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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 11/21/1995 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES CITY COUNCIL/STAFF WORKSHOP TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1995 6:15 P.M. CITY CENTER COUNCIL/STAFF WORKSHOP Heritage Room IV 8080 Mitchell Road COUNCILMEMBERS: Mayor Jean Harris, Councilmembers Ron Case, Nancy Tyra-Lukens, and Ross Thorfinnson, Jr. CITY COUNCIL STAFF: City Manager Carl Jullie, Assistant City Manager Chris Enger, Director of Human Resources and Community Services Natalie Swaggert, Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities Bob Lambert, City Engineer Al Gray, and City Recorder Barbara Anderson I. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Harris called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Councilmember Tyra-Lukens was excused. H. BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Thorfinnson stated he had volunteered to work with staff to improve the procedures for appointing members to City Boards and Commissions. To gain an understanding of the issue, focus groups were held, comprised of staff liaisons and chairs of the established boards and commissions. A wide range of issues were discussed. As a result of these discussions, suggestions were made to improve the appointment process, operations of, and communications between boards and commissions. A three phase process was outlined. Phase 1 included a goal to establish Charter Summaries for each board and commission to outline the board or commission's function and responsibilities. The descriptions will be available to anyone who wants to apply for a board or commission. Another goal was to draft a Board and Commission Informational Brochure. A first draft of the brochure was distributed. Thorfmnson discussed the Application Form and proposed insert which would contain questions specific to a board or commission's needs. He discussed the time line for the process of selecting candidates and the steps which could be implemented to make this a timely and efficient process. This process would commence in mid-January, and be completed with candidate interviews and selections by mid-February. Candidates would be notified of their appointments by late-February, and orientation and training would be held in March. He noted that commencement of terms would be changed to April 1st, which would require a change in the City Code. The Awards Banquet will continue to be held in April, and new board and commission members will be introduced at that time. CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP November 21, 1995 Page 2 Phase 2 dealt with communication between the Council and the boards and commissions and several suggestions were made to facilitate this communication. One suggestion was to have a Councilmember assigned to each board and commission to act as a liaison between that body and the Council. This would not mean that the Councilmember would have to attend every meeting of that board or commission, but rather become familiar with the members and be available for discussion of issues and concerns that the board would like to discuss with the Council. A monthly report providing timely information from each group was proposed. The report would be sent to each board and commission in addition to the Council. Another suggestion was to utilize the Report from Boards and Commissions section of the Council Agenda as an opportunity for members of a board or commission to discuss a specific issue with the Council and obtain their direction in a timely manner. Harris concurred with the suggestion to use the section of the agenda to obtain immediate feedback from the Council on specific issues concerning the various boards and commissions, and stated that general issues should be dealt with in workshops. She believed that if Councilmembers were assigned to act as liaisons between boards and commissions they should remain part of the audience and not be seated with the board or commission. Case commented he believed people should be limited to applying to two commissions at a time. He believed that the joint meetings should be held to facilitate the boards, commissions and Councilmembers working with each other. Pidcock stated she was concerned about applications becoming too restrictive and precluding the average citizen from applying or being appointed if the City Council becomes too stringent in their requirements for professional skills. Phase 3 dealt with restructuring boards and commissions to maximize effectiveness, and the flow of information to ensure appropriate recommendations are forwarded to the City Council. It was suggested that perhaps the Planning Commission should be composed of members from other boards and commissions to better facilitate communication. That would require those members to attend two additional meetings, which could become burdensome. Council directed staff to continue the process and report back to them in the future. IV. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m.