideas to move forward with the vision mission goals objectives it's just a building process Josh is Angela online is she able to communicate I just want to see if she has anything to add Angela did you have anything to add I don't know if you want to unmute and if you have anything to add to that can I since you just went through this I'm goingon to ask another question sure we're we're also trying to complete our comprehensive plan and I know they're different but at the same time there's a lot of similarities how do we prevent redundancies is that Tracy are you going to help us with that because I know this we're hiring another firm to come and help facilitate the comprehensive plan discussions and they're also going to have Outreach they're going to have have special targeted groups it seems like there's potential synergies there yeah and and and and are you all talking to each other I think that um what Andy had described about us being consistent participants in each one of these areas will help ensure that there's not redundancy and actually support each one of the plans so as we work through the Strategic plan and we create those overarching goals then things about the comp plan will come in and support those specific goal areas things about other plans will come in but the Strategic plan should be the overarching plan if that makes sense and then those other pieces are the pillars underneath it so I think of it kind of as the details the nuts and bolts of a certain go so the comp plan could be one of those pillars that is going to help us meet one of our goals in the Strategic plan and I think that's great I think too we need to figure out how to respect the Public's time because I don't know if this group is aware but after Hurricane Ian the thema folks came in and and they had a number of community forums where people put stickers on walls and it really didn't seem to just took a lot of people's time and and I don't want to create cynicism from folks who have are trying to rebuild their lives I want to make sure when they come in that they don't have to go to a comp plan meeting and then a strategic plan meeting and then another comp plan meeting another strategic where they're similar I know they're different concepts but I want to respect if somebody comes in from the public and they have views on maybe they could convey their views on both the Strategic plan and the comp plan at the same time so they don't have to go to four or five evening meetings instead of two just thinking out loud yes one of the things the website will have with strategic plan is an area for the community to make public comments um so that if they have suggestions about the comp plan the Strategic plan they'll be able to combine those in that forum and so we'll be able to gather that information but if if this group is hosting three evening meetings and then the group that's doing our comp plan is hosting evening meetings then the poor Public's got four to six meetings versus two to three meetings or we know we obviously want that public input but we also want to respect their time just thinking out loud noted I'll make sure Angela hears that they're trying to get Angela online so the USF Florida Institute of government is the group that is uh orchestrating and coordinating our strategic planning project and we're proud to be a part of it as the conveners and be able to get as many great ideas from the public and yourselves as we can uh so that question I'll make sure that Angela has another has is able to respond to that as well all right I think too Tracy if you if you got together with Sarah who's helping with this firm that would be great the key is um if you'll see it says what are those key dates for your engagement a lot of it is there's a lot of community focus groups there's a couple in there there's two in there and we create what is called a realtime record and that is a robust Word document that has all the comments that were made so you'll be able to if you're not able to attend one of the community focus groups you'll be able to read the real- time record and see what information came out of that focus group as if you there Josh can I uh forward please on the slide thank you all right so this is really important the team worked hard and got the Strategic plan on the website so on the top uh left in the red font is strategic plan so if you're when you go to Fort Meers beach.gov you'll see strategic plan you'll click on that and you'll see the page on the right so these are just screenshots just wanted to let you know everything we do will be posted on this site so you'll be able to see the flow from phase one 2 and three all of the agendas real-time records everything will be posted on here can you forward to the next slide I'm not able to do it from the thank you all right so our agenda today is leveraging our Collective strengths determining what you want want your leadership Legacy to be as a council setting expectations to support our strategic Journey as a council and Reflections from a year ago that was held I believe on April 29th 2024 pre hurricanes so our team to support you my name is Tina Fisher I'm your facilitator and director of Collaborative Labs we have anarie boss she's our documenter so she's capturing all the notes for us today which we do produce a real-time record again it's a Word document has all the slides all the ideas comments it's not a transcript it's not a court transcript but it's pretty close and she generates that and we will provide it to you within three to five business days we have PJ who is our technologist and also our cameraman so smile when he takes your picture and then Jonathan Massie will be here shortly I believe he's caught in traffic he's our visual illustrator so he will be developing a visual illustration oh you can hear okay could she Angela did you hear when we reviewed the project timeline no I'm so sorry we were having technical difficulties and I apologize I'm not there but we all have influenza A so I would not want to get any of you sick so I apologize for not being there but no I I could not hear anything until right now okay Josh can you go back to the slide that had the project plan and Jim would would you mind repeating your question because I wanted to give Angela a chance to respond to that Angela good morning uh just just a thought we're we're going uh we're revising and updating our comprehensive plan and I I know it's different than a strategic plan but there are a lot of redundancies and we've hired a firm to help facilitate that and they've been working with us for quite a while on this comprehensive Plan update and they're also calling for focus groups and public meetings etc etc and the public again you guys weren't here for a lot of this but after the storm FEMA and the county facilitated a number of public Gatherings where people put stickers on the walls and talked about their feelings and so forth I just I just want to respect the Public's time and I just was hoping that Angela you could work with the team that's doing the comprehensive plan and with our team so there's not a lot of redundancies and when the Public's asked to gather their time's valuable they're rebuilding their lives they could maybe do comment on both the Strategic plan and the comprehensive plan at the same time saving them some effort and some evenings out and just just create some synergies between the two and obviously we've got this Capital Improvement plan that has to be even more refined because we're starting to implement impact fees and the impact fees are very contingent Upon Our are having a a very very well-defined Capital Improvement plan so it's going to involve a lot of coordination to respect the Public's time obviously we want their input welcome their input but I want to respect their time and and not have uh redundant multiple meetings where people then lose get discouraged because I think some of the early meetings we had After the Storm I think some folks walked away a bit discouraged okay and I'm sorry when you say early meetings that you had was that with the comp plan or no no well we had some with we had quite a few with the comp plan which were challenging but but we had a number of them as as FEMA was trying to disseminate money to the county they their their process required a lot of community Gatherings where people had little stickers that they put on the wall and talked about what they thought was and they they went all around Lee County and they we we did a number of those here folks came out for a couple hours and and and again it was very general in concept and I I think folks walked away kind of wondering what how do I get those two hours of my life back and I just I want to help prevent those redundancies yeah yeah so I have a couple comments on that so first I would say that completely understand uh resident and citizen fatigue um especially when a lot of them are probably still rebuilding um in many regards and so um however our process is a and I think Tina may have mentioned this I don't know I couldn't hear but a participatory method but it's also a building process and what I mean by that is all of the data that we get from each of the tasks we use in the next phase the next task so for example um any information we've gathered thus far helped us create the agenda for today same thing with when we get to the community focus groups so our focus groups will be a little bit different while some of the questions there may they may be doing a SWAT but the comprehensive plan is really focused on land use not just vision and Mission and so we can look at when those meetings are occurring happy to do that happy to get with Tracy but again our focus groups are using data that we've collected upon the way and building it so it's they're not just offset uh meaning we're it's not just your traditional kind of SWAT analysis if you will uh we are specifically using the data that we've collected throughout our current process so we can look to schedule them for the use of their time I agree with you we don't want them fatigued and making sure that we're not having two in one week um or making sure that they don't say hey I just attended one last month and it was the you know very similar but in our process the comp plan should be a goal goal in the Strategic plan they are two very different documents but the comprehensive plan is part of the Strategic plan and so um we will coordinate with Tracy and Andy making sure but but we still need to have our focus groups and they cannot be um uh in place of I get they can't they they can't I don't want them combined with the comp plan because then it loses the value of what we're trying to do okay I I just would that's fair and that's I appreciate that I just would encourage you to take a look at our our current comp plan because it is a document that is very general in nature and is not solely focused on land use so it has a lot of BR broader sort of directional themes in it and some very general sort of strategic planning type language in it and you know sure so just just just take might take a look at that it seems a little broader broader than just a land use plan but again as long as everybody's talking to each other and we do our best to try to prevent redundancies that's great absolutely and we will review one of the things that um we will also be reviewing just so you know if there's any other reports besides the comp plan that have come to light or that have happened within the last say three to five years we will ask for those as well and I I will go through and my team will go through and we will go through to make sure that there's Synergy so you're not Reinventing the wheel absolutely 100% we will do that that's great thank you very much uhhuh thank you Angela all right so again we were brought in and I'm going to take this out because we're not normally ones to stand behind a Podium our group was brought in for collaboration if you're okay with getting a little bit uncomfortable uh we typically do our work in a team would you mind switching from your seats up here to teamwork we're going to work in a team and we'll have the mics there so everybody can be heard I might have to share with you all as well because we have the two mics here oh yeah feel free to bring your name plates with you as well for our documenter thank you right thank you for indulging me for a Collaborative lab doesn't it make up we're fun we're around a table we can see each other sure thanks okay and you can still see the screen which is great do you have your uh work phones with you as well do you have your phone with you does anybody need their me to grab their phone for the QR code nope okay thank Jim great grab the QR codes we have these all right just in case we need to scan them again I have to pull your mic closer to you too yes and I'll share this one too all right so our first activity as you're all coming in I read your bios on the website you have a wealth of knowledge about this community your passion is very telling what we would like to find out in this EX excise is what leadership strengths you're you're bringing to the table so take a look at the screen to either behind you or in front of you there and I would love for you to think which two align most with your leadership style so we have our Northerners our Northerners are action-oriented they like to just say let's do it let's let's get things done they like to act try things Plunge in South those are our Southerners or our empathetic caring folks want to make sure that everybody our all of our residents feelings have been taken into account and their voices have been heard before making decisions then we have our westerners those are our analytical our ones who like to focus on the data likees to know the who what when why where crosses the teas dots the eyes make sure you have all the data before you make a decision and then we have our easers those are our Visionary they like to look at the big picture and what all the possibilities before acting so take a minute and think about which two most align with your leadership style your leadership approach in your role on the council everybody have their two in their mind okay let's go ahead I'm going to switch to we're going to activate the poll what two compus strengths best align with your leadership approach oops uh backup not that one no not that one that's the wrong question thank you Josh nope not that one thank you there we go all right so please select two looks like so far we have quite a few Northerners that's the correct one yes thank you can you give it to him in paper please so select two this yeah you can hit dismiss on that yeah there you go all right so we have and you see in the upper right hand corner it says 10 that means we e we had five people two responses each that's fantastic what do you think Northerners a lot of action-oriented folks on this on this Council and then next would be our easterners our Visionary looking at the big picture followed by our empathetic empathetic Southerners and then a couple of analytical folks so I want you to share next if you would and we'll just do a round robin whoever wants to go first oh can you switch to the next slide please Josh uh next one uh next one thank you so if you would and we'll just take turns going around the council if you would tell us what two uh Compass directions you chose and what strengths would you like to share with your fellow council members to let them know that how they can work with you effectively who would like to go first what strengths do you have and what two directions okay I think Scott Safford for the record um and most of my fellow counsil people know this I'm I'm more of a numbers guy um so I'm definitely analytical bless um I'm also Visionary at you know based on what what our actions are what what are results yeah so definitely show you the data show me the data and then Visionary yes okay great thank you for sharing Karen so I I'm Karen Woodson um I am definitely North action oriented I'm it drives me crazy how long things take sometimes um and Visionary I've always looked at the big picture I've always managed huge teams um I was the one that set the direction and I had all kinds of staff to pick up all those details so you probably relied on your staff and had some good teams yeah you have to yeah wonderful your action oriented is going to be very helpful as we go into the leadership forum and helping us refine our vision and Mission and values for the for the city so thank you it's going to be really annoying well maybe you'll just help keep keep everybody on track let's go we got to make a decision move on all right mayor yeah I'm definitely action oriented you know for me the second one is difficult because they all kind of tied together for me you know kind of like in order to make decisions I think you have to have all of those right you can't just go by someone's feelings or you know what necessarily the public wants because public might not always agree but you have to be Visionary as well to see into the future best you can based on what people's I don't empathy I don't empathetic it's kind of a that's a weird one for me because that should be more about what does the public want because at the end of the day that's who we work for right right and analytical I'm like Scott I'm probably as close to Scott when it comes to numbers I what what are the details so in order to make the decisions you have to have it but you have to be willing to act on the information that you have you can't always in my opinion wait until you have everything it could be a year it could be two years when I looked at your time frame about fell out of my chair at two years to come to do this that that would drive me crazy but so for me I think it's a combination of both but I pick North and South just because you know to make decisions you got to take everybody's feelings if that's what you want to call it on your survey absolutely into account so Angela I don't know if you're I'm assuming you're hearing this and it's probably music to your ears hearing about the folks who like the data because that means you'll be reviewing the real time records and hearing what the data the survey say the focus groups say so you're going to have a lot of data like she said it's a very building process so fantastic all right Jim you're next yeah I would I would say uh certainly number one which is action oriented uh I look at the uh projected timeline and I I almost fell out of my chair as well with the mayor uh this seems like something we could we could we could do in three months but I understand there's a process and respect that uh but but I uh mixed with the Visionary dynamic in that in the sense that I like to find out I'm a Problem Solver tell me what the problem is bring people together listen to their concerns and then solve problems so this to me is a challenge and a problem that we need to solve and get on the books so we can measure our success and and give us a vision for the future and and it seems like something that uh uh certainly we need here as a town but at the same time the I look at the timeline and to me that seems like uh a long time given what we it's already been two and a half years since the hurricane but but I'm I'm willing to keep an open mind thank you Angela I wanted to give you a chance to respond to the two-year timeline yes so um even though it is two years um usually phase one so there's three phases of the project right so phase one is this kind of data Gathering and collection which I was talking about at the beginning where we build right so we're getting information from the key stakeholders from the citizens from the residents from the employees and we're going to share all that with you and there will be as you will see there will be some strategic themes and some things that begin to come to the top we'll take a look at the comp plan and all the other plans and then in phase two that's really the design of the plan okay that's where the rubber hits the road for all you action people in there uh you will love it because that is where the goals and objectives will be um created decided um the third phase is the implementation phase and that phase is the phase that takes a whole year so by the end of the first 12 months you're going to have goals and objectives it does take a little while at the beginning to get all of the data I would say phase one and phase two usually we can can do in about 9 to 12 months it just depends um on schedules if you guys break for the summer um all of those things um however phase three um that is where Collaborative Labs comes in and they actually go through the implementation with you and do quarterly check-ins so by the end of 9 to 12 months you will have the design of the plan um but you will be in the implementation phase for the for the last year and the one thing I always stress our strategic planning process is very different than probably any that you have gone through it is fluid and flexible and I cannot say that enough it is not meant to be in a three- ring binder that sits on a shelf you're in government it is extremely important that you remain in that mind set of fluid and flexibility and what I mean by that is the goals and objectives that you come up with when you design should not change okay however if you have another major hurricane that comes or you get a windfall of money your priorities within those goals and objectives excuse me may change so I just I hope that kind of explained a little bit that you will have something within the next 9 to 12 months but the but the second year of it will be totally focused on the implementation making sure it's embedded in the culture of the organization um and how you're reporting out not only not only to yourselves but but to the community Jim did I answer your question yeah commenting yes thank you all right what two Compass directions do you most align with and what ke strengths do you want your council members to know John R king I think a good leader encompasses all of them uh I see that into my colleagues as well uh for me though I think mostly my strengths are action oriented and empathetic all right great and what strengths how do you feel your strengths will lead and assist the strategic planning process get it done we'll find out it's like it's a know unknown Journey all right thank you for sharing your leadership strengths the next one I have for you and Josh I'm not able to move forward um what do you want to be remembered for as a council so here we have five leaders representing Fort Meers Beach what do you want to be remembered for so I'm going to ask you to you can submit one idea multiple ideas ideas and then we'll have a thumbs up where you'll get to choose you'll get to pick three out of all the ideas that are coming in I see recovery was the first one and I'm right there with you I'm I'm in St Pete by the Treasure Island Bridge and I'm currently not in my house I'm rebuilding I got walls as of today yes thank you Scott financially viable town with strong reserves sustainable future mayor can you expand on that sustainable future by what you meant here let me grab the mic for you unless you're were able to I don't want to reach over you that kind of dug tailes into what Scott put up there as far as financially viable I mean you're not going to be a town if you're not financially viable but that finan is only one part of it yeah obviously clean water a good combination between tourism and Community which is what this island has been since its Inception um I think that's very very important so to me that's what I mean by sustainable future thank you and then John you're really a voice of the residents voice of the people with your comment I'm not concerned with leg Legacy that's for others to decide just try to do my best to move this town forward and then Jim did well rebuilding Fort Meers beach after Hurricane Ian in a comprehensive manner I'm going to pause Angela is there anything that you want that you gleaned from the responses that you want I'm good I'm good thank you uh Karen thank you Integrity made a difference in the redel Redevelopment of the island both financial and security of the future all right anybody else putting in any other responses I see Scott typing um if you if you would please use the thumbs up and select your top three oh I see another one thank you balance of residence business and tourists oh yeah hit the show all uh select uh two yeah or actually no I said select three I did say three okay select three give you more options there right good ideas nothing you don't have to push anything you got your thumbs up you're good you're going to be an expert in this my father-in-law was mayor of St Pete in the 90s and he I think he had a flip phone and I think still to this day he has a flip phone come yes yes all right I still have a couple more coming in I'm going to give it a minute what looks like's rising to the top is the balance of residents business and tourists sustainable future and the fact that we did well rebuilding Fort Meers beach after Hurricane and in a comprehensive manner using that as a guide for the future and then Integrity made a difference in the Redevelopment of the island both financial and security of the future wonderful okay can we s yes can can they can can just for my purposes since I'm doing the stakeholder interviews and doing a lot of the data can someone expand a little bit on the balance of residents businesses and tourists whoever put that in there that was Scott yeah yeah I guess the easiest thing is you know this island has always been kind of a tripod if you will between the tourists the residents and and and the businesses and we've always said at least I've always said I know my fellow coun MERS have said it as well without one that tripod tips over so you don't want to go too far in One Direction um and not look at the other two you don't want to be a tourist town because then you don't have your community you don't want to make too much of a community then you don't have your businesses so it kind of all ties together in a triangle would be the the best way to to say it within okay you can almost make it a a four-legged stool where you have residents and snowbirds because their their wants and needs are a little bit different those are who are here right thank you during the winter months yeah a little bit different Seas seasonal res seasonal residence all right thank you Angela appreciate it all right Josh if you could switch back to the slide and go to the next slide please next one thank you all right so in the strategic planning process it's really helpful to use improv principles which is helpful to keep a very positive upbeat let's keep growing on our ideas frame of mind so Josh if you would one by one please go through so the first is listen and agree that's the first improv principle so don't try to implement solve or judge an idea we're just listening so phase one is all about listening our role as Collaborative Labs is to get as many ideas out on the table so when we heard you have a lot of citizens who are going to be at the Community Focus Group we're like well let's get a space big enough we want as many voices as possible we want everybody to be heard say yes and this is the hardest part because you want to you know some of us like to play Devil's Advocate or we want to say but if we did this instead yes and is one where you just say yes to an idea and expand and and build on all ideas so all ideas are going to be on the table make your partners look good so that's just let your partner be the hero there are no mistakes we're going to collect a lot of ideas some may seem really off-the-wall but we're going to collect all of them that's where the building process that Angela talks about so mistakes are invitations to create they're stimulating anomalies if you would serve the good of the whole which you've already demonstrated that with the Legacy that you want to leave as a council no defensive or competition everyone's free to create keep the energy going no matter what is given or what happens you accept it and keep the energy going unlike in everyday life where people stop to analyze criticize or negate and improv in in strategic planning we're just going to keep moving collecting all the ideas and the last one be changed by what is said each moment is an opportunity we have information that is shared by our citizens by our business owners our residents seasonal residents uh just have allow it to inspire you and I like this quote from Michelle James I see them as Rules of Engagement for a more peaceful cogenerative co-creative sustainable world so I found this really cute video clip uh with Tina Fay and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt that can demonst this principle it has a lot of lessons in it so for example stop I've got a gun the gun the gun I gave you for our wedding anniversary Eric how could you we're not married aha we're not married is a denial we've learned our first improv lesson very hard it takes a long time to learn this is the problem with an engineer trying learn it's it takes a long time to to learn those basic rules of improv so why don't you take us to them and they in sure they're in the book um because I was an improviser at Second City and at a place called The Improv Olympic um in Chicago and and I talk in the book about uh improv having really kind of changed my professional life and even sort of my worldview a little bit um there are some basic rules of improvisation when you're creating something out of nothing the the first rule is to agree which is to say yes which we did do that successfully you said freeze I have a gun and I I didn't say that's not a gun that's your finger said which is what a Google person would say yeah well no I don't know okay um and uh so we we agreed and the next rule is is yes and which is to add on to what you've already agreed upon so the gun the gun I gave you for our wedding anniversary how could you and then we hit a brick wall but it's a very you know it's funny because it's very very some very famous comedians have there's an old story about Joan Rivers was at the Second City briefly in 1959 1960 and and um there's they use this in class at Second City all the time that there was someone came in you know said I want a divorce was the beginning of the scene she said I want to divorce and whoever was with her on stage but what about the children and she said we don't have any children which in the moment got a big laugh but stops but killed the scene um so that's uh it's a very so my response would be human instinct yes we have children I just didn't tell you that's why we're getting divorced yes I have some other children yes this is exactly what yeah thank you Josh next slide please so I tried this um I have triplets I have 22-year-old triplets so I tried to yes so yes so it yes and so we sat around the breakfast table and we tried to have a conversation using improv Prin it's hard it's hard to say yes and because you want to with a free flowing storytelling atmosphere you want to maybe take it a different direction so you have to do it in a way that you're building on what was said prior so we practice it for a while because it really comes in handy especially in corporate environments when you want to have a voice but you don't want to come off as being uh antagonistic so it was it was a good good lesson for them to learn all right so the next one this is setting the so again this session is all about kickoff setting the stage understanding our role this is where we will establish what behaviors and non-negotiables will we commit to as weark Embark upon the strategic planning Journey for Fort Meers Beach could be you're going to attend the community focus groups you're going to perhaps read all the realtime records what are the behaviors and negotiables as a council that you feel uh you will want to adhere to during this whole project when we get all the ideas in again we're going to upvote our top three and see what Rises to the top oh uh it's his still I hit refresh here PJ can does it does everybody still say Legacy no yours okay look at that jems ahead of the game just noted for the record have an open mind demonstrate mutual respect Civility and tolerance for other viewpoints continue to keep an open mind looks like well look at that Scott or Dan we're both in the same alignment pay attention to all the data don't be afraid to change can you the Cs going up and down make sure we can see all that Karen can you share more about what you put with the be the leaders um I think it's art I think it's our attitude that will show up and depending on what our attitude is people are either going to emulate that or they're going to go against it so if it's a positive attitude that's what you want everybody to emulate yeah and move forward so yes thank you and John what was the go ahead Caren go ahead I was just gonna say we don't want to be the negative nillies yes as Leaders I think it's important to have that positive mindset that we share with our constituents with our community as we Embark especially on this process John what was that you'll be wherever and whenever you're you you're going to show up right John yes yes yes and I will yes and I will oh I how about the don't be afraid to Pivot yes that's in we are not having another hurricane we are not pivoting for another hurricane we do not have one coming a big word it is a big word what can you elaborate more on that have you had to Pivot in the past it seems that's all we've been doing for the last two and a half years is pivoting but you know pivoted I mean it could be Technology based it could be employee based it could be changing of council members it could be all kinds of different things you have to be willing to understand that nothing is set in stone and you know you got to be willing to light on your feet and need to Pivot as boxing coaches used to say yes so I've heard so you've heard pivot is the new word and Scott tell me about don't be afraid of change it's there's several parts to it but but the biggest thing is some you know some people will have new ideas and you have to be open to them and don't be you know the worst thing we can do is say we've always done it this way so you have to have an open mind and embrace change and sometimes change is good sometimes change is good absolutely Jim can you share about the mutual respect please yeah I think I think uh as we wrestle with some challenging issues on this island there's a there's a uh a constant goal of of of of agreeing to disagree uh in a way that's civil and shows mutual respect and and consideration for others and and and some of the issues that we get very passionate about I think as a council we've disagreed on some pretty subsi of issues but I think we've maintained a a very good Ora of Civility and respect for each other through that process and I think that's important so I think that's as we as we shape the future along with in conjunction with with the public I think as we exchange those ideas having a have a having a mutual respect for even our differences is is going to be important yeah so as Leaders um it is your right and responsibility to come to the table with what you want to share is what you think the direction should go and that's where the healthy discussions come about so in the leadership Forum in phase two you're going to hear a lot of information will have attended the focus groups you'll have reviewed the survey responses and you may have a different p uh perception of what the high priorities are then maybe somebody else on the council but that's where we have to talk it through to really align the vision and mission and goals of the town so thank you for that and then open mind all right were there any others under that continue to keep an open mind want to make sure I'm not missing any and the data got to pay attention to the data and we're going to collect a lot of it so I know Angela how many interviews will you be conducting Angela has that been decided yet um so um I'll be interviewing all the council and then I'll do usually an additional about 20 is what our goal is to get to 20 okay in addition to the council okay wonderful thank you some stakeholder interviews and I believe those names will be determined soon that's part of the process all right if you would please upvote your top three and if you want to select one with an open mind maybe select the one that's already up there that's already Scotts one yes three please it looks like the mutual respect got to the top whoop whoop mutual respect Civility and tolerance for other viewpoints be the leaders in Attitude positive input timeliness and total participation pay attention to all the data and have an open mind that seems like it's very reflective of the folks in this room that's fantastic um what I'd like to do now is take a f minute break so we can set up for the next activity so we'll take a f minute break it's 11:00 now so will resume at 11:05 e e e e e e e e e e e present all right so a year ago uh April 29th 2024 Angela let a session and she had the group do an activity who was a part of that activity all everybody was here from this group okay wonderful what was that I don't remember you don't remember that was with my other wife and my children right the second wife and the third wife before the G before the G he need to be back here so I can control him get back up so you can mute them improv it's just improv so what I'd like to do is take a look at what you wrote back in April so this of course pre the next hurricanes uh we'll first just take a look at group one just take a minute and a lot of the information that's used in an exercise like this helps build the vision mission values and leans towards the goals so this is where we really want to hear what's still resonating with you what you would add to and Angela May pause and ask you to clarify but we'll start with just the group one any comments about what still resonates and we'll just rotate the mic whoever's ready all right Scott I I personally feel that every everything in here is still relevant um and I I think the one thing I would add is what Jim had alluded to and we had all agreed on in the last session that we you know grow together but with with Grace grow together with Grace yeah got a second your T-shirt ising um you know it's funny because you look at this and it's like group two it's like Co hurricane Ian you know we're still in red tide we're back to Red Tide we've had three more hurricanes since that um that's why Grand yeah so and I think I was in group one but I cannot remember the was I have no idea that that was anymore I I don't know but I think it's all totally relevant I mean if you just combined the two yeah you would have what is our reality still today yes you're always going to have we as in on the world are always going to have natural disasters Co red tide it's just part of it but what you said to handle it with Grace yeah I think you know all of it is obviously pretty relevant I can't remember I think it was in group two I think but I think you and I were in group two but you know the one that really sticks out is and you hear it a lot lately is quality of life you know the quality of life that's that's a big threel sentence so but it's a you know we all moved here for a certain quality of life and to maintain that I think goes back to that tripod we talked about you know keeping that balance and doing it with Grace I think that those those are the things that out the most the rest of this obviously to me is is common sense resiliency better communication you know stronger buildings I think all that stuff is coming no matter what you do but to to keep that quality of life and that tripod and that and that gracefulness I think is the important part that I would add if I was to do this over gracefulness what about the Fountain of Youth I don't know how they got to the Fountain of Youth but kiding around I believe that was um I believe that was going back to and I'm sorry who just said it but it was that quality of life going back to do you have the amenities are you providing um events activities again that was kind of the thought but for everybody as well so whether it was young families or retirees or excuse me uh seasonal residents coming in okay so all about F quality of life but not necessarily Fountain of Youth yeah all right I think where it came from what is that's P when P Deon came down here he was searching for the Fountain of Youth and I I think we took it as we're coming down here to find the perfect place yeah where everyone gets along in the vi still there it's it's as Dan said it's it's a place you know that offers so much that everybody's welcome and inclusive and uh can be a part of the community everyone's welcome inclusive part of the community and you also said the word Vibe and I I feel that at Fort Meers beach too there's a Vibe yeah yeah absolutely that's the first thing out of everyone's mouth is we want to you know keep the vibe save the vibe you know there's and there's a circle of life here too that people come over the bridge and they're they they're just they wow you know they their shoulders drop they go wow this is this is cool and then when they hang out they then they come back for a little bit longer and then they decide to be a seasonal resident then they be become a full-time resident then they invest in the community so it's it's every no one's there's a few people that are actually from here and we honor them and respect them but vast majority of the people I mean all of us I think I'm the longest 10e person here and it's not even coming on 20 years um but we respect the past but we you work together respect the past work together I and you do have a lot of transplants that came and moved here because you felt the vibe and you wanted to live right here thank you Jammer John I I don't know what else I can add I think you know it's all been covered there it's all all very relevant so yeah I I Concur and I I I think the mayor stressing the quality of life issue that that that's our that's one of our major goals that encompasses so many things and I think for many on Fort Meers Beach the quality of life issue is still under attack as a result of the various hurricanes that we've had and we're still we're still trying to get back to that point I I know I am uh do you recall I'm just looking at some of the words here like compromise what divide what came out of the word compromise was that between the residents and the businesses and the tourists what was what was the meaning of that that that was more compromise of how we're going to grow forward whether we're going to stick to the comp plan or or change it a little bit or or just throw it out we're not going to do that but we all have to come that's part of the 10 years strategic plan is that we all compromise and move move forward together grow forward and then and improved permitting so that's one Department of the town that was a big deal yeah yeah we're trying to get people back in their homes businesses back and and you know every day is another day that you're not back in your home and you're not experiencing the quality of life I mean we've all have we're out of our homes and in in limbo and you want to get out of that limbo and seem to be the big sticking point to move that forward do you think that the improved permitting should be carried forward into a vision or a mission or is that was just something that was just should be a constant I think all government services should have to attain that level and I think we're approaching that here at the Town it just there's external factors that are beyond the town's control that that are impacting quality of life as well and then I see a couple things about buildings are strong buildings in the group one in architecture and and group two can you expand a little bit of that as are you having everybody raised is a certain look and feel tell me about the architecture and the buildings would like to address that well I think I think it's all of the above I mean we lost 75% of our buildings yes um and how we build back and with strength and resiliency is huge um but also want to build back in use the word Vibe again but a beach Vibe and that includes architecture we want to have that funky Beach Community feel still and you can do that in larger buildings but you have to make an effort that you don't just go with the status quo of the movement is contemporary the movement is Mediterranean at a time or whatever it was no we want to be beachy you want to be eclectic and beachy and if buildings are all different so be it even better is that part of um is that written down somewhere is it just a general feeling is it any kind of guidelines for when you do rebuild or I don't know that it's written down anywhere I know that when we meet with developers and people that are coming in for their development agreements and that type of thing it is certainly about and stressed and this is what we're looking for um so that everybody works in that same direction yeah it's more so that it's not written down because when it's written down it's like you got these three choices and it's got to be this color and and we want everybody to think out of the box yeah be a little bit more creative is there anything in the town and this getting in the details but I'm just curious anything in the town about the height of buildings or ins signage okay I I won't go down that path that that sounds like a rabbit hole that I'm going to avoid uh Angela is there anything else that you wanted to glean from yes I so I want to expand a little because I'm I'm listening and if we're doing the yes and um someone made a comment about there is a lot of kind of external factors that the town cannot control and and so I guess it's kind of a question but it is kind of building on it is when you look back to us doing this a year ago to where you are today has the is the challenge of rebuilding while balancing the vision of the town the same or harder than it was a year ago I would say this Angela since I referenced that quality of life uh challenge that still exists in for Meer speech many of them are external obviously we've had additional hurricanes uh since hurricane Ian that have just been a gut punch to our our residents businesses and tourist Community I think uh the next sentence I think sums it up the town has for a while faced enormous challeng es of red tide Co and hurricane Ian yet came together at a time of great turmoil and Rose to the challenge of rebuilding our Island and great way of life that was pre hurricane helina and hurricane M and uh and I think it's and Debbie and so you you had a dynamic where we really were responding to I think horrific a a horrific condition postan in I think in an extremely admirable way and just as we were you know brushing the dust off off our cloth we just got pummeled again and again and again and I think that's uh that's Tak it its toll okay Scott can add and then you you add in the economic factors with inflation we still have supply chain issues I mean I've Got a Friend building a a place right now and nobody was there yesterday because they can't get stuck up so it's just just and so one of the things that you know is very again it's hard to do the yes and because of all those challenges so I think one of um one of the things that we will be cognizant of as we go into the community phases of this and Gathering data is that um it's really hard to focus on Strate strategy and vision and goals with you're trying to survive or rebuild and so I think that's what is going to be just in my opinion is going to be the greatest challenge in in this process is trying to stay at the 100,000 foot level right being able to do that yes and um while there are some realistic issues uh related to just getting supplies or having a place to to live and so I think I think as council members um that's kind of your role as well is to help us in that making sure that we are staying high and strategic thank you Angela is there anything else that we need to add to this that we haven't already covered one word that keeps sticking in my head the word that keeps sticking in my head is patience you know this island has always been a very patient group of people it's obviously been challenged over the last two and a half years due to the five storms and everything that was before that Co everything else yet we still keep coming through it so um I think it's important that people remember the roots and and and bring your patience because you're going to need it for the next couple years um as we go through this process thank you patience definitely have to have a lot of patience and thick skin yes and thick skin Angela is there anything else that you needed to glean from as we developed the vision at Fort Meers Beach no I think I'm good this was very helpful I think stuff is still resonating from a year ago but I think it's recognized that there are more challenges or the challenges have just increased due to hurricanes so um no I think I'm good at this point think I have what I need okay great you all are probably one of the quickest councils we have which means that shows alignment which is wonderful so we're already at the wrapup I know Tracy's a little like oh lunch isn't here yet but oh it is here okay great all right so Angela um can I just just ask yeah go ahead question go ahead my memory is failing me these these uh missions that we did roughly a year ago help me remember Andy what what what did what was this process here was this connected to a strategic plan was this a different group that came in I remember you remember what this was all from I think we wrote them on whiteboards and this was this was part of the same group so this was yourp this was the kickoff it was USF yeah Angela Chris the introduction yes right yeah but this is but this is the you're the same group that's doing this uh yes so did we just take a re it then after you came in did this or is this part of the process what just helped me connect it together I'll let Angela answer that yeah so it's part of the process so this was that was kind of an initial introduction um of us and what we do and getting to know you a little bit so that we could understand what your needs were in order to build um the methodology that we felt was best for you and so that was the initial piece um and then uh we started working with Andy and his team to uh to develop the proposal um and so and then three hurricanes happen so there you go that's helpful thank you yes uh Angela did you want me to take this last slide or did you want to take this last slide uh either way it doesn't matter I I'll make a few comments okay go ahead and so yeah sure so I think I just want to again great alignment with you guys um again leveraging your strengths As Leaders is so critical and I loved the open-minded having patience um looking at the data those are so critical and so I just want to share with you and I'm sorry I couldn't hear at the beginning but very briefly kind of my thoughts on your role um in in Phase One and so phase one is that data collection piece and so I hope that that you will one stay engaged meaning you should be checking the website so all the data will be there in terms of any reports that we do um you are more than welcome to obviously attend the community focus groups that we will be having however they are for the community so we will ask you not to participate in those as elected leaders we highly encourage you you to attend um but again it this is the opportunity for the residents to just have a really informal uh discussion uh very similar to uh we will be using some of the same technology um that we use today so again by the time we get to phase two um you Angel hold hold on a second Karen had a quick question but before I hand the mic over to her I was just curious so if you're going to if you're going to discourage our input and I don't mean that in a major of sense in the community focus group because absolutely it's great that it's for the community I I hope you'll announce that to the community so they know why we're not speaking and so Ken we do that yeah we do that at the very very beginning this is It's you know this is their opportunity to just kind of uh share with us based on the data we've collected the direction the vision uh their Treasures of the town uh where they want to see the town going um and we do at the very beginning let them know that so my only question or concern maybe does that change the Dynamics of the meeting with us being present do they feel like they don't have um the freedom to say what they really feel or answer or if we don't show up does it mean that we don't care I mean we're it's a little bit catch no so here's yeah so here's what I would say about that it's really it's really your call on whether you attend or not we do at the beginning say to them you know that we want to let you know that this is your Forum this is for the community residents um you may or may not see some of your elected officials here Town Council Members um they are invited but they we have asked them not to participate because this is for you so we are very clear at the beginning so that way it's you know the message to them is you are involved in the process you our expectation is that you know what's going on and you're you're supporting getting all this data but this is for them we also let him know that after the community focus groups we create a real-time record that's posted on the Strategic plan portion of the website that everybody has access to elected officials residents anybody who goes to that site will have be able to review the information that was gleaned and so the reason why you're the role and expectation in phase one is that you stay AB breast of everything and you're reading the reports even though um we will do a report to you and go through that data when we get to phase two that again is where we're designing the plan so even though we're going to go through everything with you you being able to understand the data um and you'll begin to see as we go through what strategic themes are kind of rising to the top but that's really your role in phase one and then phase two that's where that's where you're going to be doing all the work we're obviously there to assist you um but that's what phase two is so I just go ahead I'm just going to the last slide Angela to have the next steps up yes so just one last thing that I would also say so I think your other role in this uh phase one besides staying a breast of the information uh reading through the reports knowing the data is you you kind of are the connection in the community to the residents you're those Liaisons to the residents to the town so the more that you can be a champion for the Strategic plan and encourage residents to do the survey to attend the community focus groups the more people who are engaged the better the process is um so I'm good that I just wanted to share those two things all right any other questions Karen has one more question here um one of the things that just stuck me on struck me odd and I don't know maybe I'm thinking wrong but you talked about having like 20 people to interview is that separate from the community involvement so that because I'm thinking if you just invite 20 people how do you decide to do that or is the community it's totally their welcome and then there's another interv process if you will with 20 you are completely correct the community is open to however many people so if a 100 people show up a 100 people are going to participate the community forums are open to everyone the key stakeholder interviews um are are different set of people and so we have criteria um that we shared with Andy and his team around what we're looking for so obviously I already mentioned all of you will be interviewed but then we're looking for um are there members who serve on boards and committees are there activists in the community um who who may not show up to to all of your meetings but they're very well respected um they're very engaged um and there's criteria right so um we look at um The credibility the legitimacy uh the urgency um meaning is someone who may be seasonal um but they're very active when they're here and so we have kind of a set standard of criteria that's a cross-section of the community um do they own a business and so we're working with Andy and his team right now to kind of come up with those names of those 20 people that is completely separate from the community Forum yeah we want uh we want as many residents to come to that Community Focus Forum as possible so when you run into your friends colleagues say hey we have this coming up we have a Community Focus forum and we have the date here as well on May 28 so if you would just log that May 28th in your mind let them know that we're having that Forum coming up we want as many people to come to that Jim Angela just because there's folks have come to some of these early meetings unassociated to your group and and and and we a bit discouraged can you just help reassure folks who would take the time out of their uh evening to come to an event like that how how their views would be uh registered by your group oh absolutely yes um yes we do that again and if and if they're able to attend both Community forums they will see how what they did in community Forum 1 is then used in community Forum 2 so same thing with the resident survey that we do we take the data from that to help us in those so again it's all pulled through the whole process it is not just one off it is completely buil built each step is built upon the other and we will make sure to reassure them of that um in the communications that we send out about the community forums um um as well as um when we are facilitating good Angela in Community Focus Forum one you do share some themes that have already come out of the interviews and the survey correct 100% yes yes so when they come they will see what they have submitted as a community and then we build on that just to make sure we're hearing correctly any other additional information and we use that and build forward all right well I want to thank you for having our team Collaborative Labs as a partner of USS Florida Institute of government here with you and coming off the deas to a round table which is our favorite way to do things it wasn't we tried you know we do have a square but you're facing each other so that's good so thank you so much for your participation today and I believe we are completed and lunch is in the back thank you again thank you everyone so sorry I wasn't