Kevin Sullivan
City Council Member
At TML last week, I attended two sessions that really stood out to me:
1.) City of Georgetown leaders ran a session on advocacy at the state house that was effective for them. They had a program that included creating a Legislative Task Force made up of concerned citizens that proved effective. For the new council, I recommend that you review the associated material and discuss if this method could work for Lago Vista as well. Mayor Schroder did indicate that there was blow back from the legislature, but ultimately, it was worth the effort. He would be a great resource to reach out to if the decision was made to mimic their efforts in Lago Vista. The handouts can be found here: TML.
2.) The Cost of Place was a development-oriented session and discussed the costs associated with various city assets and challenged municipalities to make sure their budgeting process covered the costs including implementing a CIP replacement cost program. The three presenters did an excellent job of making their points and providing solutions. We've seen presentations like this before, but I thought these presenters were especially effective. I reached out to all three for the slides after the fact and they did provide them and indicated that they are very open to discussing the material. All their contact info can be found on the last slide in the presentation. Follow the same link to get to this presentation. In my opinion, this material should be mandatory reading material for those working on the CMP and FLUM updates.
1.) City of Georgetown leaders ran a session on advocacy at the state house that was effective for them. They had a program that included creating a Legislative Task Force made up of concerned citizens that proved effective. For the new council, I recommend that you review the associated material and discuss if this method could work for Lago Vista as well. Mayor Schroder did indicate that there was blow back from the legislature, but ultimately, it was worth the effort. He would be a great resource to reach out to if the decision was made to mimic their efforts in Lago Vista. The handouts can be found here: TML.
2.) The Cost of Place was a development-oriented session and discussed the costs associated with various city assets and challenged municipalities to make sure their budgeting process covered the costs including implementing a CIP replacement cost program. The three presenters did an excellent job of making their points and providing solutions. We've seen presentations like this before, but I thought these presenters were especially effective. I reached out to all three for the slides after the fact and they did provide them and indicated that they are very open to discussing the material. All their contact info can be found on the last slide in the presentation. Follow the same link to get to this presentation. In my opinion, this material should be mandatory reading material for those working on the CMP and FLUM updates.
