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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-28-06 Minutes, City CommissionMINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CITY OF BOZEMAN, MONTANA LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDY COMMISSION February 28, 2006 The Study Commission met in special session in the Conference Room, Municipal Building, at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28, 2006. Present were Chair Loren Olsen, Brian Close, and Harold Fryslie. Excused from the meeting was Marilou Turrentine and Bill Hayward. Also present was Secretary of the Study Commission Celeste Janssen. Mayor Jeff Krauss arrived at 8:05 pm and stayed until the end of the meeting. John Trull, member of the public, was also present. The meeting was called to order by Chair Loren Olsen at 7:02 pm. Minutes The minutes from January 24, 2006 weren't attached to the email. Loren Olsen will send them around. Brian Close moved that the Study Commission approve the minutes of January 17th as amended by Marilou Turrentine. Harold Fryslie seconded the motion and all three present Study Commissioners voted in favor of the motion. Brian Close moved that the Study Commission approve the minutes of January 31st and February 14th as is. Harold Fryslie seconded the motion and all three present Study Commissioners voted in favor of the motion. Brian Close moved that the Study Commission approve the minutes of February 7th as amended by Marilou Turrentine. Harold Fryslie seconded the motion and all three present Study Commissioners voted in favor of the motion. Public comment There was no public comment at the time. Budget Loren Olsen presented the Study Commission's budget -to -date. The Study Commission has spent conciderably less than budgeted like last year. Brian Close and Loren Olsen both agreed that the Study Commission Secretary be used as much as possible in the upcoming charter drafting. MSU survey expense and timing Loren Olsen emailed Jane Jelinski, and she referred him to someone who had expertise in surveys at MSU Bozeman and also at MSU Billings. Loren Olsen has spoken with the man at MSU Bozeman, who is a professor. They spoke about having a dozen questions or so put into a mailing survey that will reach 500 to 1000 people. The professor said he is studying other particular issues, and if he could incorporate his two issues into the Study Commission survey, his time on the project would be free and hard costs would be minimal. He is investigating how the number of empty lines following a question affects the amount of comments. He is also studying placement of the "check all that apply" box. The professor estimated the total cost of a survey to be about $3000 which is mostly postage costs. Brian Close asked for Loren Olsen to also discuss a survey by phone with MSU Billings. Mr. Close also wondered if a survey -by -mail might be less scientific or less valid than a survey -by -phone. He Page 1 of 4 suggested a "social norms" such as included a dollar to increase responses. He also suggested having the professor come to a meeting to work on the survey with the Study Commission. Mr. Close would like to see the survey happen as soon as possible, even though he will be out of town. He does not think the public should be asked about things that won't happen (such as wards.) Instead, he sees the survey having two key points — the mayor's election and the term length. Harold Fryslie and Loren Olsen agreed to be on a subcommittee to develop and work on the survey. They will review the survey completed by the last Study Commission. Discussion of Charter topics and language Brian Close asked Celeste Janssen to circulate state code 7.3.186 and 7.3.187. Timeline Brian Close noted that the Study Commission has to do a time table right away. Loren Olsen will put it on the upcoming agenda. Brian Close would like to see a draft going to Paul Luwe by mid -May. After that will be public hearings in the end of May and in the beginning of June. The Final report could then go to Paul Luwe in June, and then the Study Commission could work on promotion of the charter. The final must be submitted by August 24tn Charter Loren Olsen suggested looking at some of the green text in the charter during this meeting. Brian Close pointed out some things that can be deleted. For example, in Section 2.02, all but one of the alternatives can be deleted. Brian Close, Loren Olsen and Harold Fryslie all agreed to delete every option but Alternative B, which should be turned green. This section was moved up so that it is no longer just an alternative. All three Study Commissioners present voted to accept the preamble and turn the text blue. Loren Olsen said he is okay with Section 1.01 as it stands. Harold Fryslie and Brian Close agreed, and the section was turned blue. 1.02 Brian Close is fine with (a). He said (b) comes from Ken Weaver's draft charter, and he is okay with it as well. Loren Olsen and Harold Fryslie agreed, and the section was turned blue. 1.03 Harold Fryslie thinks it is fine, and so does Loren Olsen and Brian Close 1.04 Everyone agreed to add the words "subject to review of article 5" for now 2.02 (b) is blued, via everyone's approval. 2.03 (Mayor) will be skipped until after the survey. 2.05 Brian Close likes this section because he doesn't want people to trade their votes for a job. Harold Fryslie isn't so sure this is necessary for the charter. The Study Commission decided to look at this issue on April 13th, when more people will be present and Brian Close will be back. 2.12 Brian Close asked for Jeff Krauss's input on this section (Action Requiring an Ordinance). Mayor Krauss said it looks good to him, but #1 could infringe on administrative powers of the City Manager. Everyone agreed to blue the section, with the exception of #1. Page 2 of 4 Brian Close said he will look into sections 2.14, 2.15 and 2.16. He will ask Robin Sullivan for help on 2.16 (a). Mayor Krauss's comments Jeff Krauss asked to address the Study Commission, and Chair Olsen granted him the request. First, Mayor Krauss reiterated that the City Commission did not have a public time limit. The meeting the previous night went until 12:30. Mayor Krauss has developed a system where the public must line up, and public comment is closed when there is no remaining line. He said he would consider an hour and an half on a subject as a time limit for a controversial topic. To his knowledge, the one time he did it, it worked really well. Mayor Krauss spoke on being mayor on a 1-4 Commission. He said it was difficult to build consensus and he believes it would be easier if the Commission elected their own chair at every turn over (every two years.) He wonders how to make a difference in the current situation. Loren Olsen asked how the Commission can be 1-4 when it is nonpartisan. Mayor Krauss replied that different Commissioners just have different ideas on how things work. He cautioned the Study Commission on having a directly -elect a mayor, because that is a significant move towards a strong mayor form of government, and sets up significant tension between the City Manager and the mayor. Brian Close suggested putting the election of the mayor on the survey. The Study Commission and the Mayor spoke about how to educate the public on the mayoral seat. Brian Close reminded the Study Commission that Marilou Turrentine was going to write an article on this topic. Mayor Krauss said he could be easily become a de facto full-time mayor by the demands on his time. Loren Olsen asked Mayor Krauss if some members of the public have become improperly trained over the last ten years in that they can sway City Commission decisions just by showing up at Commission meetings and complaining. Harold Fryslie said City Commissioners have created and accepted a false perception of what "public participation" is. Brian Close said Montana Supreme Court has seven seats but uses five member panels in order to lessen the burden. He suggested the Study Commission should work in smaller thee member groups on some issues. He also asked Mayor Krauss's opinion on the two year training period. Jeff said the training period was nice, but he had lots of experience before running. Brian Close suggested to Mayor Krauss that he could build trust among the other Commissioners by putting items on the agenda that everyone cares about and can unite over, such as affordable housing. New business Celeste Janssen's full-time job at Eagle Mount requires a huge time commitment in June, July and August. Ms. Janssen has talked to Chair Olsen about the many clerical needs the Study Commission will have this summer. Ms. Janssen gave notice, effective May 16th or earlier if a replacement is found. The Study Commission discussed different ideas for a replacement. Confirm date for next meeting March 7th 2006 at 7 pm in the Conference Room of the Municipal Building. Adjournment at 9:00 pm There being no further business at this time, it was moved by Brian Close, seconded by Harold Fryslie Fryslie, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously. Page 3 of 4 LOREN OLSEN, Chair ATTEST: CELESTE JANSSEN, Secretary of the Study Commission Page 4 of 4