The Cape Coral City Council will shape its vision of where the city needs to go today during a strategic planning meeting at the Hampton Inn on Southeast 47th Terrace.
Starting at 9 a.m., the seven-hour meeting will focus on the council’s vision and mission, specifically using the acronym SWOT, which stands for the city’s strengths, weaknesses, operations and threats.
Mayor John Sullivan previously said the session is about, in part, transparency in local government.
Council members are expected to throw around several cost-cutting and revenue discovery ideas.
Sullivan previously said he might invoke an idea from former Mayor Arnold Kempe, who suggested creating a special assessment area for unimproved lots.
Sullivan said the funds collected from the assessment would help pay off the RO Water Plant in five years, erasing $140 million in debt.
That could be one objective council sets for 2010, but District 1 Councilmember Marty McClain said he wants a clear vision of how to move the city in a positive direction.
“I want a definitive outline on how we plan on moving forward at this point,” he said. “The whole point is to get some type of similarity or understanding of what we’re trying to move forward with.”
District 4 Councilmember Chris Chulakes-Leetz said he wants the public to be heavily involved with the strategic planning process.
He touted the importance of the meeting, and said that he hopes the public takes part.
“(The strategic planning session) is very important,” Chulakes-Leetz said. “We have to look ahead while we see what happens in the next commercial year.”
The public is welcome to attend.