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Regarding the issue of asking questions before the meeting, Ms. Bettman said that she often <br />called staff to ask questions before meetings but was unable to reach them; on other occasions, <br />she wanted to ensure that the answer to her questions were reflected in the public record. <br /> <br />The council briefly discussed the issue of using a motion to close debate; there appeared to be <br />agreement that while it was preferable to avoid the use of such parliamentary approaches, it <br />should be available for use without reproach or objection. <br /> <br />In an attempt to find some common ground among councilors, Ms. Helphand conducted a straw <br />poll, which indicated that five people (Nathanson, Torrey, Meisner, Rayor, PapS) supported the use <br />of rounds with declining time limits (first round, three minutes, second round, two minutes, third, <br />round one minute) and three people were opposed (Taylor, Kelly, Bettman). <br /> <br />The council agreed to move on to the next topic, Mr. Meisner observing that there did not seem to <br />be any support for any kind of rule as it related to speaking. Mr. Johnson pointed out that the <br />council could, by motion, establish a rule for speaking at any meeting. <br /> <br />The council discussed the issue of requesting postponement of action, and agreed that any <br />councilor could, in advance of a meeting, request the vote be postponed. It was unclear when the <br />decision involved was made. There was general agreement that the ground rules needed to be <br />revised to be more explicit about the process involved. <br /> <br />Regarding the issue of separating a motion, Mayor Torrey indicated his belief that there was not a <br />problem, and that councilors had the right to separate motions if there was council support. <br /> <br />Regarding the issue of drafting motion language "on the fly," Mr. Johnson suggested that the <br />council not take away its ability to do so, and commended Mr. Kelly for the work he had done in <br />making the Hynix-related motions. <br /> <br />Speaking to the two-hour rule, Mayor Torrey said that all councilors should be able to see the <br />results of the work requested by councilors under the rule. There was general concurrence. <br /> <br />The following issues were identified for further follow-up: <br /> <br />Bin-Issues to Come Back To <br /> <br /> · Role and expectations of councilors on committees <br /> · Requests from individual councilors to City Manager-two-hour rule <br /> · From work sessions, City Council requests to staff for more information, more work <br /> · ^sk questions outside of meetings <br /> · Timeliness <br /> · PIP-how to deal with rancor, tone <br /> · Role of President-communicating outside of meetings <br /> · "Push back" from City Manager-how that would work <br /> <br />Ms. Helphand acknowledged the council had been unable to complete all items on the agenda <br />and encouraged the council to meet again in a process session soon, suggesting April or May. <br />She recommended that the council discuss the two-hour rule again soon, as well as initiate <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 4, 2002 Page 4 <br /> Process Session <br /> <br /> <br />