Ashland council agrees to pursue LeaderGov retreat; consultant outlines format, deliverables and $3,000 fee

The Ashland City Council on a regular meeting day discussed hiring LeaderGov consultant Scott Reddington to facilitate a goal-setting retreat and produce a written report that councilors could use to adopt formal goals.

Reddington told the council his firm focuses on "soft skills leadership training, retreats and goal setting," and described a three-part engagement: one-on-one interviews with each elected official before the full retreat, a day-long retreat with visioning and small-group exercises, and a written report delivered roughly 10 days to two weeks afterward for the council to review and, if it chooses, adopt by resolution. "This is not a discussion about how the public works department installs driveway culverts," Reddington said, describing the retreat as "a 10,000-foot" exercise focused on long-term direction.

Council members asked logistical and scheduling questions, including whether to hold the retreat on a Saturday or a weekday. Reddington said the timing and location were entirely at the council's discretion and noted Missouri open-meeting rules typically keep retreats open to the public. Several members favored a Saturday to maximize attendance; others expressed concern about staff availability and family schedules.

Councilors also discussed who to invite. The mayor and other members asked about including local partners such as the chamber of commerce, economic-development groups and school administrators. Reddington said outside stakeholders could attend and could add useful expertise, but he advised setting parameters to prevent the retreat from being derailed by lengthy outside presentations.

On funding, council members referenced the brochure's flat fee for the engagement and a staff plan to reallocate $3,000 from a previously budgeted city-hall project. Steve (staff) said he would prepare a budget amendment to move $3,000 from a $30,000 city-hall line into the retreat budget so the work could proceed without increasing the city's total spending.

Next steps included circulating calendar options for late August or early September, identifying a local venue, and deciding whether to record the session for public transparency. Reddington said he would schedule the pre-interviews once the council selected a date, run the retreat, and deliver the follow-up report for the council to consider for adoption.

The meeting then moved on to a separate recruitment presentation.