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FLAGSTAFF CITY COUNCIL RETREAT
FLAGSTAFF CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 211 WEST ASPEN FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA TUESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2017 2:00 P.M.
MINUTES
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1.
Call to Order
Mayor Evans called the Council Retreat of January 3, 2017, to order at 2:00 p.m.
Mayor Evans called the Council Retreat of January 3, 2017, to order at 2:00 p.m.
NOTICE OF OPTION TO RECESS INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION
Pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.02, notice is hereby given to the members of the City Council and to the general public that, at this work session, the City Council may vote to go into executive session, which will not be open to the public, for legal advice and discussion with the City’s attorneys for legal advice on any item listed on the following agenda, pursuant to A.R.S. §38-431.03(A)(3).
2.
Pledge of Allegiance
The audience and City Council recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
The audience and City Council recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
3.
Roll Call
| NOTE: One or more Councilmembers may be in attendance telephonically or by other technological means. |
| PRESENT: MAYOR EVANS VICE MAYOR WHELAN COUNCILMEMBER BAROTZ COUNCILMEMBER MCCARTHY COUNCILMEMBER ODEGAARD COUNCILMEMBER OVERTON COUNCILMEMBER PUTZOVA |
ABSENT: NONE |
Others present: City Manager Josh Copley and City Attorney Sterling Solomon.
4.
Public Participation
Public Participation enables the public to address the council about items that are not on the prepared agenda. Public Participation appears on the agenda twice, at the beginning and at the end of the work session. You may speak at one or the other, but not both. Anyone wishing to comment at the meeting is asked to fill out a speaker card and submit it to the recording clerk. When the item comes up on the agenda, your name will be called. You may address the Council up to three times throughout the meeting, including comments made during Public Participation. Please limit your remarks to three minutes per item to allow everyone to have an opportunity to speak. At the discretion of the Chair, ten or more persons present at the meeting and wishing to speak may appoint a representative who may have no more than fifteen minutes to speak.
None
Public Participation enables the public to address the council about items that are not on the prepared agenda. Public Participation appears on the agenda twice, at the beginning and at the end of the work session. You may speak at one or the other, but not both. Anyone wishing to comment at the meeting is asked to fill out a speaker card and submit it to the recording clerk. When the item comes up on the agenda, your name will be called. You may address the Council up to three times throughout the meeting, including comments made during Public Participation. Please limit your remarks to three minutes per item to allow everyone to have an opportunity to speak. At the discretion of the Chair, ten or more persons present at the meeting and wishing to speak may appoint a representative who may have no more than fifteen minutes to speak.
None
5.
Council Building & Engagement
City Manager Josh Copley briefly reviewed what staff's plan was for the session and the session on Thursday, beginning with personal introductions by Councilmembers and staff, to get to know one another. Then, he said, they proposed to review last year's goals and break into smaller groups with leadership sitting with Councilmembers, to discuss new goals.
Consensus of Council was to not break into the small groups and discuss what goals they would like to propose. At this time, each Councilmember and member of staff introduced themselves.
Mr. Copley then said that over the years they have had a process where members of the community would ask for funding, and the Council redirected them to go through the Flagstaff Arts Council and/or United Way. One of the reasons for that was to manage the flow of requests that Council and the City Manager receives. He said that this last year there has been deviation in that process and he would recommend that they return to the prior process. Once they talk about that process, he would have staff review the liaison assignments so Council could determine who would like to serve on what committees/organizations.
Mr. Tadder explained that the City contracts with both United Way and Flagstaff Arts Council for administration of funds through a grant process for the many different services provided by agencies within the City. He explained that the City does not donate funds, but rather receives services of some sort from the various agencies.
Councilmember Barotz said that the Council is policy making. Their question to answer is whether they are comfortable with the current arrangement, or if they may want to consider additional funding for additional services. Councilmember Overton said that the Council needs to articulate their highest priorities and the available funding to the service providers.
Councillmember Barotz said that they need to explain to people that it is not about the City funding an idea, but rather what services the Council has decided to contract for.
At this time, City Clerk Elizabeth Burke reviewed the current listing of organizations that have Council liaisons serving, and Council discussed and agreed on who would represent them, as outlined in Exhibit A, attached hereto and made a part hereof.
Council then discussed the various issues related to staff summaries and presentations made before Council. Suggestions were made and the following comments were received:
•When someone is responsible for writing the staff report, it would be helpful at the beginning for the Council to understand the issue (answering who, what, why, when and where).
•When there is a topic being discussed that covers several months, it would be helpful to know what information in the staff summary is new from prior reports.
•Staff could cut back on vendor information (such as with the parking meter documents), and just have it available should a Councilmember have questions.
•Under OPTIONS, really discuss the various alternatives available and the impact of each.
•Consider using bullets and summarizing items.
•Understanding that staff is trying to prepare a report for seven different members, time is needed to tweak the process.
•Small print does not work well on maps.
At this time the Mayor opened up Public Participation for anyone in the public interested in commenting on something not on the agenda.
•Merle Hendersen, President of the Tea Party, congratulated those elected to Council, and gave a special thanks to Mayor Evans for always reaching out for information from their organization. He said that the Council is nonpartisan and every member in the community looks to them for their leadership and representation. He asked that they make decisions that are best for the community. He also invited anyone interested in joining them to attend their meetings.
•Demetry Conway, Flagstaff, said that he has lived in Flagstaff for seven years and just recently was, once again, racially profiled by the Police Department. He said that it is a form of a hate crime and someone needs to take care of it. He said that he is a model citizen and is a teacher at Yavapai College.
A dinner break was then taken from 6:08 p.m. to 6:31 p.m. He noted that the part on the City's Communication Program will be moved to a future agenda.
Consensus of Council was to not break into the small groups and discuss what goals they would like to propose. At this time, each Councilmember and member of staff introduced themselves.
Mr. Copley then said that over the years they have had a process where members of the community would ask for funding, and the Council redirected them to go through the Flagstaff Arts Council and/or United Way. One of the reasons for that was to manage the flow of requests that Council and the City Manager receives. He said that this last year there has been deviation in that process and he would recommend that they return to the prior process. Once they talk about that process, he would have staff review the liaison assignments so Council could determine who would like to serve on what committees/organizations.
Mr. Tadder explained that the City contracts with both United Way and Flagstaff Arts Council for administration of funds through a grant process for the many different services provided by agencies within the City. He explained that the City does not donate funds, but rather receives services of some sort from the various agencies.
Councilmember Barotz said that the Council is policy making. Their question to answer is whether they are comfortable with the current arrangement, or if they may want to consider additional funding for additional services. Councilmember Overton said that the Council needs to articulate their highest priorities and the available funding to the service providers.
Councillmember Barotz said that they need to explain to people that it is not about the City funding an idea, but rather what services the Council has decided to contract for.
At this time, City Clerk Elizabeth Burke reviewed the current listing of organizations that have Council liaisons serving, and Council discussed and agreed on who would represent them, as outlined in Exhibit A, attached hereto and made a part hereof.
Council then discussed the various issues related to staff summaries and presentations made before Council. Suggestions were made and the following comments were received:
•When someone is responsible for writing the staff report, it would be helpful at the beginning for the Council to understand the issue (answering who, what, why, when and where).
•When there is a topic being discussed that covers several months, it would be helpful to know what information in the staff summary is new from prior reports.
•Staff could cut back on vendor information (such as with the parking meter documents), and just have it available should a Councilmember have questions.
•Under OPTIONS, really discuss the various alternatives available and the impact of each.
•Consider using bullets and summarizing items.
•Understanding that staff is trying to prepare a report for seven different members, time is needed to tweak the process.
•Small print does not work well on maps.
At this time the Mayor opened up Public Participation for anyone in the public interested in commenting on something not on the agenda.
•Merle Hendersen, President of the Tea Party, congratulated those elected to Council, and gave a special thanks to Mayor Evans for always reaching out for information from their organization. He said that the Council is nonpartisan and every member in the community looks to them for their leadership and representation. He asked that they make decisions that are best for the community. He also invited anyone interested in joining them to attend their meetings.
•Demetry Conway, Flagstaff, said that he has lived in Flagstaff for seven years and just recently was, once again, racially profiled by the Police Department. He said that it is a form of a hate crime and someone needs to take care of it. He said that he is a model citizen and is a teacher at Yavapai College.
A dinner break was then taken from 6:08 p.m. to 6:31 p.m. He noted that the part on the City's Communication Program will be moved to a future agenda.
Discussion was then held on the Council's Rules of Procedure. It was agreed that most on Council prefer to only require two members of Council to move an item from F.A.I.R. (Future Agenda Item Request) to a future agenda, rather than the current four.
Mr. Copley reviewed his process with the F.A.I.R. items, noting that he usually only adds two per meeting agenda. From time to time a Councilmember will request a F.A.I.R., asking for it to be moved up on the timeline because it is time sensitive.
With regard to the deadline for starting discussion of a new item, Councilmember Barotz said that 10:00 p.m. seems too late for her and she would like to suggest that they change that to 9:30 p.m. needing a vote of the Council to continue discussions.
Discussion was then held on Council Communication Reports (CCR's). Mr. Copley said that his current process is that if a Councilmember asks for information, it normally is provided in the way of a CCR to all members. He subscribes to an eight-hour rule. If a request will require more than that amount of time, he would ask that the issue be brought forward as a F.A.I.R. item to receive broader direction from the Council.
Mr. Solomon reminded everyone that Legal Opinions from Legal staff will indicate they are confidential. If a CCR item includes confidential information, only the public portion will be provided in the CCR to the public.
Council requested a standing item be added to the regular meeting for Liaison Reports, for councilmembers to provide any report from the various organizations for which they serve as a representative.
Mr. Copley said that there are two individuals that report directly to the Council, the City Attorney and the Presiding Judge, that he wanted to allow them an opportunity to have a discussion with Council at this time.
Councilmember Barotz said that she would be interested in having a conversation with Judge Chotena about the Magistrate evaluation, and possibly having an independent commission, to remove the Council from that direct process. Court Administrator Don Jacobson said that there are other procedures that can be done. The current resolutions and ordinance do not account for that; they may need to make some changes there, but they could bring forth some options.
Mr. Solomon said that traditionally, any communication from the Council would go through the City Attorney. That is the current rule, but there are always exceptions.
Judge Chotena said that he looked forward to working with the new Council. He said that the Council appoints all of the city court magistrates, even the part-time judges. He said that they are a fairly busy court with 16,000 case fillings in 2015. He said that they are fairly progressive and innovative. They have also been a test court for certain things with the Arizona Supreme Court. They have a Mental Health Court, a Veterans Court, and can transfer certain cases to the Drug Court in Superior Court.
Judge Chotena said that they are a different branch of government and they have a duty to maintain judicial independence. He also reported that they have a new Court Administrator, Jessica Cortes, who will be replacing Mr. Jacobson.
Mr. Copley said that staff has heard clearly the desires of the Council regarding the January 5 goal setting process and they will plan accordingly.
Council discussed using the fourth Tuesday of a five-Tuesday month (which is currently cancelled) as a time to hold a work session out in the community.
Mayor Evans said that she would also like to see the time limit for speaking, currently three minutes, be extended to five minutes for those people needing the assistance of a translator.
After further discussion, Council directed staff to bring back changes to the Rules of Procedure to reflect those changes discussed today, and to change the start time on Regular Meeting from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., with executive sessions continuing to start at 4:00 p.m.
Mr. Copley reviewed his process with the F.A.I.R. items, noting that he usually only adds two per meeting agenda. From time to time a Councilmember will request a F.A.I.R., asking for it to be moved up on the timeline because it is time sensitive.
With regard to the deadline for starting discussion of a new item, Councilmember Barotz said that 10:00 p.m. seems too late for her and she would like to suggest that they change that to 9:30 p.m. needing a vote of the Council to continue discussions.
Discussion was then held on Council Communication Reports (CCR's). Mr. Copley said that his current process is that if a Councilmember asks for information, it normally is provided in the way of a CCR to all members. He subscribes to an eight-hour rule. If a request will require more than that amount of time, he would ask that the issue be brought forward as a F.A.I.R. item to receive broader direction from the Council.
Mr. Solomon reminded everyone that Legal Opinions from Legal staff will indicate they are confidential. If a CCR item includes confidential information, only the public portion will be provided in the CCR to the public.
Council requested a standing item be added to the regular meeting for Liaison Reports, for councilmembers to provide any report from the various organizations for which they serve as a representative.
Mr. Copley said that there are two individuals that report directly to the Council, the City Attorney and the Presiding Judge, that he wanted to allow them an opportunity to have a discussion with Council at this time.
Councilmember Barotz said that she would be interested in having a conversation with Judge Chotena about the Magistrate evaluation, and possibly having an independent commission, to remove the Council from that direct process. Court Administrator Don Jacobson said that there are other procedures that can be done. The current resolutions and ordinance do not account for that; they may need to make some changes there, but they could bring forth some options.
Mr. Solomon said that traditionally, any communication from the Council would go through the City Attorney. That is the current rule, but there are always exceptions.
Judge Chotena said that he looked forward to working with the new Council. He said that the Council appoints all of the city court magistrates, even the part-time judges. He said that they are a fairly busy court with 16,000 case fillings in 2015. He said that they are fairly progressive and innovative. They have also been a test court for certain things with the Arizona Supreme Court. They have a Mental Health Court, a Veterans Court, and can transfer certain cases to the Drug Court in Superior Court.
Judge Chotena said that they are a different branch of government and they have a duty to maintain judicial independence. He also reported that they have a new Court Administrator, Jessica Cortes, who will be replacing Mr. Jacobson.
Mr. Copley said that staff has heard clearly the desires of the Council regarding the January 5 goal setting process and they will plan accordingly.
Council discussed using the fourth Tuesday of a five-Tuesday month (which is currently cancelled) as a time to hold a work session out in the community.
Mayor Evans said that she would also like to see the time limit for speaking, currently three minutes, be extended to five minutes for those people needing the assistance of a translator.
After further discussion, Council directed staff to bring back changes to the Rules of Procedure to reflect those changes discussed today, and to change the start time on Regular Meeting from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., with executive sessions continuing to start at 4:00 p.m.
6.
Informational Items To/From Mayor, Council, and City Manager; future agenda item requests.
Several Councilmembers thanked staff for preparing for the retreat and said they looked forward to continued sessions.
7.
Adjournment
The Council Retreat of January 3, 2017, adjourned at 7:52 p.m.
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MAYOR
MAYOR
ATTEST:
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CITY CLERK