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Ashland will refine strategic plan 'Wish list' includes 84 separate goals By JOHN DARLING ASHLAND -- The city will abandon its annual 10-item "goal-setting" technique this year in favor of a sprawling new "strategic plan" that covers 84 specific goals in 14 areas. At a public study session Tuesday, the City Council will refine the plan, which "allows us to design our future by including forces outside our control," said Mayor Cathy Shaw. The strategic plan is a broad "wish list," Shaw said. The council will decide which proposals to pay for during the budget process, which must be complete by June 30. Strategic planning is a standard tool of many organizations, Shaw said. City Administrator Mike Freeman, when he arrived on the job was surprised the city had never done it, she added. Freeman and council member Carol Wheeldon have been the prime movers of the new plan, which was discussed in a January public hearing, then further hammered out in a Jan. 29-30 retreat of City Council members, department heads and Shaw and Freeman. The city also gathered input from a survey printed in newspapers. The goals reach out over one, two and five years. "Mike (Freeman) brought the department heads to the table during our strategic planning session and got their input," Shaw said. "They used to sit in rows behind the council and didn't speak." Wheeldon said the council used to work all year on its 10 goals, some of which couldn't be done in the space of a year, then feel disappointed about not reaching some goals. "With strategic planning," Wheeldon said, "we have a long list, which we work on over many years, and we refine and prioritize it as we go." The draft of the plan makes frequent reference to including other governments, the private sector and input from residents in the city's planning process. The goals under "citizen participation" include enlarging the city Web site for automatic e-mail notification of residents about meetings and events. Under "regional strategies," the city wants to explore holding study sessions and providing services, such as dispatch, building inspection, telecommunications and electrical service in concert with other governments. Ideas in the plan include: a new city museum in the Railroad District, a riparian ordinance, a new environmental liaison position in city government, an expanded urban growth boundary, acquiring more utilities, solar and green power alternatives, incentives for alternative fuel vehicles, acquiring the Delatore property north of the A Street tracks for open space and customized neighborhood plans. After the plan is final, the council will pick from the list as part of a continuing process of determining which ideas can be accomplished. Tuesday's study session begins at 6 p.m. in council chambers, 1155 E. Main St. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA