La Grande council, URA to discuss 2022 priorities during city retreats

Davis Carbaugh, The Observer, La Grande, Ore.
·2 min read

Jan. 21—LA GRANDE — The La Grande City Council and Urban Renewal Agency are set to meet for the annual city retreats, which will focus on exchanging strategies and goals for the upcoming year.

The Urban Renewal Agency will meet at 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24, and the city council's retreat will begin at 6 p.m. Jan. 25.

The retreats serve as an opportunity for members of each group to collaborate on ideas for 2022, which will then become a point of emphasis during budget development for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. The retreats, to be held virtually, are open for viewing on the city's Facebook page, but public comment is not allowed during the meetings.

No official decisions or votes are conducted during the La Grande City Council retreat, but ideas can be scheduled for upcoming regular sessions.

Topics that will be discussed in the city council retreat are infrastructure- related needs and priorities, staffing needs among the city's police and fire departments, housing production strategy and commercial land needs analysis, recent concerns over homelessness at Max Square, increasing diversity and participation in commissions and committees, improvements to the city's parks, partnerships with the chamber of commerce and La Grande Main Street Downtown, wildland urban interface and budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.

City Manager Robert Strope at the council retreat will also relay his top priorities: fiscal management, COVID-19 recovery, economic development, wildland urban interface, general fund capital improvements, housing production strategy, staffing, Federal Emergency Management Agency maps and code amendments.

The URA will meet with a similar goal in mind, collaborating on ideas and creating priorities for the upcoming year.

One topic to be discussed is economic development strategy, which involves the city's priority industry sectors — recreational, manufacturing and retail, timber industry and e-commerce.

The agency will also discuss the potential for small-scale manufacturing and micro production in La Grande. The idea involves attracting small manufacturers that can utilize space in the city and assist in La Grande's local supply chain.

The URA will discuss the potential of a commercial land needs analysis and comprehensive plan goal, in order to address the shortage of available lands for large-scale commercial and retail development.

Agency members at the retreat will discuss the budget for urban renewal programs, which includes $350,000 toward the non-business park Call for Projects, $200,000 for business park Call for Projects, $200,000 for the city's traded sector program and $300,000 for agency-initiated programs. The retreat will conclude with a discussion of fiscal management related to the city's urban renewal plan.

Both meetings will be hosted on Facebook live at www.facebook.com/CityofLaGrande.