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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MInutes - 03/13/99 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council Special Work Session Eugene Water & Electric Board Training Room--500 East 4th Avenue March 13, 1999 9:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Scott Meisner, Nancy Nathanson, Pat Fart, Bobby Lee, Betty Taylor, Gary Rayor, David Kelly, Gary Pap~. As Mayor James D. Torrey had not yet arrived, Mr. Meisner convened the special work session of the City Council at 9:30 a.m. 1999-2000 CITY COUNCIL GOALS PROCESS 1. Introductions Margot Helphand acted as facilitator for the meeting. Those present introduced themselves. 2. Purpose and Scope of Goals Ms. Helphand summarized the results of her interviews with the council. She said that the councilors indicated they: 1) wanted a goals process that resulted in agreement on the large specific "deliverables" and major accomplishments; 2) wanted goals that guided the council's actions rather than limited them; 3) wanted a process that focused the council on the City's discretionary resources; 4) wanted the goals to be real and in the forefront of the council's thinking; and 5) wanted to use the past goals process as a springboard for the current process. Ms. Helphand asked the council to comment on her summary. Ms. Taylor believed it was okay for the council to have a lot of goals. Ms. Nathanson suggested that the council might wish to focus on a few goals that were achievable within a defined time period. Regarding the third point in Ms. Helphand's summary, Ms. Nathanson believed that it was impossible for the council to control 100 percent of its discretionary resources because of unexpected issues that arise. She was unsure how the council determined how to address such situations. Mr. Kelly believed that the council could focus on broad, visionary goals and identify specific actions under each goal that were steps toward reaching the vision the goal represented. Responding to a question from Mr. Kelly, City Manager Jim Johnson said that the council's discretionary resources were not merely financial in nature. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 1999 Page 1 9:30 a.m. Mr. Fart believed the council spent too much time reacting to issues rather than planning for them. He hoped the council bore that in mind as it considered its goals. City Manager Jim Johnson assured the council that the process was wide open and staff did not intend to limit the council's options. He indicated the executive managers would not be participating in the discussion but would serve as a resource to the council. 3. Goal Development Ms. Helphand presented a suggested framework for the process. The council indicated acceptance of the process. The council first considered its Vision: Eugene is a beautiful place to live and work and a regional economic and cultural center. We prize our healthy, attractive living environment and vital, safe neighborhoods. We respect the perspectives and lifestyles of our active and diverse citizenry. We strive to provide sound government and to deliver efficient, effective services. There was general support for the vision statement. The council brainstormed suggestions for revisions to the vision statement and agreed to the need to keep the vision statement at a high level as opposed to being overly specific. The council discussed adding the modifiers sound, accessible, and responsive to the last sentence, and incorporating the concepts of affordability, a well-rounded citizenry, and the homeless as residents into the vision statement. The council agreed to revise the first sentence in the statement by adding "educational" after "economic." Mayor Torrey arrived at 10:20 a.m. Mr. Meisner and Ms. Nathanson volunteered to revise the mission statement to reflect the council's suggestions. At the suggestion of Mr. Kelly, the council brainstormed new goals and agreed to categorize them as appropriate at a later point. Mr. Kelly: An adequate, equitable revenue stream Mr. Rayor. Environmentally sensitive development Mr. Fart. Affordable housing and a rejuvenated downtown Mr. Lee: A stable City organization Ms. Nathanson: Development of an action plan with the City's intergovernmental partners around certain topics, such as the criminal justice system Mr. Pap~: More clarity and efficiency in planning services and the Permit and Information Center MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 1999 Page 2 9:30 a.m. Ms. Taylor. A healthy downtown; sustainability; elimination of jealousy among all areas of the city (neighborhoods); neighborhood protection; respect for all opinions; carefully deliberated decision process Mr. Torrey: Broader commitment to community wide involvement in City issues--not just activists from either side of an issue Mr. Kelly said that while he did not want to offer it as a goal, he was interested in adding to the "issues bin" a study of the City Charter, specifically council/mayor compensation. The council took a brief break at 10:43 a.m. and reconvened at 10:58 p.m. The council reviewed its existing goal statements and outcomes and brainstormed additional ideas. Community Safety: A safe community where people feel secure and respected. Mr. Fart indicated satisfaction with the wording of the goal as long as there was mutual understanding that the topic went beyond the Police Department. Mr. Rayor suggested as an outcome that laws were enforced. Well-Managed Community Growth and Change: A community that successfully retains a high quality of life and a healthy economy while planning for anticipated growth. Ms. Nathanson said that the goal should mention administering or managing as well as planning. She also wanted to incorporate the transportation system in the goal. There was general concurrence. The council also agreed to a suggestion from Mr. Rayor to delete "anticipated" from the statement. The council also accepted a suggestion from Ms. Nathanson that the sentence read "...planning for and managing growth and change." Mr. Rayor suggested that the goal "Environmentally Sensitive Transportation System" be incorporated into the goal regarding community growth and change. Mr. Kelly believed it could exist both as a separate goal and part of the first goal. Mr. Meisner believed that at most levels, the subject of transportation was not separable from growth and change. Mr. Meisner suggested that the goal be revised to read "Sustainable Community Growth and Change." Mr. Kelly endorsed the suggestion. He said that a community could grow and still be sustainable. Mr. Torrey proposed that the council first define the word "sustainable" and determine what was acceptable or not acceptable based on that definition. Mr. Kelly suggested that the word could be used in the goal title and subsequently defined by the outcomes. Mr. Fart indicated he could accept the word if the council reached a consensus on its definition. Ms. Nathanson expressed concern that the word was too much of a "hot button" for some people. Mr. Johnson said that if the council choose to use "sustainable" it needed to reach a common definition of the word. He said that it meant different things to different people. Planning and Development Department Director Paul Farmer agreed with Ms. Nathanson that the word could be a "hot button" and suggested that it might be productive if the council put MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 1999 Page 3 9:30 a.m. together a small group of people to reach agreement on the meaning of sustainability. He said that staff could provide the council with some background materials to inform that discussion. Mr. Pap6 said he did not want to change the goal until the council had that discussion. Mr. Kelly defined "sustainable" Eugene as a city that was in as good or better shape in 50 to 100 years as it was now. The council took a straw vote in response to Ms. Helphand's asking if it wanted to leave "well- managed" in the goals until it could have further discussion of the term "sustainable." Ms. Nathanson, Mr. Farr, and Mr. Pape indicated support for retaining "well-managed." The council majority agreed to revise the goal at this time and to have further discussion about the meaning of the word "sustainable" at a future meeting. Responding to a comment from Human Resource and Risk Services Director Mr. Chouinard about the mixture of value words and topic headings in the goals, the council discussed the use of value words in the goals and agreed that it was appropriate to include such words in the goal statements. Environmentally Sensitive Transportation System: A safe, efficient, and balanced multi- modal transportation system that is responsive to all users' needs. The council agreed to incorporate this goal as an outcome under the previous goal, "Well- Managed Community Growth and Change." Healthy Natural and Built Environment: A beautiful and healthy place to live. Mr. Kelly did not believe the goal statement clarified the goal. Ms. Nathanson wanted the statement to acknowledge the natural beauty of the community because of its importance to many residents. Mr. Meisner said he believed the goal spoke to a community that was continually trying to both preserve and add value, or enhance, both the natural and built environment. Mr. Rayor proposed, and the council agreed, that the goal statement would read: "A community that both conserves and enhances the natural environment and provides an attractive and healthy place to live." Culture and Recreation: Opportunities for positive cultural, recreational, and educational development and enrichment for all citizens. The council revised the goal statement as follows: 'A community that offers opportunities for positive cultural recreational and educational development and involvement for all community members." Good Governance: A stable, open, effective, accountable municipal government that citizens respect and support. Mr. Torrey wanted to incorporate the concept of financial stability into the goal statement. Mr. Rayor wanted to incorporate the concept of fair, equitable laws into the goal statement. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 1999 Page 4 9:30 a.m. Mr. Johnson suggested that financial stability was likely a goal in itself. Mr. Torrey and Mr. Kelly agreed. The council agreed to add the following goal: "Finance: Fair, stable, and adequate financial resources." Mr. Lee questioned how the council could address the human resource element of the organization in the goal. Ms. Nathanson said that the concept of efficiency and good value for the tax dollar was a concept that needed to be incorporated into the goal. Mr. Kelly suggested that the concept was appropriately included under both the Good Governance and Finance goals. Mr. Meisner said that several outcomes could appropriately be listed under both goals. Administrative Services Department Director Warren Wong suggested that Ms. Nathanson's statement was related to the rationalization of the service system and the tax system in the metropolitan area. Ms. Nathanson concurred. The council agreed with a suggestion from Mr. Farr that coordination with other governments was a strategy that should be listed under each goal. The council tentatively agreed to the following revised goal statement for Good Governance: "Open, effective, accountable government that the community supports." The council took a break between 12:05 p.m. and reconvened at 12:35 p.m. Ms. Helphand asked the councilors if they had any other goals or outcomes to suggest. Ms. Taylor suggested adding a healthy downtown and protection of neighborhoods as goals. Mr. Kelly believed that the two items were not goals but were rather outcomes. Mr. Farr believed that a healthy downtown fit under several goals. Mr. Lee said that the impact of the Endangered Species Act could be incorporated into goal 4. Mr. Pap8 suggested that a new City Hall might rise to the level of a goal. Mr. Meisner believed that a new City Hall could be included in a new comprehensive Downtown Plan, which could be an outcome. He reminded the council that it would continue to be responsible for ongoing activities and was now discussing adding new work plan items on top of its ongoing work load. Mr. Farr emphasized the importance of affordable housing as a goal. He wanted the community to be a place where children could grow up and continue to live as adults. Ms. Helphand asked the council to evaluate, on a scale of 1-5, its satisfaction with the six goals. The council indicated support at level 3 and level 4. Ms. Helphand asked the council to discuss its action priorities. She suggested the following criteria for action priorities: 1) the action priority was important to the community; 2) the action priority was within the mission and scope of the City; 3) the action priority was achievable; 4) the MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 1999 Page 5 9:30 a.m. action priority was both financially and politically feasible; the action priority had a broad, citywide impact; and 5) more than a majority of the council was committed to the action priority. The council concurred with the criteria. Ms. Helphand distributed post-it notes upon which the councilors listed their action priorities and attached them to a wall of the meeting room for all to review, under the goal to which they felt it applied. The council took a brief break at 1:55 p.m. and reconvened at 2 p.m. The council reviewed the action priorities and moved a few to different goals. The council combined and revised several of the priorities. Councilors acknowledged that several priorities might fit in more than one goal area. The council reviewed the action priorities to determine if any were more appropriately categorized as goals. The executive managers reviewed the action priorities and Mr. Johnson summarized the managers' responses. Mr. Johnson suggested Emergency Preparedness as a goal area. The council concurred. Mr. Farr and Mr. Lee indicated their belief that youth issues should be a separate goal area. Mr. Kelly expressed concern about increasing the number of goals. Mr. Lee said he wanted to recognize the high priority of youth issues and send a message to the community that the council took youth issues very seriously. Mr. Meisner indicated his concurrence with Mr. Kelly. He said that the he wanted to avoid making a statement that implied the City had the responsibility for youth-related issues. He noted the relationship of many of the goal areas to youth issues and stressed the need for a cooperative approach with the school districts and youth service providers. Mr. Farr observed that the community survey indicated youth issues were a high priority for the community. The council took a straw poll on whether to add Youth Issues as a goal area. Mr. Lee, Mr. Farr, and Mr. Pap8 indicated support. Mr. Johnson asked the council to consider if it wished to add a goal related to capital infrastructure and more specifically, City facilities and City Hall. Mr. Meisner said that the council was discussing a two-year plan, and a new City Hall was not on his list of priorities for that period. Ms. Nathanson said it was important that the City Council begin to have that discussion within a two-year period. Mr. Kelly agreed the issue was important, and suggested that as the council began to make progress on its financial goal it could revisit the issue. Mr. Lee concurred with Ms. Nathanson. Mr. Pap8 also agreed with Ms. Nathanson, and said that the issue was also related to efficient service delivery. Mr. Torrey said he wanted to discuss the subject. He believed that there might be some future joint opportunities with other units of government to develop a government center and some revenues that could be realized from the sale of existing City facilities. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 1999 Page 6 9:30 a.m. Ms. Andersen emphasized the need to plan for opportunities that might arise. She said that the City needed to ensure that the data it currently had regarding City space needs was comprehensive and current. Mr. Meisner said that he did not want the City to do another study of facilities. Mr. Kelly said that he was concerned about the relative level of effort spent on such a study, and wanted to ensure that the information was collated to a degree sufficient to give the council context for a discussion if an opportunity arose. Ms. Andersen said that staff would revisit existing studies to ensure the assumptions behind them were valid. She said that currently staff did not have a comprehensive picture of the existing situation. Mr. Torrey raised the issue of the River Road/Santa Clara area and asked if it was addressed by the goals. He said that it was important that the City be actively involved with the County and residents on issues related to the area. Ms. Nathanson shared his concern. The council briefly returned to a discussion of the phrase "sustainable community growth and change." Mr. Farmer said that the council could consider antonyms to the word to discover an alternative, such as "wise community growth and change," "intelligent community growth and change," or "smart growth and change." Mr. Farr suggested "responsible community growth and change." The council took a straw vote on an alternative to sustainable; Mr. PapS, Mr. Farr, and Ms. Nathanson favored "responsible," while other councilors favored "sustainable." The council agreed to include the work on the goal and to revisit the issue at a future work session on the concept of sustainability. 4. Next Steps--Goal Implementation and Monitoring Ms. Helphand reviewed next steps in the goals process. The meeting adjourned at 2:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jim Johnson City Manager (Recorded by KimberlyYoung) MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 13, 1999 Page 7 9:30 a.m.