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Home My WebLink About230719 WSMINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session Eugene, Oregon 97401 July 19, 2023 12:00 p.m. Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Matt Keating, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans, and Randy Groves Councilors Absent: Lyndsie Leech Mayor Vinis opened the July 19, 2023, work session of the Eugene City Council in a virtual format at 101 W 10th Avenue, Eugene OR 97401. 1. WORK SESSION: Police Commission Annual Report and FY 24 and FY 25 Work Plan City Manager Sarah Medary provided a brief introduction and introduced the Police Commission Chair, Dallas Boggs, Vice Chair, Jensina Hawkins and Acting In Capacity Police Commission Analyst, Holly Mathews, who presented the annual report and work plans. Councilor Discussion: • • • • • • • Mayor Vinis -noted the importance of the work the Police Commission does in the community. Councilor Groves -appreciated the focus on mental health issues; noted that providing good service requires good mental health. Councilor Clark -asked for Chief Skinner's thoughts and input on the work plan and report; asked if Chief Skinner has elected to not implement policy suggested by the Police Commission over the last few years. Councilor Zelenka -noted his appreciation to the Police Commission, Chief Skinner, and Eugene Police Department for the work they do; noted that this commission is the opportunity for members of the public to discuss police policies with the officers. Councilor Semple -noted appreciation for the commission members; noted that participation on the Police Commission can be time-consuming; likes the focus on mental health in this report. Councilor Zelenka -noted that previous work plan items are mostly completed, noted that the focus for the current work plan are high priority; supports approving the work plan. Mayor Vinis -asked if items completed were in response to the Ad Hoc Committee on Police Policies; noted that the work for the Ad Hoc Committee is ongoing and the Police Commission is very responsive to the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee; asked if the sub-committee on mental health has developed top items of concern. MOTON: Councilor Groves, seconded by Councilor Keating, moved to approve the Police Commission FY 2024 and FY 2025 Work Plan as presented in Attachment A. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session July 19, 2023 Page 1 VOTE: PASSED 7:0 MOTION: Councilor Groves, seconded by Councilor Keating, move to extend the timeline on the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Committee for two years. VOTE: PASSED 7:0 2. WORK SESSION: Council Operating Agreements City Manager, Sarah Medary, outlined the purpose of the Council Operating Agreements and introduced City Recorder, Katie LaSala, who presented information on the proposed Council Operating Agreement updates. Councilor Discussion: • Mayor Vinis -outlined the format for the discussion; stated that the first round of discussion will be for Councilors to note what they would like to discuss. • Councilor Semple -would like to discuss section 1.02 (Work Sessions) and (2.02) Council Poll. • Councilor Clark -would like to discuss Public Forum (1.05) and Boards and Commissions nomination process. • Councilor Yeh -stated she does not have any specific topics she wants to discuss. • Councilor Groves -would like a discussion about Boards and Commissions. • Councilor Evans -stated he does not have any specific topics he wants to discuss. • Councilor Zelenka -would like to discuss Boards and Commissions, allowing community members to sit on more than one board, commission or committee at one time; noted that Resolutions are treated the same as Work Session Polls. • Councilor Keating -would like to discuss the Boards and Commissions nomination process. • Councilor Semple -asked staff to clarify the proposed change to Wednesday work session length; asked who decides a meeting day and length; asked if length would be decided in advance, asked about the parameters of "as needed"; asked about the timeframe for Council Polls; stated the timeframe for Council Polls cannot be open- ended. • Councilor Clark -would like to address the repetitive nature of several people who speak at Public Forum; indicated an interest in limiting participation in Public Forum to ten times per calendar year. • Councilor Keating -asked if there is a motion on the table; would not support limiting citizen engagement. • Councilor Zelenka -stated his concern regarding repetitive comments at Public Forum; would like the speaker list prioritized for those who have not spoken. • Councilor Groves -is concerned that repetitive testimony could prevent new testimony from being heard; would like a system to manage how many times individuals can speak about the same subject. • Mayor Vinis -stated she does not believe that people have been cut-off from testimony due to time; asked staff to bring back data for how many times people have been turned away from testimony. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session July 19, 2023 Page 2 ■ Councilor Yeh -was not in favor of limiting to 90 minutes of testimony; believes that the changes made have gone well. ■ Councilor Groves -clarified that his concern is not hearing testimony, not the length of the Public Forum; wants as the system to be fair and accessible to all. ■ Councilor Semple -stated her question regarding Work Session Polls was answered. ■ Councilor Clark -asked to clarify the proposed change with respect to timeline; would like Council to have the choice to choose a timeline when submitting a Work Session Poll; would like Council to have input on when a topic is put on the agenda. ■ Councilor Zelenka -noted that the Poll does provide for Council timing preference; would like a set timeline for when a Work Session Poll topic is put on the agenda once approved; asked how to avoid scenarios in which a topic is on the "to be scheduled list" for long periods of time; suggested adding a qualifier to the language to state, "within a reasonable amount of time." ■ Councilor Clark -asked the City Manager to clarify if Council has the ability to make a motion to move an item on the tentative agenda to different date; stated that Council has the authority to vote to change the scheduled agenda. ■ Mayor Vinis -noted that Council leadership has the opportunity to look at items on the agenda and request adjustments. ■ Councilor Zelenka -asked to clarify the number of affirmative votes required for a poll to be approved to go on to the agenda. ■ Councilor Semple -supports keeping the requirement that four affirmative votes would result in approval for the topic to be placed on the agenda. MOTION: Councilor Groves, seconded by Councilor Zelenka, move to direct the City Manager to place on an upcoming consent agenda a resolution adopting the proposed changes to the Council Operating Agreements as outlined in Attachment B. Councilor Discussion: ■ ■ ■ Councilor Zelenka -requested a friendly amendment on the motion to delete the last sentence of 2.02 and have the new last sentence say "if four councilors respond in the affirmative, the item shall be placed on a future Council agenda within a reasonable time." Councilor Semple -is concerned that there is not a set timeline in the language for Work Session Poll topics. Councilor Groves -would prefer to keep the language moved and if the time frame seems excessive, Council has the option to make a motion as they see fit to move the topic forward. MOTION AS AMENDED: Councilor Groves, seconded by Councilor Zelenka, move to direct the City Manager to place on an upcoming consent agenda a resolution adopting the proposed changes to the Council Operating Agreements as outlined in Attachment B and modifying the language of the proposed changes to 2.02 Council Polls to delete the last sentence of the paragraph and replace it with "if four councilors respond in the affirmative, the item shall be placed on a future Council agenda within a reasonable time." VOTE: PASSED 7:0 MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session July 19, 2023 Page 3 Councilor Discussion: • Councilor Keating -asked for a discussion regarding in-person attendance to work sessions and meetings expectations. • Councilor Zelenka -would like future discussion to include number of boards, commissions or committees a citizen can sit on. Mayor Vinis adjourned the meeting at 1:27 p .m. Respectfully submitted, Katie LaSala City Recorder (Recorded by Sara McKinney) Link to the web cast of this City Council meeting here. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session July 19, 2023 Page 4