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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 04/15/09 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room – City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon April 15, 2009 12:00 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, Mike Clark, George Poling, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Solomon, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz. ALSO PRESENT: Kristie Hammit, Kurt Corey, Sarah Medary, Randy Groves, Glen Klein, Susan Muir, Jon Ruiz, Rene Grub, Pete Kerns, Mayor Kitty Piercy. Ms. Piercy called the work session meeting of the Eugene City Council to order at 1:03 p.m. Mr. Kerns briefed the council on a police incident from April 15, 2009, which had required the dispatch of the EPD SWAT team. A. WORK SESSION – City Council Goals Retreat Follow-up Ms. Piercy reminded those in attendance that the City Council and several City executive staff persons had participated in a goal-setting work session on February 7, 2009. Mr. Ruiz wished to continue the discussion from the previous goal-setting session and hoped to establish a framework for the future work of both the council and executive staff. Mr. Ruiz directed those in attendance to their copies of the Eugene Counts Framework (ECF) organizational chart and noted that it had been drafted from the previous goal-setting workshop for the purpose of demonstrating the desired outcomes of the City’s leaders as well as the specific measurements and strategies that would be employed to reach those outcomes. He further noted that the principles described in the chart would assist in helping the community fully understand the goals the City Council, staff and executives were trying to achieve. Mr. Ruiz presented a corresponding PowerPoint presentation for the ECF process and noted that in addition to demonstrating the various goals and desired outcomes for the City it would also provide opportunities for public feedback, evaluation and discussion. The council and executive staff discussed several variations on the language contained in the Council Vision and Safe Community portions of Mr. Ruiz’s ECF presentation as well as many revisions regarding the same. The council and staff members discussed the language and overall philosophies of the various bullet points as presented by the City Manager and further discussed several revisions. The council and staff briefly discussed the language of the Safe Community and the corresponding Outcomes statements as listed in the draft ECF chart. Mr. Ruiz noted that staff had attempted to keep the number of outcomes listed relatively low so that the measurement of those outcomes might be tracked more easily and efficiently. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 15, 2009 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Clark maintained that the nexus between the stated outcomes and guiding philosophies of the Safe Community statement would need to be demonstrated more clearly. Mr. Ruiz, responding to a comment from Mr. Zelenka, noted that the stated Safe Community outcomes might serve well as overall topics for more specific goals related to a safe community. Mr. Ruiz, responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka, clarified the “Diversity of commissions” outcome. The council and staff continued a discussion of the various overall philosophies and ideals related to the desired outcomes under the Safe Community statement. Ms. Piercy expressed that it would be very important for the Safe Community Outcomes section of the ECF chart to contain language specifically referencing the City’s commitment to responding to incidents of hate speech in the community. Mr. Clark agreed with Ms. Piercy’s statement. Mr. Clark briefly elaborated on the manner in which the diversity of commissions, boards and neighborhood leadership might relate to the Safe Community Outcomes. Ms. Ortiz commented that it would be important for the language of the ECF to be listed in a manner that accurately reflected the City’s community values statements. Mr. Zelenka, speaking with regard to the Safe Community portion of the ECF, noted that the overall concept of safety needed to go beyond just the absence of crime in a community. Ms. Taylor noted that it would be important for any attempt to increase the diversity of commissions and boards to include individuals whose beliefs were unpopular or contrary to prevailing beliefs. Ms. Taylor commented that it would be important for the City to establish a downtown youth center in order to promote the ideals reflected in the Safe Community statement. Mr. Ruiz responded that such a center might be included under the specific City strategies for FY10/11 or in the future. Mr. Pryor maintained that it would be important for the City staff and leadership to come to a consensus regarding the definition of the word “safe” as it applied to the Safe Community statement. Mr. Clark stated it would be important for the City to focus on positive metrics rather than negative ones in determining desired outcomes related to the Safe Community statement. Ms. Piercy, responding to a request for clarification from Mr. Ruiz, suggested that it might be worthwhile to change the phrase “Safe Community” to “Safe and Welcoming Community” with respect to the ECF statements. The council and staff briefly discussed changes to the language in the Sustainable Community section of the ECF statements. Mr. Clark maintained that the Sustainable Community portion of the ECF would need to address progressive elements within the community and feared that a focus on sustainability as a vision for the City would lead to static and unchanging outcomes for the community. The council members and staff discussed various elements and perspectives related to the Sustainable Community section of the ECF statements. MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 15, 2009 Page 2 Work Session Mr. Zelenka expressed that it would be important for the Sustainable Community Outcomes to specifically address economic, environmental, social and future concerns; and suggested that input from the City’s Sustainability Commission might be useful in clarifying the language of the ECF. Mr. Ruiz expressed that the council and staff were continuing to determine the visions and goals for the City as well as how measurements for success for such goals might be implemented in a manner that would be easily understood by the citizens of Eugene. He encouraged the council and staff members to come forth with any additional ideas or input they might have regarding the ECF in the coming weeks. Ms. Piercy asked those in attendance if, in continuing the discussion regarding the statements of the ECF, it would be better to schedule a series of discussion meetings rather than conduct a larger half-day work session. Mr. Clark and Mr. Zelenka agreed that a larger work session might be a more efficient way to complete the work regarding the ECF. Mr. Ruiz noted that staff would incorporate council’s suggestions regarding the language contained in the ECF and continue to develop it. Mr. Ruiz commented that the framework described by the ECF was very helpful to staff in that it allowed them to focus their energies in an efficient and effective manner. Ms. Piercy adjourned the work session at 1:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Wade Hicks) MINUTES—Eugene City Council April 15, 2009 Page 3 Work Session