Boca Raton opens three-day strategic planning workshop; council refines vision, reclassifies several projects

Boca Raton’s City Council opened a three-day strategic planning workshop on May 22, 2024, aiming to finalize a guiding vision, rank strategic priorities and begin detailed reviews of 46 project proposals.

Facilitator Trina Pulliam of Trainovations told the council the work over the next three days would focus on the “why” of strategy and leave tactical implementation to staff. “Your job is the why. It’s not the what and it’s not the how,” she said, and urged the council to provide high-level direction so staff could produce metrics and action plans in year two of the cycle.

During opening public comment, Cindy Bloom, representing the Friends of the Boca Raton Library, thanked the council for continued library support and said the friends gave ‘‘over $71,000 in programming money’’ last year and expect to give more this year. Nancy Jo Feinberg, chair of the Library Board, asked council to support renovations at the Spanish River Library to provide reliable meeting space and safer student pickup routes.

The council spent the morning wordsmithing the city’s vision statement. After a round of edits over phrasing such as “small town charm” and “innovative charm,” members agreed on a working sentence that staff will formalize: a world-class community where modern amenities and innovation embrace safe, beautiful, charming neighborhoods and a vibrant economy enriched by exceptional recreational and cultural offerings. Mayor (identified in the transcript only by role) said the wording should be aspirational and focused.

A major portion of the session was process-oriented: staff and council reviewed how to bridge strategic focus areas and tactical projects. Trina explained a scatterplot approach that places items with high alignment, urgency and community reach in quadrant 1. Councilors asked that staff-ranked high-priority items appear early in the review and agreed to a facilitator-led change in process: begin with staff-ranked 4s, then 3s, 2s and finally 1s.

As staff walked through individual projects, several items were reclassified from the strategic list to operations after council discussion. Deputy City Manager Andy Lukasak and other department leads recommended moving purchasing-process improvements, municipal building repairs and certain technology upgrades onto operational tracks while retaining larger policy or partnership questions for strategic review.

Human Resources Director Daniel Wilson described a proposed employee wellness program and a longer-term option to explore a city‑sponsored clinic as a way to mitigate costs in the city’s self‑funded health plan. Councilors pressed for cost and retention data; staff said a carrier RFP closing next month will inform the program design and that clinic planning would be one to two years out.

Municipal Services and the council discussed stormwater work and elevated the project’s strategic language to emphasize intergovernmental partnership opportunities with the Lake Worth Drainage District. On downtown parking, staff described an out‑year need for capacity; councilors directed staff to reposition that line item as an analytical study — ‘‘develop strategies to address the issues of CRA parking’’ — rather than a prescriptive expansion.

Sustainability staff proposed a voluntary building energy‑benchmarking program using EPA’s Portfolio Manager and incentives (including cost‑shared ASHRAE audits) to help owners reduce energy use and operating costs. Councilors debated how the program aligns with strategic priorities; the project’s alignment was changed to the city’s growth-management priority to better reflect economic and development ties.

A grant-funded pilot to install two solar-canopy EV chargers (about $80,000 each with grant funding covering the units) prompted a broader policy discussion. Councilors agreed to accept the grant-funded installations as an operational item and to keep a strategic item on the list directing staff to ‘‘develop electric vehicle charging station strategies and supportive policy decisions’’ covering public‑facing and fleet needs.

Councilors and staff also discussed expanding grant-seeking capacity. One councilor proposed hiring outside expertise to pursue competitive grants; staff said a centralized grants administrator is proposed in next year’s budget to improve coordination and alignment with strategic priorities.

Economic development staff asked council for clearer direction and more resourcing for targeted attraction and retention work. Councilors suggested more data—corporate surveys, retention metrics and ROI analysis—could help target outreach to growth-stage companies and higher‑paying sectors.

Council members flagged an emerging public‑safety issue: lithium‑ion battery fires related to electric vehicles. The fire chief said the department is already preparing public‑safety outreach and guidance for multifamily properties and noted training and equipment will need to evolve as EV prevalence increases.

The council recessed for the day after agreeing on the revised process, asking staff for a short list of requested follow‑ups (status updates, more data on projects councilors questioned, and a reworked slide deck arranged by staff-ranking). The workshop resumes the following morning to continue project reviews and finalize priority rankings.

The session combined near‑term operational decisions—items moved off the strategy list—with headline strategic choices (vision wording, emphasis on partnerships and a new EV‑charging policy framing). Staff will return with more data and status reports as the council completes rankings and converts priorities into budgets and action plans.