At Town Council Retreat, Goals Congeal Around a Vision for Front Royal

“I think our citizens will be pleased with the work we were able to accomplish,” Mayor Lori Cockrell said in a response to an inquiry from the Royal Examiner pertaining to a Town Council retreat last week. The retreat was held at the Town’s Water Plant Conference Room at 1 Aquaduct Lane on Monday, January 29, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Tuesday, January 30, from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Town Council meets for a two-day retreat. Photos by Roger Bianchini.

According to Cockrell, a great deal of preparation made the retreat possible. The primary objective of the retreat, she said, was to identify goals to which the council could commit in the next two-year period, goals that would benefit Front Royal’s citizens; secondarily, the council began the retreat expecting to discuss the possibility of developing a vision and mission statement for Front Royal. All of this comes on the heels of discussions in past work sessions about a proposed code of conduct for council members, spearheaded by the mayor; that these discussions about integrity and forward thinking are ongoing may be indicators that the council and the mayor are taking their process quite seriously.

In attendance on both nights were all the council members, the mayor, Town Manager Joe Waltz, Clerk of Council Tina Presley, Director of Finance B.J. Wilson, Director of Public Works Robbie Boyer, and Planning Director and Zoning Administrator Lauren Kopishke. Facilitating the retreat was Dr. Michael Chandler, who stood out to the mayor and town manager as being most appropriate for that purpose based on his past service on Blacksburg’s town council for nineteen years as well as his impressive educational background. “I must say I was not disappointed,” Cockrell said, “in fact, impressed with what he was able to help us accomplish.” He has been involved in planning commission training in Virginia and even as far away as Florida.

Chandler’s facilitation technique was based on two lengthy surveys and a phone interview that all council members were required to complete prior to the retreat; he then guided the meetings based on what he gleaned from that material. “The surveys asked in-depth questions regarding our perceptions with particular issues,” Cockrell explained, “such as the role of council members, working with town staff, challenges, and strengths, what might be accomplished this year, next year, or five years down the road, etc.” Not too far removed from these granular concerns is the vision that governs them. “I’m happy to say that we were able to draft a mission and vision statement,” she said, “that the council is fine-tuning and will bring forward very soon to a regular council meeting.”

Although she refrained from discussing granular details relating to the goals or any items under mission and vision, all of which the council and the mayor are still processing based on what they gleaned from the retreat, Cockrell did indicate that such information will hopefully be revealed very soon in a regular meeting. Until then, the reporter sensed that the information was sensitive. However, the council has reached or is at least well on its way to reaching a consensus. This is a refreshing change, as past work sessions have proven, at times, to be contentious, whether in the debate over policy pertaining to the urban ownership of poultry or in discussions of the proposed code of conduct itself. To those who remember those exchanges, the facilitation of Chandler is obviously a necessity. It may not do any damage for all involved to remember the Anglican zeal for peace in this lifetime and to ask what should be done and what is better left undone.