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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 04/18/05 PS MINUTES Eugene City Council Process Session Bascom Room--Eugene Public Library April 18, 2005 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Gary Pap~, Bonny Bettman, Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor. Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. She recognized Ms. Bettman. Ms. Bettman, seconded by Mr. Kelly, moved to change the City's position on House Bill 2608 to Priority 3, Oppose. Mr. Kelly noted his support for the motion for the reasons cited by Human Rights Program and Eugene Police Department staff. From the standpoint of public safety, he said that people in the country illegally would drive anyway and under current law had the opportunity to secure a license and insurance and must demonstrate an ability to drive. From the standpoint of human rights, he found it offensive to mandate a gatekeeper process at the Department of Motor Vehicles for a basic necessity for both citizens and non- citizens alike. Ms. Taylor indicated opposition to the motion, saying that the bill did not require a person to be a citizen to receive a license. She though people who were in the country should be here legally. Mr. Poling determined from Mr. Kelly that Human Rights Manager Greg Rikhoff and Ellwood Cushman of the Eugene Police Department recommended that the City take a position opposing the bill. Mr. Pap~ said the committee considered the staff recommendation and voted 2:1 to take a position of support with amendments that removed the element related to current citizens from the bill. Mr. Poling said driving was a privilege, not a right. He pointed out that people could use driver's licenses for other forms of identification. He agreed with Ms. Taylor that if people were to drive in the state they should be in the country legally. Mr. Pap~ indicated his concurrence with Mr. Poling. He asked about the status of the bill. Council, Public, and Government Affairs Manager Mary Walston said the bill had a hearing on March 23 but since then, there had been no amendments offered or action taken. City Manager Dennis Taylor believed the bill was dead. Ms. Solomon arrived. Ms. Ortiz agreed that driving was a privilege, but she opposed the bill because she believed it set people up to fail by stipulating they must be legal with regard to their residency status. She said people should be MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 1 Process Session encouraged to obey the law but the State should not create barriers to letting people live here and be part of the community. She pointed out that all were immigrants once. Mr. Pryor asked why the bill was being proposed, and what problem it was attempting to address. Ms. Bettman indicated the bill was one of several targeted at the immigrant population. She said that outside the human rights and public safety issues the bill raised, she objected to it because it was aimed at a powerless group. City Manager Taylor indicated the bill was spurred by a nationwide movement related to homeland security. He agreed the bill raised human rights and public safety issues, as the City wanted people to have licenses when they drove. Mayor Piercy asked the councilors to consider the implications of their votes. She believed the issue could be controversial in the community. Mr. Kelly said there were probably hundreds of people in the community with uncertain legal status who are currently driving. He wanted to ensure such individuals know how to drive so they could pass a licensing test. He believed there was a basic hypocrisy that companies in the community were willing to employ undocumented workers while other segments of the community, as represented through the bill, were considering denying them licenses. Mr. Pryor asked if the City needed to take a position on the bill. Mr. Pap6 believed it should. Ms. Solomon expressed concern the discussion was taking place at a process session rather than at a regular meeting as she was not prepared to address the issue at this time. In response to Mr. Kelly's remarks, Mr. Pap6 suggested that most companies insisted on legal documenta- tion of their employees as a matter of principle. Ms. Taylor said her concern about the bill was based on her belief that someone in the country illegally should not have a driver's license. She suggested the item be tabled. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to table the item. The motion passed, 5:3; Mr. Kelly, Ms. Bettman, and Ms. Ortiz voting no. 1. Subcommittee Update: Vision and Goals Statement The process session was facilitated by Greta Utecht and Alicia Hayes of Lane County. Mayor Piercy called the council's attention to the vision and goals statements, included in the meeting packet as Attachment A. She thanked the members of the ad hoc committee who assisted in its preparation, Ms. Ortiz, Mr. Pryor, and Ms. Solomon, and acknowledged the contributions of Ms. Walston and former councilor Ken Tollenaar, particularly for his work on the goals statements. CURRENT VISION STATEMENT Eugene is a regional center for education, culture and commerce, and a comfortable, attractive MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 2 Process Session and affbrdable place to live and work. We value the variety of our safe, livable neighborhoods and the beauty of our landscapes. We respect the perspectives and lifestyles of our active and di- verse citizenry. We strive to provide sound, open government and to deliver effective, efficient ser- vices. PROPOSED VISION STATEMENT Eugene is a community that values its people and their participation in our government. This means a respect and appreciation for diversity, educational and cultural assets, equity, justice, and social well-being. We embrace our differences as the source of our strength, and the basis for our success. We are also a community that values our physical assets and natural resources. Eugene's vision is to sustain its clean water, breathable air, beautiful parks and open spaces, livable and safe neighborhoods, and maintain a vibrant downtown. Eugene further values a strong and vibrant economy. Prosperity is the engine that drives our community's future. Our vision is to ensure that every person can achieve financial security, en- joy the fruits or their labor, and operate within a sustainable economic structure. Ms. Hayes solicited comments on the proposed draft vision statement. · Second sentence in first paragraph: %ducation and cultural assets" doesn't fit "this means" · What does the new statement add? · Would not delete second sentence, simply rephrase "this includes" · "Prosperity' is problematic--definition? · Use of"community" in regard to the vision statement may be wider than what council/City can impact --~ Perhaps use of "we' may be more appropriate. Councilors briefly discussed the value and use of thc vision statement. Ms. Bcttman termed the statement an "apple pie" sort of thing and questioned its utility with regard to the council's decision-making. Mr. Pryor emphasized that the subcommittee had attempted to capture the input of thc council but found it impossible to do so in just a few words. The first paragraph attempted to capture the council's vision of thc community, or the people who live here; the second paragraph attempted to capture the council's vision of its sense of Eugene as a place; the third paragraph attempted to capture the nature of prosperity and how citizens could be prosperous. Mayor Picrcy disagreed about the value of thc statement, saying she believed the vision statement was important and what was before the council reflected what the subcommittee had heard from the council. She wanted to be able to reference the statement in the future. Ms. Ortiz agreed with Mayor Picrcy about the value of thc statement, saying she believed in the vision and goals. She suggested it would be helpful to have it printed in Spanish. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 3 Process Session City Manager Taylor assured the council that the staff employed the vision statement in many ways and employees were aware of it. He believed it guided what the City strove to become. Councilors agreed that the subcommittee would take the input received and incorporate it into the statement, as well as ensure consistency in the use of syntax and structure. CURRENT GOAL STATEMENTS Ms. Hayes noted the council's current goal statements. SAFE COMMUNITY A safe community where people feel secure and respected SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT A community that retains a high quality of life and a healthy economy, effectively links land use and transportation planning, and successfully manages growth and change in the urban environ- ment HEALTHY NATURAL AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT A community that conserves and enhances the natural environment andprovides an attractive and healthy place to live ACCESSIBLE AND THRII~NG CULTURE AND RECREATION A community that offers a wide variety ofopportunitiesforpositive cultural recreational and educational development for all EFFECTIVE, A C C 0 UNTABLE MUNICIPAL GO VERNMENT A local government that works openly and respectfully with and for everyone in the community FAIR, STABLE AND ADEQUATE FINANCIAL RESOURCES A local government whose ongoingfinancial resources are based on a fair and equitable system of taxation and other revenue sources and are adequate to maintain and deliver municipal ser- vices PROPOSED GOAL STATEMENTS Ms. Hayes called attention to the proposed goal statements. SAFE COMMUNITY A community where people feel safe valued and welcomed. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT A community that meets its present environmental economic and social needs without compromis- ing the ability of j~hture generations to meet their own needs. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 4 Process Session ACCESSIBLE AND THRII~NG CULTURAL AND RECREATION A community that recognizes that the arts and outdoors are integral to the social and economic well-being of the community and should be available to all. EFFE C TIFE A C C 0 UNTABLE MUNICIPAL GO FERNMENT A government that works openly, collaboratively and fairly with the community to achieve meas- urable outcomes FAIR, STABLE AND ADEQUATE FINANCIAL RESOURCES A government whose on-goingfinancial resources are based on a fair and equitable system of revenues and is adequate to maintain and deliver municipal services Ms. Hayes solicited comments on the draft vision goals. Mr. Kelly called the council and staff's attention to some minor errors in the statements, which Ms. Hayes recorded. Councilors expressed general satisfaction with the goal statements, offering the following comments for possible change: · New sustainable development needs to reference healthy and natural built environment · "Measurable outcomes" --~ Positive outcomes? Demonstrate public benefit? Mr. Pryor indicated that "measurable outcomes" was included to address the issue of government accountability. Mr. Kelly said he would not object to its deletion as not all things could be measured, although he would like to see quantification of more of the things that could be measured. Ms. Solomon supported the inclusion of the phrase for the reasons stated by Mr. Pryor. She reminded the council of the aspirational nature of the statements. City Manager Taylor indicated he would schedule the vision statement and goals statements for adoption following further refinement by the subcommittee. Ms. Bettman asked that the revised draft be sent to councilors prior to that date. 2. Boards and Commissions Process Ms. Walston was present for the item. She recalled the council's discussion of the issue at its last process session and its direction to staff to develop a proposal for the boards and commissions process. She reviewed a draft short-term proposal to be implemented between April and September 2005. Councilors discussed the short-term proposal. Mr. Kelly did not support having a profile for candidates. He questioned whether the council could interview candidates in executive session given that the issue was related to personnel. He suggested the supplemental questions be included in the application. He asked if a candidate receiving five votes in the straw poll should be interviewed or appointed. Regarding the guidelines for interviews, Mr. Kelly favored allowing the councilors to ask follow-up questions of candidates. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 5 Process Session Ms. Taylor wanted staff to provide the council with the questions to be asked of candidates prior to the interviews. She suggested the council seek input about candidates for advisory groups such as the Planning Commission from the commission. She agreed with Mr. Kelly about follow-up questions. Ms. Bettman said that the council should be clear if it was voting to appoint or interview an individual. She was okay with either approach as long as the outcome was clear. She also agreed about incorporating the supplemental questions into the application and about the value of follow-up questions. She determined from Ms. Walston that staff found that working with the current members of boards and commissions was a good way to solicit new members. Mr. Poling agreed with Mr. Kelly that profiles were not necessary. He determined from Ms. Walston that the supplemental questions could be included in the application without a large cost. Ms. Solomon indicated acceptance of follow-up questions but wanted to ensure that they were held until the end of the interview and asked if time allowed. Mr. Pap~ agreed with Mr. Kelly about the need for greater clarity about the number of votes required to interview/appointment a candidate. With regard to the profile, he also agreed with Mr. Kelly, and suggested it would be more useful for the council to have an informational sheet outlining the responsibilities of the position to be filled. Councilors discussed the number of votes needed to interview a candidate as opposed to the number of votes needed to either reappoint or appoint a candidate outright. Ms. Walston recalled that in the past years, the council agreed to interview all candidates receiving three votes. She suggested the council consider setting a threshold of four votes to reappoint candidates. Ms. Solomon suggested that five votes be required for an appointment. Mr. Pryor suggested that all candidates receiving at least three votes be interviewed as he questioned how the council could knowingly appoint a candidate without conducting such an interview. Ms. Bettman also questioned how the council could get to know a candidate without an interview. She asked how fair it was to appoint a candidate with five votes to those who reapplied. Ms. Bettman acknowledged the time commitment but pointed out that citizens were also committing their time. Ms. Taylor did not presume that someone would automatically be appointed unless they were known to the council. She suggested that the threshold for an interview be four votes. She added that the interview process had improved since she first took her seat on the council. Mr. Kelly agreed with Mr. Pryor about the need to interview all candidates, even those receiving five votes, saying it took more time, but the positions involved were important. He liked the idea of employing a different process for the reappointment process in which a candidate reapplying for a position would be reappointed with five votes. He did not support raising the number of votes for those to be interviewed from three to four as he thought that directly connected to the issue of diversifying the applicant pool. Ms. Bettman pointed out that the schedule proposed by Ms. Walston would mean the council would be interviewing candidates during the budget season. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 6 Process Session Councilors broke into three groups consisting of Ms. Ortiz, Ms. Bettman, and Ms. Taylor (Group 1); Mr. Kelly, Mayor Piercy, and Mr. Poling (Group 2); and Ms. Solomon, Mr. Pryor, and Mr. Pap6 (Group 3). Ms. Utecht asked the three groups to discuss what the outcome of a completely successful boards and commissions process would be, and to attempt to identify three priority issues. She said that Ms. Walston would employ the input as she developed options for medium- and long-term strategies. Mayor Piercy called for a brief meeting break. After the break, the council reconvened and reported on the work of the small groups. Group 1 · Boards and commissions that are reflective of the community, with every neighborhood, ward, age, socioeconomic strata, and ethnicity represented. · Eliminate department advisory committees and regional committees requiring City financial support for questionable or negligible benefit (like the Public Safety Coordinating Council). · Restore the Citizen Involvement Committee. Group 2 · More committee members from historically under-represented demographics. · Engaged (fully) members on committee. · No one who has applied feels insulted or humiliated by the process. Group 3 · Want boards and commissions that are representative-- Geographic Ethnic Socioeconomic Education levels Age · Commissioners who are passionate (about committee work), thoughtful, and committed to a group process · Awareness of boards and commissions--what they do and how to apply--get bigger pool of appli- cants Ms. Utecht noted that each group had identified diversity as an issue, so there appeared to be six outcomes listed. Ms. Utecht asked if the council saw any item that had a direct application to the short-term or long-term strategies. Ms. Bettman suggested that the issue of regional committees, such as the Public Safety Coordinating Council, could be addressed in the short term. Mayor Piercy believed that the restoration of the Citizen Involvement Committee and the issue of the MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 7 Process Session department advisory committees and the PSCC were policy issues rather than process issues. Mr. Pap6 suggested that the council hold three different work sessions, one related to process, one related to the department advisory committees, and one related to the regional committees. He wanted to discuss the roles and missions of the department advisory committees and regional committees before deciding whether to eliminate them. Ms. Solomon suggested that the McKenzie Watershed Council, Lane Regional Air Pollution Agency, Lane County Local Government Boundary Commission, and Lane Council of Governments were other regional groups the council should discuss. Mr. Kelly added the Region 2050 Steering Committee to the list of regional groups. 3. Priority Issues Update~Action Planning City Manager Taylor provided the update. He said that he intended to create multi-department teams for each of the council's eight priority issues. Each executive had taken one of the issues as part of his or her portfolio and would lead the effort. Each team would prepare a draft action plan based on the council's brainstorm at the February retreat. The plans would have a three- to five-year planning horizon. City Manager Taylor said that he would return with the plans in a series of work sessions. He believed that some of the plans would be relatively easy and ready to go fairly quickly. Other plans, such as "launching a neighborhood initiative" and "developing a strategy to help the homeless," were more complicated would take longer to complete. City Manager Taylor called the council's attention to Attachment D in the meeting packet, which was a template for the action plans. He anticipated that the action plans would be developed by the end of the summer, and the council would review them throughout the fall. He said the action plans would form the basis for future budget decision packages. Mr. Kelly expressed appreciation for the template. However, he was very disappointed by the time line proposed by the City Manager. He said the council had held its goal-setting session 1-1/2 months earlier, and it would be six months after that discussion occurred before the council would see the draft action plans. He acknowledged that some plans would be more complicated, but it was his expectation that the council would see initial steps on all the goals by June 2005. City Manager Taylor suggested that the time line would be affected by the amount of time the council spent on each plan. He believed that even if the review began in July, the effort would extend into the fall. Mr. Pap6 concurred with the remarks of Mr. Kelly. He suggested the council hold extra work sessions if it was necessary to get through the review more quickly. City Manager Taylor said the neighborhood initiative would be complex and take some time. He anticipated the discussion on a new city hall would also be complex but would not take so long due to the work that had already been done. The hospital goal was in process and there would be probably be some results to point to in the summer. The police review question would move fairly quickly after the public process occurred, but it would take the council some time to work through all the related issues. The arts and outdoors goal would MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 8 Process Session be easier to achieve than the neighborhood initiative. Fire Station 9 would largely be a matter of when the council wanted to move forward. The homeless issue was the most complex and would take the longest amount of time. City Manager Taylor said some plans could come forward sooner than later, but it would be problematic to try to get them all to the council before fall. Ms. Ortiz acknowledged that the needed staff work would take time. However, she was concerned about the homeless issue and indicated she would be willing to fast track that issue and hold more meetings in order to be prepared to act in time for the following winter and offer the community something tangible, such as the homeless camp the City once operated. City Manager Taylor reminded the council that the budget was based on current service levels and all the ideas that came from the action plans were likely to be implemented in the next fiscal year. Ms. Bettman agreed with Ms. Ortiz about the need to address the homeless issue before the next winter. She noted that her highest priority was the neighborhood initiative. She expressed concern that staff was currently working on policy initiatives, such as the downtown housing policy and mixed-use center, that were related to the work the council would do later on the action plans. She believed it was inefficient for the policy direction from the council to come after the development of those initiatives. She questioned how anything could take precedence over a unanimous council vote and asked if she needed to request a work session on each goal. Ms. Taylor believed that the neighborhood initiative should permeate everything the City did. In regard to the issue ofhomelessness, Ms. Taylor said the City was not going to solve the problem. She believed it was a statewide issue rather than a local issue, and suggested that it be referred to the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations so lobbying could begin at the State Legislature. Mr. Kelly acknowledged the complexities of some of the goals but emphasized that some, like the city hall question, were already in process. He did not want to wait for fall for an action plan on that goal. He hoped the manager took to heart the comments of the council. He believed the council would be prepared for the required work. He suggested that City Manager Taylor consider whether some of the action plans could be developed in phases, with an emphasis on the short term. He expressed concern that the projection of the time needed to complete the plans was due to staff's attempting to flesh out the plans too much. Mr. Kelly said that there were a lot of expectations in the community about the council's goals and that people were excited that the council was united on eight priorities. He said that residents will want to hear about progress. Mr. Pryor recalled the business adage that one could have something done fast, cheap, or right, pick any two; in this case, the council wanted to do the action plans right. He realized that both human and financial resources were a key issue. Mr. Pryor agreed there was some '%w-hanging fruit" involved and encouraged staff to pursue those plans. In other cases, the plans would be more complex, and in order to get the plans fast the council would have to be willing to divert resources to support their development. He said the council may have to be more involved, and he was willing to spend the needed time. However, he acknowledged the staff commitment needed and the fact staff needed to maintain day-to-day operations. Mr. Pryor relied on City Manager Taylor and the executive managers to be able to say if a task was not possible and identify what could be accomplished. MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 9 Process Session Mayor Piercy believed the council needed be able to demonstrate it was making progress on its goals. She suggested there were interrelationships among the goals that meant staff could work on them simultaneously. She cited the construction of a new city hall as a means of forwarding the neighborhood initiative. Mr. Pap6 suggested that the council could put off items like the River Avenue improvements to the following year to give staff more time to work on the council's goals. City Manager Taylor summarized the discussion, saying the council wanted the plans faster, wanted them segmented into phases, and wanted to schedule additional work sessions to get the plans done. He would return with a proposal that addressed the council's comments. Mayor Piercy recognized Mr. Poling, who raised a process issue related to the use of the three-minute timer. He recalled that the council agreed not to use the timer's buzzer to signify when their time to speak was up for a trial period. He said that most councilors were paying attention to the time, but others were not. He suggested it was time to bring back the buzzer. Councilors briefly discussed the issue without resolution. Mr. Poling wanted to discuss the issue again prior to the September process session. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2005 Page 10 Process Session