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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEfficient Meetings questions and answersOn the processes slide, there is a part about time for response - I am curious who the response is to - the presenters? Responses in the instance are related to questions that arise during public comment that need to be addressed. These may be from the Staff or Applicant that presented, depending on the nature of the question raised. Not all questions merit this type of response. Will the advisory board meetings be via Webex? And is there someone who can help us make sure that it is functioning correctly before the first meeting? Advisory board meetings will remain remote via WebEx until after the City Commission returns to in- person. Please reach out to myself or staff to test your set up if you have not connected as a panelist previously; there are some basic troubleshoot tips included with agenda materials. If you have issues the night of the meeting, reaching out to staff liaison or the phone listed on the agenda will ensure you are connecting with the people running your specific meeting. Are we able to see the timer? Do we do the timing at the meetings? Staff does not provide a timer. As with the City Commission where the Mayor tracks the time for public comments, it is the responsibility of the Presiding Officer to enforce the limit. is public comment only taken on action items? can the chair allow public comment on other items? (e.g., staff presentations? Public comments are taken in a general period that allows for comment on any issue within the purview of the Board, even if it is not on an agenda. Special Presentations are designed to be a one-way provision of information to the public and board; for items that require interactive discussion and Q&A between staff and the board, it is best to place those in the discussion or action items section. In the event that your board will see consent items, it is best to ask for any public comment on the consent items separate from general public comments. How strict does the city want to enforce the 3 minute comment limit? Do we cut commenters off? We need consistency between the boards. The City Commission limits comments to three minutes and we want public to have similar expectations and treated fairly in their opportunity to comment. If a commenter has gone over time, please ask them politely to wrap up. If the commenter continues, it is appropriate to ask staff to mute them in the remote environment. What specifically is the role of Vice Chair in a typical meeting? In a typical meeting, you role will be that of any other voting member. Be aware, at a moment’s notice you may be required to step in as the presiding officer (technical issues for the Chair or if they need to recuse themselves). will agendas have time guidelines for the various agenda items? The amount of time on each item on the agenda will largely dependent on the specific item. Staff liaisons and board chairs need to be aware that we are trying to stick to the scheduled two hour meetings. How does the City like to handle repetitive or scripted comments? If we received identical comments from multiple individuals, we allow them to each utilize their time. However, we do not allow commenters to have multiple bites at the apple; if someone commented during general public comments on an action item, we would not allow them to comment again during the action item. Frequently the Mayor will ask that commenters wait until the action item if that is what they want to comment on and remind people of the prohibition on commenting twice during the meeting on the same item. I was under the impression the Urban Parks and Forestry meeting would be on Dec 23 but I'm not seeing it listed on the City of Bozeman calendar. Can you confirm when our first meeting will be? The UPF meeting is scheduled for Dec. 23. Meetings do not show up on the calendar until the agenda is published. What happens if we are not through agenda and we reach time This will depend on how long you think it will take to complete the item. If you can wrap up in a reasonable amount of time, you may mention to the board your intention to extend the meeting by 15 or 30 minutes to gauge their willingness to keep going. If there it is expected to be a long time before the item is concluded, it may be time to continue the item to the next meeting. under what circumstances should the chair extend a meeting? Similar to above, it will be in the judgment of the Chair to ask the other board members. if/when meetings go back to being in person, will those be completely in person with no virtual opportunities for participation? or is that all TBD? The discussions with the City Commission is to offer a hybrid public participation option. The intention has been for the presenters and the board members to be in-person. If Chairs find ourselves struggling on a Robert's Rule type issue while running the meeting, would it be appropriate to ask the staff for assistance/clarification on best course of action? Absolutely, staff liaisons are a great resource for procedural questions. Do we get city provided emails? Or was Jeff referring to City staff only. No, board members will not receive a City of Bozeman email (other than the Board of Ethics). The reminder here is that all emails related to City business are subject to Montana’s Open Records Laws. In the past, RPAB had regular updates from certain partners at every meeting, Will that be the same moving forward? Feel free to skip this question if this is not relevant to others on this meeting. No, the past practice of standing partner updates are not intended within the new board set up. If there is information that staff liaisons and the Chair think are necessary, they may be scheduled as a special presentation when necessary. do we direct people to agenda@bozeman.net Yes, if anyone would like to make comments to the board or reach out to you individual, they can be directed to submit comments to agenda@bozeman.net, or review the other options on the City’s Public Comments page. How would we find each other to contact? When the Advisory Board page is updated, the list of names of board members will be there for all boards. Connected to the email that provides this reference will have the known board Chairs email addresses.