Cary Town Council Work Session Minutes

February 18, 2008

7:30 a.m.

Courtney’s Restaurant

1885 Lake Pine Drive, Cary

Purpose: to discuss council operating procedures, ground rules, communications and other related topics

Present: Mayor Harold Weinbrecht, Mayor Pro Tem Julie Robison, Council Member Gale Adcock, Don Frantz, Ervin Portman, Jennifer Robinson and Jack Smith

Staff Present: Town Manager Bill Coleman, Town Attorney Chris Simpson and Town Clerk Sue Rowland

Mayor Pro Tem Julie Robison facilitated the meeting. Direction given by council follows.

Policy 143, Council Rules of Procedures Policy

Public Speaks Out will be placed on future council agenda prior to public hearings.

The planning and zoning board chair and the town center review commission chairs will present their board’s recommendation, including the minority opinion for all discussion items on the council agenda. This presentation will follow the staff’s presentation.

All board/commission chairs will report once a year at a council meeting on their activities for the year.

The policy is prescriptive regarding how the council always wants to bring forth council initiated items, and council members should use this process any time they have an initiative to bring forward. (The requesting council member gets the support of another council member and requests that the clerk add the initiative to an agenda.)

Amend Rule 4, A.,1.d.(2)(f), which is the section pertaining to the action that council may take at the council meeting when a council member initiated item is introduced by adding a new (i) and renumbering the existing subsections. The amendment reads:

(f)         At the meeting when the item first appears on the agenda, the council as a whole may take one of the following three actions:

(i)         Discuss at meeting and make decision if no information is required by staff, or

(ii)         Refer the request to the appropriate committee meeting, at which time a staff report with staff recommendation will be prepared, or

(iii)        Refer the request to a future council meeting, at which time a staff report with staff recommendation will be prepared, or

(iv)        Decide not to pursue the council initiated request.

The clerk will place the revised Policy 143 on the March operations committee agenda.

Council Communication

The council agreed to always keep the district representative in the loop, and for e-mails this can easily be done by copying the town council group e-mail address (council@townofcary.org).

The council agreed that sometimes a phone call is more appropriate than an e-mail. Everyone agreed to use the phone when e-mails to one another are unclear or controversial/heated.

The mayor agreed to keep the council informed of the outcome of the various meetings he attends.

The council agreed not to blindside each other. Council further agreed to address the issue promptly if they believe they were blindsided.

The council agreed to have breakfast meetings every other month for “unfinished business” with no set agenda.

Miscellaneous

The discussion of council communication led to a discussion about disproportionate district sizes. The council agreed to move forward with redistricting.

Ground rules

The council confirmed the following ground rules that were agreed to at the retreat and stated that these ground rules do not need to be part of an official document.

Council expectations: What they want from their experience as council members:

• be listened to
• be respected
• get things done and leave Cary a better place
• be deliberative with decisions
• respect different perspectives
• strive for excellence
• make decisions that balance citizen interests
• be seen as fair by everyone
• be innovative
• find common ground as much as possible
• make Cary better
• give everyone a chance to talk
• be committed to success as group
• do not blindside each other or staff
• feel freedom to express views but support decisions of council
• create a “we” experience in addition to “I”
• recognize and respect the need to take different positions on different issues
• coordinate district and at-large constituent communications
• respect each other’s time and obligations
• be mutually responsible
• we look good or bad together
• we steward, nurture and promote the democratic process
• nurture citizenship

What staff needs from council:

• work as a group
• healthy intra-council relationships
• clear direction from council as a group
• support staff in public; criticize in private
• communicate values behind decisions
• identify problems instead of solutions (focus on policy outcomes vs. solutions/methods of addressing
• discuss new issues with staff before discussing them with the public
• stay on topic
• communicate effectively with one another
• provide relevant background information
• raise concerns in advance
• communicate town policy decisions to citizens
• verify facts before stating them in public
• open 2-way reciprocal communications

• explain context of requests
• set priorities (not everything is urgent)
• trust, recognition, respect
• willingness to consider multiple alternatives
• understanding of resource impacts (time, money)

The council would like a future conversation on what they expect from staff to finalize the above list of expectations.

Retreat follow-up

Staff’s proposed timeline for the council priorities that were established at the retreat will be on the March operations committee agenda.