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19 <br /> Mr. Stevens expressed a hope the Work Group will identify specific actions for moving forward. <br /> Ms. Price said she hoped the group can resolve any obstacles and perceived barriers to achieve <br /> action steps. <br /> Ms. Weaver expressed the hope for using this space to maintain a good relationship between <br /> the town and the county, which we have now but it's not always like that. It works better when <br /> it is. <br /> Ms. Rich noted her hope is that coming out of all these meetings we as elected officials are <br /> giving staff the right kind of direction and if staff feel like we're not doing that they feel free to <br /> follow up in between meetings. <br /> Ms. Hammersley said she hoped to get clear indication as a Manager of what direction we're <br /> going. <br /> Ms. Weaver said she hoped for clear answers to take out to communicate to the public— not in <br /> an over-promising kind of way. She reflected there are items on our list that are important to <br /> the community and she hoped the town and the county would communicate the same thing. <br /> Articulating the vision for collaboration <br /> Ms. Price emphasized the importance of working together to communicate with the public to <br /> quell rumors, let people know the facts and show we are collaborating. <br /> Ms. Rich expressed appreciation for staff and how much elected officials rely on their expertise <br /> to do the work. She highlighted the need for elected officials to give staff clear direction so they <br /> can do their job. She asked staff if that's what they need. <br /> Mr. Peterson encouraged board members to challenge staff and follow up, noting we all have <br /> tunnel vision to an extent and that's why we have lots of people working together: to see the <br /> whole field at play. <br /> Mr. Stevens added the more we communicate, the more we miscommunicate. There are <br /> always a number of items that need to be checked out and followed up on. Ms. Rich said that <br /> can be a problem. Sometimes as elected officials, she said, we can send staff down too many <br /> different paths that uses a lot of time that could have been spent on something else. When that <br /> happens she asked for staff to let elected officials know. <br /> Mr. Stevens added elected officials need staff to challenge them sometimes too. Ms. Weaver <br /> agreed. <br /> Mr. Peterson added having dates or deadlines are very helpful to get things done. <br /> Hillsborough Work Group, October 2019, Page 2 <br />