City Council Minutes 2014 02 04 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes February 4, 2014 Page 23 of 28 weaknesses to the City's notice process are the City's newsletter, which is sent out only three times a year and the lack of staff time for a social media presence. City Initiatives and Quasi-Judicial Processes: Planning Director Russ addressed notice for City initiatives and quasi-judicial matters. This includes legislative actions such as the Comprehensive Plan, Small Area Plans and the Parking and Downtown Action Plan. He explained currently staff relies on partners, the web site, mailings, sign-up sheets and partner blocks, such as the chamber and the DBA through email and the MindMixer Web Site. He stated more work needs to be done and staff will be making a budget request for additional funding for mailingsStaff will ask for a budget amendment of $5,000 - $10,000 in the 2014 budget to cover the costs of additional outreach including document design, postage, and printing. Quasi-Judicial Processes: . When the Code was modified in December, a significant amount of inconsistencies were eliminated. He noted one of Council's frustrations that items are not scaled based on impact or size. Staff would like the ability to administratively handle smaller items that have little impact. He noted Staff has no administrative review and approval authority therefore every variance, regardless of scale or scope, must have a public hearing... Another item for Council consideration is creating Neighborhood Councils as identified in the Comprehensive Plan, which would consist of one or two members from each of the nine area plans. Neighborhood Council and formation of a Public Outreach Task Force: City Manager Fleming elaborated on the Neighborhood Council and stated one advantage is it designates an entity for conveying information about development issues. Members could be selected by the neighborhood. It can be a way to get information from the neighborhood to the City and information from City to the neighborhoods. He recommended the Neighborhood Council because of the Council's interest in a more robust communication process and a way to reach out to neighborhoods. He stated it worked very effectively in the City of Bellingham, Washington. He stated it is a great way to share information both ways and worked well for evaluating neighborhood development projects; prioritizing capital projects and looking at traffic calming projects and getting a reading from a smaller area of the City. He recommended the concept be evaluated by the Task Force. Public Outreach Task Force: City Manager Fleming stated the Mayor had this idea for the Task Force which would be used to identify additional methods of public outreach. He noted the people identified in the Council Communication have expertise in communication and media relations and they are willing to serve. The Charter requires Council approve a Task Force by resolution, which sets forth the goals and responsibilities of the task force or committee. The Council packet included a draft resolution should Council like the concept it can be finalized at a later date. One of the goals listed in the resolution is for the Task Force to identify the funding and staffing required for an enhanced public outreach program.