Wentzville Board Plans Strategic Planning Session with New City Administrator

The Wentzville Board of Aldermen has set the dates for a strategic planning session with the city's new Administrator, Michael McDowell.

READ MORE: Wentzville Hires New City Administrator

Current plans are for the planning session to be held on Friday evening, March 22, and Saturday, March 23.

The board and city staff are researching locations for the planning session. The Progress Park banquet hall, Pitman reception center and the Green Lantern center are three possible sites being considered.

Tentative plans are for the Friday session to start at 4 p.m. with remarks from the new city administrator, Michael McDowell. After a dinner break, the mayor, board and staff will discuss the city's accomplishments in 2012.

Saturday's session is expected to start at 8:30 a.m. Topics to be covered in the monring are the budgeting process, optimizing tax dollars and the IT strategic plan.

The board hopes to have some input from the city attorney for a discussion on forms of government—the differences between the city's current fourth class city status and charter city status.

After a lunch break, discussion moves to the city's transportation infrastructure, including roads, sidewalks, bike paths and trails.

A presentation on possible changes to the city's purchasing policies is next on the proposed schedule, with a recap and wrap-up at 3 p.m.

In previous years, similar planning sessions have been called board retreats. Board members have been adamant about changing the name to "strategic planning session."

"It's no retreat," Alderman Sonya Shryock said.