HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommittee of the Whole May 6 20031 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
2 Committee Of The Whole
3
4 May 6, 2003
5
6
7 The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Council Chair Dan McShane
8 in the Council Committee Room, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington.
9
10 Present: Absent:
11 Barbara Brenner None
12 Laurie Caskey-Schreiber
13 Sam Crawford
14 Seth Fleetwood
15 Sharon Roy
16 L. Ward Nelson
17
18 1. DISCUSSION REGARDING CONTENT OF PLANNING COMMISSION
19 MEETING MINUTES (AB2003-018)
20
21 McShane stated there was some discussion that councilmembers were not
22 fully satisfied with the Planning Commission minutes, and whether they should do
23 verbatim minutes. He doesn't believe they should ask for verbatim minutes. If an
24 issue is really important, the councilmembers can get the tapes and listen to them.
25
26 Caskey-Schreiber stated she brought this forward because she went to a
27 Planning Commission meeting, but the testimony of some of the witnesses were
28 altered significantly in the minutes, to the point that the gist of the arguments were
29 lost. When she reads the minutes to determine whether or not the Council should
30 have a public hearing, she assumes the transcriptionist captures the essence of the
31 testimony. However, the transcriptionist does not do that. It has happened on
32 several issues. Much discussion has been cut out. She asked Mr. Hart to have staff
33 work hard to capture the majority of the things the public is testifying about.
34
35 McShane stated he heard that this came from several councilmembers that
36 there was a request for verbatim transcripts, which are significant. He asked if
37 anyone else has a concern.
38
39 Roy stated she concurred about reading the Planning Commission minutes to
40 make decisions. She has never had the opportunity to attend a Planning
41 Commission meeting, and cannot compare the minutes with the testimony. The
42 minutes are very important.
43
44 Fleetwood stated he agreed.
45
46 Brenner stated that the minutes need to be done as well as the Council's
47 minutes, but don't need to be done verbatim. She reads the Council's minutes
48 religiously. It is a great reminder of what is going on. Planning Commission
49 minutes need to be very specific.
Committee of the Whole, 5/6/2003, Page 1
1
2 Crawford stated the minutes are really important. He was unaware that
3 anything is missing. The councilmembers need to have the essence of the
4 testimony. He is not in favor of verbatim minutes.
5
6 Nelson asked if the Planning Department has talked to the staff person about
7 this issue.
8
9 Sylvia Goodwin, Planning Division Manager, stated she talked to this staff
10 person. She goes to every Planning Commission meeting and always reads the
11 minutes. The minutes are fairly accurate and capture the gist of the testimony.
12 They don't have every sentence or every phrase. The Planning Commission office
13 does not have a decent recording system, which is a problem. Other than what the
14 transcriptionist can type at the meeting, often there is no audible recording of the
15 conversations. A lot of the commissioners mumble or don't speak into the
16 microphone. There isn't a microphone for citizens to speak into. Quite often, they
17 can't hear everything that was said. The staff person types the gist of the
18 testimony.
19
20 Nelson asked if this concern has been addressed with the chair of the
21 Planning Commission, and if the Planning Commission reviews the minutes.
22
23 Crawford stated the Planning Commission approves the minutes.
24
25 Goodwin stated there have been times when they've brought up corrections,
26 but she's never heard anyone on the commission say that something was missing.
27
28 Nelson stated they need to know what is being said in testimony, but they
29 also need to know what the Planning Commission deliberations are. He hoped the
30 Planning Commissioners are hearing all the testimony. If there are technical
31 difficulties, they need to address the problem. It's not fair to accuse a staff person
32 if that person doesn't have the proper tools needed to complete the task. He
33 suggested that the Council instead look at how to help with the technical aspect, so
34 this person can complete her tasks. He would defer to the administration and
35 Planning Department to get some technical assistance.
36
37 Caskey-Schreiber stated that one meeting was four hours long, and the
38 minutes were reduced to two pages. The Council's decisions are often based on the
39 minutes and staff reports.
40
41 Goodwin stated it is a matter of equipment, but it is also a matter of time.
42 They don't want to type the same thing over and over if the testimony is
43 redundant.
44
45 Caskey-Schreiber stated it should be typed over and over if different people
46 say it. Goodwin stated they could get more thorough minutes to capture something
47 someone says over and over. One example is someone who testified at the
48 previous meeting and rambled for a half hour before making the one point that
Committee of the Whole, 5/6/2003, Page 2
1 person wanted to make. She asked if the councilmembers really want all that. This
2 happens all the time.
3
4 Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, stated staff reports of legislative
5 meetings talk about the number of people who report for or against an issue.
6 Another option is something they are trying in court is a digital form of recording or
7 video. They wouldn't need to type so much because they could go right to the
8 issue. It will result in less staff needed for preparation of materials.
9
10 Roy stated this is a skill that is more of an art than a science. A lot of people
11 have clerical skills, but some don't come with the experience of summarizing and
12 providing a clear synopsis. The Council has experienced people who do that. It
13 may be a question of training and experience.
14
15 Dana Brown -Davis, Clerk of the Council, asked if the issue is a question of
16 time.
17
18 Goodwin stated a lot of it is. The transcriptionist could spend more time
19 listening to all of it and getting every sentence down.
20
21 Brenner stated four hours of a meeting summarized in two pages could be
22 more comprehensive. The Council wants something comprehensive, but doesn't
23 need minutia.
24
25 McShane suggested they revisit this discussion in three months to see where
26 they are at and see if there are other ways to do this if they are still not satisfied.
27 The message is that the councilmembers are not interested in verbatim at this
28 point. It could be a matter of the art of doing it.
29
30 Caskey-Schreiber stated the Council is spoiled here. It can go back to any
31 set of minutes and capture what went on in that meeting. They really can't do that
32 for the Planning Commission minutes.
33
34 Brown -Davis stated the Council has only been recording minutes at that level
35 for about five years. Before that, the Council only recorded motions and votes.
36
37 Caskey-Schreiber asked how the Council got to this point. She asked if there
38 is training for it. Brown -Davis stated there is no training. The Council's staff
39 person is just very skilled at it, has done a lot of work, and is really good at it.
40
41 Nelson stated she spends a lot of time at it.
42
43 Brown -Davis stated there was a time when the Council's minutes were very
44 brief.
45
46 Brenner stated the person who writes the minutes actually sits right through
47 every committee meeting.
48
49 McShane stated she also has a good recording system.
Committee of the Whole, 5/6/2003, Page 3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
Brenner stated that the Council's minutes were very backed up for awhile.
Now they are up to speed.
Goodwin stated she will work on making sure the minutes are more
thorough. She will also talk to the Commission chair about getting people to speak
into the microphone.
Nelson stated it is also the chair's responsibility to the public and staff to
keep someone from rambling for so long.
Goodwin stated the Planning Division library can only accommodate a few
people, and there aren't more microphones.
Brenner stated they need better microphones, and asked the administration
to bring forward a budget request.
Crawford stated one of the best recording systems is in the Public Works
Department's conference room. He asked if they could move the Planning
Commission meetings to that room. She will look into it for the bigger needs.
Caskey-Schreiber stated that room would be much more accommodating to
the Planning Commission's needs.
2. DISCUSSION REGARDING TWO POSSIBLE LAND ACQUISITIONS
(AB2003-018)
Crawford moved to go into executive session to discuss this item.
3. DISCUSSION WITH A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE WHATCOM
COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE REGARDING PENDING LITIGATION
(AB2002-018)
ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:10 p.m.
Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription
These minutes were approved by Council on May 20 , 2003.
ATTEST:
Dana Brown -Davis, Council Clerk
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Dan McShane, Council Chair
Committee of the Whole, 5/6/2003, Page 4