CC Minutes - 10/26/98 Work Session

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public information disseminated now does not reflect contact persons or phone numbers and often uses jargon not understood by the general public. He wondered if the quarterly City publication/newsletter would include neighborhood columns. Brian Terrett, City Manager's Office, responded that the suggestion was to disseminate neighborhood information either through regular neighborhood newsletters or the City's quarterly publication. Mr. Meisner suggested as an objective under neighborhood redesign to improve the percent of citizens who receive notice (at their residence) of neighborhood meetings and issues. In many neighborhoods, he explained, there is publication but not delivery and in others, there is no publications for months at a time. Mr. Lee thanked the committee for its work, saying the document produced was very helpful to him. He said the topic deserves more discussion and hoped an additional work session will be held. Mr. Lee expressed support for the document as a template, adding there needed to be some refinement of the ideas. He suggested holding council meetings in the same room to avoid having the public raise issues that have just been discussed by the council during the work session prior to the public meeting. Ms. Taylor said she was not ready to vote on the report this evening and asked for more information on town hall meetings. Ms. Bridges said the model for the suggestion was the town hall meetings held for Ballot Measure 47 reductions. Ms. Taylor suggested assigning councilors to attend specific neighborhood meetings and not limit the scope to specific issues. She said the City newsletter should be mostly devoted to neighborhood news and announcements. Ms. Taylor added that her notion of a government academy was a session separate from the volunteer program that educated the public about how government works. She saw this as a way to encourage citizen involvement. Under "use of media" Ms. Taylor said Channel 11 should run at all times and the City should use it more. Mr. Laue arrived at the meeting. Mayor Torrey noted that the Metropolitan Policy Committee at its next meeting would take a position on Channel 11 and Ms. Taylor may wish to influence that process. Ms. Swanson Gribskov encouraged the City to work with existing volunteer organizations. Referring to Kathy Madison's letter, she said it makes valid points and good suggestions. She cautioned against increasing the burden on councilors' time/workload. And finally, Ms. Swanson Gribskov said she was concerned about the budget, adding she favored funding recreation and senior programs over public information programs. Mr. Fart commended Ms. Nathanson for her role on the committee. He emphasized the importance of community involvement and said the money for the program would be well-spent, adding that his main concern is getting a broader range of people involved in government. Mr. Fart said that, in general, the broader perspective will not come to the council so the City must reach out to these people. He said he was prepared to accept the report and its recommendations as a template, with refinements yet to be made. Ms. Nathanson referred to specific suggestions about volunteer programs and suggested two other strategies: 1) develop new citizen volunteer opportunities; and 2) capitalize on existing and new participation programs. She also suggested looking at the recruitment process for council- appointed committees as well as departmental advisory committees. Ms. Nathanson agreed that the council probably needed another work session, noting that some of the recommendations have already been introduced and others will require council action. She said one of the things MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 26, 1998 Page 2 5:30 p.m.