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City Council Minutes - 01/10/2013 Agenda Item No. SA 3 Meeting of 2:1-r, iy/? City of Tigard Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes January 10, 2013 Meeting convened at 9:15 a.m. Name Present Absent Mayor Cook ✓ Councilor Buehner ✓ Council President Henderson ✓ Councilor Snider ✓ Councilor Woodard ✓ Staff present: City Manager Wine,Assistant City Manager Newton,City Recorder Wheatley Also present: Consultant Joe Hertzberg,Solid Ground Consulting Group Consultant Hertzberg introduced the agenda for today's workshop meeting. Meeting attendees started off the day by sharing highlights of personal and professional events for 2012.Attendees then indicated what they were looking forward to accomplish in 2013. City Council groundrules Councilor Buehner reviewed the history of the City Council groundrules in effect with Resolution No. 12-35. She advised that a reworking of the groundrules by the City Council went through a long process and said she believes the end result was the detailed language,which has proven to be less workable than desired. Consultant Hertzberg asked the City Council members the following questions: 1. What does the current City Council want to do with the existing groundrules? 2. How does the current City Council want to work together? City Council discussion followed: • Councilor Woodard—expressed that he appreciates the ability to call another City Council member to discuss matters.He noted the importance of maintaining communication.He believes a code of conduct is good to have in place with regard to rules of engagement. He TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-41711 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 1 of 14 advised that he has noted there are times when individual City Council members are passionate about a certain topic under discussion or consideration. He observed that City Council members do not necessarily become unmovable on a position. Since he began serving on the City Council two years ago,his experience has been that there appears to be a balanced approach on matters. He attributed this to the ability of the City Council members to communicate among the group. He said that while an individual City Council member might not"win the battle" the attitude is this is all right because the important thing as a group is to "win the war." Councilor Woodard referred to the board and committee liaison appointments—he understands that the boards and committees need to make their own decisions. He noted the importance of letting the discussion flow to encourage creative ideas. City Council members have to be careful when asked his or her opinion when serving as a liaison. Care must be taken to note whether an opinion is a representation of a City Council position or if the opinion is a personal one. Consultant Hertzberg summarized his understanding of the comments offered by Councilor Woodard. • It is all right to reach out and call one another. Mr. Hertzberg said that historically this may have been a problem on other City Councils.He noted it was important to have the understanding that if two people are talking outside of City Council,it does not mean there is some kind of"conspiracy."The purpose is to come together to "win the war" and do not get stuck on individual battles. • Be careful to distinguish your own individual opinion from the City Council opinion. • Councilor Woodard commented on times when one might get caught up in the"heat of the moment"—it happens to everyone. He offered that from his experience he has never seen any ill will from an individual City Council member. Rather, he said he saw "passion."He suggested that one thing he thought the City Council could do better is to call a"point of order" or to take a break if a discussion is becoming heated. He also complimented the conduct of staff. • City Council President Henderson said the City Council should govern itself. It is no one else's responsibility to keep the membership of the City Council in check with regard to its conduct other than the City Council members themselves. He agreed with calling a"point of order." Consultant Hertzberg summarized: • Individual City Council members should recognize when a"point of order" should be called, call for a recess (take a break) or the discussion deferred. • Councilor Buehner observed that personal interaction among City Council members have been good and not so good. She noted a time when she first began serving on the City Council where TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-41711 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 2 of 14 she felt alienated from the group and reported she had unfortunate feedback from another City Council member owing to a personality conflict. At the time she suggested to City Manager Prosser that there be opportunities for outside socializing with spouses among the City Council members a couple of times a year. For a while these social events occurred;however,about 18 months ago these activities ceased. She suggested that City Council members can work better with one another if they become better acquainted as people. • Councilor Buehner noted the benefit of having a discussion regarding controversial issues during the study session. This gives City Council members an opportunity to give their personal opinion about how they feel about a certain issue. This is helpful to express personal opinions and then pause to consider feedback and review what is best for Tigard. In general,when it is time to consider the matter, an individual City Council member has been able to assess what is the best for the city overall and make a decision that is not necessarily reflective of his or her personal opinion. • Councilor Woodard agreed with Councilor Buehner's observation about the benefits of the study session. This gives individuals time to receive and digest information. He noted the importance of making contacts ahead of time if an individual Councilor is having concerns about an issue or issues. He commented on the suggestion by Councilor Buehner to hold social events with spouses and noted a City Council member may determine that his or her home is their personal space and prefers to keep this area of their life separate from their duties as a city councilor. • Councilor Snider said he expects clear and direct communication that is respectful.Ambushes are to be avoided if possible as these are not productive or healthy. He said people should focus on problems and solutions rather than people. He advised that he has struggled with the concepts of some of the statements within the groundrules. He noted that the groundrule statements should be agreed upon by the entire group.Whenever there is a new group,the groundrules should be signed off by each member of the group. He noted that the current groundrules appear to be more of a code of conduct. He noted there are some of the groundrules that he"cannot live with." He suggested that past groundrules should not be imposed on new members and when there is a change in the membership these rules should be reviewed. • Mayor Cook indicated he agreed with Councilor Snider's comments. He also agreed on the importance of social interaction among the City Council members. He noted there are a couple of groundrules that he does not feel have gone very well in recent history. He also has issue with a couple of the rules that he does not feel that"he can live with." City Council President Henderson referred to the code of conduct for boards and committees. He said that the city lost a couple of good committee people because they refused to sign the code of conduct agreement. As leaders,the City Council needs to set an example. Discussion followed on the concern some people might have with regard to signing rules of conduct and whether this might stifle discussion. Consultant Hertzberg advised City Council members that they need to make a decision on what to do with regard to the written City Council groundrules. From the discussion,he said it sounds as if TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10, 2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 972231503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 3 of 14 the current City Council members have a common perspective. He asked City Council members what they felt about the current set of groundrules. Mayor Cook referred to the "reconstructed groundrules" prepared and distributed to the City Council from Mr. Hertzberg. The Mayor said he personally preferred the reconstructed groundrules. These are in an easier-to-read format. However, he said there are a couple of groundrules that he would like to see changed. Councilor Buehner advised that when she became City Council President,it served her well to go back to review the groundrules to preside over meetings. She noted the importance for the presider to make sure each person is asked for input. Council President Henderson said he felt it is important to review the groundrules every year as a reminder of how the City Council has agreed to operate. Meeting recessed for a few minutes. Consultant Hertzberg suggested that Mayor Cook and Councilor Snider highlight their observations about the current City Council groundrules. Mayor Cook commented on the following from the reconstructed City Council groundrules document: • Be welcoming to speakers and treat them with respect. For many cititiens, speaking in front of the City Council is a new and&jt-cult experience. As a member of the audience for the past 10 months,he commented that he does not feel that the speakers are always treated respectfully. Speakers usually only have a few minutes to address the City Council. He noted the importance of giving the speakers full attention; that is,give them eye contact and listen to what they have to say. The Mayor also suggested that the City Council members give the speaker uninterrupted speaking time and do not ask questions during their testimony. He said that he would work on making sure that he has thanked each speaker for coming before the City Council to speak. • Communications with boards and commissions— "City Council members may attend any board meetin& which is open to any member of the public. However, City Council member should be sensitive to the way theirparticipation could be viewed as unfairly affecting the process." Mayor Cook noted this would be discussed more later,but pointed out that this relates to the role of the City Council liaison. He noted that it should be decided if a City Council member is an alternate to a board or committee, should they attend the meeting if the primary representative from Council attends the meeting. Councilor Snider reviewed his observation of the current City Council groundrules: • Most of his issues are related to the sections outlining the use of electronic communication devices. From the way he is interpreting the language,it appears he would be unable to review City Council matters and make notes on his Wad to reference them during the TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-41711 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 4 of 14 meeting,but he could make the same note on a piece of paper and it would be fine. He said, clearly,prohibition on sending or receiving communications about matters before the City Council during a meeting is logical and doing so would violate public meeting laws. He said he could accept the Internet provision that disallows the City Council from using their computer to access the Internet during a City Council meeting;however,he did not see the harm in looking up a word to determine its definition.With regard to cell phones,he noted that there might be times when he needs to keep in contact with his work. • With regard to communications directed to the full City Council,he said he understands the need for the response to be directed back to the public from the Mayor;however,he would like to be able to acknowledge or thank the speaker.He referred to a recent email he received from a citizen where he responded and thanked the person for his input. He understands he would not say anything to represent the city in such a circumstance;rather, he would like to acknowledge the communication.He clarified that the statement on this particular groundrule is "do not respond to communications directed to the full City Council."City Manager Wine said the spirit of this particular rule relates to efficiency to avoid multiple responses or an uncoordinated response.After some discussion,it was agreed that this groundrule was meant to advise that City Council members should not respond to a matter addressed to the full City Council with a reply of substance.Acknowledgments of email communications are acceptable. Councilor Buehner advised that she,when she first began her service on City Council,would acknowledge email communications but found that because of the number of emails received, she prefers to let staff respond to emails. Consultant Hertzberg summarized the groundrule was clarified regarding sending a response to communications sent to the full City Council. A City Council member can choose to acknowledge the email. (A civil response—a thank you,but not a substantive response.) Councilor Buehner referred to the electronic communication devices and the overriding provisions regarding usage as stipulated by the Oregon Ethics Commission. For example,the City Council is not allowed to contact anyone by email during a meeting. If you need to contact someone,you need to leave the meeting to do so. She noted that iPads did not exist when the current City Council rules were written. She suggested the issues that Councilor Snider raised are new and the groundrules could be updated. City Council members should not be reading email during a meeting. With regard to emergencies, Councilor Buehner noted that there was a time when she was expecting an emergency phone call and notified the Mayor of her circumstance.At that time,she left her cell phone on so she could receive the call she was expecting. She said it was her opinion that the only time a cell phone should be left on by a City Council member during a meeting is if there is an emergency. Council President Henderson commented that he agreed with regard to an emergency circumstance. He also noted that the purpose of not allowing for electronic communications during the meeting is to avoid ex parte contact. He noted the objective is for everyone to receive the same information at the same time when representing the citizens at the City Council bench. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-41711 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 5 of 14 Mayor Cook noted he agreed with the comment by Councilor Snider regarding making notes on his iPad for reference purposes. Mayor Cook said that his preference is to receive and do his work in an electronic format. City Manager Wine referred to the following two statements with regard to Councilors'use of electronic communications devices during City Council meetings: • Councilors shall not use electronic communication devices to review or access information regarding matters not in consideration before the City Council during a meeting. • Councilors shall not access the Internet but may access City Councilpacket information concerning any matter pending before the City Council during a City Council meeting. Ms.Wine said that in the section on electronic communication devices,the above two statements appear to be applicable and should remain in the City Council groundrules. She referred to Mayor Cook's desire to refer to notes and that the language in this section should be "softened"based on what is available with current technology.The remaining bullets in this section are already covered by ethics law. Councilor Woodard advised that he prefers to read his City Council packets in a paper format. He noted that he understood if a fellow Councilor would like to refer to notes made on an electronic device rather than paper. Consultant Hertzberg summarized: Consensus of City Council is that members should keep their focus on what is going on at the meeting. Councilor Snider suggested that this should be the goal statement,"Councilors are to keep their focus on what is going on at the meeting." Councilor Woodard referred to a groundrule under Section 1,Mandates: "Excuse myselffrom participating in decisions when my immediate family's financial interests or mine may be affected by the City Council's action."He advised that he has a family member who owns a business in downtown Tigard, and there have been discussions around this property. Up until this time,he has not felt as though there was a personal position he should disclose with regard to his family or himself Sometimes during past discussions,he has disclosed the potential conflict when he felt it would be a good idea to advise of this connection. He has participated in the discussions as no real conflict of interest existed-- no votes were taken that would directly affect this property. However,in the near future,he may decide to excuse himself from participating in City Council discussions as there are plans by the family member to explore a remodel of the business in May or June. He advised that he has an appointment with the city's legal counsel on this matter to determine how he should proceed with participation in future City Council discussions where this family property might be affected. Councilor Buchner commented on declaring a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interests and noted she,as a private business owner,is cognizant of advising of any potential conflicts. She advised that City Council members should make a statement about a potential conflict if they are in doubt. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 6 of 14 Consultant Hertzberg summarized: It sounds as,if the City Council agrees on the"code of expectations" part of the reconstructed City Council groundrules. He suggested that he and City Manager Wine would"take the next step" and make changes as noted during this discussion and get those back to the City Council members for their review. Their editing would include capturing the City Council's discussion and eliminating redundancies in language. Discussion then focused on some of the procedural City Council groundrules. Councilor Snider referred to the groundrules section on citizen communication. He observed over the last year that there does not appear to be an over-abundance of the number of people who come to comment to the City Council at a meeting. He said that some people appear fairly regularly and he does not have a problem with limiting their remarks to two minutes. He noted his concern with the testimony light system that is used to time the length of testimony. He suggested that a five-minute limit for infrequent testifiers would be more appropriate. In addition,he has observed that the time limit has not been enforced at all. Councilor Snider said he would prefer a guideline that would be more welcoming to the public. Councilor Buehner commented on the history behind this City Council groundrule and noted the effort was to limit time taken by people who frequently offered testimony at length. She also noted that there used to be more people who signed in to testify during the citizen communications section on the City Council agenda. There was discussion on agenda management and the allocation of about ten minutes to receive testimony from everyone during the citizens'communication agenda item. City Recorder Wheatley noted that the time limits on citizen communications for individuals are set at two minutes. People testifying on public hearing items are allotted five minutes each. There was discussion on placing time limits on frequent testifiers as opposed to those who are before the City Council for the first time.The ability to administer this type of rule was discussed. It was determined by a consensus of the City Council that the Mayor would informally monitor the citizen communications portion of the agenda—let people address the City Council for two to five minutes. Council President Henderson noted that it would be good to keep a standard for the general amount of time a person would be allowed to address the City Council,because committees also have people coming to their meetings and they have used time limits. In response to a request from Consultant Hertzberg for City Council members to give some guidance with regard to the imposition of limitations on citizen communications,discussion followed. The conclusion was to have wording that is not so intimidating on the sign in sheet and advising citizens to please keep remarks to about two to five minutes. If there are a lot of people who signed up to testify,the mayor would advise that testimony will be kept closer to two minutes. City Manager Wine said staff could change wording on the sign in sheets, the agenda,and the procedural notation agenda (green sheet) with wording that is more inviting to the public.The Mayor will manage this portion of the agenda keeping track of how much time has been allotted and how much additional business must be brought before the City Council on any given agenda. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10, 2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-41711 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 7 of 14 For a neighborhood issue when there are,as an example,30 people who have come to address the City Council,consensus was that it would be acceptable for the attendees to appoint spokespeople. The Mayor noted that in such a situation,he has seen where it has worked to ask that the group appoint one or two people to address the elected officials and they are given an expanded amount of time;i.e., 15 minutes. Consultant Hertzberg noted that it appeared there was consensus that the City Council wanted to be more inviting to the public when they attend City Council meetings to testify. If there should be a situation where an individual appears frequently before the City Council to testify, then this situation would be dealt with as it comes up. Consultant Hertzberg referred to the ending time for City Council meetings.The City Council's goal is to adjourn prior to 9:30 p.m. At about 9 p.m., the person chairing the meeting would call attention to the status of what remains on the agenda. If the chair fails to call for this point of order, then it is acceptable for a City Council member to remind the chair to assess what remains on the agenda. Councilor Woodard commented on the practicality of this rule when there are times when individual City Council members might talk extensively about a particular issue. He suggested that the person presiding over the meeting could urge a person who has spoken at length to conclude his or her remarks so others would have an opportunity to comment. Councilor Buehner commented that meetings are not running as late as they have in the past;i.e. up to 11 p.m. City Manager Wine referred to a recent meeting process instituted by the Executive Staff—everyone has the responsibility to monitor the amount of time being spent and allocated for agenda items. She suggested that the City Council give itself permission for any member to raise a point of order at about 9 p.m.with regard to status of what remains to be discussed on the agenda in order to adjourn by about 9:30 p.m. Consensus of City Council was to continue to monitor how the meeting is progressing with regard to time and call for point of order at 9 p.m. City Manager Wine offered that it is always possible if the City Council turns to her during the meeting to determine if a topic can be placed on the calendar and continued to another meeting date. There was discussion about cuing each other to wrap up remarks if a discussion is going overly long. City Council liaison appointments were reviewed, discussed and liaison appointments agreed upon by the mayor and council members. Staff will prepare an updated City Council liaison appointment matrix and submit it for council review at a later meeting. For intra-city boards and committees,the council liaison would be expected to attend an occasional meeting;i.e., once a quarter or one or two times a year. The exception to the occasional attendance guideline is if a board or committee requests the liaison to attend more often. For several of the committees,no alternate was selected since attendance is not required for every meeting. City Council compensation. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 8 of 14 Consultant Hertzberg reviewed the provisions contained in Resolution No. 10-36 regarding the stipend for the Mayor.The annual stipend for the Mayor shall be no more than $42,000. It is the expectation of the City Council that the assignments given to the Mayor, over and above the usual and customary assignments will require an average of twenty hours each week during business hours. The resolution enumerates the responsibilities of the Mayor, which are listed as the City Council's priorities in Section 6 of the resolution. Mayor Cook and City Council discussed his plans to spend an average of at least twenty hours per week. They discussed with the Mayor his business commitments and his plan to take on the responsibilities as listed in Section 6. Charter provision regarding term limits. There was discussion on a concern that had been raised by City Council President Henderson regarding the interpretation of term limits as specified in the Charter. Council President Henderson said he did have an opportunity to talk to the city's legal counsel about this Charter section. The statement after noting the terms limit provisions proclaims,"In no case shall any person serve on the City Council for more than eight consecutive years....nor shall the Mayor serve as Mayor for more than eight consecutive years."The following statement, "These limitations do not apply to the filling of an unexpired term,"was an add- on sentence that was sent to the voters without full review. Discussion followed on the term limit provisions. Council President Henderson suggested an alternative interpretation of the term language. The Charter,in Section 7,clearly states that,"At the general election held in 1990, and every fourth year thereafter,a Mayor shall be elected for a term of four years." Council President Henderson explained an option to consider to applying the Charter could mean that: If a mayor is elected because of an early resignation or vacation of office before his/her term is up, then when an election is held, the mayor would be elected to a full, four- year term. Councilor Snider suggested consideration be given to changing the requirement to resign from the City Council in order to run for mayor. Councilor Woodard suggested consideration should be given to removing the term limits for mayor and council. Consultant Hertzberg advised that the options before City Council include: • Leave the Charter as is. • Review of the Charter by the City Council to determine if proposed amendments should be forwarded to the voters. • Establish a Charter Commission for a complete Charter review process. One Charter amendment proposal might be to look at adding two additional city Councilors, especially when the newly annexed areas are more fully developed. Strategy was discussed TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING NIINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 9 of 14 about including something on the May or November 2014 ballot on two or three Charter amendments. The May ballot would require this matter to be decided by City Council immediately; the November ballot should be scheduled for council to begin to consider amendments during 2013. Discussion followed about the priority a Charter review should be assigned. Councilor Snider commented that he does not know if this is of a high concern at this time and whether to expend the energy now. Councilor Buehner replied that this topic has been brought up several times over the last few years and the attitude has been that it is not a priority; the question is, "When is the time?" Mayor Cook suggested the time might be right when it becomes apparent the decision should be made whether to add additional council members. City Manager noted the extensive build-out of the River Terrace area will not likely happen until around 2015. Council President Buehner noted other areas might be annexed and it might be a good idea to offer to the voters the idea of expanding the size of the City Council on the May or November ballot in 2014 that would take effect in 2016. Consultant Hertzberg advised that if the council membership is expanded,almost certainly there will be discussion about whether to elect council representatives by district. Assistant City Manager Newton will prepare information on an approach for review of the Charter;i.e.,minor tweaking or whether to establish a Charter Commission should a major change in governance structure be proposed. A Charter Commission would review the entire Charter for changes. Meeting recessed for lunch at 12:50 p.m. and reconvened at 1:35 p.m. Goal Setting and Strategic Planning Consultant Hertzberg referred to the work of the Blue Ribbon Task Force and its recommendation that the city should adopt a Strategic Plan,beginning with an aspirational vision. The Task Force recommended building public awareness about where Tigard is today and a plan for how it wants to move forward. A strategic plan is to begin with visioning what the absolute ideal would be. The next step is to identify the priorities to keep in focus over the next six months and for identified time increments thereafter. The City Council and staff were asked to write down on note cards three topics capturing what each believes to be the strengths of Tigard today. The next exercise was for the City Council and staff to write three topics envisioning what would make Tigard an exceptional place to live in 25 years. A summary list was created on flip chart pages;the transcription of the summary is attached (Attachment 1). Transcriptions of the topics written on notecards by staff,the mayor and council are filed in the record copy of the meeting packet. Steps to be taken to achieve the 25-year vision were explored. City Manager Wine distributed to the City Council a list of the executive staff's vision of how the City of Tigard would function in 25 years. This list is on file with the record copy of TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 10 of 14 the meeting packet. Council reviewed the list and discussed. City Manager Wine explained that the executive staff went through the exercise of creating a table of contents for what a strategic plan looks like based upon the report from the Blue Ribbon Task Force. The first page contains a list of the actions that have been taken in the past.The purpose of the list before the Council is to generate thoughts about elements of a strategic plan. The second two pages in the executive staffs list contain strategic priorities,similar to the exercise the Council just went through to envision Tigard in 25 years. Discussion followed comparing the Council's list to the list prepared by the executive staff • Advancement on goals will depend on finding additional funding. Consideration of a local option levy will not be possible until there is an understanding/education effort to the citizenry. It was suggested that revenue be attached to services for a better understanding of the connection by taxpayers regarding the cost of the services.The Council will have a major role in this education process by being proactive in its communication with the community. • Basic services are listed in the executive staff list that Council members noted were assumed to continue. • Compete for resources in the region—pursue,leverage and position. Be proactive. • Geographic location—working with neighboring communities/cities to benefit one another. Geographically Tigard is in the center of the region;i.e. transportation hub. South county needs to do better job of working together on common issues. Plan joint meetings to hold these discussions—Sherwood,Tualatin,Lake Oswego,Beaverton and Tigard. Explore the concept of first tier development as defined and developed by the National League of Cities. • Reference was made to the City of Hillsboro and its history of following through on a strategic plan. Implementation of the plan was made possible by remaining focused,setting priorities and having a clear plan and implementation strategy.The Hillsboro community shared the vision of its leaders. The City of Hillsboro also has a tax rate of about$1.50 more than Tigard.Tigard has transportation advantages and Hillsboro has land advantages. • Now that the Comprehensive Plan is in place,it is a good time to move forward—the Plan is our vision. Councilor Snider asked if the executive staffs list and the Council's list are to be refined and combined?City Manager Wine said she would like to come back to the Council and discuss the next steps for setting the outline of the strategic plan. Consultant Hertzberg suggested that the next discussion also include establishing what the community element to the plan would be. Consultant Hertzberg noted that it will take a while before a strategic plan is in place— estimated to take about six months.For the next six months,what are the priorities that should be kept in focus? City Manager Wine distributed a list she compiled after visiting with individual Council members. This list also was developed with reference to the comments made during the recent city manager's performance evaluation. On one side of the page distributed was a list of items for focus over the next six months and on the other side of the page was a list of the city manager's goals for next year. City Manager Wine noted that the TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 11 of 14 lists are more task and project oriented,but could be viewed as steps to be taken within the strategic plan. When comparing the lists,it appears that these steps are complementary with the policy focus identified by the City Council.A copy of the list distributed by City Manager Wine is on file with the record copy of the meeting packet. Six-month priorities were reviewed: • Downtown property purchases—staff has been talking to property owners. Decisions are needed with regard to how vigorously to pursue identified properties. Selection of a Plaza site should be finalized by the City Council. • Concern noted about the idea of a clock tower. This has been under discussion since 1985 and has not gone anywhere. There is also reference to the Rotary Club's offer to pay for exercise equipment that did not get acted upon.There was a lack of understanding about how projects got prioritized and how they could fall off the list and be left behind uncompleted. There was an expression of frustration about the length of time it takes to accomplish tasks or projects,which was challenged to be unnecessary if the right talent and focus was to take place. • Consultant Hertzberg asked the Council to look at the list prepared by City Manager Wine and whether this was the appropriate focus for the next six months. It was brought up that these items on the list have been recurring items for quite a long time. Councilor Buehner suggested an outline of tasks be created to show what would be done towards furthering the items on the list. Councilor Woodard summarized that strategic elements could be designated as the clock tower, the downtown Plaza,taking the recreation inventory to the next step,which are all steps that would catalyze/activate economic development. Councilor Buehner said she would like to see a specific list of tasks that would be completed in the next six months for River Terrace. Councilor Woodard commented that Councilor Buehner's concerns are similar to those that he has with regard to the capital improvement project list. Councilor Buehner noted that there used to be public hearings before the planning commission on the capital improvement projects. Councilor Buehner clarified that she would like to see a detailed action plan with a clear timeline so Council members can help keep pushing to move large projects forward more quickly. During the meeting,the council members discussed a call for a point of order about the tone of the discussion relating to frustration with activity levels on specific goals. Thoughts were expressed about how to be direct in communicating and the possibility of being perceived as being disrespectful,attacking or blaming in tone thereby causing the recipient of such feedback to become defensive. Council members discussed how to maintain open communication. City Manager Wine referred to Councilor Snider's comment at the beginning of this meeting about bringing solution- oriented approaches to the work. She noted that as she works with individual Councilors she screens the dialogue with what are the best and appropriate places for Council to make decisions,what is the Council's role or should the Council be given more information for a better understanding of what staff is doing.When a Council member expresses a concern,she will ask questions to determine what is behind the concern and then address or resolve the concern. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-41711 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 12 of 14 City Manager Wine noted some key activities scheduled for the Council in the near future with regard to the River Terrace Community Plan. One activity has to do with the annexation of two areas. The other activity is the convening of the key stakeholder working group for which Councilor Woodard volunteered to be the Council representative. Ms.Wine said at the staff level, the tasks relating to updating the Master Plan and securing the consultant for a transportation plan update are underway. She said if more reporting is needed on these types of activities,staff can give more updates. In response to a comment from Councilor Buehner, City Manager Wine requested that when people inquire about the status of the River Terrace Community Plan project,they be referred to the project manager, Darren Wyss or to herself. She advised of the communication plan for people interested in this project,which includes sending out letters and maintaining a listserv. She spoke to the importance of maintaining a coordinated communication effort. Councilor Snider said he heard that Councilor Buehner would like to see more detail on a six-month activities plan for the River Terrace Community Plan. Council meeting recessed for a few minutes. Gathering Community Input Consultant Hertzberg opened the discussion on gathering community input. Councilor Woodard noted the Council hears from many of the same people much of the time and it Council is only hearing from a fraction of the community. He participated in the National Night Out event and said he found this to be an opportunity to talk to a different crowd of people. He said that when he talks to people in the community, he often finds there is a basic lack of understanding on community issues and noted the need for building awareness. Councilor Buehner noted her past success of walking the neighborhoods and spending time talking to residents about issues. Councilor Woodard offered that perhaps the Neighborhood Networks could offer a local government seminar. Councilor Snider served on Financing Strategies Task Force where the notion of the community list of wants have a price tag and there is a need to find out how much people are willing to pay for their requests for services. One idea suggested was to place a cafeteria plan on the ballot or a town hall where you allow"one-resident,one-vote" and whoever comes to vote will get to participate in selecting the top funding priorities for the city (over and above basic services). Councilor Buehner talked about a statistically valid survey conducted and noted the outcome on recreation issues. Councilor Woodard again referred to the Neighborhood Networks and how we could use this structure more effectively. Councilor Snider referred to the City of Newport Oregon's practice of dividing the community up into districts and holding meetings within these areas to find out the priorities of the people who live and work in each of the areas. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-4171 1 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 13 of 14 Discussion on community engagement was held.An outline of the high points of the discussion is attached (Attachment 2). Meeting adjourned at 4:46 p.m. Catherine Wheatley,City Recor er Attest: Mayo , ity of Tigard Date: 45 u TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES—JANUARY 10,2013 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1503-639-41711 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 14 of 14 Attachment 1—January 10, 2013 Council Meeting Minutes Today's Strengths • Geographic location/easy access. • Committed staff and City Council: best for the city. • Parks and natural resources. • Fiscally responsible. • Education. • Volunteer involvement. • Strong feeling of community. • Stable population/workforce skilled. • Transportation network. Future Wishes—25 years • Connection (between areas of Tigard) • Two hearts. • Between Triangle and Downtown. • Light rail/bus service. • Ten minute maximum travel/2-3 modes. • Washington County with equal treatment for bus/light rail service—trolley/local bus services. • Parks and Recreation. • District. • Schools serve as centers. • Stadium (multi-sport) —amateur complex,arena. • Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District model. • Recreation center(YMCA). • Zip lining as destination. • Neighborhoods: • Sustainable • Live,work,play within twenty minutes walking distance. • Universal design (built for any age). • Vibrant communities. • Downtown (Examples: Redding,Ashland). • Urban,walkable,live,work, shop,play there. • Gathering place/common area. • Vibrant, evocative/want to go back there. • Convention center and amphitheater. • Revamped property tax system. • Stable, secure funding. • Own Zip Code. • Long-term water supply. • Willamette. (Tigard has water rights on the Willamette) • Owner. • Reuse (purple pipe). (Use for irrigation and to migrate into Fanno Creek) • Annexation. • All area with in Urban Planning Area. • Which directions to grow(new areas beyond). • Economy-robust! • More employment land. • Strong employment. • All who live here can work here. • Retail and high tech/complementary. Attachment 2—January 10,2013 Council Meeting Minutes Council Thoughts on Community Engagement What are our purposes in engaging the community? ■ The city needs public input to make good decisions ■ We want to widen the circle of involvement beyond those people we hear from regularly ■ It is important to build awareness of city issues and options for the future What tools and methodologies should we consider? ■ Town Halls I Citywide ♦ Neighborhoods Elders ■ Use existing community networks whenever possible ■ Reach out to people where they are:school open houses,football and soccer games,farmers markets,bingo,homeowner associations,Library,etc. ■ Engage people in one-on-one conversations;recruit active citizens to engage with others ■ Use a variety of tools to gauge public opinion + People-meters at meetings + Statistically-valid surveys ♦ Advisory votes,perhaps offering cafeteria options t New England town meetings ■ Neighborhood Network ■ Neighborhood blogs ■ Use strategic planning process as an opportunity