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Home My WebLink About230927 WSMINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session Eugene, Oregon 97401 September 27, 2023 12:00 p.m. Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Matt Keating, Lyndsie Leech, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Yeh, Mike Clark, Greg Evans, and Randy Groves Mayor Vinis opened the September 27, 2023, work session of the Eugene City Council in a virtual format. 1. WORK SESSION: Operating Agreements and the Boards, Commissions, and Committees Appointment Process City Manager, Sarah Medary, introduced the topic and City Recorder, Katie LaSala, who provided a presentation on Council Operating Agreements and the Boards, Commissions, and Committees appointment process. Councilor Discussion: • • • • • Councilor Zelenka -asked if staff has calculated the average length of forum times; would like staff to provide data that shows the number of forums that have exceeded 60 minutes. Councilor Yeh -asked why the Sustainability Commission has a different appointment process from other boards, commissions and committees; believes the appointment process should align across all boards, commissions, and committees; stated it is difficult to find an appropriate candidate to appoint to Sustainability without a recruitment process. Councilor Clark -believes that the process of Councilor direct appointments has merit; would like Council to consider direct appointment for the Budget Committee and Planning Commission; believes there is more participation from some wards as a result of the message that is sent out to the community. Councilor Semple -noted that the Sustainability Commission has not had a full slate for some time; would prefer that all of Sustainability Commission appointments were at large to achieve a full slate; stated that ward information is on the application details; acknowledged that the memberships are not distributed evenly throughout the City and will never be if Councilors choose to not make the direct appointments. Councilor Zelenka -outlined previous Council appointment process for Sustainability Commission; stated that Councilors could use at large applicants to generate a list of possible appointments. MOTION: Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Keating, move to limit any individual to only one appointed Council Board or Commission at a time, not including liaison positions identified in city code. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session September 27, 2023 Page 1 Councilor Discussion: • Councilor Zelenka -stated that appointing one person to two different seats limits participation; thinks that Council should try to expand participation as much as possible; believes this motion will help maximize the number of citizens involved in boards and commissions. • Councilor Keating -asked to make a friendly amendment to include language to state "not including City Councilors" in the motion; would like the motion to be clear that it would not limit the Mayor and Council's participation in multiple boards and commissions. • Councilor Groves -is concerned that this limitation may limit applications received for boards that do not get a lot of community interest; believes that clarification should be added to the motion to state that it would not apply to Council. • Councilor Semple -asked if applicants could apply to more than one board or commission; stated she looks at who applies to more than one position and nominates based on what the applicant is best suited for; is concerned about discouraging applicants from applying for more than one position; stated that applicants from outside of the City sometimes apply; stated Councilors must live within their wards; believes that applicants should reside within the City. • Councilor Leech -does not support limiting participation; believes that if a person fits the need for more than one board or commission, they should be considered for more than one seat; would like more conversation regarding applicant fit during the recruitment process. • Mayor Vinis -stated that when she is making her recommendations, she notes if an applicant has applied to more than one seat; stated the need for a process to review all nominations for duplication prior to the final appointment process. • Councilor Zelenka -stated this motion only applies to the appointment process, not the application process; stated he does not typically nominate people for more than one position; stated that staff provide indication in the materials to note when an applicant has applied to more than one board or commission; stated that capacity to serve on more than one board or commission is a concern. • Councilor Semple -would like to have more people participating; supports not appointing individuals to more than one position; does not want to limit interviews; is concerned about how the appointment process will work with this limitation. • Councilor Zelenka -noted that the voting process may need a change to address applicants that are being considered for more than one position; believes staff could assist with a process. • Councilor Leech -asked how term limits may impact this process; would not want term limit overlaps to prevent someone from applying or being appointed; stated that if an applicant says they have capacity to fill more than one position that should be enough for Council to consider them. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session September 27, 2023 Page 2 • Councilor Semple -does not want to have people serve on more than one board or commission; will not support the motion until there is more information on how it would work; asked why Council selects some and Mayor selects others; stated that she has not seen Council appoint someone other than the individual nominated by Mayor; asked why the commissions are interviewed differently; would like a more strenuous process for Planning Commission. MOTION (with friendly amendment) and VOTE: Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Keating, move to limit any individual to only one appointed Council Board or Commission at a time, not including liaison positions identified in city code or City Councilors. VOTE: PASSED 5:3 ( opposed by Councilors Clark, Leech and Semple) Councilor Discussion: • Councilor Clark -stated that he would like Council to nominate applicants in public meeting. • Councilor Semple -asked if there will be discussion about other rules beyond boards and commissions; would like public hearing testimony to limited to two and a half minutes; would like the seating arrangement to be changed. • Councilor Zelenka -stated he would support a motion to limit public hearing testimony to two and a half minutes; stated that the seating arrangement rotation is outlined in the operating agreements. MOTION and VOTE: Councilor Semple, seconded by Councilor Zelenka, move to approve the proposed change for public hearing testimony from three minutes to two and a half minutes and direct the City Manager to place on upcoming consent agenda a resolution adopting the updated operating agreements. VOTE: PASSED 7:1 (opposed by Councilor Clark) 2. WORK SESSION: Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Operating Agreements Updates Mayor Vinis introduced Intergovernmental Relations Manager, Ethan Nelson, who provided updates on the Intergovernmental Relations Operating Agreements. Councilor Discussion: • Councilor Evans -stated that the Intergovernmental Relations committee met on September 5, 2023 [Meeting date was September 6, 2023] and reviewed proposed revisions as presented and voted unanimously with a recommendation for the Council to approve; stated that Ethan Nelson reached out to each member of IGR Committee this week to discuss the additional items that were identified in the September 21, 2023 revisions; is in favor of the changes as presented. • Councilor Semple -asked what it means to be a standing committee; asked staff to clarify the difference between this commission and other boards and commissions. MINUTES -Eugene City Council Work Session September 27, 2023 Page 3 ■ Councilor Keating -stated that he is interested in policy work; would like Intergovernmental Relations committee to include all councilors; would like Council to have more touch points with Intergovernmental Relations. ■ Councilor Zelenka -does not like the Intergovernmental Relations process; feels isolated from the process when he's not on the Intergovernmental Relations committee; stated that Council used to discuss legislation more often to provide input; does not support the motion outlined unless it is altered to require more engagement with Council. ■ Councilor Groves -stated that not all councilors can be involved in every part of government; stated the motion is to modernize the language to meet the current processes; believes a larger rethinking of Intergovernmental Relations should be a separate work session. ■ Councilor Evans -suggested that Council bring this topic back at the next retreat to discuss options from League of Oregon Cities for best practices on Intergovernmental Relations, including how they are composed and done by other city councils in the state. MOTION and VOTE: Councilor Groves, seconded by Councilor Keating, move to approve the proposed changes outlined in Attachment C and to direct the City Manager to place on an upcoming consent agenda a resolution adopting the updated Operating Agreements. VOTE: PASSED 6:2 ( opposed by Councilors Keating and Zelenka) Mayor Vinis adjourned the meeting at 1:16 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ft 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 September 27, 2023 Page 4