City Council

City Hall City of Olympia 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Information: 360-753-8447 Meeting Minutes City Council Saturday, June 22, 2013 2:00 PM LOTT Board Room, 500 Adams St. NE Mid-Year Retreat 1. ROLL CALL Present: 7- Mayor Stephen H. Buxbaum, Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Jones, Councilmember Jim Cooper, Councilmember Julie Hankins, Councilmember Steve Langer, Councilmember Jeannine Roe and Councilmember Karen Rogers OTHERS PRESENT City Manager Steve Hall, Assistant City Manager Jay Burney, Communications Manager Cathie Butler, Kendra Dahlen, Facilitator 2. BUSINESS ITEM 2.A 13-0522 Olympia City Council's Mid-Year Retreat COUNCIL WORK TO DATE: JANUARY - JUNE, 2013 Councilmembers reflected on the following improvements, accomplishments, and recommendations: Shoreline Master Program (SMP) The Shoreline Master Program informed the Comprehensive Plan update process: - Planning Commission charter improved the Comprehensive Plan update process. Improve Shoreline Master Program Updates - Council needs to provide more direction for update reports and materials. - SMP updates were not substantive. - Improvements for SMP Council updates. - Examples from other cities - compare and contrast. - Consolidation of materials. - Clarity of roles and regulations. - Maps and illustrations. - Reach by reach analysis of SMP would have been most effective and efficient. - Public's comprehension of SMP is challenging due to complexity. - Improved Council updates would have benefited public understanding of the plan and City of Olympia Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes June 22, 2013 process. - Recognize public benefit of Council updates when structuring process. - Late policy initiatives from staff were not helpful. - Council was not adequately prepared for policy initiatives. Comprehensive Plan Update (CPU) - Planning Commission charter improved the Comprehensive Plan update process. - Update reports to Council need to be improved with staff. - Communicate ‘next steps' to the public/alignment of CPU process with community. - Development regulations. - Implementation process. - Action plan. - Downtown master plan. - Prepare for CPU implementation. - Policies. - Priorities. - Process and plan. - Public involvement. - Community preparation. - Sequencing of plans. - Planning Commission role. - Role of advisory committees. Council Study Sessions - Work together and with staff to improve study sessions. - Improve format to encourage two-way dialogue. - Plan and prepare agenda and approach to complicated issues. - Establish what is needed and purpose of the session/what is the ‘need to know’. - Engage stakeholders/public in sessions. - Recognize different learning styles for materials and planning of sessions. Define Specific Topics for Study Sessions - Work sessions. - Technical sessions (suggested topics). - Form based codes. - Public Involvement Tools (IAP2). - Stakeholder and public involvement. - Economic forecasting. - Medical roundtable. - Inter-jurisdictional. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) - Process improvement for 2014. - Include CDBG strategically in 2014 Council work plan. - Improve structure for decision-making. - Agree on priorities. City of Olympia Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes June 22, 2013 - Improve criteria. - Eliminate politics. - Too many meetings in relation to proportion of funding. - Process is jammed due to federal requirements for expenditures. - General Government Committee will develop recommendations to improve CDBG decision-making process. - CDBG funding allocations improved. - Funding allocation changed from supporting multiple small projects to funding fewer but larger and more impactful projects. Councilmembers then discussed the 2013 priorities and goals: ADOPT A SUSTAINABLE BUDGET - Council is working to improve budget format and accessibility. - Plain talk budget language. - Improve ‘points of entry’ for stakeholders and interested public. - Explain basis for decision-making. - Structure information for specific areas of interest. - Decision-tree structure. - Classify segments of budget. - Involve stakeholders and advisory committees in budget process. - Reach out to all parts of community. - The budget is a 365 day/year process. - It is continuous and year round. - Finance Committee is strategically preparing now for 2015 budget. - Building reserves are ongoing struggle. - Finance Committee is keeping close eye on debt level. - Council and City must thank the public for passing public safety bond issue. - Report to public will be timely. - Improve public information/knowledge about decision-making. - Isthmus funding decisions. - Concerns expressed by Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC). - Ward Lake history, issues and complications were not explained to public in timely or sufficient manner. - Improve the budget adoption process. - Avoid late decision-making, if possible. CHAMPION DOWNTOWN Successes - Downtown Ambassadors now operating 7 days/week. - Artesian Well court design. - Sidewalk ordinance passed. - Several parklets developed. - Downtown survey complete. - Public benches in place. - Public art and more coming. City of Olympia Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes June 22, 2013 - Graffiti abatement is working. - Walking Patrol started June 1. - Washington Center for Performing Arts renovation is in progress. - City staff project coordination. - Convergence of multiple agencies. - Parks, Police, CP&D. - Good agency and staff coordination. Upcoming Projects - New improved parking meters. - Downtown master plan. - Additional public art. - Restrooms. - Combined marketing plan. - Organizing and syncing efforts will be ongoing challenge due to multiple projects and programs. - Performance dashboard needed to monitor multiple projects. - Communicate downtown achievements. CHANGE THE CULTURE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Community Renewal Area (CRA) is catalyst for culture change - Opportunity for new partnerships. - Leverage public assets with private assets. - New and different approaches available. - Influence the role of CP&D. - Presents a paradigm shift. - Enthusiasm for new tools and methods. - Strategic and sequential approach. - Downtown master plan. - Additional redevelopment areas. - ‘Big picture’ for increasing commerce with citywide perspective. - Zero in on opportunities for CRA. - Use right tools for right spot. Process for improving the City’s approach for community development and land use approvals - CP&D reorganization - New deputy director to be hired. - Reorganization will support departmental changes. - Increase policy level initiatives. - Increase/improve community connections. - Consultant RFP - purpose and next steps - Purpose. - Research current processes. - Build upon process improvement. - Consult with Council and stakeholders. City of Olympia Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes June 22, 2013 - Identify best practices for development services. - Develop recommendations to achieve City goals. - Next steps - Integrate with CRA process. - Cost analysis for services. - Council subcommittee review. - Culture change - desired outcomes - Both developers and community are generally pleased with changes. INSPIRE STRONG RELATIONSHIPS General Government Committee improvements to advisory committees application and selection process - Process for selection revised/enhanced. - Advisory committees strengthened due to improvements in selection process. - Jurassic Parliament training is worthwhile for committee leaders. Advisory committee coordination with Council has improved - Planning Commission CPU charter. - Councilmember participation in advisory committee meetings and retreats. - There is clear value to better direction for work/role of advisory committees. - Intentional guidance for review, evaluation and public input. - Improved interaction and communication with Council. - Relationship with Planning Commission and advisory boards is increasingly better. - Relationship with staff also strengthened as a result of improvements. - Consider methods for retaining these improvements into the future. - Institutionalize changes. General government/public process work session - IAP2 spectrum of public participation. - Tool box for outreach. - Right methods for specific purpose. - Terminology - need for consistency. - Excellent resource for public engagement. Strengthen business relationships - Welcome new businesses - citywide. - Councilmember letters/cards. - Economic forecasting business meeting. - Valuable information for Council. - Future resource for Council. - Improve new licensing communication. - Role for PBIA. Councilmember recommendations for improvements to work to date are briefly summarized as follows: City of Olympia Page 5 City Council Meeting Minutes June 22, 2013 Improve Shoreline Master Program updates - Provide more direction for more substantive update reports and materials. - Public should have better information about the SMP. Comprehensive Plan update (CPU) - Communicate next steps to public. - Work with staff to improve Council update reports. - Plan for CPU implementation process. Council Study Sessions - Work together and with staff to improve the quality of study sessions. - Define specific study session titles to align with topic categories. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) - Decision making structure, criteria and process need improvement. - Incorporate CDBG strategically into Council 2014 work plan. The following recommendations are in addition to initiatives that are currently underway. ADOPT A SUSTAINABLE BUDGET - Structure information for specific interests. - Involve stakeholders and advisory committees in budget process. - Reach out to all parts of community. - Improve public information/knowledge about decision-making. - Thank the public for passing the public safety bond issue. CHAMPION DOWNTOWN - Communicate accomplishments! - Develop performance dashboard to monitor/manage progress of multiple initiatives. CHANGE THE CULTURE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT - Community Renewal Area (CRA) is a catalyst for culture change. - Process for improving the City’s approach for community development and land use approvals will be coordinated with CRA approach and process. INSPIRE STRONG RELATIONSHIPS - Consider methods for retaining advisory committees' improvements into the future. - Strengthen business relationships. The discussion was completed. 3. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. City of Olympia Page 6