Novato Council Sends Strategic Plan Back For Revisions

NOVATO, CA — Novato councilmembers voted 4-1 on Oct. 13 to send a proposed three-year strategic work plan back to staff for revisions, seeking clearer timelines, meaningful measures of success and additional detail on several priorities.

The 62-action plan was designed to translate the City Council’s five strategic goals into work for city departments.

Assistant City Manager Carla Hansen said more than half of the actions were already underway, including police planning, housing work and infrastructure projects.

Staff planned to provide quarterly progress updates.

But councilmembers questioned whether some proposed metrics would show whether the city was making meaningful progress.

“A number of meetings held isn’t really informative towards progress, so I’d suggest a metric that measures success,” said Councilmember Tim O’Connor of an action focused on commercial corridors.

Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Jacobs made a similar point about tracking meetings with commercial property brokers.

“I would like to suggest that you base it on upon the progress and not the number of meetings,” he said.

Councilmember Pat Eklund called for more precise timeframes for actions listed as spanning multiple years or ongoing.

Eklund also asked for more detail about traffic-safety efforts, including which streets and schools would be priorities.

Other suggestions included reviewing city-owned properties in Hamilton, planning for an additional turf sports field, expanding teen-focused programs and creating a public-facing dashboard to track progress.

Councilmembers also raised emergency preparedness, homelessness and communication with residents of Marin Valley Mobile Country Club.

The council directed staff to revise the draft and return it for consideration on a future consent agenda. Eklund cast the lone dissenting vote.