HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-25-2010COUNCIL COMMITTEE
ON COMMITTEES
WASHINGTON
FEBRUARY 25, 2010
MINUTES
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Rich Wagner called the meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. in Conference
Room 2 located on the second floor of Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main
Street, Auburn, Washington.
Members in attendance included Chair Rich Wagner and Vice Chair Sue
Singer. Member Nancy Backus was excused. Councilmember Virginia
Haugen, Wayne Osborne, City Attorney Daniel B. Heid, and City Clerk
Danielle Daskam were also present.
II. COUNCIL COMMITTEE RESPONSIBILITIES
Committee members reviewed a revised chart of the 2010 Auburn City
Council Committees and Committee responsibilities. Proposed revisions
included the following:
Committee on Committees
The name of Committee on Committees will be changed to Council
Operations Committee. The responsibilities will include: Committee
Structure, Committee Membership, Whole Council Issues, and Council
Rules of Procedure.
Committee of the Whole
Committee of the Whole responsibilities will include: Broad implication
issues and the Annual Retreat. Sue Singer (as Deputy Mayor) is chair
and the senior Councilmember (Rich Wagner) will be vice chair. The
meeting frequency will be described as "the fifth Monday in any month or
as needed."
Deputy Mayor
Responsibilities for the Deputy Mayor will be highlighted as follows: act in
the absence of the Mayor, alternate to all committees, Councilmember
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training, support cooperative Councilmember relations, help maintain
cooperative Council-Mayor relations, and Chair Committee of the Whole.
Downtown Redevelopment
Responsibility for the Farmers' Market will be moved to the Municipal
Services Committee.
Planning and Community Development
The responsibility for the senior center is moved to the Municipal Services
Committee; the Municipal Services Committee already has responsibility
for Parks and Recreation Operations. Community Services is moved to
the Municipal Services Committee. The following responsibilities are
added: Public Art, Barrier Free Playground, Transportation (long-term
planning and land use, Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and
Capital Improvement Plans (PW CIP oversight). The Committee will be
the action committee for the TIP.
Public Works Committee
A flag note will be included between Public Works and Rlanning and
Community Development that reads: "PCDC & PWC meet jointly as
needed." The responsibility "right-of-way" will read "right-of-way
management." The following responsibilities are added: Engineering
(utilities, traffic & maintenance), Transportation (current PW capital
projects, PW CIP's, TIP oversight, traffic efficiency).
Municipal Services Committee
The responsibility for "annexation" is removed as the inclusion of
annexation was a scrivener's error. Cable TV is removed as
Telecommunications is inclusive. New responsibility items include:
Farmers' Market and Community Services
Finance Committee
It should be noted that the Finance Committee meetings are now held at
6:00 p.m. rather than 6:30 p.m. The following responsibilities are added:
City Budget, Capital Facilities Plan, and Facilities Management.
Community Center Committee
The Community Center Committee will be renamed the Les Gove
Community Campus Committee. The Boys and Girls Club will be
removed from Committee responsibility.
Committee members also discussed adding Liaison Groups for each
Committee, which will be included in the resolution.
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Planninq & Community Development Liaison
Arts Commission
King County Library
Tree Board
Parks and Recreation Board
Planning Commission
Cultural Roundtable
Museum Board
Public Works Committee Liaison
Transportation, Transit, and Trails Committee
Special Transportation Advisory Committees
Downtown Redevelopment Committee
Urban Core Task Force
Municipal Services Committee
Airport Advisory Board
Cemetery Board
Chair Wagner requested that the City Clerk prepare a resolution to
implement the changes. The Committee will meet again in the next two
weeks to review the draft resolution.
III. COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE - ORDER OF BUSINESS -
COMMITTEE REPORTS
The following changes to the rules of procedure were submitted to the
Committee by Councilmember Partridge:
SECTION 3- ORDER OF BUSINESS OF REGULAR COUNCIL
MEETING AGENDA
Change Section 3.10 - Council Committee Reports
Council Committee Chairs report on action and activities of their
respective Council Committees. The Chair should defer detailed reportinq
reqarding resolutions and ordinances that are on the current Councit
aqenda until the rLmake the motion(s) for those issues.
Change Section 3.15 - Ordinances
Add: The person makinq the motion should qive a verv brief description
of the issue without simply repeatinq the ordinance title as read bv the
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Citv Attorney and mav choose to comment on anv results of Committee
action reqardinq the issue.
Change Section 3.16 - Resolutions
Add: The person makinq the motion should qive a very brief description
of the issue without simply repeating the resolution title as read bv the Citv
Attornev and may choose to comment on any results of Committee action
regarding the issue.
Vice Chair Singer explained that the change will give the maker of the
motion an opportunity to explain the proposed action. The Chair of the
Committee will be encouraged to defer detailed reporting on the issue.
City Attorney Heid suggested verbiage to Section 3.10 that
Councilmembers shall give a report on actions of their Committees and
may give brief descriptions of matters coming before the meeting;
however, longer descriptions might occur in connection with the actual
item.
Chair Wagner suggested replacing the word "should" in Sections 3.15 and
3.16 with the words "is encouraged."
City Attorney Heid will prepare draft language for the Committee's review
at its next meeting.
IV. COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE - COUNCIL REPRESENTATION -
EMAIL
Committee members reviewed the following proposed amendment to add
a new Section 17.4:
SECTION 17 - COUNCIL REPRESENTATION
New section 17.4 Email communication by Councilmembers shall
conform to the following in order to avoid the appearance of using email
communication as a de-facto meeting:
A. All email communication by a Councilmember should be limited to
subjects that are not on a published agenda for consideration by any
standing Council committee nor on a published City Council agenda.
B. Addressing email in a manner such as "All Councilmembers" is
prohibited.
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C. Addressing email in a manner that includes all members of a
standing Council committee is prohibited.
D. Councilmembers are encouraged to include the Mayor as an
addressee in email communications among Councilmembers relating to
City operations.
E. Councilmembers may email the Mayor about City business without
restrictions.
City Attorney Heid explained that the proposed language stems from a
court of appeals decision a few years ago (Woods vs Battleground School
District), which said that email communication among the school board
members can constitute a meeting of the board.
Committee members discussed the necessity of the proposed rule
language. There was no action by the Committee on the proposed rule
language regarding email communication.
Vice Chair Singer suggested moving Section 12.2 to Section 13.
There was brief discussion regarding the authority for televising the
Council meetings.
There was brief discussion regarding the setting of the agendas for the
Council Committees. Chair Wagner suggested more clearly identifying
the role of the Committee Chairs and their responsibilities, including
setting the Committee agendas. Chair Wagner offered to develop draft
language for Committee review.
V. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Committee, the
meeting adjourned at 4:04 p.m.
Rich Wagner, Chair
Danielle Daskam, City Clerk
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