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Electric City’s council will retreat, May 4. That is, they will go on a retreat.

The council members, at the urging of Councilmember Birdie Hensley, agreed to set aside a day to go to Moses Lake for discussions.

The council, at their regular meeting last Tuesday night, wasn’t specific on what members wanted to talk about.

City Clerk Jackie Perman was working with Big Bend Community College for a meeting room.

Members of the council, Mayor Jerry Sands, and any city employees the council wanted in attendance will go to Moses Lake in the morning and return in the evening.

The Friday session will be an open meeting and the public can attend. Details of where the council will meet can be obtained by calling city hall.

City officials had asked City Attorney Katherine L. Kenison about the retreat and she advised that one topic be “Council/Mayor roles and responsibilities.”

She wrote: “While everyone is familiar with basic separation of powers in city government, the process is not always observed. Failure to clearly stay with the executive (mayor) and legislative (council) roles often leads to unnecessary friction, which interferes with the conduct of city business.”

The attorney also suggested to the council that self-evaluation would be a good topic for the agendas.

“I suggest the council and mayor engage in a group conversation about the long-term vision and goals they have for the city,” Kenison wrote.

Kenison reminded city officials that any retreat would be an open public meeting, and others could attend if they wished to do so.