Dunes
City Council
M
I N U T E S
June 06, 2007
-
Workshop
–
City
Hall -
COUNCILORS
PRESENT: Mayor
Sheldon Meyer, David Bellemore, Peter Howison, Richard Koehler, Susie
Navetta, Bob Petersdorf, John Scott
COUNCILORS
ABSENT: None.
STAFF
PRESENT: Gary Darnielle; George Burke, Planning Commission Chair
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor
Sheldon Meyer called the Special Meeting/Workshops of the Dunes City City
Council to order at
Mayor Meyer called the roll and stated that a quorum was present.
Councilors joined in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Meyer reviewed suggestions for limiting the Agenda.
He determined there was agreement to concentrate discussion on Goal
Setting, Office Procedures, and Water Rights.
He suggested that other topics on the Agenda be considered when
time was available.
On the request of Councilor Bob Petersdorf, Mayor Meyer explained
that Councilors Richard Koehler and Susie Navetta had requested that the
Special Meeting be held.
2.
GOAL SETTING
Mayor Meyers reported that City Attorney Gary Darnielle had
suggested consideration be given to using a meeting facilitator to assist
the Council in establishing Goals.
Councilor Navetta said she believed the Council should set a goal
of assigning individual Councilors to research and prepare reports about
issues to be considered at meetings. She
also said she believed time limits should be set on matters discussed.
Councilor David Bellemore said he agreed with Councilor Navetta.
He suggested that it would improve the effectiveness of Councilors
by better informing and concentrating their efforts.
Councilor Koehler said he believed it would be most effective if
each Councilor identified what he or she believed was wrong with City
operations and was given opportunity to propose solutions.
He said he did not believe outside help was needed to make the
improvement because members of committees, commissions, and the Council
were capable.
3.
OFFICE PROCEDURES
Councilor
Peter Howison said he believed it would be important to set guidelines
that would improve communications between elected officials and City
staff.
Councilor John Scott referred to recommendations by the City
Attorney regarding ways to regularize officials/staff relationships that
the Council had considered in January.
He said it was his recollection that several specific proposals
were made that were never acted upon, including a suggestion to establish
the role of City Administrator for the current City Recorder.
Councilor Petersdorf said he recalled that a recommendation had
been discussed for Councilors to funnel requests and questions for staff
through the Mayor and City Recorder, but that it had not happened.
Councilor Koehler added that there had been discussion of a
representative of the Council being involved in the process of hiring
replacement staff, which also had not taken place.
Councilor Navetta said she was concerned that the City had a staff
of only three persons and that it needed more.
Councilor Howison pointed out that four persons worked for the
City, if part-time employees were counted.
Councilor Scott said he believed employing City staff should be
handled by the Mayor and City Manager (sic).
Mayor Meyer said he and the City Recorder had consulted regarding
the hiring of office staff and the use of contractors for various
necessary functions. He said
they had agreed that hiring of additional staff would be considered when
it was determined that adequate budget resources were available.
He explained that they had also agreed to take advantage of an
offer of a recently resigned employee to train volunteers and fill in as
necessary.
Mr. Darnielle explained that the tasks of budget proposal
preparation by the City Recorder had limited the time she had available to
develop a more inclusive and extensive staff hiring process.
Councilor Petersdorf said he believed that misunderstandings would
have been avoided if the Mayor and City Recorder had introduced the new
staff to the Council at the time they had been hired.
In response to a question from Councilor Koehler, he reported that,
in the past, a subcommittee of three Councilors had participated in the
hiring of staff. He described
the process.
Councilor Koehler suggested that the formerly followed staff hiring
process seemed more appropriate, in that it allowed the public to be more
aware of who worked for the City. He
said he believed Councilors should be more involved in choosing City staff
who, “in essence,” worked for them.
Councilor Petersdorf said it would be important for persons
involved in hiring processes to know the skills needed in the City office.
Councilor Koehler said he believed the process would be improved if
one or more Councilors participated in the initial screening of
applicants.
Councilor Navetta said that before the tenure of the current City
Recorder, hiring staff had been the responsibility of the Council.
Councilor Scott said he believed the City Recorder operated in lieu
of a City Manager.
Councilor Petersdorf said he was not in favor of establishing the
position of City Manager or Administrator because it would enable the City
Council to conduct an annual performance evaluation and discharge someone
in that role who did not meet expectations.
He said the Council could evaluate but not have the authority to
dismiss a City Recorder.
Councilor David Bellemore said he believed Councilors should set
policy and be interested in how effectively City staff implemented them,
but not be involved in the day-to-day operation of the City office.
He said he believed the City “office manager” should have the
most influence in the choosing, evaluating, and overseeing of City staff.
Councilor Koehler recommended that the Council establish an
expectation that the Mayor and one Councilor would be involved with the
City Recorder in the future choosing of persons as City staff.
Councilor Scott said he questioned whether the practice should
refer to the “choosing” or the “approving” of the hiring of City
staff proposed by the City Recorder.
Councilor Howison said he believed the procedure previously
discussed suggested that three persons should review applications and make
decisions about the hiring of City staff, which was different than the
proposal of Councilor Koehler.
Councilor Bellemore suggested that a screening group could make up
to three recommendations for hiring City staff from applications received,
but that the final choice among them should be made by the City office
manager.
Councilor Koehler suggested that Councilor Navetta, Mayor Meyer,
and City Recorder Joanne Hickey be empowered to hire and provide for the
training of a new City Planning Secretary, as previously agreed, and that
a long-term policy about hiring procedures be established when that was
completed.
Councilor Petersdorf said he believed a representative of the
Planning Commission should be involved in the hiring of the Planning
Secretary, as should a representative of the Road Commission be involved
in the hiring of a secretary for its business.
Councilor Koehler said he agreed that the representative of a group
involved in staff work would be a valuable addition to the three-person
hiring task force he had suggested.
Mr. Darnielle suggested that when agreement on a hiring procedure
policy was completed, it should be added to the City Personnel Manuel.
Councilor Koehler said he had been unable to find a City Personnel
Manual. He suggested that job
descriptions for the positions of Planning Commission Secretary, Road
Commission Secretary, and City Office Worker be established in writing to
bolster future dealings with personnel issues.
Planning Commission Chairperson George Burke added that the job
descriptions identified were already in the City Personnel Manual.
Councilor Koehler asked if staff determined staff salary schedules.
Mayor Meyer replied that the Council set staff pay in the adoption
of the annual budget. He said
the Council had previously adopted procedures for employee evaluations and
advancement.
Mayor Meyer asked that copies of the City Personnel Manual and
other staff-related procedures be available for Councilor consideration at
their next Regular Meeting. He
suggested that establishing the staff hiring process be finalized at that
time.
Councilor Petersdorf suggested that the Mayor be responsible for
establishing proposals for staff salaries and advancements to the Budget
Committee for inclusion in its annual Budget recommendation.
Councilor Navetta proposed that the City Recorder provide reports
to the City Council on staff performance, activities, and evaluations.
She also agreed that the reports should be made about budget
matters and progress made on recently identified concerns.
Councilor Koehler said he would find it helpful to have
presentation of the Budget reformatted in a more easily understood matter.
He said he had requested that more detail be given, but that it had
not been provided. He said he
believed a standard presentation, without dividing the Budget into four
segments, could be easily developed.
Councilor Petersdorf recommended that Councilors having difficulty
understanding the Budget ask for an individual explanatory session with
the Mayor and City Recorder. Councilor
Koehler replied that doing so would not improve the understanding of other
Councilors or citizens having the same difficulties as he.
He suggested that a simple ledger or balance sheet could be devised
to the benefit of all.
Mayor Meyer suggested that assistance in developing such a report
might be available from the City Auditor.
A male member of the audience, Bob Read, described his experience
with budget preparation and presentation and suggested that it would be
easy to create easily understood reports.
A female member of the audience said she believed the basic problem
with understanding City financial reports was the need to present material
for each Budget fund separately. She
said a complete picture was only possible by collating items such as
salaries in a summary report.
Mayor Meyer stated that he would work with City staff and
interested Councilors and citizens to devise a more clear and
comprehensive financial report. He
said he did not believe it could be developed before the June Regular
Meeting of the Council.
Councilor Koehler said he would appreciate having a more easily
understood and thorough presentation format by the time the 2007-2008
Budget was acted upon.
4. WEIR
Councilor Navetta asked if Dick Anderson had signed a quitclaim
deed conveying Weir property to the City.
Mayor Meyer replied that he did not know the answer to the
question. A male member of the
audience reported that he had talked with Dr. Anderson and that he had
claimed he had never received any documents to sign to complete the
arrangement.
Councilor Navetta reported that she had learned from the daughter
of Dr. Anderson that he had lost the paperwork.
Councilor Scott said it was his recollection that Dr. Anderson had
received the quitclaim document from the State and that the City was
responsible for providing a survey of the property to complete the
process. Mr. Burke said the
survey and official agreements by the property owner were required by the
Planning Commission to complete the transfer process.
He said he was unable to estimate how long it would take to
finalize the matter, but that he would consult with the City Attorney to
begin the process. He sought
and seemed to gain approval to do what was needed to complete the
transfer.
Councilor Petersdorf asked where funds for the survey and other
expenses involved were budgeted. Councilor
Scott replied that the Water Quality Committee had included a line item in
its budget to cover Weir expenses.
A male member of the audience said the survey would likely be more
expensive than was anticipated.
6.
WATER RIGHTS
Councilor Navetta asked if additional City
Water Rights were being established, as previously discussed.
(Again, I’m not real sure about this.
Maybe it’s related to the discussion held later about
International Paper. If
that’s the case, just this little mention of what was said is probably
enough. (Or it can just be
eliminated.) If not, can you
provide additional or correcting details, to make the public record mean
something.)
Mr. Darnielle replied that progress was being made in establishing
the Water Rights.
Councilor Koehler asked for an explanation of water
service refunds received by some citizens.
Mr. Burke replied that they were related to charges originally made
for supplying water service to new residents.
He said The Building Department had determined that the City did
not have an Ordinance authorizing the charges and recommended that they be
refunded. He reported that the
City Attorney was preparing an Ordinance proposal to enable charging a fee
for providing underground water pipes and electrical service from the City
pump to a residential storage tank.
Mr. Darnielle reported that such charges were established by other
municipalities and that an Ordinance proposal would be easily prepared.
Councilor Navetta said she wanted to talk about the Master
Road Plan. Mayor Meyer
replied that the matter was not on the Agenda and would need to be
considered at a later meeting.
Councilor Petersdorf explained that the Master Road Plan had been
approved by the Council, but that additional action and possible
alterations needed to be considered before it was submitted for approval
to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development.
Councilor Navetta stated that she had been informed that City staff
had reported to a citizen that a driveway permit could not be issued
without the Master Road Plan being approved.
Councilor Petersdorf and Mr. Burke replied that the Road Commission
and Planning Commission were able to act on permit applications with the
Plan in its current state.
Mr. Darnielle explained that the Master Road Plan had been adopted
and was an official Dunes City Ordinance, making it possible for permits
to be issued. He said,
however, that if it was challenged, findings that it was consistent with
State regulations would be required and that it was that process that was
not yet completed.
Mr. Burke stated that the Master Road Plan and other recent
Ordinances needed to be integrated into the Dunes City Code, making them
consistent and accurate. He
said a grant had been applied for that would enable hiring a national firm
to perform the integration. He
said it had been estimated that the work would cost approximately $5,000.
Councilor Koehler requested that the Council be informed in a
timely fashion of matters such as the grant application.
Mr. Darnielle reported that the City had been informed of the
availability of the grant only shortly before its application deadline.
He said the Council could refuse to accept the grant, if it was
awarded.
7.
GOAL SETTING
Mayer Meyer asked if there was further interest in discussing
Council goals.
Councilor Koehler said he believed transparency
in City operations was an important goal.
He explained that Councilors could make better decisions if they
were fully informed about City matters.
He said reported concerns about his listing of individuals selected
for septic evaluations on the City website were unfounded, but that he
believed Councilors should be fully informed of anything relevant to their
role as elected decision makers for the City.
Councilor Scott said he was concerned that Councilors could become
involved in micro-managing City affairs.
He reported that the Council had decided, at one time, to encourage
staff to schedule septic evaluations according to an agreed upon formula
and not to inform the Council.
Councilor Koehler said he believed the Planning Commission was
tending to micro-manage permit application evaluations, but that other
committees were kept from being involved in important decisions.
Councilor Navetta said she believed the Water Quality Committee
should be informed about the progress of the septic evaluation program –
how many failures there were and how many property owners were responding.
Councilor Scott said the Council had agreed that general
information about progress of the program should be reported, but that
names and other specific details should not.
Councilor Koehler said he believed a plan to conduct septic
evaluations should be arranged “logistically” and that the Water
Quality Committee should be informed of progress.
He said primary consideration should be given to those properties
that presented the greatest danger of leeching phosphorous effluent into
lakes. He said he was
suggesting to the Committee the possibility of requesting additional
interface with City staff.
Mayor Meyer suggested that Councilor Koehler prepare a list of
specific information he believed the Water Quality Committee should be
provided in order for it to be considered at the next meeting of the City
Council.
Councilor Koehler said he believed the Water Quality Committee
should be provided with regular reports of progress made in the septic
evaluation program and allowed to make suggestions about how to make it
work more expeditiously.
Mr. Burke reported that the resignations of City staff had created
approximately a three-month delay in the implementation of the evaluation
program, because of the need to hire and train new personnel.
He said recent reports about the program had not been able to be
prepared.
Mr. Darnielle said the Water Quality Committee should be very
specific about information it needs, as newly acquired software would make
accurate reports easily available.
Councilor Koehler said the Committee only needed a report of those
property owners who had received notices of their need for an inspection,
which evaluations had been completed, and the results.
Councilor Scott said the Council had set its previous limit on
sharing of information about the evaluation program out of concern for
confidentiality of homeowners, avoiding their being contacted by septic
repair/replacement inspection companies.
8.
International Paper
Mayor Meyer reported that he had written in April to International
Paper regarding the interest of Council in acquiring local area water
rights held by the company. He
said he had not heard back regarding the inquiry.
Councilor Petersdorf said he believed the City Council should
become more proactive in securing the water rights held by International
Paper.
Councilor Koehler said the Council needed to be informed of what
was happening regarding the transfer of the water rights, specifically
whether there were others interested in acquiring them and all of the
issues involved. He said he
believed the City should act on official information from International
Paper, not rumors circulating among unofficial sources.
Mr. Burke reported that brokers had made three visits to the area
seeking to purchase the water rights held by International Paper.
He said it was incumbent on the City to take the initiative
regarding their purchase and not wait for an offer from the company.
A male member of the audience asked if Councilor Koehler had been
approached by a representative of International Paper stating that sale of
the water rights were being considered and asking if the City was
interested in considering them. Councilor
Koehler replied that he had been contacted by someone whom he was unable
to verify as a representative of International Paper.
Councilor Koehler said that individual had made such a statement
and that he had responded by requesting that the proposal be written and
submitted to the Council. He
said it was an example of his contention that the Council was not being
provided with adequate information to make decisions for the City.
Councilor Howison said he agreed that the City should proactively
pursue the possibility of securing water rights currently owned by
International Paper, but that there were numerous issues such as acquiring
the needed resources for their purchase that needed to be investigated.
Councilor Petersdorf said it was possible that residents in an area
larger than the City might be interested in forming a water district that
could fund the purchase of water rights.
He described how a town hall meeting could be organized to
determine if there was interest in such a possibility.
Councilor Navetta said such a meeting had been held five years
previously but that she had not been impressed by the representative of
International Paper that had attended.
She said he did not appear to have the authority to act for the
company.
Councilor Bellemore said he agreed with the suggestion of Councilor
Petersdorf and believed establishing such a district was possible.
Mr. Darnielle said he understood a group had been formed which was
seeking incorporation that would enable the formation of a water district.
Mayor Meyer reported that he had been contacted by a member of the
Siltcoos Lake Association, a nonprofit organization in the process of
being formed. He said the
member had reported that the association was interested in having City
participation in its efforts to establish a water district.
He said he had expressed willingness to participate and suggested
that a representative of the group be invited to the next Council meeting
to discuss how the City could be involved.
He determined there was agreement to pursue the possibility.
9.
OTHER MATTERS
Councilor Koehler reported that he had updated the City website
with minutes of available City Council meetings and had asked two months
previously that he be provided with electronic copies of minutes of
Planning Commission meetings to be able to also post them.
He said he had repeated the request two-weeks ago, but had still
not received them. He asked if
the Council could support his request.
He said having them posted would provide an historic perspective of
City developments.
Councilor Navetta expressed concern that some City documents did
not include appropriate signing date identification.
She said she also believed proposals for document
security discussed at a previous meeting of the Council should be
enacted.
Councilors and staff discussed security procedures.
The importance of such procedures was emphasized.
Mayor Meyer assigned Councilor Howison to oversee further
enhancements for City document security.
No other conclusions appeared to have been reached.
Councilor Petersdorf suggested that the Council devise a way to
express appreciation to the citizens who
volunteered time and service following the recent resignation of City
staff.
Councilor Koehler proposed that the limit
on expenditures that can be approved by staff without Council
authorization be reduced from $2,000 to $1,000.
He said it would enable the Council to manage City expenditures
better.
Mr. Darnielle explained that the
The meeting adjourned at
(Recorded by Dan Lindstrom)