OREM CITY COUNCIL RETREATXactware Conference Room

1 Xactware Plaza, Orem, UtahNovember 29, 2012

8:00 A.M. RETREAT

CONDUCTING Mayor Jim Evans

ELECTED OFFICIALS Councilmembers Hans Andersen, Margaret Black, Karen A. McCandless, Mark E. Seastrand, Mary Street, and Brent Sumner

APPOINTED STAFF Bruce Chesnut, City Manager; Jamie Davidson, Assistant City Manager; Greg Stephens, City Attorney; Richard Manning, Administrative Services Director; Stanford Sainsbury, Development Services Director; Mike Larsen, Public Safety Director; Karl Hirst, Recreation Director; Louise Wallace, Library Director; Charlene Crozier, Community and Neighborhood Services Manager; Donna Weaver, City Recorder; Rachelle Conner, Deputy City Recorder; and Dawnie Larsen, Executive Assistant

Mayor Evans welcomed everyone to the City Council retreat.

Vision of OremJamie Davidson, Assistant City Manager, explained the purpose of this meeting is to determine the direction the City should go in the next thirty years. They have held many discussion sessions to give ideas and to review the goals of the City.

Mr. Davidson introduced John Darrington as the facilitator. John has served as a city manager in several states and has facilitated visioning processes for many cities. Mr. Darrington has also lived in Orem.

Mr. Darrington indicated that they want to get a big understanding of what the collective vision should be for Orem. He presented a slide show with leadership quotes and Google maps of Orem.

Old Paradigm - History of Where the Community has Been: Agricultural – 1939 Geneva Steel – 1943 University Mall – early 1970s Word Perfect – 1980s Utah Valley University (UVU)

He reviewed questions they need to ask to determine the vision for Orem in 2030. Some of the questions were as follows:

City Council Retreat Minutes – November 29, 2012 (p.1)

What size will Orem be? What will be the nature and driving force of the economy in the next twenty years? What do they do best that the nation and world needs? What will the skyline of the community look like? What will be the nature and characteristics of the neighborhoods? What do they want to preserve as part of Orem’s heritage? What is worth doing? What are Orem’s core values? What is really important? What dreams and ambitions does the Council have that they want to see happen? What legacy does the Council want to bequeath to the next to the next generation?

Relationship of vision to goals, strategies, and measurable results should include: Vision – This is what should come out of this meeting today Goal Strategies Actions Results

The most important question today is not what Orem will be but want they want Orem to become.

Mr. Darrington asked the Councilmembers to take some time to draw pictures that convey their views of where Orem is headed.

The Councilmembers then each took turns presenting their ideas.

Mr. Seastrand’s ideas showed quadrants of Orem that he believes are the city’s strengths, which included--celebrations, a strong retail district, public transportation, UVU, community of service, emergency preparedness, more housing opportunities, and a strong opportunity to leverage the recreation opportunities.

Mrs. Black said Orem is the star of the valley, and she sees it as having happy families. She envisions Orem as being a great place to visit and live, having a strong retail center. Technology, manufacturing, and education are important, as well as diverse housing opportunities and maintaining a great sense of community with the local churches. State Street should be made into a wonderful place with different nodes. She would love to develop a center for the city around the City Center. Parks and recreation are important, and she would love to see a fishing pond. Transportation includes opportunities like Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), and she would like to beautify the streets with hanging flower baskets. Cultural opportunities can grow with the Library, Center for Story, City Center Stage, SCERA, and the Hale Center Theater. Orem has an advantage because everything is so close.

Mrs. McCandless noted that diverse quality housing and neighborhoods that care for each other are very important. Parks and open spaces, variety of retail types, cultural arts and recreation, quality of life, complete streets, families, UVU, and education are all important in her vision.

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Mrs. Street’s vision included Mount Timpanogos, people, parks and trees, happy community where everyone feels like family, retail and commercial, UVU, music, recreational opportunities, churches, government and citizens working together to have a greater quality of life.

Mr. Andersen said church is very important in his vision, UVU and families are as well. He would like to see a way to make the UVU students feel more welcome and a part of the community. Orem is a safe place, and he wants it to stay that way.

Mr. Sumner indicated he attended a Scout meeting the other night, and it brought home the fact that he is making important decisions for the young peoples’ future. He wants to maintain a sense of community and keep Orem clean. Recreation is important, and he reiterated that the City is going to maintain all of its baseball fields. Orem is an educated community, and he wants to keep the residents engaged. Housing should be available for everyone, so the City should consider at many different housing options. They need to look at more affordable housing options for seniors. State Street should have mixed use options with segments of special zoning. Transportation options are important.

Mayor Evans’ ideas included BRT, police and fire, mixed uses throughout the community, manufacturing and light manufacturing opportunities, beautification, allowing banner signs, looking for ways to generate revenue beyond standard ways, families and recreation opportunities. He noted that they need to look at ways to keep the community and the air clean.

Mr. Darrington indicated he then wanted to find some commonality between the Councilmembers’ visions. Some of those included:

Family – Core Valueso What constitutes a family

Diversity Multicultural community

o Family focused activitieso Resources that help families be together

UVUo Good group of students with a strong work ethic

Try to keep them in the community Have additional jobs

o Business Resource Center Keep these businesses in the city

o Having students living and shopping in Orem Retail

o Need to have processes that are easy to understand o Make Orem business friendlyo There needs to be a balance of rooftops and money, then the retail will comeo Internet sales may replace some of the smaller businesseso Relooking at the west side of Orem to take advantage of retail opportunities

Recreation and Parkso Parks should be held sacred and not as a placeholder for future developmento Recreation opportunities are important for the youth

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Keeps them out of troubleo Open spaces are used for walking and playing by people of all ageso Plan for baby boomers are well as youtho Make Orem a destination for recreation

Tournaments Preserving Natural Environment

o Look at ways to incent building greeno Access to the natural environment

Trails Utah Lake

Powell’s Slougho Boardwalk with wildlife observation points

Similar to Cascade Springs Provo River

Diverse Housingo Mixed use developmentso Add density opportunities along transportation corridorso Redevelop some older neighborhoods

Determine structure to support redevelopment to make it viable Council has to be willing to follow through with vision

o Affordable housing for seniors and others Beauty

o Beautify transportation corridors and entrances to the city Participate with businesses to make this happen

o Have pockets of beauty that encourage expansion of beautification areaso Public displays of art and statues

Bus stops Transportation stops Hanging flower baskets

Transportationo Complete streets

Walk Ride bikes Public transportation Drive cars

o Work with other agencies to make this happen Economy

o Health Careo Having a diversity of commercial is importanto Make sure existing businesses know they are valued in the communityo Encourage light manufacturing in west side of Oremo Be willing to use incentives to encourage businesses to come to Orem

** The Council took a break at 11:05 a.m.**The meeting resumed at 11:20 a.m.

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Mr. Darrington noted that the Executive Staff had previously dones this same exercise. He invited the staff members to present their visions.Louise Wallace, Library Director, said UVU has a vision that reaches out through the entire community. She sees UVU changing from a commuter school to something else and radiating out to impact the entire community. It will change the nature of jobs in the community.

Richard Manning, Administrative Services Director, stated that Orem is Family City USA, so it needs to provide good support for families. Orem is defined by space, and in order to continue to grow they need to take advantage of the transportation corridors. Recreation is valued and should be maintained. The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival is the best thing the City has in order to become a destination location. It can be similar to what the Shakespearean Festival does for Cedar City. Orem has been very retail heavy, but as population has spread out, so has the retail. Jobs are the most important thing for economic development. The focus should be to create new jobs. Connectivity is also very important with UTOPIA.

Chris Tschirki, Public Works Director, said he drew the mountains first because they are important for the city. Cultural arts and the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival have a regional draw, and the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival is nationally renowned. This is something the City can latch on to and expand. The City needs to embrace UVU and help it to grow and develop. Family-centered activities, arts, and recreation activities should be a priority in Orem. The City will need to do vertical development in the future. The projected population for 2030 is 110,000, so the development will need to go up.

Jamie Davidson, Assistant City Manager, advised that UVU and University Mall are important parts of the community. Transportation and the creation of nodes throughout the city is a priority. The relationship between Orem and Vineyard is important in the future with all of the proposed development to the west. The Geneva Road corridor is an untapped opportunity, and there is a need to create a destination with a sense of place to bring people in to the community. Recreation is an important part of where Orem will go in the future. Neighborhoods are key, and the City needs to invest in the neighborhoods to make them better. Mr. Davidson said he sees a bridge to Saratoga Springs in the future.

Stanford Sainsbury, Development Services Director, stated that he sees two concepts. Orem needs to grow and develop or it will die, and they need to create a sense of place. Orem will never have a downtown. State Street is five miles long, and it is composed of way too much retail. They need mixed-use projects on State Street. The City needs housing, commercial nodes, and cultural arts districts. They need to bring buildings out to the street with parking behind. Trails are great for the community, and the Murdock trail and the proposed north union trail will help make the homes in those areas more valuable.

Karl Hirst, Recreation Director, said State Street and UVU are a huge part of the future plan. They have been talking about State Street for as long as he can remember, and something has to be done about that. Cultural diversity is changing the community. The demographics are different with a more ethnic population and smaller families. The Orem neighborhood parks are important and need to be preserved.

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Bruce Chesnut, City Manager, said it is interesting in these discussions that they are all looking at how the University is such a large part of the community. UVU will go through a paradigm shift, but he does not see it becoming a housing school. They will have housing around it, and they have to look at options to keep the students here. Housing stock is an important part of Orem. There are certain areas in the community with homes built in the 1950s that are between 800 to 1,000 square feet. He questioned how to improve that housing stock. Redevelopment options will be vertical due to the lack of acreage. Orem has a high potential to be a destination for recreation, and they need to capitalize on that.

Greg Stephens, City Attorney, stated that Orem is mostly built out, so there will be many opportunities for redevelopment in the next twenty years. They want to maintain the feeling of safety the residents enjoy. They also need to maintain the emphasis on family. He sees more mixed use and rising skyline developments in the future.

Mike Larsen, Public Safety Director, said families are changing, and they need to continue to look at ways to find diverse housing opportunities for all types of people such as senior housing, young professionals, and young families that do not want to do yard work. To attract people to Orem, there needs to be many housing options. UVU has grown from a one-building technical school to a large university. They need to look at ways to help the university in its growth.

Mr. Darrington said the next step is to compile all of the ideas and come up with a fairly clear vision for the future. They will use this to come up with a vision statement. He split the Council into two groups to work on this process.

**The Council took a lunch break at 11:53 a.m.

**The meeting resumed at 12:46 p.m.

The Council and staff worked together crafting their vision statements.

Mr. Darrington had the two groups read the statements they came up with. The group then worked to merge the ideas into creating a vision statement for the City. The result was as follows:

Orem is the heart of Utah Valley--a community with a rich heritage surrounded by beauty

We envision and embrace an elevated quality that fosters:o Strong family and community connectionso A welcoming, diverse, vibrant, and sustainable economyo Lifelong educational, recreational, and cultural opportunitieso Attractive, safe, and enduring neighborhoods

Live. Shop. Work. Play. Learn. Serve.

Thrive in Orem

**The Council took a break at 3:15 p.m.

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**The meeting resumed at 3:26 p.m.

Mr. Darrington said the next step in this process was to determine goals from the vision statement. He noted he would work with staff to narrow it down and bring it back to the Council for discussion, or the Council could work through it now. The consensus was to have staff come up with ideas to bring back to the Council.

The Council talked about having a regular scheduled time to work on various city issues.

Mr. Darrington indicated this was just the beginning of the visioning process. The next steps were as follows:

Step One—Executive Staffo Develop specific goals, strategic initiatives, actions, with measurable results to

implement the vision Outline specific goals in each area of emphasis Brainstorm strategies for each goal Establish priorities Develop action plans Formulate measureable results for each area of emphasis

Step Two—Council Review And Public Involvemento Review staff work on the Orem Direction 2030 Plano Once approved move into public involvement phaseo Involve city boards and commissionso Involve businesses, non-profit groups, and neighborhood groupso Discuss with the public in an appropriate forumo Adopt Orem Direction 2030 Plano Review budget proposals for FY 2013-14o Next year revisit, review, evaluate the results and revise… continue….

The meeting adjourned at 3:50 p.m.

Donna R. Weaver, City Recorder

Approved: December 18, 2012

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