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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-07-05 Minutes, Study CommissionMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMISSION October 7, 2005 Present was Chair Loren Olsen, Study Commission members Brian Close, Bill Hayward, John Trull and Marilou Turrentine. Also present was Study Commission Secretary, Celeste Janssen and James Madden, a facilitator with the Community Mediation Center. The meeting was called to order at 1:40 pm. Introduction Loren Olsen informed the Study Commission that more citizen responses had come into Tracy Oulman, and therefore fifteen people might be expected at each panel. Brian Close brief Jim Madden was on the Study Commission. Tracy Oulman entered the meeting. She updated the Study Commission on the administrative side of the citizen panels. She originally sent out 150 letters and received 27 affirmative responses. Last week she sent out an additional 50 letters in the hopes of obtaining 30 individuals for the citizen panels. Jim Madden asked how stringently he should adhere to the topic. Bill Hayward responded that he would like to first exhaust transparency, and only discuss other topics if there is time. He does not want the panel to get lost on a tangent. Brian Close mentioned that Portland is going to hire someone to facilitate communication. He asked if the Study Commission wanted the Citizen Panel to investigate this idea. Bill Hayward said that he would like to see what ideas the panel comes up with. The Citizen Panel will be at the Senior Center, 807 N. Tracey, on the lower level. It will begin at 7:00 pm and last for two hours. Jim Madden began to structure the agenda for the evening. Loren Olsen will welcome everyone, explain what the Study Commission is and the purpose of the Citizen Panels. Mr. Madden would like to see everyone introduce themselves, and then he will present the agenda. Jim Madden's goal is for everyone to have the opportunity to be heard. Bill Hayward wishes to provoke conversation more but not lead it. He would like Jim Madden to wrap up the panel by talking about what conclusions were reached. Mr. Hayward would like to have a written report on the meeting and Mr. Madden suggested having the report sent to all the participants. John Trull would like dialogue from the Study Commission to be in the form of questions. He does not believe the Study Commission should act as advocates. The Study Commission then reiterated adjusting the agenda to hold public comments until the very end. Bill Hayward asked who will run the meeting and Jim Madden responded that he intends to. Jim Madden would like citizens to talk about their perception about how things are working now and then talk about their ideas for making Bozeman better. John Trull mentioned his interest in learning what citizens think about communication during the time of elections. He would like to find out if voters feel they are properly informed on candidates and ballot measures. Bill Hayward expressed hesitation on the legality of Bozeman providing voter information and disregarded the idea because of the timeline. Marilou Turrentine created a list of a dozen items that could be used to use better communication. She would like to have the list in the information packet, but Bill Hayward left it out in order to be impartial. Mrs. Turrentine will instead email the list to Mr. Madden. The Study Commission discussed media. Bill Hayward would like to have media involved. Loren Olsen will plan to invite Brook Griffin. Brian Close suggested having television interviews after, not before, the Citizen Panel. Loren Olsen also mentioned using the radio show for publicity. Bill Hayward suggested having Jim Madden create a "laundry list" of suggestions to then work from. Brian Olsen suggested breaking the panel into smaller groups to facilitate discussion. The Study Commission discussed exit evaluations. The Study Commission will give it to participants and ask them to fill it out on the spot. Tracy Oulman will give her draft to Jim Madden. The Study Commission discussed logistics and room setup. Jim Madden will bring flipcharts. Tracy Oulman will bring her portable white board. Celeste Janssen will take official Study Commission notes on the laptop, and Loren Olsen will take flipchart notes. Celeste Janssen would like to include speakers' names in the minutes, and therefore would like every speaker to state his or her name before speaking. Loren Olsen would like citizens to not only give personal opinions, but also represent their "circle of influence." Tracy Oulman noted that in her phone calls to citizens, she will suggest citizens preparing for the panel by talking with others. She also suggests having citizens notice their awareness of issues, how they rate topic, what is understandable, and quality of communication. Bill Hayward asked how Jim Madden will handle new topics that come up. Mr. Madden responded that people will talk until they express themselves. The massaging of the ideas will happen with group dynamics. Brian Close reiterated that he doesn't want to influence the process. Loren Olsen wants the public to feel like the Study Commission really listened to them. Chair Olsen will invite the citizens to attend future meetings. Confirming date for next meeting October 11th, upstairs in Conference Room at 7:00 p.m. Adjournment - 2:50 p.m. There being no further business at this time, it was moved by Brian Close, seconded by Bill Wise, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously. LOREN OLSEN, Chair ATTEST: CELESTE JANSSEN, Secretary of the Study Commission MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMISSION October 7, 2005 Present was Study Commission Chair Loren Olsen, Study Commission members Brian Close, Bill Hayward, John Trull and Marilou Turrentine. Also present: Celeste Janssen, Secretary of the Study Commission; Doris Armstrong of the Montana Center for International Visitors; Tanya Samsonova-Lukenbill, translator; and Andre, Nicholi, Svetlana, Veronica, and Natalia from Russia. The meeting was called to order at 12:00 pm by Doris Armstrong. Introduction All individuals were introduced. Introduction to the Study Commission Loren Olsen gave a basic explanation of the Study Commission. Q&A The meeting moved to question and answer format. The Study Commission spoke about different types of government, including different styles of City Manager. Marilou Turrentine arrived at 12:15. The Russian visitors asked if the City Commission listens to the Study Commission. They also asked about self governing powers and financial transparency. John Trull arrived at 12:20 pm. There was discussion on the 2020 plan and planning in Bozeman. Then the conversation revolved around finance and budgets, including the cost and frequency of budgeting. The Study Commission discussed voters passing the charter, and then moved on to Citizen Panels. The Study Commission spoke about what changes they were considering making. The Russian visitors wondered about how and why individuals were on the Study Commission. They spoke about a group of volunteers who formed "Citizen Chamber' in Russian municipalities. Only "famous citizens" are allowed to participate. There are public councils on both the mayoral and gubernatorial levels. Citizen Chambers put together ideas to study and then work with universities to make recommendations for city government. City government can choose to put forth the recommendation to regional government, and then regional government could then pass a recommended law. The Study Commission asked if the visitors had recommendations after their various meetings with our city officials. Andre responded that on one hand the city is being developed, but on the other hand many people don't like it. He would like to see a Bozeman residents reach a golden middle — laws limiting development so that both sides are happy. He believes that the beautiful environment should be protected, and so should the good businesses. He also recommended developing the tour industry, because he sees tourism making both development and preservation possible. Svetlana responded with her suggestion to encourage Bozeman to adopt an international focus. She believes that Bozeman should put together international corporation projects, and study what other countries offer regarding new, interesting technologies. Nicholi stated that he must spend two more months in Bozeman in order to make a policy recommendation (a move that he would happily do.) Natalia said she wishes for our business and environment to prosper, and she wishes for Bozeman to find a happy medium. Veronica explained that this program was funded by the Library of Congress and the State Department. She thanked Bozeman residents for hosting her group. Adjournment - 1:29 p.m. Doris Armstrong ended the meeting at 1:29 pm LOREN OLSEN, Chair ATTEST: CELESTE JANSSEN, Secretary of the Study Commission