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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 02/11/98 Work Session MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall February 11, 1998 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Pat Farr, Ken Tollenaar, Nancy Nathanson, Tim Laue Scott Meisner, Laurie Swanson Gribskov, Bobby Lee, Betty Taylor, I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m. II. ACTION ITEMS A. Selection of Facilitator for City Manager Evaluation Mr. Tollenaar referred the council to the responses received to the council's request for proposals (RFP) for a consultant to facilitate the City Manager's evaluation. He reviewed his reference contacts for the two individuals who responded to the RFP. Mr. Tollenaar moved, seconded by Mr. Farr, to accept the proposal from David Corey. Responding to a concern expressed by Ms. Swanson Gribskov about the size of the pool responding to the RFP, the need for reference checks, the use of a consultant from the community as opposed to outside the community, Mr. Tollenaar read a letter outlining the proposed candidate's experience in such assessments. Ms. Swanson Gribskov indicated support for the motion and reminded the council that the time line could be extended if necessary. She expressed concern that the facilitator's written report would be released eleven days prior to the evaluation. Ms. Taylor did not favor the use of a facilitator and did not think one was needed. She did not want to spend the money or take the time required for such a process. She suggested that instead, the council exchange written evaluations. In response to Ms. Swanson Gribskov's remarks, Ms. Taylor did not see anything wrong with the community receiving the consultant's report before the evaluation. Ms. Taylor moved, seconded by Mr. Meisner, that no facilitator be employed for the City Manager evaluation. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 1998 Page 1 11:30 a.m. Mr. Meisner said he had anticipated that a facilitator, if hired, would assist the council in integrating the various reports it requested and its evaluations. He said that the RFP did not call for such an approach and it was written quite rigidly. He had thought the consultant would facilitate the council's discussion, not compile summaries. Ms. Swanson Gribskov believed it would benefit the council to hire a consultant. However, she said, Mr. Meisner had made several good points about the process. She suggested that the council could give the officers more direction on the process that it really wanted. She said that the RFP was a starting point for that process. Mr. Tollenaar said that Mr. Meisner made a good point. He agreed that the RFP was too narrow. He believed that the proposed consultant could do what Mr. Meisner wanted to see occur. He agreed that the time frame could be adjusted if necessary. Roll call; the motion to not hire a facilitator was defeated, 6:2; Mr. Meisner and Ms. Taylor voting yes. Mr. Lee said that the motion represented a first step in the process and he would support it. Ms. Taylor opposed the motion, reiterating that the council should save money and do the evaluation without the aid of a facilitator. Roll call; the motion to employ David Corey as facilitator passed, 6:2; Ms. Taylor and Mr. Meisner voting no. City Attorney Glenn Klein recommended that the council take action on the amount of the contract. Mr. Tollenaar said that there were two contract amounts, one based on a scope of work that included interviews with the division managers, and one that did not include those interviews. The scope of work including the interviews was estimated to cost approximately $8,500. Mr. Tollenaar moved, seconded by Mr. Fart, to authorize the council officers to approve a contract with David Corey not to exceed $8,500. Ms. Swanson Gribskov suggested that the officers discuss the scope of the evaluation with the consultant and the council avoid setting a cap at this time. Ms. Nathanson wanted to give the officers flexibility in determining the most workable process but believed establishing a cap at this time was appropriate. Mr. Tollenaar anticipated that the council officers would meet with Mr. Corey to discuss the process timing and methodology and return to the council with a final recommendation. Ms. Taylor said that the council should establish a cap at the lower amount and not interview the division managers. She asked if the council would have a chance to decide the question of whether those interviews would occur at a later time. Roll call; the motion passed, 7:1; Ms. Taylor voting no. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 1998 Page 2 11:30 a.m. Mr. Torrey asked Ms. Elmer if she anticipated that she would hire any one to fill a department head level position in the interim before the review. Ms. Elmer indicated that it was possible she would hire an Assistant City Manager. Mr. Torrey asked Ms. Elmer to put off that decision. Lauren Chouinard, Director of Human Resource and Risk Services, indicated that there was a possibility that the successful candidate would not be willing to commit to the position and the organization would lose the opportunity to hire him. Ms. Elmer said that the candidate was the consensus selection of the executive managers and she did not want to lose him. She added that the organization went through an extensive selection process. Mr. Torrey said he did not feel that it would be appropriate for the candidate to be hired at this point given the level of discussion occurring around the evaluation. Ms. Elmer responded that the candidate was very interested in meeting with the council and mayor. She said that he had expressed concerns about the stability of the organization and his tenure. Responding to a question from Mr. Torrey regarding the legal ramifications of meeting with the candidate, Mr. Klein said that if the purpose of the meeting was the issue; if the candidate was seeking an opportunity to question the council, no charter issue was involved. If the council wanted to give the manager feedback on the candidate, it could do so in open session, but could not attempt to influence the manager in her decision. Ms. Swanson Gribskov appreciated Mr. Torrey's concerns but pointed out that a very deliberate recruitment process had occurred to find a successful candidate. She endorsed the concept of having the candidate meet the council, but said that if the executives supported the candidate she did not want to stop the process. Ms. Taylor said that the manager should be allowed to do her job, and a routine evaluation should not be turned into an opportunity for firing the manager. Responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Klein said that the council could discuss any matters pertaining to City affairs, including personnel, in open session. He said that the council should take care to avoid giving the manager feedback about the candidate in any setting other than open session. Mr. Tollenaar said that Mr. Torrey's suggestion deserved serious consideration by the manager. Mr. Lee said that the individual involved must be fully aware of current situation. He pointed out that no one had forced the individual to apply for this job. Mr. Farr asked how staff kept the candidate informed of the situation involving the manager's evaluation. Mr. Chouinard said that he kept in constant contact with the candidate through telephone calls, newspaper articles, and letters to the editor. At the request of Ms. Swanson Gribskov, Mr. Chouinard described the recruitment process for the assistant city manager position. Ms. Elmer indicated her understanding of Mr. Torrey's request. III. NONACTION ITEMS MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 1998 Page 3 11:30 a.m. A. Continued Work Session: West Eugene Wetlands Plan Jan Childs, Planning and Development Department, provided the staff presentation. She said that the council had been contacted about a proposal from the Board of County Commissioners to hold an initial public hearing on the policy ordinance related to the West Eugene Wetlands Plan (WEWP) before considering the site-specific plan amendments. In those contacts, a majority of the council had indicated its acceptance of the proposal. Ms. Childs said that Commissioner Steve Cornacchia had asked several questions related to the criteria and followed up his questions with a letter suggesting several changes to the plan policy. Ms. Taylor asked why the Board of County Commissioners should be able to change the process, and when people would have an opportunity to comment about the Hyundai site. Ms. Elmer said that the board had offered the proposal, and she considered it of sufficient merit to bring to the council. Ms. Elmer said that the actual scheduling was an administrative decision. She believed it was a better approach because it meant that the council and board would have up-front agreement on the criteria. In response to a question from Ms. Taylor, Ms. Childs reminded the council that Hyundai could apply for a 404 fill permit from the Army Corps of Engineers at any time. Hyundai has indicated it wanted to work through the local process, and she did not anticipate the company would apply for a 404 permit during the planning process. Ms. Elmer said that the specific site amendments could not be considered until agreement was reached about the policy ordinance. Ms. Taylor asked if the City could amend the plan without County concurrence. Mr. Klein responded that the plan was a joint City-County effort, and would be in place unless the City could persuade the County to repeal the plan. He said that the plan was acknowledged by the State. Ms. Nathanson said that the revised process design made sense to her and seemed consistent with other City processes. Mr. Meisner said that he favored the proposal to divide the hearings. He said that the City needed to remind people that the policy changes must proceed the site amendments. Mr. Lee was concerned about the level of understanding in the community regarding the difference between the ordinances. He said that the process needed to address that and ensure that people did not think the City was trying to hide something. Mr. Torrey suggested that the staff address the issue in its introduction of the item, and attempt to explain the potential impact of the policy on certain sites. Ms. Childs said that staff could provide a description of relationship between policy decision and wetland designation. She believed Mr. Cornacchia's letter would provoke considerable testimony from those who might not have previously considered the relationship between the policy language and its application to specific sites. She said that the inclusion of specific recommendations for change will help focus that discussion. Ms. Childs said that word about the separation of the hearings and the importance of MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 1998 Page 4 11:30 a.m. the policy components had gotten out through notice on the Internet from the Citizens for Public Accountability. Ms. Nathanson concurred with Mr. Torrey's suggestion that staff identify specific impacts. Ms. Taylor asked if Neil Bj~rklund of Planning and Development Department had provided feedback on the letter from Mr. Cornacchia. She maintained that Steve Gordon of LC©G was not an expert on wetlands. Ms. Elmer indicated that staff would analyze Mr. Cornacchia's letter. Ms. Childs anticipated other specific changes to the criteria would be suggested at the hearing, and staff would provide analysis of all changes related to all proposed amendments. Mr. Laue asked what would occur if the elected officials could not agree on the criteria. Ms. Childs responded that the existing plan criteria would be used to evaluate the sites. Mr. Meisner asked if the City had ever approached the County about eliminating the County from the planning process. Ms. Childs said no, because the wetlands plan was focused on wetlands systems, which did not recognize artificial jurisdictional boundaries. Mr. Meisner asked how much area covered by the plan was outside the city. Ms. Childs said that she would provide that information at the meeting with the board. Mr. Tollenaar asked if the site designations would change if the existing plan criteria were used. Ms. Childs said no; the proposed amendments were intended to clarify the criteria and make them easier for the public to use. She noted that the amendments proposed by Mr. Cornacchia went beyond that scope. Ms. Childs reviewed the format for the February 18 meeting. The council discussed a proposal by the board to give those wishing to offer testimony five minutes because of the complexity of the issues involved. The council agreed that speakers would be given no less than three minutes and possibly up to five minutes to testify, depending on the number of people in attendance. Ms. Childs reviewed a new recommended policy establishing planned transportation corridors through protected wetlands. She said that, at the request of the Board of County Commissioners, she had presented the policy to the County's Roads Advisory Committee. The committee expressed concern that the plan limited application of designation to projects that were currently existing in TransPlan. She intended to research the intent of the policy. Ms. Childs reviewed a new recommended policy establishing underground utility corridors through protected wetlands. Ms. Childs urged the council to read Mr. Cornacchia's letter carefully and compare the recommendations to the planning commissions' recommendations in preparation for discussion the following week. She said that Mr. Cornacchia's letter stated his concern about the need for balance between protection and development in west Eugene, and the application of the criteria and its cumulative effect on the supply of campus industrially zoned land. Ms. Childs said that Mr. Cornacchia suggested alternative language as a starting point for discussion. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 1998 Page 5 11:30 a.m. Ms. Childs said that the distributed material contained an agreement signed by Hyundai and the City of Eugene calling for Hyundai to fund an independent analysis of new information submitted at the hearing. The Lane Council of Governments would complete the analysis. Ms. Elmer said that the contract included funding for LC©G to contract with outside experts to evaluate conflicting testimony. Responding to a question from Mr. Lee, Ms. Childs confirmed that Mr. Cornacchia was concerned that there were more protection criteria than development criteria. He offered specific suggestions for new development criteria. Ms. Childs said that there were originally eight protection criteria and five development criteria in the plan; staff recommended an additional criteria for both categories calling for balance and examination of each site's unique characteristics. Ms. Nathanson asked if the site amendments were being proposed because of new information and site delineations. Ms. Childs said yes. Some sites were designated in 1992 using an off-site delineation method. Lane County had asked the City to conduct on-site delineations of those properties and that was done to the extent possible. In addition, the National Wetlands Inventory Map was updated and revised between the initial inventory and plan adoption, and the regulatory agencies directed Eugene to bring new sites identified on the map into the inventory. She said that some sites were simply overlooked by the City's consultant, and the Division of State Lands requested that the City revisit a couple of other sites. Mr. Torrey reminded the council that the policy issue and criteria were not quasi judicial issues and the council could discuss them with anyone, but specific sites amendments were quasi judicial and could not be discussed. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 1998 Page 6 11:30 a.m. B. Report From Council Committees Ms. Nathanson updated the council on the work of the Council Committee on Organizational Change. She said that the committee had done outreach with the neighborhood leaders, the Citizen Involvement Committee, various advisory committee members, and those involved in civic activities independent of city government. She said that the committee was now determining how to collect information from those not involved in City government. She anticipated that the committee would examine staff proposals on how to make connections with citizens. Ms. Nathanson said that if any expenditure of money was required, the committee would return to the council to seek approval. Responding to a question from Ms. Swanson Gribskov regarding the participation of the Citizen Involvement Committee (CIC), Ms. Nathanson said that the CIC would review the information the committee received and compile a report. She added that the committee had also asked staff to investigate approaches used successfully in other areas and to take advantage of that information. Mr. Fart reviewed the accomplishments of the Council Committee on Homelessness and Youth. He discussed the committee's outreach efforts as it worked on the issue of homeless youth and said that the committee was attempting to identify the City's role in the service delivery system. Mr. Fart said that targeted recreational opportunities such as basketball, volleyball, and pool were under discussion, as well as partnerships with other jurisdictions and the schools. Mr. Fart said that Eugene Service Station wished to expand its hours to seven days each week, and had received a large contribution that would help them achieve that. He anticipated he would bring a contingency fund request to the council to support the expanded hours. Mr. Fart said that the CCHY would review the camping ordinances and make a recommendation to the council for follow-up when the ordinances expired. Mr. Farr said that information about existing services would be placed on the Internet by an interagency that included participation by the City of Eugene to give residents information about available social services that they might not be aware of. He requested that the council consider a Contingency Fund request of $6,000 to support that effort. The council indicated a willingness to consider such a request. Mr. Meisner expressed hope that other jurisdictions were involved in the efforts discussed by Mr. Fart. He said that he did not want to be the only governmental source of funding for the expanded hours for the Eugene Service Station. Funding such efforts created a false sense of security for such agencies because the City could not sustain the funding in the future. Mr. Fart concurred. Ms. Nathanson said that she was glad the Library was involved in the Internet site described by Mr. Fart. She said that she had believed for some time a centralized site was needed to provide information on current local demographics, etc. for the purpose of grant writing, and indicated she would like to piggyback on the concept discussed by Mr. Farr by suggesting it be expanded beyond a description of local service providers to include information currently in the public domain. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 1998 Page 7 11:30 a.m. Mr. Farr said that the committee would provide input to the council as the project moves forward about what was working and not working for use as a model for Ms. Nathanson's proposal. Mr. Tollenaar said that the Council Committee on Finance had debriefed the council meeting at which its recommendations were discussed. The committee agreed that the City needed to develop a multi-year financial strategy addressing outstanding needs. Mr. Tollenaar said that did not preclude the council going to the voters in September or November but the committee was now contemplating a broader time frame. At its next meeting on February 18, the committee would identify projects and programs to recommend to the council at its February 25 meeting; the committee would then review various revenue sources and make a recommendation to the council on that issue in March. Mr. Tollenaar anticipated that the proposal would address community policing, parks, library, capital maintenance, and road maintenance. Mr. Tollenaar reported that the committee heard a presentation on urban renewal and selected an option to recommend to the full council. The council would consider that recommendation on February 23. Mr. Meisner said that the Council Committee on Infrastructure and Planning Services had heard a similar presentation regarding urban renewal with slightly different revenue figures. He said that it appeared the bonding available for a new library was not $16 million but instead $13 million to $15 million. He said that the committee chose not to make a recommendation on any of the options, but members stated positions that would be available in written form to all councilors prior to the discussion. Mr. Meisner said that the committee continued to address other issues referred to it by staff. Ms. Taylor said that the committee structure was not working. She said that issues should be considered by the entire council at the same meeting. She said that staff was being overused because of the process. Mr. Laue said that the Council Committee on Public Safety continued to discuss public safety issues that it had been discussing for five years. He did not sense a willingness on the council to do much more than talk. He said that the committee structure was difficult when there was no specific charge from the council or specific time line for action. Mr. Laue said that it was his understanding that the committees were intended to advise the City Manager, but the manager did not attend the meetings. Mr. Fart said that both Ms. Taylor and Mr. Laue had good points, but he did not think that the council would have been able to address the level of detail that the Council Committee on Homelessness and Youth had been able to reach. Ms. Elmer said that review of the council committee structure was tentatively scheduled for March. She added that she had not anticipated attending all the committee meetings but had provided direction to the process through staff. Mr. Torrey invited all councilors to attend the Asian Celebration. Mr. Torrey raised the issue of the need for police in schools in North Eugene. Ms. Elmer said she would investigate the possibility of assigning officers to schools in the area. MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 1998 Page 8 11:30 a.m. IV. ITEMS FROM THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Responding to a question from Mr. Lee, Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department Director Jim Johnson explained that the dollars in the senior center trust fund were raised for capital equipment purchases for the two buildings, not for operations. Mr. Johnson said that it would be a violation of council policy to use the money to fund staff. He added that the employee who lost her job at the senior center as a result of the Ballot Measure 47/50 reductions had indicated her unwillingness to use the funds to reinstate her position. Mr. Lee thanked citizens who had expressed their concerns about the employee to the council. The meeting adjourned at 1:38 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Vicki Elmer City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council February 11, 1998 Page 9 11:30 a.m.