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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1979-02-24 Special Minutes - City Council RetreatFebruary 24, 1978 1:00 P.M. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS DISCUSSION a 3 a. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL Doubletree Inn RETREAT Redwood Room M I N U T E S The Tukwila City Council Retreat was called to order by Council President Bohrer at 1:12 p.m. BOHRER, HARRIS, HILL, JOHANSON, TRAYNOR, VAN DUSEN. Introduction Council President Bohrer stated that he had found the last Council retreat held in 1977 to be very beneficial. Consequently, he felt that the current meeting should address procedural matters and legis- lative goals. The less formal atmosphere, and lack of pressure for action should provide the opportunity for a more open and frank discussion of the issues. A.W.C. Convention Councilman Traynor noted that no agenda for the Convention was available in the announcement. Councilmen Bohrer, Harris, and Saul (not present) indicated they plan to attend, contingent upon a suitable agenda and have requested accommodations be reserved at the convention headquarters hotel. Council Operation The operation of the Council Meetings, Committee of the Whole and Committees Meetings, and Committee Meetings was discussed at length. Councilman Harris reported an observation from a first -time observer who indicated the Council appeared to be robots who automatically approved all of the items with little discussion. Councilman Johanson stated that he felt that the appearance of the Council presented as a body to the public was very important. All agreed that having the Council President initiate all motions gave a distorted view of the Council participation. The following actions and decisions were agreed upon: 1. When agenda items originate in a Committee, the Committee Chair- man or item sponsor should move for reading and approval. 2. Staff originated agenda items that are within the purview of a standing committee will be introduced by the Committee Chairman who will move for reading and /or approval. For example, the motion to approve the vouchers will be originated by the Finance Committee Chairman. The Finance Committee will consider changing its meeting time to facilitate a Committee review of the vouchers before all Regular Meetings. The Council President will move for reading and approval of staff originated items not directly related to a standing committee. 3. The Mayor or Council President should recognize the appropriate Councilman as noted in Items (1) and (2) above to initiate action. 4. For public information at all meetings, each item should always receive a brief discussion of the origin, purpose, and history of previous actions. The City Staff, Mayor, Council President, or Committee Chairman may present this discussion. 5. The agenda for all Council Meetings should be restructured to include a note in the right -hand margin indicating the last Council action on each agenda items, i.e., Council Committee, Committee of the Whole, or new item, if none apply. 6. The agenda for Committee of the Whole and Council Meetings will contain an early item for audience comment on items not on the agenda. This item should note that audience comment on agenda items will be received after the initial presentation and Council discussion but before the Council vote is taken. 7. The Mayor and Council President should routinely ask for audience comments before a Council final vote is taken or the next agenda item is introduced. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL RETREAT MINUTES February 24, 197,8, Page 2 DISCUSSION Contd. Council Operation and Committees contd. Legislative Goals Council Intern Other Reconvene 8. Items from ad hoc committees,such as data processing,should come to the Council from the appropriate subcommittee where possible. 9. Order of voting on roll call votes will be left to the discretion of the Council President. Seniority will be considered as an alternative to the current alphabetical order. After discussion, the Council defined the following priorities: 1. The zoning ordinance. 2. Resolution of support for a regional traffic study. 3. Regulation of apartment conversion to condominiums and building code upgrade for condominiums (presented by Councilman Hill). Also discussed by the Council: 4. Noise ordinance suggest consideration of this item at the March 12 Committee of the Whole Meeting. 5. The administration will be requested to continue the T.M.C. revision over the next two years with the goal of removing obsolete provisions and modernizing the Code. 6. Legislation preventing discrimination against families with children this item is on the February 26, 1979 agenda. Safe- guards for renters against damage by tenants should be considered concurrently. 7. Annexation of Southgate Community Center action deferred pending resolution of the Riverton annexation. 8. Annexation of Joseph Foster Memorial Park. The Council discussed potential tasks for the intern, including assembly of a data book for new Council Members, research on the Council /Manager form of government, Council Research person and TMC review. The Council agreed to request Associate Dean Wolters from the Graduate School of Public Affairs to address a Committee of the Whole Meeting on this subject in the near future. Councilman Johanson suggested that the Council hold a retreat with the newly elected members after the election, but before they take office. RECESS The meeting recessed at 5:34 p.m. 5:34 P.M. 6:30 P.M. The meeting reconvened for dinner at 6:30 p.m. Discussion continued on the meeting topics and other subjects. Council President Bohrer spoke on the topic, "Long Range Planning Could it Benefit Tukwila He began by noting that the City currently has a Conprehensive Land Use Policy Plan, Annexation Document, Park and Open Space Plan, McMicken Heights Park Plan, Comprehensive Water, Sewer and Street Plans and a planned transportation study that could lead to a transportation plan. Some of these plans are policy plans that do not dictate specific actions. However, they nevertheless provide a useful framework for important Council decisions. After considering this, he said he thought perhaps the topic should have been, "Long Range Planning Are We Doing Enough? Or too Much He then reviewed past events that had a strong influence on the City, its residents and businesses and speculated on future events. He stated that it is interesting to speculate on the type of City we could create in ten or twenty years if we could start again with raw land. Would the City be the same? He said the Council had embarked on this sort of project with the Interurban Corridor an image had been conceived that should benefit both the residents and the land- owners and the City was proceeding with the initial steps for its execution. TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL RETREAT MINUTES February 24, 1918 Page 3 DISCUSSION Contd. Reconvene contd. ADJOURNMENT 8:48 P.M. He concluded by noting the City currently does not do long range financial planning and recommended that be undertaken. He suggested that an overall plan to integrate all planning elements could be useful. The meeting adjourned at 8:48 p.m. L. C. Bohrer, City Council President Norma Booher, Record Secretary