Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

Home Browse Search

Ms. Taylor felt that a twelve-member commission was too large and preferred seven members. She thought appointments should be made similar to the process used for the Charter Review Committee, with each councilor submitting two recommendations from among applicants and the council making the final choice. She said the ordinance should proceed and not wait for staff to be hired. Mr. Poling agreed with Ms. Taylor regarding a seven-member commission as the most effective size. Regarding the selection process, he was agreeable with the recommendation that the mayor nominate and the council appoint members as the mayor had taken the lead and accomplished her goals with little dissent among councilors. He was confident the recommended process would result in good appointments and if the nominees were not acceptable to the council, it could request more names. He asked why the council should wait until after the sustainability manager was hired to hold another work session and public hearing on the ordinance. City Manager Taylor said it seemed the logical process was to have the person who would lead the City’s sustainability effort involved in creation of the commission and determining expectations and scope of work. It would also synchronize efforts with the availability of resources in the FY08 budget to support the commission’s activities. Mr. Poling said the commission could be appointed but not meet until staff support was available. Ms. Solomon favored a smaller commission of seven or nine members. She asked why the Police Commis- sion appointment process was different from some other boards and commissions. Ms. Walston said that was how the ordinance establishing the Police Commission was written in 1998. She thought it might be based on the idea that appointment by the mayor could be a more stable model and less prone to politics. Ms. Solomon preferred that the council nominate and appoint commission members. She agreed with Mr. Poling that Mayor Piercy had done an excellent job of shepherding the sustainability issue to this point, but there would be different mayors in the future and it would be the council’s responsibility to move forward. Ms. Bettman said she was willing to send the ordinance as written, with the amendment suggested by Mayor Piercy, forward to a public hearing. She supported a 12-member commission because it would fulfill a very different role than other commissions; it required a broad range of expertise and members with access to resources regarding sustainability strategies used successfully in other jurisdictions. She could accept a 9- member commission with each councilor and the mayor appointing members but thought the ordinance language was the best approach. She saw no reason to delay the public hearing and adoption of the ordinance until the sustainability manager was hired. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Zelenka, moved to take the ordinance forward to a pub- lic hearing with the Mayor Piercy’s suggested amendment. Mr. Zelenka said the issue was consistent with the sustainability goal the council had just adopted and he agreed that there should not be a delay in moving forward. He disagreed with a statement in the agenda item summary that there had not been substantial debate or discussion on the number of commission members or appointment process. He said an amended motion proposed by former councilor David Kelly at an earlier work session specifically outlined a 12-member body with City Council appointment. MINUTES—Eugene City Council – Work Session January 24, 2007 Page 2