Item 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes

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Mr. Pryor asked for a status update regarding the neighborhood leaders group and asked if that group would be an official part of the City. Mr. Kinnison responded that the neighborhood leaders’ council was not formally recognized by the City, but that the NEI Action Plan and the Neighborhood Services assessment had helped to clarify the role of that group. He noted that further determinations regarding the neighborhood leaders’ council and its organizational structure still needed to be made. Ms. Taylor agreed with Mr. Zelenka that the neighborhood groups could provide invaluable input regarding local land use issues. She believed that the neighborhood groups needed to increase the size and frequency of their newsletter publications. Ms. Taylor noted that Planning & Development staff member Steve Norris had at one time attended nearly every neighborhood association meeting and further believed that the City similarly needed to maintain an official presence at the meetings. She further suggested that the City might impose a requirement that neighborhood meetings last between 60 and 75 minutes with refreshments to be provided afterwards. She noted that such a strategy would encourage more thorough discussions and engagement between the neighborhood meeting participants. Ms. Taylor hoped that reports from the 2009 Neighborhood Summit events would be provided to the council and to the individual neighborhood associations. Mr. Kinnison, responding to a question from Ms. Solomon, noted that the Neighborhood Services program workshop on December 2, was intended to educate community members about the NEI Action Plan process. Ms. Solomon noted she had concerns regarding the accountability of those persons overseeing the publication of neighborhood newsletters. Mr. Kinnison responded that the Neighborhood Services program staff had spent a considerable amount of time reviewing and revising the guidelines for newsletters circulated by the various neighborhood associations and further hoped that such efforts would generate the most fair and objective materials possible. He further noted that Ms. Clarke would routinely fact-check the newsletters circulated by the neighbor- hood groups. Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to extend the work session meeting by an additional ten minutes. The motion passed, 6:1. (Ms. Taylor voting in opposition). Ms. Ortiz thanked Mr. Kinnison for his presentation and agreed with earlier comments reflecting the potential benefits of the Neighborhood Services program on local land use matters. Mr. Kinnison, responding to a question from Ms. Ortiz regarding the funding available for the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhood newsletters, noted that such funding was based on the number of postal addresses within the neighborhood boundaries rather than by the number of people living in each neighborhood. Mr. Kinnison briefly discussed the manner in which the River Road and Santa Clara neighborhoods had been funded. Ms. Ortiz, referencing Mr. Kinnison's earlier request for input as to the best manner for the Neighborhood Services staff to communicate with the council, noted that she appreciated the email links to the neighborhood newsletters and materials that staff had provided. Ms. Ortiz believed that although it might be beneficial to standardize the process by which neighborhood information was collected and distributed, it was important that the unique qualities of each individual neighbor- hood not be negatively impacted by such efforts. MINUTES—Eugene City Council November 18, 2009 Page 6 Work Session