HomeMy Public PortalAbout2019.01.18 Special Council Minutes
MINUTES
McCall City Council
Special Meeting
Si Buenos Southwest Grill
339 Deinhard Lane, McCall
January 18, 2019
Call to Order and Roll Call
Work Session
Adjournment
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
Mayor Aymon called the special meeting of the McCall City Council to order at 9:00 a.m.
Mayor Aymon, Council Member Giles, Council Member Holmes, Council Member Nielsen,
and Council Member Sowers all answered roll call.
City staff members present were Anette Spickard, City Manager; BessieJo Wagner, City Clerk;
Erin Greaves, Communications Manager; Linda Stokes, City Treasurer; Michelle Groenevelt,
Community Development Director; Kurt Wolf, Parks and Recreation Director; Jay Scherer,
Airport Manager; Eric McCormick, Golf Course Superintendent; Meg Lojek, Library Director;
Chris Curtain, Information Systems Manager; Traci Malvich, Human Resources Manager; Justin
Williams, Police Chief; Nathan Stewart, Public Works Director;
WORK SESSION
Welcome, Annual Department Reports
Each Department Head presented their Annual Reports to Council
1. McCall Municipal Airport – Airport Manager Jay Scherer
2. Public Works - Public Works Director Nathan Stewart
3. Community and Economic Development – Community and Economic Development
Director Michelle Groenevelt
4. Parks and Recreation – Parks and Recreation Director Kurt Wolf
5. McCall Golf Club – Golf Course Superintendent Eric McCormick
6. McCall Public Library - Library Director Meg Lojek
7. Police Department – Police Chief Justin Williams
8. Information Technology Department – Information Systems Manager Chris Curtin
9. Finance Department - City Treasurer Linda Stokes
10. City Clerk Department – City Clerk BessieJo Wagner
11. Local Option Tax
12. City Manager Anette Spickard
Council Reflection on 2018, Set Goals for 2019
The Council discussed the many accomplishments of 2018 such as the Adoption of several plans:
Transportation Master Plan, Water Master Plan, and the Comprehensive Plan.
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January 18, 2019 Special Meeting
Mayor Aymon stated that the Midas Gold lecture series was well scheduled within a condensed
time frame. The Council commented on how they liked that the series was video recorded. The
awarding of contracts for city infrastructure shows that things are getting done. The completion of
the water rate structure was done timely, the study showed deferred maintenance has been an issue
in the past and will cost into the future. Council appreciated how City Staff looks at ways to
combine projects to save money through communication and collaboration between departments.
The Council commented how they were pleasantly surprised by the forward-looking approach that
was happening. Council also expressed their appreciation on how well the departments work well
together with competent staff to move the City forward. They also commented that it easier to back
up the actions of the City when they, the Council, understands why something is happening.
The Council also discussed areas where they felt the City could do better. The Council did not feel
that the water rate informational meetings were well attended and may not have been well
communicated to the community. The Council identified that this could be due to time of year.
There was some conversation on whether the Council should go out to the public or should we
create an opportunity for public information.
The Council then discussed possible ways to do business differently such as find stakeholders,
look for ways to educate, give more opportunity for people to weigh-in, look for ways to make the
subject matter more relatable. The Council discussed sidewalk maintenance and identified that an
educational series would be beneficial. Timing of this topic is important, they discussed late fall
through the winter would give people more time to be involved. Council also discussed some of
the challenges with getting out information could be in part due to the venue. The Council
discussed different locations such as Northfork Lodge that could accommodate a large number of
people. There was some discussion around cost of looking at other venues and whether or not it
would be worth the change in venue. Council felt that if a large meeting is anticipated then there
would be a need to find a venue to accommodate.
Through some additional discussion, Council Member Nielsen opined that there was not enough
public input for the Comprehensive plan, while Council Member Holmes contradicted and stated
that there was good participation although it may have been too spread out.
The Council then worked to identify the listed future opportunities and upcoming challenges with
projects:
1. EIS draft for Midas Gold will be a lot of work on staff to analyze the results and the effects
on the community
2. Housing strategy
3. Parks and Recreation relocation prior to the Library expansion project
4. Library Expansion Project 2020
5. The Airport new taxiway
6. Wildfire education
The Council then worked to identify the listed future opportunities and upcoming challenges
related to policy:
1. Parking
2. Sidewalk maintenance
3. Recycling – EAC – Lakeshore Disposal
4. Urban renewal
5. Density and growth
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January 18, 2019 Special Meeting
6. Land Use Code update
7. Fiber project
8. Full time code enforcement officer
9. Environmental climate change
Three Touch Rule
Council discussed the merits of the Three Touch Rule and Community education with a brief
discussion. After three touches an item may still warrant additional community outreach. It is
important to identify when additional outreach is needed. After the discussion the Council
consensus was for Communications to take the lead on outreach to include a trial of live streaming
of Council meetings, and, dependent on feedback from the community, may make streaming
standard for all Council Meetings.
Staffing Challenges
Council brainstormed on ideas regarding opportunities for cross training and looking at some
shared employees to fill in the holes. They discussed that Communication key. The discussion
included ways to communicate better with community including ideas of two-minute briefs,
community bulletin boards, a communication plan from the Council initiatives, and local radio
spots. The Council rounded out their discussion with various ideas to include community
involvement.
Review Governance Manual
Council discussed the agenda structure to ensure the flow of their meeting was efficient. There
was Council consensus to publish the Public Hearings for 5:30 p.m., and at times, move the
department reports to the consent agenda when there is a lengthy meeting. The Council discussed
the appointment process for City committees, commissions and boards, expressing the desire to
make the process more uniform across the board. The Council would like a more formal process.
There was some discussion regarding the Council liaison expectations and an opportunity for the
Council to report. Council also discussed how they should consider previous Council action and
requested that staff include documentation of previous council action, so they are completely up
to speed when a related topic comes before them. Council also expressed interest in training,
especially land use related training, so when the new code updates come, they understand what
that code update means. There was also interest emergency management strategies.
Council wrapped up the day with a brief discussion regarding Council legislative priorities that
included State supported transit and a review of the liquor license initiative from Driggs.
ADJOURNMENT
Without further business, Mayor Aymon adjourned the meeting at 2:24 p.m.
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