City Council

TH MINUTESFROMTHEHUNTSVILLE CITYCOUNCILMEETINGHELDONTHE18 DAYOFMARCH 2013,INTHECITYHALL, LOCATEDAT1212AVENUEMINTHECITYOFHUNTSVILLE, COUNTYOFWALKER, TEXAS, AT5:00PM. TheCouncilmetinaregularsessionwiththefollowing: COUNCILMEMBERSPRESENT: MacWoodward,JamesFitch,LydiaMontgomery,DonH.Johnson,KeithOlson,JoeEmmett,TishHumphrey,RonaldAllen, ClydeLoll COUNCILMEMBERSABSENT: None OFFICERSPRESENT: MattBenoit,CityManager,LeeWoodward,CitySecretary_________________________________________________________________ WORKSHOPSESSION [5:00PM – LARGECONFERENCEROOM] – TheCityCouncilwillmeettodiscussrevisionstotheCity CouncilRulesofProcedure. Inthepresenceofaquorum,theMayorcalledtheworkshoptoorderat5:00pm. TheMayorstatedtheRuleswereasuggestedgroupof guidelinesfortheCounciltofollowandthatcivilityandrespectwerevaluesowedtothosewhowereservedandthatmembers should conductthemselvesinthiswayinallvenues. Headdedthathedidnotbelievetherehadbeenanyintenttorestrictanyone’srights,to speakorotherwise, notingtheCounciloathtoupholdtheU.S.Constitution. Sections4.01and4.02werehandledfirst,with CouncilmemberAllenexpressinghisdisbeliefatportionshethoughtviolatedtheBillof Rightsduetotheinclusionof thewords “privateconversations.” CouncilmemberMontgomerysuggestedthatsimplyberemoved. CouncilmemberAllenaskedhowmuchoftheadditionalmaterialproposedwasfromtheCityofHuttodocumentsandtheCitySecretary saiditwasthemajority. CouncilmemberAllenfeltthatitshouldhavebeenidentifiedas “wrong” assoonasitwasseen. TheMayorasked forCouncilmemberAllen’s suggestions. CouncilmemberAllensaidhefelttheruleswerefineastheywere, butofferedtheideaof appointingtwomoreCouncilmemberstothecommitteeandbeginningtheprocessagain. Councilmember MontgomerysaidshebelievedthatallninemembersoftheCouncilwoulddiscussanyproposedupdatesandwork togethertoreviewandfinalizethem,butthattheprocesshadbecomealargerissue. CouncilmemberHumphreyexpresseddisagreement withCouncilmemberAllen’simplicationthatthecommitteewasledbytheCitySecretaryandCityManager,sayingshedidnotallow otherstotellherwhattodobutrecognizedthevalueofstaffwhohadbeenexposedtoothermaterial,addingthatshewasupsetat anyonegettinghunguponwheretheproposedlanguagecamefrom. CouncilmemberHumphreysaid itwasabsurdtothinkthatany memberhadtheintentofopposingtheBillofRightsortheConstitutionandthatCouncilmembershadanobligationtolistenandbe discerning. SheremindedallofthepreviousworkshopandCouncilmemberAllen’srefusaltorevealhisconcernsuntilthelastmoment. CouncilmemberLollsuggestedfocusingoncurrentissuesandpolicies,sayingitdidn’t matterwhereagoodpolicycamefromifitwasa goodfit,workingto “makewhatwehavebetter.” HeaskedthattheCouncil “focusonthetaskathand.” CouncilmemberEmmett expressedappreciationofthecommittee’sworkandsaidhehadnotfoundanyissuesonhispartbutsuggestedtheCouncilsimplygo backtotheexistingRules. CouncilmemberJohnsonnotedthedocumentwasadraftfordiscussioninthelastworkshopandtaskedallCouncilmembersfornot havingrespondedmorefullythen. Heacknowledgedconcernsoverthe privateconversationlanguagebutthatcivilitywaskeyforthe grouptoworktogether. CouncilmemberFitchexpoundedontheindividualityoftheCouncilmemberswithacommongoaltoservethe peopleofHuntsvilleandhisdisappointmentthatthingsweretoooftentakenpersonallywhennotintended. Heaskedthatallrespecteach otherandtheirdifferences. CouncilmemberOlsonrecalledservingontheRulesofProcedurecommitteepreviouslyandthatrevisionswerealwaysanegotiated conversationamongthemembers. HeaskedthatthedraftnotbelabeledandfortheCounciltoworktogether. CouncilmemberAllen expressedagainhissurpriseanddiscomfortthatsomuchofthedraftmaterialcamefromtheCityofHutto. MayorWoodwardobserved thathefelttheCouncilhadnoissueswithperhapsninetypercentofthedocumentandsuggestedtheCouncilreview thedraftagainand submitconcernsinpreparationforathirdworkshoponthetopic. HesaidhedislikedthereferencetosanctionsandCouncilmemberAllen agreedthathadheldhisfocus. ConversationcontinuedontheappropriatenessofrevealingmaterialfromExecutiveSession. CouncilmembersHumphreyandMontgomerynotedproposedrevisionsandfeedbackhadbeenrequestedpreviously. CouncilmemberAllenremindedallthattheCityAttorneyhadofferedanopiniontoremovethe “privateconversation” references. CouncilmemberHumphreyaskedtheCouncil’sopiniononwhentheRulesweretobeenforced,iftheyfeltitwasonlyinmeetingsituations oratalltimes. TheMayorremindedallthatitseemedthepublicviewedthemintheirelectedrolesregardlessofthesituationbutthatat meetingsthe “people’sbusiness” shouldbeconductedinarespectfulandorderlymannerandthatsanctionswouldbeimposedbythe voters. TheMayorpointedoutthatnomembercouldspeakfortheCouncil,onlyforthemselves, unlesstheCouncilhadtakenactionthat couldberelayed. CouncilmemberFitchrequestedeachmember’ssuggestionsbenotedsotheiropinionscouldbeheard. MayorWoodwardadjournedthemeetingat6:00pm. Respectfullysubmitted, LeeWoodward,CitySecretary