06-11 Work Session
CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
Richfield, Minnesota
Special City Council Work Session
June 11, 2019
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Regan Gonzalez at 6:03 p.m. in the Bartholomew
Room.
Council Members Maria Regan Gonzalez, Mayor; Edwina Garcia; Mary Supple; Simon
Present: Trautmann; and Ben Whalen.
Staff Present: Katie Rodriguez, City Manager; Pam Dmytrenko, Administrative Services
Director/Assistant City Manager; Neil Ruhland, Communications and
Engagement Manager; and Jared Voto, Assistant to the City Manager.
Item #1 RICHFIELD UNIVERSITY
Communications and Engagement Manager Ruhland presented on a citizens’ academy,
tentatively titled Richfield University, to give residents a deeper understanding of the city’s services,
the goals of the program, and program research.
Council Member Garcia commented she had attended Richfield’s citizen police academy and
Hennepin County’s citizen academy. She suggested titling it as Richfield Local Government Academy
or Richfield LGA as a name for the program.
Communications and Engagement Manager Ruhland discussed the format of the program,
and an overview of the program that includes six sessions covering every department of the city.
Finally, he discussed graduation of the program and tentative dates for fall 2019.
Council Member Supple asked if there was an age limit, such as 18 or older, or if it was open
to younger residents.
Communications and Engagement Manager Ruhland responded that had not been discussed
and he was open to all audiences.
Council Member Trautmann commented if interpretation services can be included to open the
opportunity to more residents.
Council Member Whalen stated he liked the idea and commented this is a good opportunity to
show residents how city decisions are made and provided an example.
Council Members discussed the want for this in the community and the likelihood that it would
fill up quickly with people and ensuring that people had an opportunity to attend, who may not be
active with the City currently.
Mayor Regan Gonzalez commented she was excited for this program and is a good way to
introduce the City to residents and tell the story through positive messages. She shared a few ideas
Special Council Work Session Minutes -2- June 11,2019
for the program including having each department share their most common questions for each
department to bust myths and let people know how to contact the City.
Council Member Whalen suggested creating a graphic related to the City's use of tax dollars
that shows a dollar and split it into how many cents go to each area of the City's services. He
discussed the need to think about if this is a popular program from the start who gets to attend the first
sessions.
Mayor Regan Gonzalez commented about having an evaluation of the program and an
intentional outreach program to get areas of the community that might not be as engaged.
ADJOURNMENT
The work session was adjourned by unanimous consent at 6:48 p.m.
Date Approved: June 25, 2019
Maria Regan Gon.alez
Ma or
Kari Si •''''":"-- Pam Dmytre
Deputy City Clerk Acting City Manager