PRESCOTT - A greater emphasis on policy-making likely will characterize the Prescott City Council's annual goal-setting retreat later this week.
The council will conduct its annual retreat over the next two days to map out city priorities for 2008. The meeting will take place all day Friday, beginning at 8 a.m., and again on Saturday, beginning at 9 a.m. Both sessions will take place at the city's old Antelope Hills Golf Course clubhouse at 19 Clubhouse Drive.
While planning for the retreat, new mayor Jack Wilson compiled a list of his own priorities for the coming year - most of which are different from the goals that the council approved at the 2007 session.
First on Wilson's list is regional cooperation - an issue that he said underlies many of his other priorities.
"It's the basis for all of the other issues," Wilson said, adding that better cooperation would pave the way for several of his additional goals, including a regional "smart growth" plan; a regional boundary agreement with Prescott Valley and Chino Valley; and resolution of water issues that affect importing water from the Big Chino Water Ranch.
While acknowledging that regional cooperation has come up frequently at previous retreats, Wilson maintains that it still needs improvement.
"I don't think it's as smooth as it's been portrayed in the past," he said.
Other issues that Wilson sees as top priorities include a four-year university; a regional workforce housing policy; a golf course privatization study; studies on a long-term water policy; a refocused economic development approach; and a Prescott 2050 plan.
Within the past year, the city accomplished several of its 2007 list of top priorities, which included: the Fann annexation; airport area annexations; boundary agreements with Prescott and Prescott Valley; rodeo grounds preservation; a bed tax increase; and arsenic treatment for the city's water supply.
Deputy City Manager Laurie Hadley noted that this year's retreat likely would be "slightly different than in years past."
For instance, she said she expects the council to focus more on policy issues than on specific projects.
Wilson agreed. "I want to put more emphasis on setting policy," he said. At past retreats - three of which Wilson attended - the new mayor says the council spent "too much time talking about projects, and not enough on policy."
Other issues that Hadley expects to emerge at the retreat include: a city-wide sewer policy for areas lacking sewer systems; the upcoming 2015 expiration date for the city's one-cent sales tax for streets and open space; the city's new parks and recreation master plan; and public safety improvements. As at the past four retreats, consultant Lyle Sumek will oversee the discussion.
Wilson stressed that the sessions are open to the public, and he encouraged local residents to attend.
