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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/21/1985 Meeting M I NUT E S e Eugene City Council Eugene Hilton Hotel -- Board Room January 21, 1985 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Cynthia Wooten, Richard Hansen, Ruth Bascom, Freeman Holmer, Jeff Miller, Roger Rutan, Emily Schue. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Debra Ehrman. Adjourned meeting of the City Council of the City of Eugene of January 16, 1985, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Brian B. Obie. I. QUARTERLY PROCESS SESSION e A. City Board and Commission Assignments for 1985 Councilors reviewed the assignments that had been discussed at the January 14 City Council meeting and made some changes. Mayor Obie announced that Coun- cilor Erhman will be asked to serve as the alternate representative on the L-COG Board of Directors. Councilor Bascom will serve on the Metropolitan Area Transportation Committee. Councilor Schue and Councilor Rutan will serve on the Joint Parks Committee. Councilor Wooten noted her interest in serving on the permanent Community Development Committee. B. Overview of Process Session e Mayor Obie said that both general and specific reports, requests, and sugges- tions would be discussed. He asked each councilor to suggest subjects. He asked Mr. Gleason to participate in the discussion. C. Rules by Which the Council Operates The councilors talked about the written and unwritten rules under which they operate. Concerning the public hearing format, Councilor Wooten said there are legal rules for abstentions, but sometimes she would like to abstain although it is not a legal requirement. The councilors discussed the ques- tioning versus discussing parts of the agenda format and noted that there is a period when councilors gather information. It was agreed that technical questions may be asked of those testifying, but that those questions should be channeled through the mayor. Questions involving philosophy are not appropriate during the questioning part of the meeting. Some councilors indicated an interest in asking people questions directly. It was noted that councilors usually do not ask questions of the staff if they know the answers, but occasionally this is necessary to explain something to the public. Councilors agreed that stating one's position should occur during the discussion period as opposed to the question period. They agreed, how- ever, that it is difficult to change from information gathering to discussion. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1985 Page 1 e e - Mr. Rutan suggested the council accept public testimony and comments from the staff, ask questions of the staff and public, and then close the public hear- ing. The closing of the hearing would signal the start of the council dis- cussion when positions could be stated. Ms. Schue cautioned that the public could be lIusedll if additional testimony is requested to bolster a councilor's position. Councilors decided to retain the current format concerning questioning and discussion periods and discuss it again in six months. Councilors decided to start Wednesday meetings promptly at noon. Councilors discussed various ground rules that they have previously agreed to: 1) any councilor may have an item put on a council agenda; 2) anyone councilor can request an item be postponed to another meeting if he/she is unable to attend the meeting at which the item has been scheduled; 3) any two councilors can request an item be postponed to the following meeting; 4) any councilor may attend any meeting at which the council is represented, but only the official council representative, not the attending councilor, has the right to vote; 5) councilors should try to gather necessary information, have questions answered, etc., from the staff before a meeting; 6) when coun- cilors speak to each other during public meetings, last names are used during Monday evening meetings and first names are used during Wednesday noon meet- ings--Mr. Obie is, however, always referred to as lithe mayorll; 7) a councilor should only speak for him/herself, not for other councilors; 8) councilors should not state that they are representing the council, unless one of them has been asked by the council to be its representative on an issue; 9) coun- cilors should try not to personalize issues--the discussions should be issue- oriented; 10) councilors should not change City-wide policy direction during consideration of a particular instance, but councilors may vote against a specific issue; 11) during public meetings, councilors should not attempt to edit or rewrite prepared ordinances because of the potential impact on other issues--amendments to an ordinance may, however, be appropriate. There are some exceptions to these policies. The councilors discussed further the ways to get an item placed on an agen- da. It was noted that a councilor can call the City Manager directly and request that the item be placed; the request can be made during council com- ments at a Wednesday meeting; or one can contact a department directly. Although any councilor may place an item on a council agenda, it was agreed that it is best to first raise the issue under IICouncil Commentsll during a Wednesday meeting. Ms. Schue said the end result is usually better if a councilor who has a new idea for an ordinance or project discusses it with other councilors and gets the consensus of the council to proceed before much staff time is spent drafting an ordinance. The councilor can present infor- mation, a position paper, or schedule a report from a department or recom- mendations from a committee during IICouncil Commentsll on Wednesdays. All the councilors can then participate in the decision on whether to have staff spend time on the issue. Those councilors who agree that staff time can be spent on a particular item are not, however, bound to support the issue when it comes before the council for a vote. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1985 Page 2 - e - Council consensus was that the council needs to sign off before a councilor individually commits a large amount of staff time or funds to a particular item. These may include research projects, additional analysis, legal assis- tance, etc. A councilor can request assistance to pull information together to present to the council, but early on in the process the councilor should present the item to the council and ask for approval to proceed. In order to proceed, one would need to secure approval of a certain number of councilors, perhaps three. Council requested that staff draft a policy statement on this process to be brought back at the next process session for further consider- ation by the council. The City Manager's Office will provide assistance to councilors. Councilors may contact the City staff directly for assistance, but Councilor Hansen cautioned that staff time should be used effectively. One councilor should not demand staff time without the support of other coun- cilors or the knowledge of the City Manager. It was agreed that citizens who want to place items on a council agenda would be told to contact their councilor. Council then discussed the types of items that a councilor can place on a council agenda. The councilors agreed to allow any councilor the right to schedule an information or discussion item on a council agenda, but the sche- duling of a public hearing or action item must have the approval of other councilors. Mr. Gleason indicated that staff will draft a written policy statement on this for the council to consider at its next quarterly process session. It was noted that it would be helpful to establish the criteria on when action is requested following a public hearing and when action is delayed until a subsequent meeting. The council reaffirmed its policy that, except in extraordinary circum- stances, it does not issue proclamations. The mayor, however, may sign an appropriate letter or statement in support of the event. Councilors may talk to citizens or other councilors about anything except issues such as zoning requests, which will be considered in a quasi-judicial hearing. D. Issues of Interest to Councilors The councilors discussed some specific concerns in order to inform other councilors of requests for information from the staff or issues which might be coming before the council. Councilor Holmer is concerned about the lack of a Eugene Voters' Pamphlet and is investigating the need for one. Mr. Rutan is gathering information on ways to finance park projects and is interested in forging an alliance with the 4-J School District. He may ask council approval, but not financing, of an Enterprise Center in downtown Eugene. Ms. Bascom is considering ways to let the public know that the City is interested in trees. She also wants to educate the public about the 6th/7th Avenue widening project. Mayor Obie is concerned about the sale of drug paraphernalia in the city. Councilor Miller is considering ways to upgrade substandard streets everywhere in the city. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1985 Page 3 - e e Discussing intergovernmental relations, Ms. Schue said that all councilors should constantly work on cooperation with other governmental units. A new direction should be established for the alliance with EWEB. She discussed the rate issue before the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission. Although social contacts with other governmental officials can be helpful, Ms. Wooten cautioned against any meeting that might not conform to the public meeting law. E. Appointment Process to City Boards, Commissions, and Committees Council discussed a proposal from Mayor Obie and Councilor Wooten to change the appointment process of the Citizen Involvement Committee from a council interview process to a mayoral nomination process and from a subcommittee interview process to a mayoral nomination process for appointments to the Community Schools Coordinating Committee, MAPAC, and the Cable Commission. Ms. Schue said she will vote in favor of mayoral nominations to commissions and committees if it is understood that the mayor will consult with the coun- cilors before making the proposed nominations public. Ms. Bascom said the mayor must consider councilors' opinions when making his nominations. Ms. Wooten noted she had reservations about this process for MAPAC appointments. The council agreed with the subcommittee recommendation and requested that staff proceed with the changes. The council discussed the current subcom- mittee interview process of appointing citizens to the human rights commis- sions and agreed to continue with the current appointment process. At approximately 7:30 p.m., the meeting was recessed for about ten minutes. F. Eugene Agenda Councilors discussed the agenda presented by Mayor Obie in his inaugural speech. Mayor Obie would like to have the council refine the agenda and make it the Eugene Agenda. He suggested the council hold a public hearing on the agenda without the proposed vote to eliminate the expressway amendment from the City charter and then find a way to finance it. The agenda must be marketable. The council knows what the community needs and should establish the agenda. It will cost about $30 million. It could be sold with a IITurn the Communi ty Aroundll thrust. Ms. Wooten said a new source of revenue is needed to implement capital improvement projects and the council needs to know what people think about revenue sources. She suggested a survey be commissioned to gather infor- mation and to give information to the public. However, the council must move ahead even if projects are not popular. A council subcommittee should review the revenue options. Ms. Schue suggested that people be asked to comment on such projects as a swimming pool, library, and airport expansion so that the council can prior- itize them. A swimming pool could contribute to economic diversification and development. She would put everything needed in the next 20 years on the agenda, publicize it, have a public hearing, refine it in a work session, and then hire a pollster to find out what people think. MINUTES--Eugene City Council Page 4 January 21, 1985 e e - Mr. Holmer thought a poll should identify capital projects and revenue sources and put the options before the public. He wanted to share in the specifications given to the pollsters. Mr. Rutan said a private, scientific poll can be done with a small sample. It can provide much information without impacting what people think. Mr. Hansen and Ms. Miller agreed. Mr. Hansen wanted to know what citizens would pay for. A poll could tell the council whether the agenda has public support. Polls can indicate whether public hearings or pUblic education are needed. Mr. Hansen hoped the council would lessen the number of things it tries to accomplish. Councilors asked Mayor Obie to appoint a committee to recommend a Eugene Agenda, note revenue sources to finance it, and the process to use to get them. The committee should report to the council intermittently. Councilors interested in serving on this subcommittee should contact the mayor. G. Council Meetings Since Mayor Obie and Councilor Holmer may not be able to attend the January 23 council meeting, it was agreed that the Pesticide Spraying Right-to-Know ordinance would be rescheduled for January 30. Councilors discussed allotting five or ten minutes once a month at Wednesday meetings for presentations by representatives of local businesses. Mr. Rutan indicated he would coordinate the presentations. Responding to a concern of Ms. Schue, Mayor Obie said staff should look at different systems for the seating of councilors in the Council Chamber and report back to the council. Councilors decided to proceed on a six-month trial basis with plans to include a public forum at the first Monday evening council meeting of each month. At the conclusion of the six months, council will consider this proposal and may request input from the Citizen Participation Committee. Mr. Hansen reviewed recent issues before the Metropolitan Cable Television Commission concerning public access channels and contract negotiations with Group W. He will schedule an informational discussion on a council agenda soon. H. Attendance of Councilors at Community Functions It was suggested that the City pay the expenses of councilors and their spouses/friends when they attend City-related community functions. Staff will review this policy with the City Attorney's Office and report back to council if this is a problem. Ms. Freedman will try to inform councilors of important events which they may want to attend. Mr. Rutan will ask the Chamber of Commerce to place all councilors on its mailing list. Mayor Obie said the session had been a good one. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1985 Page 5 e e e At 9:50 p.m., he adjourned the meeting to January 23,1985. Respect; l~ .;1.,-'........., /' /' -,..~'~ .~/ ~ .,~ '~~~fUn .' - Ci tf Manager .... (Recorded by Betty Lou Rarick) BLR:vr/1592C MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1985 Page 6