City Council

City Hall Meeting Minutes 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 City Council Information: 360.753.8244 Saturday, January 9, 2016 8:30 AM Port Board Room, 626 Columbia St NW, Room 1-B Council Annual Retreat 1. ROLL CALL Present: 7 - Mayor Cheryl Selby, Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Jones, Councilmember Jessica Bateman, Councilmember Jim Cooper, Councilmember Clark Gilman, Councilmember Julie Hankins and Councilmember Jeannine Roe 2. BUSINESS ITEMS 2.A 16-0018 2016 City Council Retreat The City Council met on Friday, January 8, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and on Saturday, January 9, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Core Values Councilmembers established the following Core Values: · Integrity: Being authentic, protecting trust to address the public’s needs; owning who you are and where you come from. · Stewardship: Acting as [guardians] stewards of the common good of the City. Secondary Core Values: · Wisdom: Being open and willing to seek/consider input; being compassionate and just. · Serve with joy and kind-spirited humor. Gracious Space Councilmembers discussed applying the concept of Gracious Space to their work. During that discussion Councilmembers agreed to: 1. Create clear process and follow it so that people know what to expect. a. Publish what next step(s) are and follow-up after public comment. b. Share a positive story or accomplishment at the beginning of every meeting. c. Transparency- intentional framing of questions and of what goes on the agenda d. Take breaks at realistic intervals during meetings. City of Olympia Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes January 9, 2016 2. Councilmembers rotate serving as hosts to greet citizens before meetings. 3. Ensure there’s “enough” space, chairs, handouts, sounds for the PA as a means of creating a welcoming setting. 4. Listen actively. 5. Interact graciously with staff; acknowledge that they/their work are appreciated. 6. Support the Mayor’s role in facilitating meetings by tracking own behavior. 7. Clarify objectives and intended outcomes. a. Identify conflicts and next steps toward resolution. 8. Use break-out groups as often as appropriate. 9. Think through decision making strategically regarding opportunities for public participation. 10. Telecommunication regarding public participation. Council Guidelines Councilmembers discussed potential revisions to the Council Guidelines to include: 1. Review the length of term of Mayor Pro Tem. 2. Mayor’s Role as facilitator- maintain a neutral stance throughout discussions, adding own comments last. · Be clear when switching from facilitator role to Councilmember role in discussions. · If you have information that needs to be shared upfront invite the City Manager to comment. 3. Mayor Pro Tem: Interest was expressed in making better use of this role. · Participation in agenda setting (invite councilmembers to rotate attending). · Actively follow agenda items to be scheduled w/ referral tracking system. · Manage Public Testimony process: the order of people speaking and calling them to the podium. o Address issue of Councilmembers not easily able to see the clock. · Covering for the Mayor five minutes before meetings start so the Mayor can complete final meeting preparations. Interviews Councilmembers interviewed each other to identify accomplishments, challenges, and priorities to include. Accomplishments City of Olympia Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes January 9, 2016 Surprises: · We have become a council that cares about clean air · Unanticipated revenues · We finally got some things done that took years to accomplish What’s Missing: · Market rate housing · LBA woods/Kaiser Heights (less so) · We did well on more than one thing · Implementation of past projects- State Street storm water · Downtown- we need to be more specific and share with the public what has been accomplished and the positive things that are happening downtown Challenges Surprises: · That only one person talked about homelessness · That our response to the officer-involved shooting was excellent. We took this challenge and made it into an opportunity · Providence/Community Care Clinic · We continue to get unfunded State and federal mandates What’s Missing: · Homelessness is short-hand for lack of mental health, service delivery, shelter space, warming centers · Economic development- we still have huge challenges · Impact of economic downturn and how to turn that around · Sub-area planning Priorities Surprises: · Nisqually · Purchase option for Capitol Lake building What’s Missing: · Downtown Strategy · Capitol Lake (Department of Enterprise Services) · Transportation and bicycle funding (other funding sources TBD) · Street maintenance · Recommendations from the Ad Hoc Committee (i.e. Body Cams) Three Wishes Exercise All those in attendance (Councilmembers, staff, and the public) participated in an exercise in which they identified three wishes they have for a prosperous Olympia. The following items were identified: 1. Address homelessness so that everyone has a home that is safe & affordable and has City of Olympia Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes January 9, 2016 access to medical care 2. The City has a thriving downtown economy that includes : a. No empty/vacant buildings b. Ample parking c. Resolution of sea-level rise d. Dirty/contaminated soil cleaned e. Seismic risk gone f. Transportation challenges solved 3. Olympia is held up as the city every other city wants to emulate a. Residential density is increased b. Vitality of neighborhood centers is increased c. High volume transit systems are enhanced to encourage vitality of downtown 4. The Shoreline is redeveloped as a public amenity; including the Big W and freeing the Deschutes 5. The City’s culture attracts job growth and business investors 6. Active successful isthmus with community consensus 7. We implement a process where all citizens know how & when [ and where] to have their voices heard 8. Relocate the courthouse to downtown and redevelop hill into a planned development and parking Implicit Bias Councilmembers viewed and discussed a Ted Talk by Verna Myers regarding how to identify and challenge implicit bias. Dimensions of Community Councilmembers participated in an exercise where they identified things that are going well and not going well in four quadrants of the community; social, spiritual/cultural, power, and economics/wealth. Topics identified included: · Impact of increasing diversity. · Time pressure- impact on meaningful conversation. · Power has the greatest opportunity to change. Council can include/share systems. o When the norms change, it is disruptive. · Spiritual/Cultural & Social quadrants would be most difficult to change. · Economics/ Wealth quadrant affects all quadrants. · Assistance identifying groups/people that are outside my group that I am not connected to. · How can we use our branding to strengthen Spiritual/Cultural quadrant? Action Plan City of Olympia Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes January 9, 2016 Community Planning and Development Deputy Director Leonard Bauer updated Councilmembers on the status of the City’s Action Plan. Economic Development Economic Development Director Renèe Sunde updated Councilmembers on the City’s economic development initiatives and activities. The discussion was completed. 3. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m on January 9. City of Olympia Page 5