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Ms. Bettman asserted that skills attainment was very important. She felt that it was beneficial to <br />"bring new councilors up to speed." <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman opined that this council worked hard and accomplished much and no one was <br />obstructionist at this time. She questioned the applicability of team-building exercises and goal- <br />setting. <br /> <br />Mr. Taylor responded that, should the council focus on goals, it could arrive at an end product, <br />such as a document of agreement on behavior or an agreement to have a periodic obligation to <br />get back to the City Manager regarding the performance of council, staff, and the manager. He <br />advocated for building a better trust and connection between council and staff and between the <br />councilors. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman commented that it was an ideal to aim for, noting that the council did have goals but <br />they were selectively implemented. She asserted that any money spent on team-building would <br />be wasted as, in the setting of a City Council, everyone was their own team. She felt that the <br />most important thing to do was to determine broad objectives. As an example, Ms. Bettman said <br />that everyone agreed that a police station was needed, but when looking at how to implement the <br />project, the councilors had different objectives. <br /> <br />Mr. Taylor stressed that he had seen the team-building process work. He called it the "trick" <br />behind governing, that of how to move forward while representing a wide array of people. He felt <br />that the people had similar visions, but had different approaches in pursuing their visions. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey related that Ms. Solomon had indicated to him that she supported the concept of <br />process work but had expressed hesitancy in hiring a facilitator. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey asked those present to consider if they wanted to leave a legacy of having been a <br />"great team" or whether they wanted the legacy to be that they had "gotten something done." He <br />said that everyone on the council had at least two goals. He felt uncertain that a facilitator was <br />needed to move the process work forward. <br /> <br />Additionally, Mayor Torrey remarked that the present City Council was not disruptive and carried <br />out its responsibility for municipal government respectfully. <br /> <br />In response to a question from Ms. Taylor, the City Manager said that two members of the council <br />had requested that this sort of procedure be investigated. He recommended that the council and <br />immediate staff spend time annually in a retreat environment on process work. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman expressed concern that the council would be pressured into pursuing the agenda of <br />the majority, in which case the process session's process and outcomes would be <br />indistinguishable from current council agenda setting, which was majority-dominated, and minority <br />exclusionary. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman commented that the media should note that the council did behave with respect to <br />one another. She felt the council got a "bad rap" in the eyes of the press and that the council and <br />mayor should do what they could to refute this. She opined that hiring a facilitator would play into <br />this misconception. <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 23, 2003 Page 3 <br /> Work Session- Process Session <br /> <br /> <br />