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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-06-05 Minutes, Study CommissionMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMISSION December 6, 2005 The Study Commission met in regular session in the Commission Room, Municipal Building, at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 6, 2005. Present were Chair Loren Olsen, Marilou Turrentine, Brian Close, and John Trull. Also present was Secretary of the Study Commission Celeste Janssen. Study Commissioner Bill Hayward was absent. The meeting was called to order by Chair Loren Olsen at 7:00 pm. Jim Madden's Invoice for Services Jim Madden's invoice was $200 higher than expected. Brian Close moved that the Study Commission pay Jim Madden, and the funds should come from another category in our Budget wherever the City Treasurer recommends. John Trull seconded the motion and all voted in favor. Minutes Brian Close moved to approve the minutes of November 1, November 8, and November 15 as amended. John Trull seconded the motion and all voted in favor. Public comment No public was present to give comment. Joint meeting with the City Commission Robin Sullivan, City Clerk, provided the Study Commission with a draft agenda for the December 12tn working session between the City Commission and the Study Commission. Ms. Sullivan would like to know how long the meeting will be and what information needs to be given to the Commissioners. The Study Commission discussed the meeting agenda. Marilou Turrentine suggested discussing transparency, the Citizen Panels, and the interest people showed in changing the commission as Bozeman grows. Loren Olsen would like to get their input on how the Study Commission is doing on the charter. Brian Close suggested highlighting some issues like proposed staggering of city boards, establishment of an ethics board, size of the commission, the mayor, how the agenda is formed, and all of Ms. Turrentine's suggestions. He would like to know if they have any concerns or wants. Mr. Close also suggesting discussing INC (and Marilou Turrentine agreed). Mr. Trull is not opposed to anyone's ideas, but he wants the City Commission's broad views and input on the direction the Study Commission has already taken. The Study Commission discussed what order to put topics on the agenda, and what was the best depth for topics. They developed the following recommended agenda: Study Commission's Recommended Agenda 1. Synopsis ofStudy Commission's research 2. What do you think of the charter so far? 3. Concerns Commissioners may have? Possible Issues to Discuss: • Citizen Panel success and questions (Marilou) Communication/transparency in government • Commissioner numbers (Loren) Improving representation as Bozeman grows • How the mayor is elected (Loren) • Job description of the mayor (Loren) • Creation of the agenda (Loren) • Possible recommendations (Loren) Page 1 of 4 INC, Staggering City Boards, Creating an Ethics Board, Fiscal, Train the planning board Celeste Janssen reminded the Study Commission of their vote to have the minutes for the Citizen Panels mailed to the Commissioners. Brian Close suggested giving the minutes to Robin Sullivan to for the City Commission packets. Ms. Janssen will send Robin Sullivan the recommended agenda, the current NCL Charter, and the two Citizen Panel minutes. Marilou Turrentine would like the Study Commission to say less and listen more, just like the Citizen Panels. Everyone agreed. Brian Close suggested an hour and a half meeting. John Trull and Marilou Turrentine thought one hour would be sufficient. Loren Olsen said he would speak to Ms. Sullivan about the length of time and get back to the Study Commission. Brian Close and Loren Olsen reported that they were going to have lunch with Rick Weaver and Bob Gibson, but they cancelled. Mr. Weaver's family was in a serious car accident. Mr. Close bought a sympathy card and wanted everyone to sign it. Recent City Commission election Loren Olsen noted that only 15% of the Bozeman voters went to the polls at the last election, and wondered if the Study Commission could do something in the charter or report to increase voter turn- out. The Study Commission also discussed partisan versus non -partisan elections. Loren Olsen noted that Ken Weaver strongly believes that Bozeman's elections should remain nonpartisan, and Chair Olsen would like to add this topic to the report. John Trull noted that the candidates were publicly endorsed by parties. He believes Bozeman should hold partisan elections because it better reflects the truth of Bozeman's politics. Marilou Turrentine said people in government may go one way on an issue and then change on the next issue, and that is middle ground is best reflected with nonpartisan elections. Loren Olsen said the best way to get votes and money is approach a party. Brian Close said the philosophy behind nonpartisan elections is that the city administration is elected based on who they are, not party affiliation. Mr. Close said that in 2001 and 2003, business interested poured thousands of dollars into campaigns, and the progressive movement decided to organize in 2003. Brian Close said he isn't willing to go for partisan elections yet. Brian Close asked everyone to reread the NCL's comments on campaign practice. Joint meeting with INC The Study Commission was sent a long chain of emails concerning INC matters. Loren Olsen gave a brief background on the INC and the current conflict with the Northwest Neighborhood Network. The Study Commission needs to decide where they stand on INC and if they deal with INC now or have someone else do it later. They also need to decide if the proposed January meeting is necessary and if so, what should the format of the meeting be. Should the Study Commission hear from INC first and then from other groups afterwards? Or let everyone participate at the same time? Marilou Turrentine asked if the Study Commission was going to put neighborhoods in the charter. She thought the topic would just go in recommendations. Brian Close would like the charter to mention neighborhoods and INC, which currently has no formal status as a city board. Mr. Close said that in the charter the subject should be included only to the extent that says Bozeman must have an ordinance dealing with neighborhood establishment and the INC board. Loren Olsen said that if this is our final decision, the meeting with INC might be a waste of everyone's time. Brian Close and John Trull both thought it would be nice to hear from INC. Marilou Turrentine doesn't want to focus on INC for an entire meeting. John Trull has met with Tracy Oulman and also spoken to Jeff Krauss about neighborhoods. He passed out two documents from Tracy Oulman (a document on how neighborhoods were dealt with in the Missoula charter and a document on a possible meeting format for the January joint meeting.) John Trull suggested having two people from each neighborhood speak, similar to the Citizen Panel format. He believes that two separate working sessions would work best. Brian Close questioned if Page 2 of 4 that means going though the same issues twice, and John Trull responded yes, but from two different perspectives. Brian Close would like some additional facts before coming to a decision. What are the recognized neighborhoods, what process did they go through. Is the Northwest Neighborhood Network a recognized group? What steps are left for them to become recognized? Loren Olsen said he thinks the major issue concerns writing bylaws and noticing members. Loren said that Jon Gershner and Tracy Oulman believe that in the future there should be many — thirty as opposed to eight — neighborhood groups in Bozeman. Marilou Turrentine can foresee a problem with that because the old neighborhoods will be well established. Loren Olsen asked for opinions on INC. Brian Close said he sees the value of meeting with INC and also recognizing that people who have problems with INC have a place to speak. John Trull said that every neighborhood needs bylaws, and people who claim to represent a group need to be elected to prove that they actually to represent the population. He also believes that as a public group, meetings must be open and announced. Celeste Janssen (Study Commission secretary) worried that both sides would come to complain about issues where the Study Commission can't do anything. She said what can and cannot be done should be clearly stated in the beginning. Brian Close said good ideas came from the joint meeting with planning board. The Study Commission briefly discussed the meeting. John Trull motioned to have the meeting with INC in January and Brian Close seconded the motion. Chair Olsen called for discussion, and he said that he isn't sure what is best. He suggested working on this issue in a subcommittee. Marilou Turrentine asked if it would be enough to legitimize the Neighborhood Coordinator job in the charter. John Trull amended his motion to also create a subcommittee on the issue. The motion passed unanimously. John Trull and Loren Olsen volunteered for the subcommittee. Loren Olsen noted that INC is having a holiday party which he can't attend but he hopes someone will go. Marilou Turrentine and Brian Close cannot make it, but John Trull and Celeste Janssen might go. Study Commission budget Study Commission received their monthly budget report. Paul Luwe's suggestions for the Charter Brian Close suggested putting something in the charter that says for fiscal items one million or greater, a hearing is required. Mr. Close said he understands Paul Luwe's concern about the language in the charter. Marilou Turrentine said that she really doesn't want to micromanage. Charter The Study Commission did not work on the Charter at this meeting. New business There was no new business at the time. Confirm date for next meeting December 12 at 6:00 pm in the Community Room of the Gallatin County Courthouse. December 13 at 7 pm in the Conference Room of the Municipal Building. Adjournment at 9:07 pm There being no further business at this time, it was moved by John Trull, seconded by Marilou Turrentine, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously. Page 3 of 4 LOREN OLSEN, Chair /_raIMMI CELESTE JANSSEN, Secretary of the Study Commission Page 4 of 4