Metro Committee for Citizen Involvement Regular Committee

Call to Order & Approval of Agenda

Members Present: Norm Andreen, Kay Durtschi, Kathy Henton, Jim Kimball, Ted Kyle, Leeanne MacColl, Bob Pung, Christine Roth, Pat Russell, Scott Seibert, Ray Sherwood, and Meyer Siegel.

Others Present: Councilor Rex Burkholder; Councilor Susan McLain; Cary Stacey, MCCI Staff; and Curt Winkler, MCCI member in process, were also present.

Members Absent: Joe Annett, Dennis Ganoe, Dick Jones, Keith Parker, Darren Pennington, and Shannon Turk.

Chair Kyle opened the meeting at 7:03 p.m. Ms. Durtschi volunteered to be timekeeper.

Introductions

There were none.

Approval of Agenda

Hearing no objections, Chair Kyle proceeded with the agenda.

Approval of August 15, 2001, Minutes

Approval of October 17, 2001, Minutes

Ms. Stacey said that the opening of the meeting should be recorded as 7:05 p.m., not 6:05 p.m, and that the minutes should reflect the distribution of the October 17, 2001, Auditor Liaison Report under the corresponding agenda item.

Mr. Seibert referred to page 2, paragraph 4, and asked that it be clarified that Mr. Burton had 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. Sherwood referred to page 6, paragraph 5 for clarification, and asked that the ruling she addressed in the same paragraph be referred to as a land-use ruling. Ms. Durtschi clarified the language in question.

Public Comment

There was none.

Transition Discussion

Chair Kyle passed out a document showing the Council’s physical restructure, a copy of which is included as part of this record. Councilor McLain said that the Council’s physical restructure had resulted from consultant recommendations regarding efficiency and the best use of personnel skills. She spoke to the handout. She said that improvements had already arisen from the structure, and that these changes were part of the larger transition. She said that there was ongoing analysis of the current managers and cabinet and their responsibilities and functions. She said those managers were meeting with Mike Burton, Executive Officer, and Jeff Stone, Legislative/Policy Officer, and that consultants might also be brought into the mix. She said the Transition Task Force (TTF) would be providing advice to the Council and the Executive Office regarding needed changes. As Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, she said that the current process of budget development would reflect the transition.

Chair Kyle asked how the transition would affect Metro. Councilor McLain responded that Metro would endeavor to have good management and relationships between Council and the Regional Administrator, and would still seek to serve citizens. Chair Kyle asked how the transition would affect MCCI. Councilor McLain responded that this was an opportunity for MCCI to consider what they would want. She recognized members for being active and caring, and asked how worthwhile the Metro/MCCI relationship felt to members. She spoke to two MCCI accomplishments: the transportation PIP and the principles of citizen involvement. She said this was a time when Council would be open for suggestions from MCCI as to be more effective. She said Council needed to take responsibility to give MCCI more direction to help with Council’s functions.

Ms. Durtschi asked who would be drafting the Regional Administrator job description. Councilor McLain responded that the TTF would most likely come up with an advice list, but Council would be the ultimate drafters of the job description. Ms. Durtschi asked if MCCI or citizens could have a role in that. Councilor McLain responded that if the job description were to be included in the Metro Code, there would be a public process. She said that if MCCI had a subcommittee come up with ideas for informing the public regarding this change, that would be helpful.

Mr. Kimball asked if the administrator would have a role similar to that of Washington County’s administrator. Councilor McLain said that she did not agree with that governmental model because Washington County staff made a lot of decisions without public review. She said the TTF and Council, with the help of public input, would need to make sure that Metro was a government that was responsive to the general public. She said that Council, not staff, needed to be responsible for policy decisions.

Ms. MacColl asked for clarification of the new Council roles. Councilor McLain said the Legislative/Policy Officer would deal with general policy issues, would act as liaison between management staff and the Council, and would work with the legislature. The Communications Officer would be responsible for the Council’s outreach arm. The Council Operations Officer would be responsible for managing and dispersing the internal workload, and for managing budget issues.

Mr. Andreen asked, regarding the Regional Administrator, what form citizen involvement would take. Councilor McLain responded that citizens would not be part of the hiring process, but they would have an opportunity to ensure the job description provided for citizen involvement. She said the TTF would bring their advice to Council after January and Council would decide how to use the material during February and March. Around March and April, they would explore how to involve the public in the process.

Mr. Pung asked whether MCCI would have to wait until the work was done before they could see anything. Councilor McLain responded that the TTF was a specialized group consisting of members who provided experience in public and private management, and as an advisory committee was fully qualified to provide advice. Chair Kyle said he was a member of the TTF. Mr. Pung asked if the group would have a citizen involvement component. Councilor McLain said that was a question that could be posed to the Executive Officer, who had put together the TTF.

Ms. Durtschi asked for clarification regarding the role of MCCI Staff in the Communications Office. Councilor McLain said if there were concerns that MCCI Staff was not completing needed work, Councilor McLain or Councilor Burkholder should be notified.

Chair Kyle suggested that anyone who had further questions for Councilor McLain should send her an email. He recognized Curt Winkler, MCCI member in process for District 3.

Auditor Liaison Report

Ms Stacey passed out the November 21, 2001, Auditor Liaison Report, which is included as part of this record.

Council Liaison Report

Councilor Burkholder announced that there was an online survey regarding Coffee Talks, which provided instant updates on responses. Chair Kyle announced that 55 Coffee Talks had already taken place, with an average of 20 people per Coffee Talk, and that over 1000 people had participated in Coffee Talks. He said 30 more were scheduled in the next two weeks, and that the program would continue through the month of January. He said that the Coffee Talks were reaching people that were not usually touched by Metro outreach activities.

Mr. Russell asked, regarding the monthly Regional Transportation Planning Report, why it was issued, who it went to, and why it didn’t go to other departments. He asked why it only addressed Regional Transportation Planning, and whether it could address other issues.

Mr. Sherwood asked why MCCI wasn’t involved in federal Transportation Planning Certification. Councilor Burkholder said that he believed it would be appropriate for an MCCI subcommittee to request to be involved in self-certification.

Business

PIPG Review Committee Draft Resolution

Chair Kyle spoke to the resolution. He said the timeline was set with attention to the Metro transition, and that he would like to see the Public Involvement Planning Guide (PIPG) adopted as an ordinance rather than a resolution.

Ms. Durtschi pointed out that the Charter was adopted in 1992, not 1990.

Mr. Russell asked if a resolution log would begin for MCCI. Ms. Stacey assented.

Mr. Kimball asked, regarding the sixth item to be resolved, whether it was the only item that did not address process. Chair Kyle responded that it addressed general outcomes of the review and that it came from the Guide itself and from comments he had heard. He said the goal was to reduce duplication in work but still get needed results. Mr. Sherwood referred to the sixth item and suggested that the last three lines of the sixth item be struck. Mr. Kimball endorsed the current language in the interest of finding the best way to do things.

Chair Kyle asked for a vote on the motion to adopt the resolution.

Mr. Russell said that the subcommittee should do outreach to other organizations to see how their model worked.

Chair Kyle asked for volunteers to join the PIPG Review Committee. Mr. Andreen, Ms. Durtschi, Mr. Kimball, and Mr. Seibert volunteered.

Channel 8 News Clips

The committee viewed four news clips regarding Metro’s growth projections and Metro’s Coffee Talks.

MCCI Staff Report

Ms. Stacey announced that Mr. Winkler would be an official voting member by January at the latest. She announced that the 2001 Solid Waste Information System Report had been recently posted to Metro's website. She spoke to the Subcommittee Minutes Template, in the Regular Meeting packet. She distributed an updated PIP list, an updated membership list, the November 19, 2001, Communications Update, copies of which are included as part of this record.

Ms. Durtschi said that she and the Growth Management subcommittee felt the Subcommittee Minutes Template was inadequate.

Chair Report

Chair Kyle apologized for the dysfunctional nature of the meeting the previous month. He said the Steering Committee would try to address this issue.

He said the MCCI Workgroup had had a good meeting and that progress towards a new relationship with Council was being made. He said the workgroup would be meeting again on December 12, 2001.

He said a major policy initiative was being considered by MPAC and the Council to revise Title 8. He suggested that he and Ms. Durtschi speak to that issue during the consideration process. There was some discussion about the proposed changes.

Round Table

Ms. Henton asked the Chair and MCCI Staff to address delinquent members.

Mr. Kimball announced that the Washington County Commission Chair had commented unfavorably to the Washington County CCI regarding Metro greenspaces in Washington County.

Adjourn

There being no further business before the committee, Chair Kyle adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m.

Prepared by,

Cary Stacey

Council Assistant