Title
Annual City Council Retreat Agenda
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation: N/A
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to adopt the proposed agenda for the City Council's Annual Retreat
Report
Issue:
The City Council has set its annual retreat for Friday, January 9, and Saturday, January 10, 2015. The retreat facilitator has spoken with each Councilmember and the City Manager about possible topics and priorities for the retreat. The facilitator is still working on a draft agenda. The draft retreat agenda for discussion and subsequent adoption will be presented on Tuesday evening for Council consideration.
Staff Contact:
Steve Hall, City Manager, 753.8370
Presenter(s):
Steve Hall, City Manager
Background and Analysis:
Annually the City Council holds a retreat to consider priorities for the upcoming year, and discuss other issues or topics of importance to the Council and the community. The 2015 retreat is scheduled for Friday, January 9 from noon till 5pm and Saturday, January 10 from 9 am till 5pm at the Fire Station Headquarters at 100 Eastside Street in Olympia.
Kendra Dahlen has been engaged as the retreat facilitator to assist the Council and staff with the conduct of the meeting. Based upon conversations with Councilmembers and the City Manager, Ms. Dahlen will propose a retreat agenda for consideration.
Changing Council Meeting Structure: One additional topic that came up as a result of Council interviews was the possibility of changing the City Council regular meeting schedule to allow more study session time during the calendar year to allow in-depth discussion of major issues.
This became particularly apparent as Council and the facilitator considered what to try to squeeze into the proposed agenda. Essentially, there were too many major items deferred to the retreat given the time allotted. Consequently, the Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem, and City Manager discussed the idea of changing the Council meeting schedule for 2015 to allow more study session time.
There are several options to consider, each of which could be discussed by the full City Council or referred to General Government Committee for consideration. Two options are:
1. Hold regular Council Business Meetings on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month. On the 2nd and 4th meetings, begin with a Study Session from 6:00 - 8:00 pm, followed by a regular Business Meeting
2. Reserve one Tuesday per month for Study Session only, perhaps beginning at 6:00 pm and ending at 10:00 pm. There would be no regular Business Meeting of the Council on these nights.
A decision on the precise restructuring of Council meetings is not required tonight and could be referred to a Council Committee or future discussion. However, to provide a possible place for discussion items deferred from the retreat, we have cleared the entire meeting on January 13 to be a potential Study Session night. If acceptable, Council can determine what items might be considered on that night.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
The City Council Annual Retreat is a public meeting. Members of the public and the press are welcome to attend
Options:
1. Adopt the retreat agenda as proposed
2. Modify and adopt the proposed agenda
Financial Impact:
There is no cost for the adoption of the retreat agenda. Typically, costs for the retreat facilitation, follow up report, meals, and related costs are about $9,000.