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03/11/2003 - Retreat - MinutesOFFICE OF THE MAYOR 11 March 2003 TO: City Council ~ .. 1 / FM: Mayor Weatherillf''(/'f)./ RE: The 2002 Council Retreat Enclosed are the minutes from last year's Council Retreat. As the Mayor, I think it would be worthwhile to review what we wanted to do and what we have accomplished in the previous months. Our priorities remain the same. We have committed over $1,000,000 towards the design of the Wastewater Treatment Facility expansion and continue to work hand-in-hand with Sewer District. We are making slow but steady progress on the indoor range and have now brought an architect on board. The economic health of our business community continues to be a worry, but we do recognize the importance of strong business climate and we continue to seek opportunities to make a difference. We discussed several ideas, but not all of them have been addressed or continued. The ideas that have been acted upon included: ~ Mayor Bozeman was invited to discuss his ideas with the council. ~ The KRCC has limited its activities and has better focused on its goals. ~ KRCC minutes are being provided to the Council in days instead of weeks. ~ The process to select Committee substitutes was changed. ~ Different committee members are being used as substitutes to cross train the Council members. ~ The Fire Committee was deleted. ~ Economic Development was added to the Telecommunications Committee. ~ We have used the First-Monday's for study sessions, such as the joint meeting with the Planning Commission. ~ The Growth Management Committee has been assigned the task to monitor the KRCC. ~ In January 2004, we will review Committee assignments. Some ideas have not been acted upon ~ We are not as proactive as we should be with the newspapers. If we are going to have good press, we have to make sure the good news is known. ~ The Council members are not visiting the Mayor one-on-one a regular basis. Each of us is busy, but we have to talk with one another in order to be a stronger team. We started with an excellent idea, but it seems to have fallen to the side of the road. We agreed that Council members could call for more time on a measure if they have not had the chance to study the issue. The Council would concur without any argument from the others. At the last meeting, John Clauson wanted more time on an ordinance, but failed to have it. Previous to that, Todd Cramer had concerns about Council actions, but was not given more time. Our minutes stated that Council members should not be rushed into a vote unless there are fully explained extenuating circumstances. I would recommend we return to this concept. r-- ' ..... ·•. ~ -. ·-" --· . City ------ofPort Orcliard PORT ORCHARD, WASHINGTON 98366 TO: Mayor Weatherill and the City Council FM: City Engine~5-s...--- RE: City Council Retreat On Saturday morning, the Mayor and City Council met at City Hall to discuss specific items. The agenda is attached. The Council discussed its goals and intended direction for the City. There was agreement that a set of priorities needed to be established and adhered to in order to make the best use of limited resources. The City's priorities are: First Priority: The expansion of the wastewater treatment facility. Since this is a utility-funded project, it can be concurrent with the first priority. The increasing population and the need to expand the employment base require a larger wastewater treatment facility. Second Priority: The construction of the indoor range. Qualification and competency with firearms is essential to law enforcement and there is a serious deficiency for adequate ranges. The City's intent is to construct an indoor range that will provide Port Orchard Police a training facility, and the facility will pay for itself by allowing other agencies and the public to use. Third Priority: The economic health of Port Orchard requires City assistance. Means to enhance economic development includes improving the downtown business area, assisting where possible the other retail areas of the City, and being available and supportive to business. yanous ideas were proposed during discussions: :> Invite Mayor Bozeman to a City Council meeting to see where the two cities can assist each other. ·-:' ···•·po·· CITY HALL MUNICIPAL COURT 216 Proapect Street (360) 876--1701 POUCE DEPARTMENT 546 Bay Street PUBUC WORKS DEPARTMENT 216 Proapect Street Administration (360) 876-4407 FAX (360) 895-9029 FAX (360) 895-3071 (360) 876--1700 FAX(360)876--5S46 216 Proopect Street (360j'876:'i991 - FAX (360) 876--4980 c:-oo > Become more proactive in advertising Port Orchard. Work to get more and better coverage from the Tacoma News. Get more involved with the South Kitsap Chamber of Commerce. Stay involved with the VCB. Send out more press releases, such as grand openings of Mutual Materials and other new businesses. > The City Council members need to meet more often with the Mayor to discuss City issues one-on-one. To maintain a cohesive goal and direction, the Mayor and Council have to understand each other's plans. General City governance was discussed and this topic included Council committees. This was a free-flowing conversation and some of the ideas that were developed included: > The KRCC appears to be expanding its original role, which brings forth an increased expense to the local governments. The City has previously warned against this type of expansion and should express its concern again. The Mayor will do so in a letter and will discuss this with the other mayors. > The Mayor should provide in a timely manner the minutes of the monthly KRCC meeting. Typically, the official minutes do not get distributed for weeks after the meeting. In this manner, the Council will be better informed about the KRCC plans and can provide the Mayor more meaningful input before KRCC votes. Jo> Having the Mayor select committee substitutes delays the process. The committee chairs will select or request the needed substitute and then make sure that they or the staff keeps the Mayor informed of the change. Jo> By using different members as substitutes, the other Council members can better learn what the different committees are doing. This is a good way to cross train the Council members. Jo> The Fire Committee should be deleted. Jo> Economic Development needs to be a committee assignment. Jo> Council members should not be rushed into a vote unless there are fully explained extenuating circumstances. It was agreed that any one Council member, without argument from the others, could call for more time on a measure if they have not had a chance to study the issue. Jo> If necessary, the Council can begin its First-Monday Study Sessions again to schedule topics for in-depth discussions. > The Council needs input on the committee system. As such, it was agreed to leave the existing committee assignments as they are for the time being. Then, every January following an election of Mayor or Council seats, the Council will ( schedule a retreat to review the committee assignments. At that meeting, the Council will seek a consensus on the committee responsibilities and assignments. The Mayor will serve as a tiebreaker if the Council members cannot agree among themselves. > Telecommunications may not be a long-term committee. Once the system is constructed, the Council may treat the issue as another utility. This will be reviewed in January 2004. > KRCC is interfacing with numerous other committee assignments, such as land use, parks, and transportation. It also affects fmance. The Growth Management Committee should take the KRCC oversight responsibilities and delete the Land Use mention in its title. The Council discussed its Council attendance policy and decided to make one modification to it. The Council agreed that if the reason for an absence were due to illness, that absence would be excused. The Council discussed courtesies at the Council table. The Council has always prided itself on its ability to vigorously debate an issue and then vote upon it. After the vote, the members would then fully support the majority's decision. Inappropriate remarks or snide comments detract from the debate and should not be part of the public discussion. Cc Council I I I I I I I I ;