01.13.20 City Council Work Session Minutes

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Councilor Clark- asked for clarification on process; requested work sessions not be held at the end of a meeting. Councilor Evans - thought the current process for resolutions worked fine. VOTE: PASSED 7:1, Councilor Evans opposed. Council Discussion - Public Forum • Councilor Syrett - thought the presiding official should have discretion to decide the length of time people could speak at Public Forum; did not support having a lot of items on the agenda following Public Forum and did not support work session items at that time. • Councilor Clark- supported administrative changes; noted Wards 4, 5, or 6 were frequently underrepresented and many from Ward 5 did not feel welcome; said there are many people who speak frequently and on the same topic; said limiting constituents to 15 minutes of total testimony time per year would save time and allow for different forums. • Councilor Zelenka - thought the purpose of public forum was for the public to bring new information and/or complaints —one of many communication tools citizens have access to; thought limits on time and frequency were warranted for council's time management; said the first -come, first -served format was also problematic. • Councilor Taylor - thought public forum was one of the most valuable things council did; opposed to limiting total time for the Public Forum; said she wanted constituents to be able to rely on the amount of time they'd have for testimony; said she did not find people repeating their comments to be a problem and thought groups should get more time than individuals. • Councilor Syrett - thought public forum should be used for people to express their opinions on community matters; wanted to explore what role staff could play in facilitating peacekeeping and creating a culture welcoming to all community members; thought staff and security should be prepared to uphold standards of behavior set for the audience; thought there was a need for more respectful speech; supported limiting each speaker to two minutes, limiting total time of Public Forum on the agenda, and randomizing speakers. • Councilor Pryor - supported reducing speaking time to two minutes; thought the purpose of public forum was for people to have an opportunity to be heard by council on matters relevant to the city; supported randomizing speaking order; supported a maximum total time of one hour; thought council should maintain an expectation of respectful speech. • Councilor Yeh - said that establishing rules with clear consequences was needed; supported two minutes as long as the time was not reduced to one minute; supported randomization of speakers; asked for someone with expertise in equity issues to review proposed rules. • Councilor Evans - supported shortening the forum to two minutes as well as randomization of speaking order; thought holding meetings at other venues would be valuable, especially for residents of wards that were further away from downtown; supported limiting overall time to 45 minutes or an hour. • Councilor Semple - supported two -minute comment time; was interested in randomizing; expressed concern about limiting overall length. • Mayor Vinis -noted that randomizing and limiting overall time might work well together. MOTION: Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to limit testimony to two minutes, to limit the times to two times a month for one hour, and to randomize the order of people speaking once they've signed up. • Councilor Syrett - supported the motion and thought the public would adapt to a new system if council adopted one. • Councilor Clark - thought there should be clear consequences for abuse of the rules. MINUTES - Eugene City Council January 13, 2020 Page 4 Work Session