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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 01/05/1999 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL/STAFF WORKSHOP LEGISLATIVE ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW TUESDAY,JANUARY 5, 1999 5:00-6:30 P.M., CITY CENTER Heritage Room H 8080 Mitchell Road CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Jean Harris, Sherry Butcher-Younghans, Ronald Case,Ross Thorfinnson,Jr., and Nancy Tyra-Lukens CITY STAFF: City Manager Chris Enger,Public Safety Services Director Jim Clark,Parks &Recreation Services Director Bob Lambert,Public Works Services Director Eugene Dietz, Community Development and Financial Services Director Don Uram,Management Services Director Natalie Swaggert, City Attorney Roger Pauly, and Recorder Dave Hix I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Mayor Hams called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. H. HOUSEKEEPING ISSUES A. Review List of Items For Consideration Mayor Harris opened the discussion on the following list of items for the Council and staff to address at future City Council Meetings and Workshop meetings: 1. Council Pay 2. Guidelines for Conference Attendance 3. Council Support/Technology 4. Ward System 5. Open Meeting Laws 6. Celebration-The New Millennium 7. Secretarial Support for Councih-nembers Swaggert noted there is a small window of opportunity that the Council has to address the "Council pay issue." She suggested that the Council and staff be sensitive to this time frame. Case recommended establishing a committee to study the issue of communications and technology. This committee could establish short-term,mid- term, and long term priorities based on the direction that communication technology is headed. This will tie in with how best the Council can receive and transmit information to the residents of the City. Case suggested that staff find out what other councils in the metropolitan area are doing to facilitate this type of CITY COUNCIL/STAFF WORKSHOP January 5, 1999 Page 2 "council support." Mayor Harris reminded the Council and staff that there is a technology workshop scheduled for the first quarter of the year. Enger noted City Attorney Rosow's comments in regard to if a city is not a ward- system city currently, the city council cannot adopt wards. There is no statutory authority clearly allowing statutory cities, in general,to have wards,he added. Mayor Harris recommended dropping the issue of"wards" off of the discussion list. Enger said staff would look back at the information that had been compiled on the subject and gather this information for the Council's FYI packets. Enger advised the Councilmembers that the use of e-mail,relating to the official business of the City,has several Data Practices and Open Meeting Law implications. Swaggert suggested having Kitty Porta and Rick Rosow make a presentation to the Council that would answer the Councilmember's questions. In regard to secretarial support for the Councilmembers, Swaggert suggested that the issue could be addressed without it having to be put on a Workshop agenda. The Council was asked to submit their needs and suggestions to staff who would then respond in the FYI packets. III. 1999 ISSUES AND CHALLENGES A. Select/Schedule Topics for Workshops Enger reviewed the 1999 Service Area Director Meetings &Council/Staff workshop schedule and the suggested workshop topics. Council discussed upcoming workshop topics and assigned topics for the first half of 1999. A revised schedule is attached. Enger asked all Councilmembers to update staff on time conflicts or vacation schedules that might affect the meeting quorum. IV. PROPOSED CHANGES TO OPEN PODIUM Mayor Harris reviewed the suggested changes to the Open Podium format currently used. The Council/Staff agreed to rename the Open Podium to "Council Forum." To foster a relaxed atmosphere,the Council Forum will be held from 7:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. preceding the televised portion and Pledge of Allegiance of the City Council meeting. Enger and Tyra-Lukens recommended scheduling people for the Council Forum in an effort to give the Council and staff some idea of what topics are going to be discussed. The remaining Council and staff concurred with the scheduling suggestion. V. ADJOURN Mayor Harris adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m.