2.23.2019 City Council Workshop Meeting Minutes

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• Councilor Syrett - offered that there is no real replacement for direct engagement with the public; efforts should be directed to increasing participation and engagement in public forums, neighborhood meetings and opportunities for personal outreach. • Mayor Vinis - stated that the City's website is the organization's institutional voice; encouraged development of tools for the council to use to communicate with and gain input from constituents. • Councilor Zelenka - said he felt the City does not do an adequate job of telling its story, using progress on the Climate Recovery Ordinance as an example; supported efforts such as more marketing, reporting on council activities at neighborhood meetings, community survey and direct councilor -to -constituent communication, noting that the volume of emails the council receives makes it challenging to respond. • Councilor Pryor - said it is not enough to simply push out information or follow minimum notice requirements; more personal dialogue is needed to engage people and increase the level of commitment on the council; survey needs to measure "why" in addition to "what." • Councilor Yeh - noted that engagement is a big part of communication; supported efforts to increase engagement, using existing resources before creating new systems. • Councilor Syrett - requested information about what past community surveys looked like to provide context for newer councilors. • Councilor Clark - acknowledged that information generated by a community survey might be useful but questioned whether it is useful; encouraged consideration of alternatives that personalize issues when they are communicated. • Councilor Taylor - appreciated the opportunity to respond to Public Forum testimony; said that neighborhood newsletters need to be re -invented and more frequent, and suggested that they include a regular submission from the councilor(s) representing the neighborhood. • Mayor Vinis - suggested the possible expansion of the existing online newsletter to include councilor submission, and making the City Council more prevalent on the main webpage. • Councilor Zelenka - supported the concept of City Council contributions to neighborhood newsletters. • Councilor Pryor - supported incorporating an element of "why you should care" into communications; figure out a way to convey to the public the stakes involved in issues the council is addressing. • Councilor Semple - expressed concern that the City website is its biggest communication tool and it is inadequate; should be fun, compelling and easy-to-use; supported dedicating money to web improvements in advance of 2021. • Councilor Zelenka - stated that the South Willamette project is an example of the potential consequences of required notice vs effective communication. • Councilor Taylor - supported efforts to inform residents about the implications and complications of council proposals and decisions, using Amazon Park as an example. • Councilor Clark - acknowledged that contextualizing issues can be very difficult. • Councilor Zelenka - encouraged consideration of what the council intends to do with any input received through surveys or other communication modes. • Mayor Vinis - thanked everyone for their participation. The meeting adjourned at 1:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beth Forrest City Recorder Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting: here. MINUTES - Eugene City Council February 23, 2019 Workshop Page 5