Council Work Session

Summary

Meeting Overview

The City Council convened on January 14, 2020, with the Mayor presiding over the session. The council addressed four agenda items during the meeting, focusing primarily on capital projects and neighborhood development initiatives. Three items were approved by the council, while one item served as an informational report. The council conducted four motions and votes throughout the session, with no public comments recorded during the meeting. The session covered new business matters, council capital projects, neighborhood development funds, and received a report from the General Government and Social Services Committee.

Attendance

All six council members were present for the meeting.

Present: • Council Member Plowman • Council Member Lamb • Council Member Ellinger • Council Member Masati • Vice Mayor Kaye • Council Member Farmer

Absent: None

Late: None

Votes and Decisions

The Council conducted four voice votes during the meeting, with all motions passing unanimously.

Approval of New Business Items 0:30 Council Member Plowman motioned to approve new business items, seconded by Council Member Lamb. The motion passed by voice vote.

Approval of Council Capital Projects 1:30 Council Member Masati made a motion to approve Council Capital Projects, which was seconded by Vice Mayor Kaye. The motion passed by voice vote.

Approval of Neighborhood Development Funds 2:00 Council Member Masati motioned for approval of Neighborhood Development Funds. Council Member Plowman provided the second. The motion passed by voice vote.

Amendment to the Fairness Ordinance 3:30 Vice Mayor Kaye motioned to approve an amendment to the Fairness Ordinance, with Council Member Farmer seconding the motion. The motion passed by voice vote.

All four votes were conducted as voice votes rather than roll call votes, with no recorded individual vote tallies or opposition noted for any of the items.

New Business

0:45

The Council addressed new business regarding fee adjustments in response to changes in county recordation costs.

Discussion Overview: Council Member Ellinger and Mr. Duncan led the discussion on the need to raise certain municipal fees. The primary driver for this consideration was an increase in recordation fees imposed by the county clerk's office, which directly impacts the city's administrative costs.

Key Points Raised: • The county clerk has implemented increased recordation fees that affect city operations • Current municipal fees may no longer cover the actual costs of services due to these external increases • Fee adjustments would help maintain fiscal balance and ensure services remain adequately funded

Speakers: • Council Member Ellinger presented the issue and provided context for the fee increase necessity • Mr. Duncan contributed to the discussion regarding the financial implications and implementation considerations

Outcome: The Council approved moving forward with the fee increases to address the county clerk's higher recordation costs. This decision ensures that the city can continue to provide services while maintaining appropriate cost recovery in light of the external fee increases imposed by the county.

The approval allows city staff to implement the necessary fee adjustments to offset the increased costs from the county clerk's office, maintaining the city's ability to provide recordation-related services without operating at a loss due to external cost increases beyond the city's control.

Council Capital Projects

1:30

The Council reviewed and approved capital projects as outlined on page 18 of the meeting packet. The agenda item was presented as a discussion item requiring Council approval.

The capital projects were approved without recorded debate or concerns raised during the meeting. No specific speakers were identified in the discussion of this item.

Outcome: The capital projects listed in the meeting packet were approved by the Council.

*Note: Specific details about the individual capital projects, funding amounts, and project descriptions would require access to page 18 of the meeting packet, which was not provided in the source materials.*

Neighborhood Development Funds

2:00

The Council approved neighborhood development funds as outlined on page 19 of the meeting packet. This agenda item was handled as a discussion item and received approval from the Council.

The specific details of which neighborhoods received funding, the amounts allocated, or the purposes of the development funds were not captured in the available meeting data. The item appears to have been processed without extensive debate or discussion from Council members.

The approval of these neighborhood development funds represents the Council's ongoing commitment to supporting local community development initiatives across various neighborhoods within the jurisdiction.

General Government and Social Services Committee Report

3:00

Council Member Lamb and Vice Mayor Kaye presented the General Government and Social Services Committee report during the meeting. The committee provided updates on their recent activities, with particular focus on two key areas of work.

The committee reported on ongoing diversity initiatives within the city government. While specific details of these initiatives were not elaborated upon in the available materials, this represents continued efforts by the committee to address diversity and inclusion matters in municipal operations.

Additionally, the committee discussed work related to an amendment to the Fairness Ordinance. The Fairness Ordinance amendment appears to be an active item under the committee's purview, though the specific nature of the proposed changes was not detailed in the presentation.

This was an informational report with no action items requiring council vote. The presentation served to keep the full council informed of the committee's ongoing work and priorities in the areas of general government operations and social services.

The committee's focus on both diversity initiatives and fairness ordinance matters reflects the city's continued attention to equity and inclusion issues within municipal governance and service delivery.