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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/23/1986 Meeting . e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council Lunch/Work Session City Hall--McNutt Room April 23, 1986 " : 30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Richard Hansen, Debra Ehrman, Emily Schue, Cynthia Wooten, Freeman Holmer, Ruth Bascom, Jeff Miller. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Roger Rutan. Mayor Brian B. Obie called the work session to order. I. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION REVIEW TEAM REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS Marjorie Beck of the City Manager's Office said the Citizen Participation Review Team (CPRT) was appointed by the council to review the City's major public information and citizen participation programs and policies, to identify concerns, and to recommend improvements. She said the final CPRT report contained 31 recommendations and was reviewed by the Planning Commis- sion, the Citizen Involvement Committee, Performing Arts Commission, the Hult Center staff, and the Neighborhood Group Leaders. She said the council will hold a public hearing to receive additional public comment on the report at its 12 noon meeting. Ms. Beck said the April 9, 1986, memo entitled "Citizen Participation Review Team Report" is a summary of the final CPRT report. She said many of the recommendations in the report have been implemented by the staff. For exam- ple, work has begun on a long-range plan for public information, and more informal public briefings and informational sessions have been held. She said the implementation of nine of the recommendations require either changes in policy or increases in funds and staff. She said the council would need to give direction on those recommendations at its regular meeting following this work session. REC. 3 The City should establish a city-wide publication that is distrib- uted quarterly to all households. We recommend that the Parks and Recreation Leisure Schedule be used, if possible. Mayor Obie said the council will need an estimate of the cost of such a publication. Answering questions, Ms. Beck said a city-wide publication would probably be four to eight pages, published four times a year. She said the staff might recommend the publication be separate from the Leisure Schedule. The purpose ~ of the publication would be to inform all the households in Eugene about city ~ MINUTES--Eugene City Council Work Session April 23, 1986 Page 1 e issues and proposals and to get feedback on the issues. She said it would be a consensus-building medium. She said it is difficult to know if people read such publications. She said the same publication would be sent to all sections of the city. Mr. Hansen wondered if an established schedule is necessary because there might not be anything important to publish. He said the City now publishes information that is needed. Mayor Obie clarified for council that the purpose of the work session was to introduce and take questions on the report recommendations, and that the council would have an opportunity to discuss the recommendations after the public hearing at its 12 noon meeting. Ms. Beck continued reviewing the recommendations: REC. 6 The City Council should consider publishing a voters pamphlet. REC. 12 Formal public hearings should be held at a variety of times to allow more people to attend. REC. 16 The City Council should expand the role of the Citizen Involvement Committee to include general City information and participation issues. e Ms. Beck said the Citizen Involvement Committee (CIC) could be overloaded if its role is expanded. Creating another committee might slow down needed reviews. An alternative to the recommendation might be periodic reports to the CIC on public information general issues in all departments. REC. 17 The City Council needs to give clear charges to its ad hoc commit- tees. REC. 18 The City Council should develop an implementation strategy for recruiting a diversity of applicants for boards and commissions. REC. 19 The process of citizen participation on boards and commissions is well served by making appointments that provide philosophical balance. Ms. Schue said Tim Sercombe, the City Attorney, indicated that the City Charter gives the Mayor the authority to break tie votes on appointments to boards and commissions. REC. 22 To clarify that the City endorses the principle of one recognized neighborhood group per geographic area. . . Ms. Beck said the recommendation is to amend the Neighborhood Organization Recognition Policy as follows (bracketed material should be deleted; under- lined material should be added): e MINUTES--Eugene City Council Work Session April 23, 1986 Page 2 e e ~ The City Council, upon approval of the governing document of the neigh- borhood organization, shall accept the document, and any modifications thereto, by resolution. The neighborhood organization is then recog- nized as the official [voice of that neighborhood] neighborhood organi- zation for that area under the provisions of this policy. REC.24 Periodic review and adjustment, when needed, of all neighborhood group boundaries is desirable to promote more cohesive neighborhood organizations. Answering a question, Christine Donahue, Neighborhood Liaison, said about 20 percent of the city is not within neighborhood groups and re-adjustment of the boundaries could include them. Boundaries have been determined mostly by natural geographic and commercial patterns of use. Some of these patterns have changed in the last ten years. She said the existing groups have indicated that it would be appropriate to change some boundaries to correspond with changes in patterns of use. Mayor Obie adjourned the work session at 12:02 p.m. Res~ectf ly ~ n~ __~ '. Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Betty Lou Rarick) BLR:ch/Mins6 MINUTES--Eugene City Council Work Session April 23, 1986 Page 3