CC Minutes - 11/23/05 WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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not attached to the correct objective. She then referred to the guiding principles – “Build on strengths and assets” and “Collaborate and use existing resources” - and questioned if the latter was, in fact, redundant and therefore the two principles could be combined. Ms. Taylor moved on to Phase One- Annual Report on use of best practices in citizen involvement project. She questioned who would produce such a report. Mr. Corey stated the City Manager would provide the report on a quarterly basis. City Manager Taylor pointed out that at a recent City Council process session it was agreed that all the council priorities would be a part of the State of the City document and posted to the City’s website, followed by quarterly reporting. Ms. Taylor suggested that the neighborhood groups be involved in the crafting of such a report. Ms. Taylor referred to Phase Two, Increase number of people participating in public involvement activities. She suggested that it be moved to Phase One. Additionally she opined that an annual community survey would not provide an accurate indication of how the neighborhood perceives the plan, as many constituents do not participate in telephone surveys. She then questioned how Deliver Neighborhood priorities would unfold. Mr. Corey explained that such a measure would implement programs that include a priority-setting process from the neighborhoods themselves, rather than the City presupposing what may be effective. Mr. Kelly stated that the revised proposal was an improved step forward and voiced his appreciation to the outreach to the NLC. He took very seriously the statement in the Agenda Item Summary statement: It was not intended to be a comprehensive plan. The refinement of the plan will begin with the involvement of the neighborhood associations, and continue through the implementation of the three key objectives. Mr. Kelly commented that the next step in the process was for City staff to begin its work with the neighborhood associations by gathering feedback and revising the proposal appropriately. Mr. Kelly spoke to the annual report component. He pointed out that while the initiative was broader than the neighborhoods associations, the involvement of the associations was a critical component and therefore he requested that the reports include neighborhood association feedback as well as staff feedback. Mr. Kelly, referencing the discussion at the recent council retreat, referred to action items 16 through 19 and opined that while they were all relevant items, they were in fact less true to the intent of the Neighborhood Initiative and therefore should be treated as a lower priority. Mr. Kelly referred to Action Item 11, Shift Involvement of neighborhoods to be earlier in the land use process, and opined that the item would satisfy many objectives in the initiative and elsewhere and therefore should be raised to a higher priority. Mr. Papé voiced appreciation to the staff for its work on the revised proposal and said he hoped that such documents would be provided to the council in a more rapid manner in the future. He referred to Action Item 3: Institute “best practices” for citizen involvement, including methods for establishing clear expectations and closing the feedback loop and questioned how staff will identify appropriate “best practices.” Mr. Corey replied that resources such as the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and American Planning Association (APA) will assist in crafting best practices. He opined that best practices that were defined globally and implemented locally were the most effective for communities. Mr. Papé requested that the neighborhood associations be brought into the discussion of best practices prior to implementation. 2 MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 23, 2005 Page Work Session