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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-02-28 Special Minutes - City Council Retreat City of Tukwila City Council Annual Council Retreat Retreat Notes The Inn at Port Ludlow Port Ludlow, Washington February 28, 2009 8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Marina Meeting Room March 1, 2009 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Chief Seattle Meting Room PRESENT Elected Officials: Jim Haggerton, Mayor; Joan Hernandez, Council President; Joe Duffie; Pam Linder; Dennis Robertson; Verna Griffin, Kathy Hougardy Staff: Rhonda Berry and Kimberly Matej SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2009 Welcome Joan welcomed and thanked everyone for attending the retreat. She gave a brief overview of the weekend The picture depicts a crew of individuals working together to row a boat. Joan commented that, She expressed the importance of everyone working together in the same direction in order to arrive at a common destination. 2009 Workload Jim and Rhonda reviewed major issues and items expected to come before Council during 2009. The intent of sharing this information is so that Council can have a general idea of what the 2009 workload will look like, allowing for proper calendaring and preparation time for each issue. Councilmembers asked clarifying questions regarding several upcoming projects. In general, it is important to Council that projects of greater magnitude and time commitment do not come before the Council simultaneously. Additionally, Council would like to avoid, to any extent possible, year end decision making on large scale projects due to time constraints and limited meeting opportunities. However, it is recognized that some year end decision making is necessary and cannot be avoided. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: Requests for Information There was a lengthy discussion regarding how requests for information from Councilmembers should be handled. As Mayor, Jim stated his desire to ensure that there is a majority of Councilmembers that need the information before proceeding with detailed staff research and responses. Dennis suggested that there are three types of information requests: 1. Public Disclosure Copies of existing information 2. A Councilmember wants to know something and goes directly to a department head to ask for clarification; this situation is does not generally generate a significant burden 3. Creating new reports or conducting new analysis as a result of a request for information; usually the analysis and reports on a result of complicated topics and involve some existing information Additional discussion topics included: requests for information versus requests for analysis; requests that necessitate a significant amount of staff time which takes away from normal/regular work loads; who Council Retreat Notes February 28- March 1, 2009 Page 2 determines timelines for information requests; and the need to have enough information to make informed decisions. As a result of this discussion, the group identified the need to spend additional time on this item, and agreed to the following: By the end of March, each Councilmember will send information to Joan, via e-mail, regarding their recommendation for how to handle Councilmember requests for information including a description of what would qualify certain levels of information requests, and whether requests should go through the entire Council via the Council President, et al. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: Standard Operating Procedures Moved to Sunday session due to extended conversations and time constraints. Your Best Self Under Pressure A four-hour workshop was presented by Robin Rose of Robin Rose Training and Consulting. Robin works with people in high-stress occupations and organizations to help them enhance their skills, integrate new behaviors, and improve performance. Additionally, Robin applies brain-based research into practical, learnable skills. The workshop focused on tools such as: Understanding how your brain works Processes that encourage clear thinking under pressure Communicating effectively in high stress situations information to be extremely relevant and applicable to their positions in the City. SUNDAY, March 1, 2009 Activities Calendar Kimberly reviewed the information in the Retreat binders under the Calendars & Schedules tab. Included in this information is an Activities Calendar which is maintained by Kimberly. This calendar includes full Council activities, including Council and Committee meetings; SCA, AWC and NLC functions, City observed holidays and other City celebrations. This calendar is updated as needed, at a minimum monthly, and is distributed to Council via e-mail and hard copy. Kimberly also discussed the Tukwila Community Calendar which is available on- website at http://www.ci.tukwila.wa.us/calendar/calendar.asp. This information is the same information included on the calendar attached to the weekly Council agenda packets. Copies of the 2009 Committee Calendar and Voucher Review schedule were also distributed. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: Council Coffee Chat Councilmembers had a round table discussion regarding Council Coffee Chat. The discussion resulted in a reminder of the following expectations for the Chats: Council Chats serve as an informal opportunity for community members to have face-to-face contact with Councilmembers. Chats were created to serve the community, not the Council. Chats should focus on listening to community concerns with no expectation that a single Councilmember can take action. It is important to remember, that there is not a solution to everything. Council Retreat Notes February 28- March 1, 2009 Page 3 No minutes will be taken from or published for Chats. Councilmembers, when appropriate, should explain process and refer community members with specific questions to the appropriate City staff (i.e.: street related questions to Public Works, Code Enforcement, Police, etc). If a Councilmember has made a commitment to follow through on an item during a Chat, that Councilmember will be responsible for the item. The Council Chat program will be reviewed annually at the Council Retreat. Based on popularity and convenience, Chat will continue to be held on the second Saturday of the month from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Locations are still under consideration. Kimberly will create a new schedule for Council Chats. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: Reviewing Council Goals Due to time constraints, Joan asked the group if anyone would be opposed to her and Kimberly assigning the Council goals to the appropriate Committees for review (based on TMC definitions). Once assigned, the list of goals and assigned Committees would be distributed to Councilmembers for input. There were no objections to this request. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: Mid-Year Budget Workshop After a lengthy discussion on when a mid-year budget workshop should take place, there was agreement that it is best to hold a workshop after 2009 first quarter sales tax revenue has been received. The workshop should take place as a separate meeting (from that of a Regular or Committee of the Whole meeting). Councilmembers would like for all department heads and/or relevant staff to attend; however, it is anticipated that Shawn Hunstock, Finance Director, will be the primary staff member conducting the workshop. Kimberly will work with Shawn to schedule an exact date for the workshop which will probably be held in late May, at the Community Center and is expected not to last more than two hours. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: Council Technology Kathy requested a discussion of how the laptops, which were assigned to each Councilmember in 2008,are working for everyone. Overall, feedback was very positive. Generally, the laptops have been very convenient and have increased productivity. It was recognized, however, that the laptops are not necessarily utilized l technical solution. A discussion ensued about a future need to consider other means of connectivity and communication for Councilmembers. Consensus existed that this subject will need to be discussed in the future, but due to the current economic climate the importance of such a discussion and relevant decision-making is not a primary Council concern. This item will be revisited at a later time. Regarding technology and communication, some Councilmembers did note a future desire to move away from utilizing their home telephones for City-related communications/publications which are publically accessible. There are certain challenges and conflicts associated with utilizing a family/household phone line for City business. Kathy requested the use of a City-issued cell phone for these certain challenges. Councilmembers agreed that her request was reasonable and should be accommodated. COUNCIL DISCUSSION: Standard Operating Procedures This item was originally scheduled for discussion on Saturday; however, due to time constraints, it was moved to Sunday agenda. The following goal was approved by the Council for inclusion in the 2009-10 Biennial Budget: Approve and implement standard operating procedures for the Council. Review and update procedures on a regular basis. Council Retreat Notes February 28- March 1, 2009 Page 4 Kimberly reported that although she has been working on a draft outline for a standard operating procedure/policy document for the Council, she is in need of some direction from the Council. There was consensus among the group for Kimberly to continue working on the document until she has reached a point where there is enough relevant information to conduct a work session with the Council (outside of a Regular or Committee of the Whole meeting). Councilmembers would like her to include as much information as possible so that the work session is relevant, productive, and can be accomplished with an outcome-based agenda. Everyone emphasized the importance of not scheduling this work session pre-mature to having ample information with which to work. Other decisions relative to the process of creating this document (i.e.: timelines, facilitators, etc) will be discussed after the initial work session has been held, as Council determines the next steps for this process. A specific date was not chosen for this work session, as staff needs additional time to research information. Councilmembers were in favor of Kimberly telecommunicating in order to encourage uninterrupted, dedicated time to this item. The retreat ended at 11:30 a.m. Minutes by KAM.