Item 3A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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ATTACHMENT A M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Process Session Bascom Room—Eugene Public Library November 21, 2005 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Jennifer Solomon, Bonny Bettman, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papé, George Poling, Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the November 21, 2005, process session of the Eugene City Council to order. The council was joined by executive management staff, including City Manager Dennis Taylor, Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson, Angel Jones, Lauren Chouinard, Kurt Corey, Susan Muir, and Matt Shuler, and City Manager’s Office staff members Mary Walston, Mary Feldman, and Lynda Rose. 1. PROCESS SESSION Public Meetings Law: Permitted Discussions among Elected Officials The council was joined for the discussion by City Attorney Glenn Klein. Mr. Klein explained that Public Meetings Law stipulated that any time a quorum of the council got together it constituted a meeting, including electronic meetings. The law did not address e-mail or chat rooms. He advised councilors that a quorum of the council in a chat room discussing public business constituted a violation of the law. Conversely, back-and-forth e-mail communications, including deliberation, do not violate the law. Mr. Klein noted the City’s system for sharing council e-mail with the public. He asked that the council avoid the use of private e-mail accounts when dealing with City business to ensure that proper records are kept, and reminded the council to alert Councilor Coordinator Lynda Rose when a confidential communication was sent so she can delete it from the public record. January 2006 Retreat City Manager Dennis Taylor anticipated the retreat would occur in January and asked councilors’ preference about scheduling the retreat on a weekend and their preferences for a location. He indicated that with council concurrence, he would check with,Julia Novak, the previous retreat facilitator, to see if she was available. The councilors generally favored holding the retreat on a Friday, although several indicated a willingness to attend on a Saturday or Sunday. Councilors did not object to Ms. Novak as a facilitator, although Ms. Taylor questioned the need for having a facilitator. Councilors had no particular location to suggest, although Mr. Kelly encouraged a location with the greatest public access, such as the Bascom- Tykeson Room at the Library. The council agreed that it would focus on progress review at the January retreat. City Manager Taylor indicated that a quarterly progress report on the council’s priority issues was available on the Web site. MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 21, 2005 Page 1 Process Session