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Mayor Piercy believed the public forum was very important and noted that often, important issues such as <br />the Golden Gardens Park situation were raised by the public. <br /> <br />Ms. Shepard summarized the discussion, determining from the council that it would implement the new <br />system as soon as staff had an opportunity to discuss the proposal and give the council feedback on its <br />implementation. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor determined from the council that while those speaking in the public forum would get three <br />minutes to speak, the item would still be time-limited. He was willing to let it be an issue of judgment on a <br />case-by-case basis. <br /> <br />Speaking to the suggestion for an added meeting, Ms. Solomon said the council needed to recognize that <br />there were months that the council would be on break. <br /> <br />The council agreed to cut off the deadline for signing up to speak in the public forum at 7:35 p.m. <br /> <br />Responding to a question regarding follow-up from Mr. Papé, City Manager Taylor indicated he heard no <br />sentiment for initiating an electronic sign-up. <br /> <br />Ms. Rose noted that the suggested changes would require amendments to the operating agreements to <br />implement and the council would be asked to approve those via resolution at a future meeting. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor reiterated his question about whether the public forum was established for a time certain or if it <br />would continue until all who signed up spoke. Ms. Bettman suggested the 30-minute time limit be rescinded <br />given the discussion. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor agreed the 30-minute limit should be dropped. She pointed out that not all speakers would take <br />the full three minutes allotted to them. <br /> <br />City Manager Taylor pointed out that a determined group of people could “game the system” and postpone <br />council action on items by signing up for the public forum in such numbers that other items were pushed off. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz suggested that the agenda be printed on large print format and placed on a reader board to inform <br />the public. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly believed that many people were confused as to what was occurring at the council and suggested a <br />reader board or magnetic board could be employed to explain the meeting agenda and format. He endorsed <br />Ms. Ortiz’s suggestion. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly thought City Manager Taylor’s remarks were well-taken. There were groups that would game the <br />system or come to the erroneous conclusion that more voices saying the same thing was effective. He <br />thought there was value to a stated norm, such as a maximum of 60 minutes to avoid such situations and <br />give the council president some flexibility in offering the body a motion that it could accept or vote down. <br /> <br />Mr. Papé agreed that if the council needed to consult briefly about the agenda before a meeting, it should. <br />There was general concurrence. <br /> <br />Mr. Pryor wanted the council to have sufficient time at meetings to do the job it was tasked to do as well as <br />accommodate public forum speakers. He agreed that public education about how the system worked was <br />vital. <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 17, 2006 Page 6 <br /> Process Session <br />