HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-02-21 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—February 21, 2014
At approximately 8:05 a.m. Mayor Gere called the advertised special meeting of the Anacortes City
Council to order. City councilmembers Eric Johnson, John Archibald, Matt Miller, Erica Pickett, Ryan
Walters, Liz Lovelett and Brad Adams were present. Mayor Gere introduced Rhonda Hilyer, President of
Agreement Dynamics, as the facilitator for the session. The mayor thanked members of the public who
were present for attending.
Councilmembers and the mayor introduced themselves and briefly stated their goals for the session.
Mayor Gere then summarized the objectives for the retreat: to maximize effective communications and
working relationships between electeds and with electeds and staff; to build trust and improve teamwork;
to review and re-establish Council procedures; to clarify governance role (policy vs. administration); and
to review and discuss the Comprehensive Plan components, calendar and process.
Rhonda Hilyer introduced herself and reviewed the schedule for the day.
Ms. Hilyer lead the group in a communication styles workshop designed to help participants understand
how to communicate effectively and make decisions together while being respectful of individual styles.
At approximately 9:45 the mayor called a fifteen minute break.
When Council reconvened, Mayor Gere lead a discussion of Council Procedures. Councilmembers
reviewed and discussed the procedures adopted by Resolution 1867 in July 2013. Ms. Lovelett requested
a notebook with copies of frequently used documents including the Comprehensive Plan, emergency
plan, Council procedures, a high resolution current zoning map, etc.
Regarding Paragraph 3B, Meeting Schedule, Mr. Walters suggested starting Council meetings at 6:00
p.m. instead of 7:00 p.m. and allowing the Planning Commission to set its own start time. Mr. Archibald
agreed. Mrs. Pickett countered that the meeting time needs to allow the public a dinner hour before the
meetings and Mr. Miller agreed that 7:00 is about the earliest a working person could attend a Council
meeting. Mr. Johnson reminded that many Council committees meet immediately before Council
meetings. Mrs. Pickett added that Council can schedule additional meetings if it needs more time to
accomplish its business. Mr. Archibald noted that he is now posting agendas by the cash register at his
business and suggested increasing public awareness of the agendas in like manner at other businesses.
Mr. Walters suggested that public hearings should be set at a time certain for the convenience of the
public. Other councilmembers agreed.
Regarding Paragraph 3D, Study Sessions, Mr. Walters suggested abolishing the distinction between
study sessions and regular meetings so that action could be taken at every meeting. Mr. Archibald was
agreeable to that. Mr. Adams said he would rather have more open discussion at study sessions.
Councilmembers discussed conducting study sessions in a round table format rather than on the dais and
noted microphones would need to be altered to accomplish that. Mayor Gere noted the staff time involved
in preparing for action meetings. Mr. Archibald requested more time for Council discussion during study
sessions rather than the current focus on informational presentations. Mr. Adams agreed. Mr. Miller and
Mrs. Pickett stated that it was helpful when planning travel schedules to be able to predict which meetings
would involve voting action by Council. Councilmembers discussed options for providing more clear
direction to staff during study sessions without taking final action. Councilmembers discussed potential
options for including more public input at study sessions including advertising some meetings in a
workshop format, inviting members of the public to address the Council, or advertising study session
agenda items with asterisks if public comment was to be accepted.
Regarding Section 4, Agenda, Councilmembers reviewed the procedures for adding items to the agenda.
Mr. Walters requested abolishing the asterisks on the agenda and accepting public comment on any item,
except advertised public hearings and quasi-judicial matters, during the Public Comment section at the
beginning of the agenda. Mr. Johnson said he had always preferred taking public comment on all topics
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at the beginning of the agenda. Other councilmembers said they preferred hearing from the public on
each topic as it arose on the agenda. Mr. Miller said when was less important than that there was plenty
of opportunity for public comment. He said the public should be able to address anything on the agenda
other than quasi-judicial matters. Mr. Walters said contracts should be open for public comment. Mayor
and Council agreed to continue using the asterisk.
Regarding Section 5.5, Consent Agenda, Mr. Walters suggested moving approval of minutes to the
Consent Agenda. Mrs. Pickett agreed and noted that any councilmember could request removing the
minutes from the Consent Agenda to correct them prior to approval. Mayor and Council agreed to try
moving approval of minutes to the Consent Agenda.
Regarding Section 5.6G, Voting, Mr. Walters advocated voice votes for most items. Mayor Gere reported
that Skagit County uses voice votes. Mr. Miller and Mrs. Pickett said that roll call votes don't take much
longer than voice votes. Discussion continued but no consensus was reached. Mr. Walters advocated
more training on motion procedures.
The Council reviewed Section 5.7, Informal Concurrence, for matters that do not require a formal motion.
Regarding Section 5.8, Addressing the Council, Mr. Walters suggested that Section 3 of the City Council
Procedures be posted at the speaker podium and that the podium microphone be repositioned. Mayor
Gere said she would ask staff to address those requests.
Regarding Section 6, Ordinances, Mr. Walters said that Council is still sometimes seeing ordinances for
the first time at the meeting at which the ordinance is presented for action.
Regarding Section 8, Council Committees, Mr. Walters requested that each committee be tasked with
defining itself and that more items be referred to the appropriate committee before being addressed by
the full Council. The group discussed committee reports and staff reports. Mayor and councilmembers
agreed to list committee reports on the agenda under Mayor/Council Communication for each committee
that met prior to the last regular Council meeting.
Ms. Lovelett requested clarification on attendance of councilmembers at public meetings. The group
agreed that councilmembers attend many public meetings but for a councilmember to attend a meeting
as a delegate from or representative of the Anacortes City Council requires appointment or confirmation
of that councilmember by the Council as a whole.
At approximately 11:20 Mayor Gere called a five minute break.
When the group reconvened, Ms. Hilyer facilitated a discussion of Council/Staff Roles and Dynamics. She
distinguished Council's role in setting goals and priorities from staff's role in day to day operations. Ms.
Hilyer said the Council sets the mission, the vision and the values for the City whereas staff addresses
questions of how to implement Council's goals, policies, priorities and values. She addressed gray areas
between the two. Mayor Gere and Council discussed at length the extent to which it was appropriate for
councilmembers to communicate directly with staff, particularly with requests for information. The group
generally agreed that councilmembers are welcome to request from department heads information that is
readily available but that requests that might require more staff time and effort should be directed to the
mayor. The group agreed that it is inappropriate for councilmembers to direct staff on how to perform their
jobs. Ms. Hilyer cautioned councilmembers never to commit staff to specific actions when speaking with
the public. Mr. Walters and Ms. Lovelett said they would like to have more input very early in the process
of policy development so that documents developed by staff for eventual Council action reflect Council's
vision. Mr. Johnson said that Council committees should play that role and that committees should be
developing policy not just receiving reports from staff. Regarding the annual budget, Mayor Gere
encouraged early discussion about where Council wants to direct resources so that staff can develop line
item budgets.
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From 12:10-12:45 the group broke for lunch. Following the lunch break, the meeting was joined by Police
Chief Bonnie Bowers, Library Director Sheri Miklaski, City Engineer Matt Reynolds, Finance Director
Steve Hoglund, Parks and Recreation Director Gary Robinson, Human Resources Director Emily Schuh,
Planning Director Ryan Larsen, Fire Chief Richard Curtis, Museum Director Steve Oakley and City
Attorney Brad Furlong. Both staff and councilmembers introduced themselves and shared their
communication styles from the earlier workshop. Each department head then gave a brief summary of his
or her department, its role in the community, and current projects. Staff addressed questions from
councilmembers about the library hours, the upcoming community drug summit, volunteer firefighters,
community medicine, and staffing levels in the Planning Department. Ms. Hilyer suggested that Council
and the mayor agree on a protocol for councilmember contact with the City Attorney.
At approximately 2:10 the mayor called a fifteen minute break.
At approximately 2:25 Council reconvened for a discussion of the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Periodic
Update. Mayor Gere explained the community visioning process that would precede the goal and policy
formation phase of the update. The mayor advised Council that expanding the approved consultant
contract with Makers to incorporate the visioning process would cost approximately$30,000 which could
be included in the 2015 budget. Mr. Larsen said he would be monitoring that contract closely and using
community volunteers wherever appropriate to control costs. Mr. Larsen then provided an overview of the
2016 Comprehensive Plan update process and the requirements for it set by the Growth Management
Act. Mr. Larsen handed out a press release describing an Ad Hoc Committee for the 2016
Comprehensive Plan update and said he would be bringing Council a draft resolution adopting a charter
for that committee. Mayor Gere asked if Council supported creating the committee and solicited feedback
on its proposed structure. Council discussed the committee at length including the number of members,
its rules of procedure and attendance requirements, the selection process for members, its role, and
whether its meetings and communications would fall under the provisions of the Open Public Meetings
Act. Mayor Gere explained her intention that the committee members would contribute expertise and
research skills to explore and elaborate on themes raised in community meetings. Councilmembers
cautioned against allowing the Ad Hoc Committee to filter out ideas before they reached the Planning
Commission or City Council. The mayor said she and staff would redefine the proposed Ad Hoc
Committee based on Council feedback and bring the topic back to Council at a regular meeting.
Mr. Larsen advised that the first public visioning meeting was scheduled for March 27, 2014 to be
additional sessions in April and possibly beyond. The mayor asked staff where they would like to have
input on the Comprehensive Plan update. Chief Bowers and Chief Curtis raised the question of public
safety services on the west end and on south Fidalgo Island. Mr. Oakley raised the question of historical
preservation. Mr. Robinson urged that staff be included in reviewing the draft documents. Mr. Larsen said
this could be accomplished similar to the process for a DRG. Mr. Furlong noted that funding is an integral
part of the Capital Facilities Plan. Mr. Walters concurred and suggested that the Comprehensive Plan
update should restructure the CFP.
Ms. Hilyer asked what else Council and staff need to understand and participate in the Comprehensive
Plan update. Mr. Walters asked for more demographic data about who lives in Anacortes and where they
work. Mr. Archibald asked to know how much retail space is available, what it is worth, and whether more
is needed. Mr. Miller urged reviewing the existing Comprehensive Plan and determining what should be
retained from that plan. Mayor Gere urged creating a vibrant Commercial Avenue corridor from the
roundabout all the way to the water. Mr. Archibald inquired if more than three councilmembers could
attend the public visioning meetings. Mr. Furlong advised that if more than three councilmembers wished
to attend the upcoming meetings that would be part of the public participation process those meetings
could be advertised as special meetings and gaveled in with no Council action taken.
There being no further business, at approximately 3:50 p.m. the special Anacortes City Council meeting
of February 21, 2014 was adjourned.
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