City of Palm Coast Hosts Productive City Council Retreat Focused on Alignment and Priorities

The City of Palm Coast held a City Council Retreat on Monday at the Southern Recreation Center, bringing together the Mayor, City Council members, the City Manager, Interim Deputy City Manager, and the City’s leadership team for a collaborative, forward-focused working session.

Designed to align priorities, vision, and direction for the months ahead, the retreat emphasized teamwork and open dialogue. Participants were divided into small groups of five, with a City Council member at each table, encouraging meaningful discussion.

The day began with a review of the past year, highlighting key accomplishments and progress across major initiatives. Participants then engaged in a values exercise to identify the principles that guide decision-making and organizational culture. Across all groups, the top shared values included transparency and leadership, along with being ethical, mission-oriented, and accountable.

A collaborative SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis followed, helping to identify areas of focus for the coming year. Key themes that emerged included continued investment in infrastructure, advancing economic development opportunities, pursuing grant funding, and improving technology.

The retreat concluded with each City Council member sharing their top focus areas for the next six months. These priorities showed strong alignment, including passing a balanced budget, advancing the Strategic Action Plan, and completing key initiatives that are already underway.

“Taking the time to step away, evaluate where we are, and have honest, collaborative conversations is critical to our success,” City Manager Mike McGlothlin said. “Exercises like this help make sure that our Council and staff are unified in our direction and working together toward shared goals that benefit our residents today and in the future.”

Overall, the retreat was successful in prompting discussion, encouraging alignment, and prioritizing initiatives for Palm Coast’s future.

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