Metro Committee for Citizen Involvement Regular Committee

Call to Order & Approval of Agenda

Members Present:  Norm Andreen, Kay Durtschi, Dennis Ganoe, Kathy Henton, Dick Jones, Jim Kimball, Ted Kyle, Leeanne MacColl, Darren Pennington, Christine Roth, Pat Russell, Scott Seibert, Ray Sherwood, Meyer Siegel

Others Present:    Rex Burkholder, Mike Burton, and Cary Stacey, MCCI Staff.

Members Absent:  Joe Annett, Gil Cobb, Keith Parker, Bob Pung, Shannon Turk

Chair Kyle opened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. Mr. Pennington volunteered to be timekeeper.

Introductions

There were none.

Approval of Agenda

Chair Kyle added Subcommittee Reports to the agenda.

Ms. Durtschi announced that 1000 Friends of Oregon was hosting a Citizens Land Use Conference on October 27, 2001, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at Portland State University.

Approval of September 19, 2001, Minutes

Mr. Sherwood asked if there had been a quorum at the September 19, 2001, meeting.

Ms. Durtschi proposed two changes to the minutes. On page 3, paragraph 2, she asked that the name Terry Gray be changed to Linda Gray. On page 5, paragraph 2, she asked for permission to change what she had said regarding floodplain criteria.

Public Comment

Mr. Russell announced he was moving to Clackamas County. Chair Kyle said he heard consensus that Mr. Russell would serve for as long as the rules would allow.

Ms. MacColl announced that the Regional League of Women Voters were hosting a North/South: Regional Growth Challenges Ahead conference on November 19, 2001.

Ms. Henton passed around the Gresham Mayor’s Citizen Involvement Report.

Council Liaison Report

Councilor Burkholder said that the current federal review of the transportation citizen involvement records included about 15 citizens, and was part of a certification process that took place every three years. He had been present for part of the review. He said the Green Ribbon Committee (GRC) had completed their recommendations and scheduled three public hearings. He said the Lets Talk discussion guide had been completed. He said there was an outreach effort related to Goal 5, with a mailing to over 80,000 people, including affected property owners

He asked whether any MCCI members had issues or concerns to take back to the Council.

Mr. Russell said he believed the Lets Talk effort on riparian areas was relying too heavily on local elected officials to get the word out, and that neighborhood groups were not being contacted. He said the November 7, 2001, deadline for the Natural Resources Committee did not provide for adequate citizen involvement. He said the maps had come out on September 28, 2001, and that October 17, 2001, was the first chance he had to look at them. He felt that maps needed to go out to Coffee Talks.

Mr. Andreen said that according to the Goal 5 Public Involvement Plan (PIP), Coffee Talks were part of the outreach effort. His concern was that there would not be enough time to use the Coffee Talk for Goal 5 outreach. Mr. Burton said that Coffee Talks were intended to address habitat in general terms, and that Coffee Talks should not have been included in the Goal 5 Public Involvement Plan (PIP).

Mr. Russell said he was concerned that there was no citizen involvement with the maps on the local level. Mr. Pennington said that the more specific the maps were, the greater the concern that inventory would disappear by the time of the vote.

Ms. Durtschi referred to a question that Councilor Burkholder had asked in the January 16, 2001 Community Planning meeting regarding the difference between a public hearing by a local jurisdiction and a review by a governing body in an open meeting. She asked for the answer to that question.

Mr. Ganoe said that MCCI did not have a list of the locations and times of different public involvement meetings. Councilor Burkholder asked if the web calendar was sufficient for getting this information. Mr. Ganoe responded that the web calendar was organized by department.

Mr. Sherwood asked how MCCI was involved in the federal certification process. Councilor Burkholder said that both he and Mr. Jones had received an invitation. Mr. Kyle said he had received one also. Mr. Sherwood asked how MCCI was participating in the certification process.

Mr. Siegel passed out an updated Green Ribbon Committee meeting schedule.

Auditor Liaison Report

Ms Stacey passed out the October 17, 2001, Auditor Liaison Report, which is included as part of this record.

Business

Transition Discussion

Mike Burton, Executive Officer, said that in January 2003, the new charter eliminating the offices of the Executive Officer and the Presiding Officer would go into effect. A Council President, elected regionwide, and an appointed Regional Administrator would be part of the new structure. He said that he and Presiding Officer Bragdon had been discussing possible scenarios with the Metro Council about accommodating the provisions of the new charter.

He said this year’s budget was being developed as if the Executive Office wasn’t there, with the Council providing input regarding priorities. He said the Executive and Council processes were being integrated to make the overall process a seamless event.

He said the Council had had a consultant examine the functions of the Council office. He had held discussions and meetings with his department heads about their structural issues, and had brought in speakers to address how organizations work. Issues to be resolved included: important relationships and job descriptions, the relationship of the Regional Administrator to the Council and Council President, what the Council President’s role would be, and how departments would operate under the new structure. It was hoped that consensus regarding these roles would be achieved between October 2001 and August 2002

Regarding MCCI, he encouraged members to focus on how the process would affect them and what questions they would want answered. He said it was a very open process, and that MCCI issues included who would be responsible for MCCI and what staffing and support would look like. He said the charter element for MCCI would not change.

He and Presiding Officer Bragdon were convening a panel to garner advice regarding transition. The panel would meet five or six times and would provide several opportunities for public comment. It would be chaired by Jeff Condit, of Miller Nash LLP, and members thus far included: Larry Hildebrand, former Metro Executive Officer; Judie Hammerstad, Mayor of Lake Oswego; Mike Jordan, Clackamas County Commissioner; Ted Kyle, Chair of MCCI; Don McClave, Director of Portland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Bob Drake, Mayor of Beaverton; Gary Blackmer, Portland City Auditor; and Felicia Trader, retired manager of the Portland Golf Commission. These people were chosen for their experience in management of public agencies, and with regional balance in mind. He said MCCI could approach the panel with comments. He asked that any comments to him be copied to the Council, especially to Presiding Officer Bragdon.

Mr. Russell asked if there was a name for the panel. Mr. Burton responded that it was called the TTF panel.

Mr. Pennington asked, regardless of structure, how MCCI could be more effective. Mr. Burton responded that in the structure, MCCI should be on the same level as MPAC. He said there should be a support services office for both of the chartered committees. The officer would fall under the Council and support staff would fall under administrative. Effectiveness was dependent on how Council would value MCCI, which depended on MCCI’s knowledge of its role. He said it was MCCI’s job to make sure that Metro was involving citizens in important discussions.

Ms. Durtschi said that under the Executive Office MCCI had a protocol line of command that no longer existed under Council. She asked whether the panel could address this. Mr. Burton said that Ms. Stacey was MCCI’s point of contact and that MCCI should be able to say how they wanted to get their information and where they wanted to get it from. Ms. Durtschi asked if he believed the Regional Administrator should oversee that function. Mr. Burton said he believed the Council President should ask the Council to help establish a direction and work program for MCCI, then do any necessary enforcement through the Regional Administrator. Chair Kyle said he had a plan on how to deal with these questions and would address them later in the meeting.

Mr. Ganoe mentioned redistricting and the methods by which MCCI would be constituted, and asked if these details would be handled by the panel. Chair Kyle said he would address this issue later in the meeting. He said he met monthly with Mr. Burton and with Council members, and that every elected official at Metro was sincerely committed to citizen involvement.

Mr. Russell said that in the past year, District 3 had fallen off in MCCI membership, and asked why there was a lack of interest in that district. Mr. Burton suggested that the job description of the future MCCI overseer include the aggressive recruitment of members.

PIP Guide Work Group

Chair Kyle said that in the Retreat it had been decided to review the Public Involvement Planning (PIP) Guide, and proposed the creation of a work group. He had asked Pete Sandrock, Chief Operating Officer, to provide three department liaisons to join the work group, which would discuss how to make the guide useful to both department staff and MCCI members. Ms. Durtschi suggested an equal or larger number of MCCI members to the number of department liaisons.

Chair Kyle said he hoped to build full staff support through this work group. Mr. Pennington suggested that MCCI Staff complete PIPs. Chair Kyle said the work group idea played into what had been said in the Retreat about citizen involvement becoming a necessity, not a requirement. Mr. Ganoe asked if the work group was to convince staff that citizen involvement was necessary. Chair Kyle said that the process of getting there was the basis of this discussion. Mr. Pennington said that who filled out the PIP wasn’t as important as the PIP reflecting plans for involving citizens. Ms. Durtschi said subcommittees spent most of their time gathering information, not determining whether PIPs were created, and subcommittee operation would have to change to get PIPs. Mr. Andreen asked how to verify that a PIP had occurred and been successful.

Mr. Russell asked if the work group needed Council approval. Chair Kyle said that if it could be done without a budget impact, it wouldn’t need Council approval. Mr. Sherwood said that department staff was obligated to comply with the PIP Guide. He said that Council should enforce this, and suggested that a Council member join the work group. Mr. Seibert suggested a deadline of April, 2002. Ms. Durtschi said she didn’t think it should take that long.

Mr. Pennington asked if the motion applied to the paper or the process. Ms. Durtschi responded that it was both.

Mr. Sherwood asked what would happen if the department staff was uncooperative. Mr. Jones said MCCI needed to be more proactive, and that this tool would help liaisons be more effective. Mr. Ganoe suggested amending Ms. Durtschi’s motion to specifically address Mr. Sherwood’s concern. Mr. Pennington said that revising the PIP Guide might preclude reviewing the potential changes to be made during the transition. Mr. Kimball asked if the point of contention was what qualified as a public involvement plan. Chair Kyle responded that it was one of the issues. He proposed tabling the issue for a month, and said he would bring back a written charge for the work group.

Mr. Sherwood asked if Councilor Burkholder would be willing to attend the work group meetings. Councilor Burkholder assented.

Chair Report

Chair Kyle said he had met with Jeff Stone, Council Chief of Staff; John Donovan, Council Public Outreach Coordinator; and Ms. Stacey to discuss transition and MCCI. He said that he, Mr. Seibert, Mr. Ganoe, and Mr Andreen would work with the Council Office to bring a proposal to MCCI. He said direct links were needed between MCCI and the Council, Council President, Metro staff, and department heads. He said this transition work group would look at how MCCI could position itself to be more effective, and he envisioned an Office of Citizen Involvement with a significant amount of clout. Councilor Burkholder said that if the charter-mandated activity was to be taken seriously, this work needed to be done in anticipation of upcoming budget development. He said a strong proposal would be needed to compete with funds.

Chair Kyle said that he had spoken with the Auditor regarding the public involvement audit plan, which might not begin for nine to twelve months. He encouraged the Auditor to contact MCCI for help with the process, and MCCI would be contacted once the audit began. Ms. Durtschi asked about using PIPs as criteria in the audit. Chair Kyle said the Auditor was consulting with the state to see what criteria they required. Ms. Durtschi suggested speaking with Gary Blackmer, City of Portland Auditor. Mr. Pennington asked about coordinating the audit with the transition work group. Chair Kyle said there was a concern that materials used in the audit might fuel those looking to attack the Periodic Review process, and this might affect the timing of the audit. Mr. Ganoe said he would like to see a calendar coordinating all these events.

MCCI Staff Report

Ms. Stacey passed out a list of GRC public comment dates; an article on public involvement activities in Albuquerque, New Mexico; an updated membership list; and an updated acronym list, which are included as part of this record..

Mr. Sherwood commended the addition of the PIP list to the Regular Meeting packet, and asked to see a monthly updated list, with the status of each project. Mr. Russell suggested adding the list to the website. Mr. Pennington suggested discussing this further in the Steering Committee.

Round Table

Mr. Seibert said that a Councilor presence in the PIP work group might preclude effective discussions with Metro staff.

Mr. Jones said his neighborhood had advocated for the Portland Traction Line with the GRC.

Ms. Henton passed around the Gresham Mayor’s Citizen Involvement Report.

Mr. Andreen said he would report back how effective Coffee Talks were at Beavercreek.

Ms. Durtschi said her son’s squadron was in Korea, taking the place of Kitty Hawk. She reported on a recent land-use ruling that disallowed the League of Women Voters from an appeal because they were not at the risk of financial injury. She suggested reviewing Goal 8 in the Functional Plan and updating the process with this ruling in mind. Dan Cooper, Metro General Counsel had said that the ruling wouldn’t affect Metro, but this would not be known for sure until the Supreme Court made its decision.

Mr. Russell announced a city CCI-sponsored Coffee Talk conference in Beaverton. He said he was concerned how the $400 million passed down to local governments by the state legislature would be spent.

Mr. Kimball attended the Salmon Festival and asked if MCCI used such events to further citizen involvement. Mr. Ganoe said that the Parks subcommittee normally covered that event.

Mr. Siegel said that the GRC was identifying eight open spaces to fund.

Mr. Pennington said his hospital was hosting two Coffee Talks. On October 4, 2001, he lost his battle with the Council regarding the cherrystem annexation.

Mr. Ganoe announced that GRC public involvement would also occur after the referendum. He reported on his visit to the North Clackamas Citizens’ Association.

Ms. MacColl said that Portland League of Women Voters had hosted five Coffee Talks and she was impressed with the level of interest among participants.

Ms. Roth reported on her participation in interviews for Clackamas County Administrator.

Chair Kyle commended the Channel 8 news story on Coffee Talks. He said that in the October 2001 Public Works Management & Policy journal, it was interesting to note that Oregon was significantly different from the rest of the country where sprawl was the norm.

Adjourn

There being no further business before the committee, Chair Kyle adjourned the meeting at 9:12 p.m.

Prepared by,

Cary Stacey

Council Assistant