City of Laredo

City of Laredo

Strategic Planning Workshop

M2002-W-03

Laredo National Bank

600 San Bernardo, 10^th Floor

Laredo, Texas 78040

June 27, 2002

June 28, 2002, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

June 29, 2002, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

I. Call to order

II. Roll Call

Strategic Planning Session moderated by Tyler St. Clair, Weldon Cooper for Public Service: Friday, June 27, 2002.

Working Breakfast

Getting Common Ground: Using Type to Enhance Working Relationships

This session uses an inventory to help Council Members understand how they like to receive information, make decisions, and orient their lives. These differences, used effectively, can help the Mayor, Council, and staff members use their strengths collectively.

The Power of Vision

This session prepares the group for visioning and goal setting.

Working Lunch

Developing the City Council Vision

Using a simple exercise, the Council will describe the long-range changes it would like to make in the City and the best aspects of it that they would like to retain. From these, vision themes can be developed that enjoy the consensus of the group.

Developing Vision Principles

The Council will determine the policy positions that it would like to take in support of the vision. Vision Principles state broad policies that provides a framework within which the Council can make decisions and provide broad policy direction for the staff.

Saturday, June 28, 2002

Working Breakfast

Refining Vision Targets and Goals

Working Lunch

Developing Operating Guidelines

This session will be devoted to helping the Council define guidelines for Council/Council, Council/Mayor, and Council/Staff interaction.

Organizing for the Work to Come

The Council will determine an action plan to follow up on the vision, vision, principles, goals and operating guidelines. The Council will also evaluate the session.

A. Tyler St. Clair, Facilitator provided the following information:

Visioning Activity

Create a compelling image of the future of Laredo in 2020 by answering:

1. What is it about Laredo that we want to preserve/keep?

2. What is it about Laredo that we want to change?

Red Group

Betty Flores, Gene Belmares, Johnny Amaya, Jessica Hein

Keep:

* Preserve downtown and our historical buildings

* Prominence in international trade

* Bridges

* Youth in Laredo - workforce

* River, greenspace, natural resources, Lake, creeks, water

* Growth rate

* Universities, educational system, community college

* Assets: Infrastructure, transportation available, geography, land, quality of life

* Keep and increase public-private partnerships and corporate citizenship

* Council/Manager form of government (charter)

Change:

* Increase amenities that contribute to quality of life (parks, entertainment)

* Outside perception of the City (i.e. Austin)

* Value-added jobs that provide good salaries, benefits, and upward mobility

* Clean city

* Educational system from K-16

* More business friendly community

* Staff perception of positions (citizens pay salaries)

* Community participation

* Perception of housing

* Increase availability of housing (public private partnerships, promote housing for lower

Income sector through ownership of land)

* Eliminate deterioration of inner city

* Revitalization of neighborhoods

* Increase economic development along the river

* Revitalization of downtown

* MSA/USA

* Relationship with metro government

* Park and recreation design (outside vs. inside; recreational and educational)

* Code enforcement under one roof with cross training

* Irrigation system installation

* Change Charter to clarify the job description and responsibilities of elected officials.

Make the municipal court judge an appointed position as a mandate from Council.

* Funding for Council members (b/c Charter)

- No staffing currently provided; see if staffing can serve the districts better

- Use government students to answer phones to gain experience

* Consolidate all taxing agencies so that residents receive one statement

* Relocation of the Zacate wastewater treatment plant

* Eliminate odor problems coming from storm drain and illegal sewer line connections

* Riverfront development including parks, commercial attractions, shops

* Provide more funding to LDF

* SBDC providing education to small business owners helping create jobs

* Go after business value-added jobs

Blue Group

Hector Garcia, Alfredo Agredano, John Galo, Cindy Collazo

Keep/Change:

* Promote the City and market it for outside investors (diversification)

* Continue CNG or H2O safer efforts with technological improvements

* Training center should be at least 1000+ acres for runways, etc.

* Be at 50% in our recycling efforts

* Eliminate plastic and require biodegradable bags

* Add riverboat at Lake and redevelop recreational areas

* Theatres - add Spanish programming for the elderly (perhaps special showings life for

kids)

* Riverfront development

* River Road - B5 to B1

* Middle age - new programming; summer programming

* Insure family values stay "small city" versus "large city"

* Find alternate WBCA parade route so that more people can participate

* Have developers/builders do inspections, with the City doing the final inspection

* Expansion of medical center complex by Mercy Hospital'

* Keep current form of local government (council/manager) and expand rep. Districts

* Maintain our current ties with Mexico and continue economic planning with unrestricted

travel to and from the two countries

* Add Metro street cars in downtown areas

* Develop lake at the training center similar to Lago

* Larry until 2020

* Relocate Zacate treatment plant

* Change City Charter and revamp

* Add zoo and waterpark

* Remove mobile homes from R3 district

* Get businesses involved in community such as events in districts

* Require both LISD and UISD to coordinate and get approval from the City on location,

access to schools and facilities

* Consolidation of duplicated services (schools, City, Webb County)

* Inter-local agreement with local entities

* Need secondary, surface, and subsurface water

* Add air police patrol

* Relocate railroad tracks and add two new rail bridges with sufficient grade

* separation

* Develop drive in theatres

* Add new hospital in South Laredo to insure that adequate medical facilities are available

in crisis

* High speed connectors LDO/SA/Monterrey (high speed rail)

* Add light rail to serve Laredo and NuevoLaredo

* Move airport location b/w Routes 359 and 59

* Improve streets/traffic (wider streets, one way pair, add trees, reduce noise, more major

collectors, compare north and south areas of City)

* Municipal golf course

* Major improvements to LAFB area

* Convention Center next to LEC

* Add new convention center in the center of the city

* Add City Hall annex

* Zacate Creek Riverwalk and connect with Colonia Guadalupe development

* Instill pride and cleanliness

* Take action on SOBs

* Add COPS station on Hwy359

* Add theater arts (Majestic)

* River gondolas/boats moving b/w Laredo and NuevoLaredo

* Add another outer loop to move traffic

* Add direct routes for schools and LCC

* Need another lake; develop with restaurants, etc.

Green Group

Eliseo Valdez. Juan Ramirez, Joe Valdez, Larry Dovalina

Keep:

* Efforts in historic preservation that promote our classical architecture (Laredo National

Bank and Milmo Bank buildings)

* Rich history and culture ("Only city under seven flags")

* Keep buildings refurbished as Laredo must capitalize on the richness of what we have in

order to attract tourism

* Maintain integrity of the river vega land similar to what they have on the Rock Creek

Parkway. Use as an amenity and giant green belt in our community.

* Our image as the most successful inland port in the nation (technologically advanced and

efficient)

* Improving workforce opportunities and the strides we have made in diversifying

employment

* Unemployment rate that is below double digits

* Our edge in salaries and benefits for city employees (as compared to other government

agencies in the area)

* Improving the original Fort McKintosh campus with its old original outposts or designate

it as a national historic landmark

* Family values in the community, including:

- Providing support for own family members

- Pride in the family name, core family values

- Keeping negative influences out

* Competitive edge

Change:

* Develop the downtown and riverfront to include:

- Massive improvement of Zacate Creek, a riverwalk and and a barge that goes up and

down the river carrying tourists

- Tourist shops, coffee shops

- Removing cars from street and closing of streets to increase pedestrian access

- Planting trees

- Improving buildings

- Activities that get people walking and socializing downtown

- Riverfront Mall demolished and a condominium development built to bring people back downtown (have amenities and park already there)

- Activities that bring college kids and elderly people downtown

- A transportation system that takes people crossing the border to the mall to shop

- Light rail system that gets people back and forth across the

- Development of massive downtown parking

* Initiate a massive program to cleanup, develop, and protect the creeks

* Develop a long term plan so that all the creeks are like spokes coming into a giant central

park system at the river

* Require the donation of creek land as part of development

* Eliminate the prohibition of the water line extensions outside the City limits so we can

bring more land into the City for growth

* Make home ownership possible for more people in the community

* Extend water lines to open up more land for development

* Change City Charter to allow us to determine where roadways need to go and construct

them versus waiting for developers go build them so we have more control over

development

* Revisit the state law as it relates to colonias

- Give residents vouchers to buy the land they occupy

- Take to the developers options to City owned land that they would acquire through a

lottery under the condition that they would hold the ceiling price at an affordable level

* Team up with the County (if necessary) to dredge Lake Casa Blanca and to do a structural

analysis of the dam to determine its ability to retain water and to increase water

impoundment. Take the Unitech effluent and run it down through the tributaries on

Chacon Creek to provide a natural filtering system and to produce a constant stream in the

creek.

* Make sure the City's land use ordinance requires developers to donate their vega land to the City so that we will have a greenbelt

* Have better police coverage, increased visibility, and response time by increasing

manpower

* Move to precinct policing versus our current "pitstops"

* Dedicate a larger portion of the property tax to pay for public safety improvements in the

community

* Work on change at the State level to improve the City's ability to get a larger portion of

collected municipal fines so that these funds stay in the City

* Work at the State level to change the sales tax exemption given to Mexican citizens so

that the City can receive more taxes

* Change the City Charter to make the municipal court judge appointed and make the

parking fine process administrative

* Anticipate the growth of the City by planning for overpasses and adding a rail bridge to

eliminate congestion

* Develop outer loop to highway standards goring from the proposed area to the proposed

5th bridge

* More access to the Mines Road areas to I35

* Redevelop warehouse areas currently along the Union Pacific and Tex-Mex railroads

* Create a system where developers that don't have enough land to donate for park space

can contribute to a park development fund

* No park less than 25 acres

* Protect existing creek areas by insuring that creeks are buffered from warehouses and

future development

* Keep warehouses from being built on the west side of the Mines Road area

* Finish developing our parks, including the Father Magnable Park

* Alexander Park - leverage and capitalize on funds to move the City to the next level and

to create economic development opportunities

* Construct an administrative office building downtown for the consolidation of all city

offices, with an allowance for future expansion

* Realign major streets on Mines Road off Flecha and Las Cruces and Bristol and San

Lorenzo

* Extend River Bank Road from Deerfield subdivision to Indian Sunset

* Remove the Zacate Creek sewer plant so we can make improvements to the area

* Expand the Civic Center to add meeting rooms and additional parking

* Create a stronger partnership with the Laredo Development Foundation that defines

expectations and includes regular reporting; consider increased funding to LDF

* Work more closely with the school districts to leverage our resources and open up

recreational facilities that will benefit both schools and the City

* Work toward having one central airport for the two Laredos using the Laredo Airport as

the principal airport for the two communities. Create two separate airports that include one for cargo that can run 24 hours a day, leaving the other for passengers. Buffer both.

Laredo City Council Planning Retreat

June 27-29, 2002

MBTI

June 28, 2002

Alfredo Agredano

I	S 41	T 27	J 39
I 17	S 57	T 47	J 47
E 23	S 41	T 47	J 45
E 15	S 11	F	P 11
I	S	T	P
E 9	N 9	T 37	P 25
I 13	S 37	F 9	J 19
E 35	S 17	F 9	J 19
I	S	F	P
E 11	S 27	T 61	P 27
I 17	S 27	T 57	P 11
I 11	S 19	T 37	J 23

Johnny Amaya

Gene Belmares

Elizabeth Flores

John Galo

Hector Garcia

Juan Ramirez

Eliseo Valdez

Jose Valdez

Larry Dovalina

Cynthia Collazo

Jessica Hein

Developing Strategic Targets

for the

Laredo City Council's Vision

Focus Question:

What themes should dominate our focus as a City Council for the next 20 years in order for Laredo to achieve its full potential in the year 2020?

Strategic Targets:

Downtown/Riverfront Revitalization

Diversification of the Economy

Clean City

Social Infrastructure

Inland Port: Whatever It Takes

Well-Planned Infrastructure

Government Services

Public Safety

Council Subgroup Action Planning:

1. Strategic Target

2. Goals (with Objectives and/or Ideas)

3. Timeframe (less than 5 years, 5-10 years, 10-20 years)

Downtown/Riverfront Revitalization

Betty Flores, Juan Rivera, Alfredo Agredano

1. Develop a structure and staffing to insure that downtown/riverfront revitalization

achieves its full potential.

* Acquire staffing (this budget period)

* Develop comprehensive downtown plan (end of 2003)

* Develop relationships that connect the public and private sector

* Gain access to grants and other funding

2. Develop the downtown/riverfront so that we enhance our economic base, enhance

tourism, and improve our quality of life.

* Acquire land to develop massive parking capacity (0-5)

* Relocate Zacate wastewater plant (10-20)

* Remove odors (0-5)

* Continue to work with Mexico to beautify and improve traffic issues (0-5)

* Develop light rail system (10-20)

* Remove railroad lines (20+)

* Eliminate abandoned warehouses (5-10)

* Develop a strategy to put multifamily, high rise housing downtown (end of 2003)

* Develop strategy to significantly enhance tourism (0-5)

Diversification of the Economy

Betty Flores, Juan Rivera, Alfredo Agredano

1. Initiate partnerships with educational institutions, agencies, and organizations to insure

that children are b