CC Minutes - 07/23/03 Process - Laserfiche WebLink

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working on the process was a good idea, but expressed hesitancy at the potential cost of a facilitator. He recommended looking at the "price tag" first. Mr. Taylor agreed, stating that while he would like to hire a facilitator, he realized it was not always fiscally feasible. Mr. Kelly said, regarding the facilitator's article provided by Mr. Taylor, that language on how to put the principles into practice was lacking. Mr. Kelly wondered if the City Manager could act, not so much as a facilitator, but rather as a spark on the issues in the process work. He asked Mr. Taylor what his past experience with this sort of activity had been. Mr. Taylor remarked that the normal way to do this sort of work would be to hold a facilitated two- day retreat once a year. He shared a stow of a city council that had needed much process work and had successfully utilized a facilitator to achieve that end. He recommended hiring Julia Novak or John Nalbandian. Ms. Taylor felt that the public sometimes perceived the council as a factory bent on making a profit. She commented that the best that could be hoped for was for councilors to listen with courtesy. She stressed that the councilors represented different constituencies and had run for council because of different beliefs. Ms. Taylor objected to spending money and time on process work. She added that the process meeting was not accessible to the public, when it should be. Continuing, Ms. Taylor conveyed her opposition to time limits on the councilors' input at meetings as well as limiting the time allotted for meetings. Ms. Nathanson commended the City Manager for his report and proposal. She expressed some skepticism that, after spending time and money on the process work, the work might not yield a better product. She endorsed anything that would aid the council in formulating more focused goals, however, and conveyed her approval of the notion of conducting periodic process work. Mr. Poling approved of the recommended articles concerning council processes. He supported the idea of post-council break meetings. He stressed the importance of finding a way to work together to attain more public confidence in the City government process. Additionally, Mr. Poling reaffirmed his support for time limits. He noted that the City Council of Springfield had time limits and "got things done." He opined that the reason some meetings ran long was that the council dwelled on some points unnecessarily. Mr. Meisner liked the idea of continuous improvement whether facilitated or not. He felt that, unless the process was continuous, it would hinder ongoing improvement. Mr. Meisner said that the concept of council goals was unclear. He wondered if the goals were outside of what the council normally did. He shared Mr. Kelly's skepticism. He commented that it would be necessary to agree to the process in order to guarantee open, willing participation. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2003 Page 2 Work Session- Process Session