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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 09/10/03 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council Amazon Community Center--2700 Hilyard Street September 10, 2003 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Gary Pap6, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, Betty Taylor, David Kelly, Bonny Bettman, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling. Mayor Torrey called the process session of the Eugene City Council to order. City Manager Dennis Taylor introduced Greta Utecht, Human Resources Director of Lane County, who was present to facilitate the council process session. Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson, Council and Intergovernmental Relations Manager Mary Walston, and Council Coordinator Lynda Rose were also present for the session. Ms. Utecht called the council's attention to an agenda for the process session: 1. Review of Accomplishments, January - August 2003 2. Consideration of Group Expectations 3. Finalization of Council Operating Agreements 4. Skill-Building: Parliamentary Procedure Ms. Utecht indicated that City Attorney Glenn Klein would be present for Item 4. 1. Review of Accomplishments, January - August 2003 Ms. Utecht referred the council to the list of accomplishments and asked councilors to consider those items and think about the ones that went well. She recorded the council's remarks. Mr. Meisner said that the three items he had chosen all demonstrated some aspect of partnership. They included the hiring of the new city manager, the new library, and the United Front effort. Mr. Pap6 concurred with Mr. Meisner's remarks about hiring the manager and said the process began with the former council identifying the traits of a new manager and building a candidate profile. The council formed a subcommittee that worked with staff and the consultant and made a recommendation to the full council. It was a well-planned process and all the related issues had been worked through successfully, he said. Ms. Nathanson observed that there were about ten things on the list in which she felt she had personal involvement. Having good options from staff or an advisory committee helped the council. When things did not go well, it was often because the council did not consider any options, or had not thought through all the choices. Having good options required staff involvement. Citing the Fern Ridge Path dedication, new library, and federal courthouse, Ms. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 10, 2003 Page 1 Process Session Nathanson said that the council needed to remember that things took time, which was not necessarily a bad thing. She thought that good results took time to achieve. Mr. Poling noted that most of the items on the list were initiated before he joined the council and he did not feel ownership of them. However, he took pride in the fact they were completed after the first of the year and that he also felt obliged to take responsibility for things that had not gone so well after he joined the council. Mayor Torrey stressed the need for diversity and working with each other's strengths. As an example, he cited the Ms. Nathanson's negotiations with the opponents of the East Bank Bicycle Path extension who were now supporters. Mr. Pap6 worked with the owners of apartment complexes who were initially against the path to complete the path. He cited the gas tax, and noted that the council had received very few complaints about it. He credited staff's work as well. Mayor Torrey said that the removal of AgriPac was a positive step in revitalizing downtown Eugene. Ms. Bettman indicated she had nothing to add. Ms. Solomon agreed with Mr. Poling that much of the work that had been done predated her service on the council. She cited the gas tax as an example of something she had worked on and felt that the City had made progress in implementing it. Mr. Kelly had nothing to add. Ms. Taylor cited the domestic partnership registry, the council's opposition to the Patriot Act, the Citizen Charter Review Committee, and the downtown fire station as efforts she had energy around and felt had been successful. She said that citizen involvement had been key to the registry and the council's action on the Patriot Act. Ms. Taylor cited the council's reversal on stream corridor funding and change in approach to uplands sites in the Goal 5 inventory as things that she did not think had gone well. Mayor Torrey believed the council needed to take credit for saving the train between Eugene and Seattle. He thought the actions of the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (CCIGR) and the letters written by individual councilors had an impact. City Manager Taylor said that the entire legislative session was distinguished by the efforts of the CCIGR and City staff throughout the organization. Since the end of the session, individual legislators indicated to him that Eugene did well for itself and its work had benefited other communities. Mr. Kelly noted that from the standpoint of some councilors, nearly everything on the list that the council had done a lot of work on either did not end with the result they wanted, or the process had felt awkward. Ms. Utecht asked Mr. Kelly what would have improved that. Mr. Kelly said that thorough consideration of the underlying facts, as opposed to councilors ~going to their political comers," would have improved the situation. Mr. Pap~ asked him to cite an example. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 10, 2003 Page 2 Process Session Mr. Kelly cited the failure to carry through the funding for Measure 20-67 and the Goal 5 inventory. Mr. Meisner said that better listening would improve the situation. He added that sometimes, the same set of facts will produce a different conclusion. Regarding the CCIGR, Mr. Meisner said that the staff and committee could not have been successful if it had not had council acceptance of the legislative policies document. He said that along with having pride in the council's accomplishments, councilors must "own" those accomplishments, regardless of their personal opinion about the outcome. Ms. Nathanson believed that interdepartmental, interdisciplinary efforts contributed to successful outcomes. Departments brought different approaches and analytical skills to the challenges needing to be solved. 2. Consideration of Group Expectations Ms. Taylor determined from City Manager Taylor that the list of group expectations before the council was prepared by staff. City Manager Taylor emphasized the draft nature of the document. The council reviewed and revised the list. 1. PIP, PIP (Praise in Public, Problems in Private). Ms. Bettman objected to the item as she did not believe that it should even be associated with the council given the public nature of its work. Mr. Kelly agreed, and said that what the item addressed was attacking the person as opposed to attacking the issue. Councilors briefly discussed whether they could talk about their dissatisfaction with staff to those individuals directly or to the manager. Mr. Pap6 cited the City Charter as it related to the role of the council in terms of staff. Mr. Taylor recommended the council try to avoid ad hominem comments and focus on the outcome of the process. He said that staff concerns should be shared with the City Manager. Mayor Torrey suggested that the item translated to having a "better bedside manner." Ms. Taylor wanted a legal opinion about what the council could and could not say to City Manager Taylor about a department head, for example. She did not like the item. Mr. Meisner concurred with Ms. Taylor's request for a legal opinion so there was shared understanding. Ms. Bettman advocated that the item be dropped. She said that councilors were adults and their constituents would judge their efforts. Mr. Meisner agreed. He did not think it would be useful, and pointed out that the council could use Robert's Rules of Order to call for points of personal privilege. The council agreed that the City Manager would seek a legal opinion as requested by Ms. Taylor. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 10, 2003 Page 3 Process Session 2. Treat each other and staff with respect and dignity. Speaking to the item, Mr. Meisner asked that it be revised as the issue went both ways and there were times when he did not feel respected by staff. Ms. Bettman concurred. 3. Practice and use active listening and communication skills, especially in conflict. Mayor Torrey said that people often accused the council of not listening to them because they did not do what they wanted. Mr. Meisner recommended that the council do some common training in active listening. Mr. Kelly suggested that people would feel listened to if the council referred to their remarks and commented on them. Ms. Solomon did not think that the council's meeting format lent itself to that, as time was limited and councilors had to pick and choose issues to which they would respond. However, she was not recommending a change to the meeting format. Ms. Bettman concurred with Ms. Solomon's remarks, saying that the council did not have dialogues. She suggested that if councilors could bank their time, that might help. The current process only allowed enough time for sound bites. Ms. Taylor agreed with Ms. Bettman, and said that frequently councilors misinterpret each other and then the councilor involved could not respond immediately. Mr. Meisner concurred with the remarks of other councilors. He said that he frequently took notes during the discussion and had to go through a filtering process to determine what he would say in the comment time allotted. He was not suggesting changing the meeting format. Mr. Pap6 felt that the council did not discipline itself when it came to talking. Mayor Torrey noted that many bodies do considerable work in subcommittees, but acknowledged that many councilors do not like that approach, which had been attempted in the past. He noted that the TSMF's origin was in a council subcommittee that worked on finance issues. Mayor Torrey suggested that the council could have meetings where it just asked questions on particular issues. Ms. Bettman was not supportive of council committees. Her experience, such as on the Council Committee on Homelessness and Youth, was that the work did not get done because some members did not want to meet. She noted that the Police Commission used a similar format and it worked well, but that it was a group with a different dynamic. 4. Debate ideas and policies, do not make personal attacks. Ms. Utecht noted the similarity of this item to Item 1. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 10, 2003 Page 4 Process Session 5. Use the discussion rounds to discuss issues pertinent to the agenda item. Mr. Poling did not perceive that there was a problem in this area. Sometimes the discussion was repetitive but generally it was relevant. Mr. Kelly agreed. Ms. Rose explained that staff developed the list with the goal of having an organic list that lived on. It included expectations could be an issue in the future even if there was not a problem now. The council took a brief recess. Ms. Utecht asked that the council review the remaining items by exception. 6. Inform fellow councilors in advance of meetings of intended motions. Mr. Kelly endorsed the addition of the item to the council's operating agreements. He recommended that the item be modified with the addition of the phrase "whenever possible." Mr. Pap6 agreed. 8. Support the final decision of the group. Ms. Bettman asked that the word %upport" be defined. Mr. Kelly suggested that word be changed to the phrase "live with." Mr. Meisner shared Ms. Bettman's concern but thought it acceptable for the council to reexamine issues. He said that he had discussed the issue with former councilor Tim Laue, who had frequently dissented at council meetings but did not attempt to undermine the council's decision in the community. Mr. Kelly reiterated that different wording was needed. He asked if the item was suggested because of specific problems. Mr. Meisner did not think so. Ms. Bettman said she did not "buy into the model" before the council. She said that the expectations should be that people show up on time, be ready to work, and respect each other. She said she did not represent the council but rather represented her constituents and the best interest of the public at-large. When she spoke to people, she made the distinction that she was speaking only for herself and offering her perspective. She did not see her job as supporting or representing the council, unless that was a specific assignment. Many of the items on the list did not appear to be applicable in this instance. Mr. Pap6 added that he also expected councilors to respect the clock. Ms. Taylor concurred with the remarks of Ms. Bettman. She said that she would honestly represent the position of the council but did not feel obliged to support something she thought was wrong. She said that the council should follow Robert's Rules of Orders and behave as adults. Ms. Taylor said that the council was not in place to "make nice." Ms. Bettman indicated that "inclusiveness and fairness" should be added. None of the items had been voted on and none were the position of the council. Ms. Utecht anticipated that if there was sufficient council support, the list of expectations would be voted on by the council. MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 10, 2003 Page 5 Process Session Mr. Kelly thought the list generated an interesting discussion but questioned its utility. He asked what it would mean if the council adopted such a list, or if it adopted a list on a split vote. He suggested that the council set aside the list rather than spend more time trying to revise it with the goal of adoption. Ms. Nathanson agreed with Mr. Kelly's remarks. She understood the points made by Ms. Bettman and Ms. Taylor regarding the political nature of the council and the nature of its decisions. She was disappointed by the discussion and somewhat saddened, although she was unsure why. She did not think the discussion was worth more time. She did not feel optimistic that the council wanted to work together; instead, it sat as individuals and voted yes or no for items. Mr. Meisner agreed with the remarks of Ms. Nathanson. He also felt sad that the council was choosing to regard itself as a group of nine competitive individuals with no concept that it was a body. The council did not appear to be inclined to work toward being such a body. While he liked the idea of the list, he did not believe that its adoption would make a difference to the current council, although it might help future councils. To the degree that the council acted as individuals, it invited ad hominem attacks or support for individuals rather than as a body. Mr. Kelly observed that at the last process session, the council discussed one phrase for a considerable time, and he had hope from the council's agreement that it would not place anything in the goals that did not have the support of six of eight councilors. Ms. Bettman said that people have different values. She believed that the process will end with the broadest possible statement that all would interpret their way. The majority would have its way in the end. Ms. Taylor noted that all the councilors agreed on the library, even when there were changes on the council, and all had worked for a new library. She did not see forcing people to agree on details when they had real philosophical differences. Mayor Torrey observed that he found a 6:2 vote to be a "win." He said that the council operated under democratic processes, and councilors would not always get what they wanted. He said that the councilors should take the wins that they could. Ms. Taylor asked how the mayor felt when the vote went against him. Mayor Torrey reminded her of the fact that he had not prevailed in advocating for books for children, but said that he did not dwell on it. Ms. Utecht asked Mr. Taylor to discuss his thoughts on legacies. Mr. Taylor said that the council had goals and objectives in place. He suggested that the council consider three things it would like to accomplish as a group as legacies to the community. He noted that, in many cases, a minority idea becomes the majority idea over time as a community accepts an idea. Ms. Utecht suggested that the council think about how it could respond to Mr. Taylor's suggestion. 3. Finalization of Council Operating Agreements MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 10, 2003 Page 6 Process Session Ms. Walston reviewed the proposed changes to the council's operating agreements. She noted a suggestion from Mr. Poling to reduce the number of councilors needed to get an item on the agenda from five to four. Councilors discussed the concept at length and agreed that four councilors would be sufficient to get an item on the agenda. The council discussed a suggestion from Ms. Nathanson that the council schedule short work session items that gave the sponsor of an item time to explain the idea. Councilors agreed that it was not necessary to use the poll form to explain an item. Mr. Kelly recommended that Section 2.01 be modified with a sentence that read ~The city manager and mayor may then decide to place the item on a future agenda." There was no objection. The council discussed a concern raised by Ms. Nathanson about how a councilor could request that action be postponed in his or her absence. Councilors agreed that the agreements covered the issue but that it was not always clear that the council would take action and better communication was essential. Ms. Bettman referred to Section 1.05, Public Forum, which indicated that people could not speak on an item decided by the Hearings Official, and asked what happened if someone wanted to complain about the outcome of the process. Mayor Torrey said that his practice was to allow people to speak about anything they wanted unless the item was on the evening's agenda. Mr. Kelly asked for a legal opinion. Staff indicated that it would follow up. Councilors discussed a concern raised by Ms. Bettman in regard to Section 9.03 about whether councilors in attendance at conferences or organizations such as the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) should vote in a manner consistent with City positions. Mr. Meisner maintained that councilors should not be able to vote contrary to City positions at National League of Cities or LOC meetings. Ms. Bettman concurred, as did Mr. Kelly. Ms. Walston indicated she would follow up with revised text. Ms. Bettman requested a legal opinion on the issue. 4. Skill-Building: Parliamentary Procedure Mr. Klein joined the council for a brief training on parliamentary procedure. Ms. Solomon left the meeting at 8:40 p.m. Mr. Meisner left the meeting at 8:41 p.m. Mayor Torrey adjourned the process session at 8:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis Taylor City Manager MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 10, 2003 Page 7 Process Session (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 10, 2003 Page 8 Process Session