HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2001-10-15 PM AI
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CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
October 15, 2001
Mayor Judie Hammerstad called the City Council information session to order at 4:07 p.m. on
October 15, 2001, in the Municipal Courtroom.
Present: Mayor Hammerstad, Councilors Hoffman, Rohde (arrived 4:20 p.m.), Schoen,
Turchi, Graham and McPeak
Staff Present: Doug Schmitz, City Manager; David Powell, City Attorney; Robyn Christie, City
Recorder; Lisa Hamerlynck,Natural Resources Coordinator; Bob Kincaid, Chief
of Staff; Chris Jordan, Assistant City Manager; Jane Heisler, Community
Planning Manager; Stephan Lashbrook, Community Development Director
3. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Mayor Hammerstad recessed the meeting to Executive Session at 4:08 p.m. pursuant to ORS
190.660(e) to conduct deliberations with persons designated to conduct real property
transactions. David Powell, City Attorney, reviewed the Executive Session parameters.
4. RETURN TO OPEN SESSION
Mayor Hammerstad reconvened the information session at 5:30 p.m.
4.1 Board and Commission process
Councilor Hoffman reviewed his memo reporting on the Coordinating Council meeting that he
and Mr. Schmitz attended three weeks ago. He reported that the chairs did not feel that term
limits were necessary nor did the Planning Commission or the Development Review
Commission need an institutional member seated on them. He indicated that the chairs were
comfortable with the Council deciding with the chairs on whether to reappoint a
Board/Commission member or not.
Councilor Hoffman said that the chairs preferred the personal interview method for selection
over the application review method, citing Councilor Rohde's point that this was civic
engagement. He referenced the chairs' suggestions on the application process and refinement of
the application form.
Councilor McPeak commented that she still thought application review was a good idea but she
would give way on it. She observed that asking the chairs about term limits was similar to
asking an elected politician about term limits: one knew that the answer would be no.
Councilor McPeak held that the question for the Council was whether the lack of term limits
gave the Council a better group of people serving the City than having them did. She pointed out
that, in the past, the Council has been loath not to reappoint, and therefore, it tended to get the
same people serving. She mentioned the Arts Commission rule that members stepped down after
two years but could reapply a year later.
Councilor McPeak argued that regular term limits were clean and made the Boards and
Commissions more effective in their jobs of serving the City. She conceded that they might not
want to apply them to the Planning Commission and Development Review Commission. She
held that they were not anti-citizen and would not be perceived as such.
Councilor Rohde asked how many Board and Commission members were in more than their
second term. He held that it was only a handful, and therefore, this was not an issue. Mayor
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 1 of 2
October 15, 2001
Hammerstad said that she would ask Shirley Schultz to look into that, as she had been startled
by the fact that the Budget Committee this year had no one on it who had served two terms,
making it a neophyte committee. She indicated that generally she agreed with Councilor
McPeak, observing that it felt disrespectful not to reappoint people who had served for a long
time.
Mayor Hammerstad said that, for the time being, they would maintain the status quo but if they
had a problem, then they would address it.
Councilor Graham commented that Councilor McPeak's point about the Council being loath to
get rid of people was valid. Councilor McPeak recalled that the wholesale clearance of the Arts
Commission had been awkward. Councilor Rohde argued that the Councilors'job could be
awkward in as much as it required them to make unpopular decisions. Councilor McPeak
pointed out that the nature of the difficulty was not personal yet not reappointing someone was
personal. She spoke to not having any more unpleasantness than was built in to the process.
5. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hammerstad adjourned the meeting at 5:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
to(doii
Robyn C tie
City Recorder
APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
ON November 6, 2001
Jac ffman, Cou i esident
City Council Information Session Minutes Page 2 of 2
October 15, 2001