Bedford council begins update to 2018 strategic plan, prioritizes redevelopment, economic development and service excellence

BEDFORD, Texas — The Bedford City Council on Feb. 11 held a special strategic-planning session to revisit the city’s 2018 strategic plan and set near- and long-term priorities, including redevelopment of aging commercial and multifamily properties, efforts to attract new businesses and a continued emphasis on improving city services.

Consultant Hillary with SGR opened the session by outlining the role of “good governance” in long-term planning and the steps the council would take to convert individual perspectives into shared strategic focus areas. “Good governance…should consider all stakeholders,” Hillary said, adding that the council’s role is to set a clear vision so staff can build work plans to carry it out.

The session centered on a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) review compiled from pre-meeting interviews and a citizen survey. Council members and staff identified Bedford’s location, tree canopy, engaged council and schools as strengths; aging apartments, some commercial vacancies and a limited tax base as weaknesses; and redevelopment, trail connections and signature events as opportunities. Legislative changes at the state level and loss of local revenue were listed as external threats.

Council members spent much of the meeting debating how to frame the city’s top focus areas. Participants…