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Minutes Sp Mtg - 04/23/2008SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING /WORKSHOP MINUTES APRIL 23, 2008 TAPE READING 0001 DATE. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, CITY OF WOODBURN, COUNTY OF MARION, STATE OF OREGON, APRIL 23, 2008. CONVENED. The special meeting convened at 5:30 p.m. with Mayor Figley presiding. 0010 ROLL CALL. Mayor Figley Present Councilor Bjelland Present Councilor Cox Present Councilor Lonergan Present Councilor McCallum Present Councilor Nichols Present Councilor Sifuentez Present Staff Present: Interim City Administrator Russell, City Attorney Shields, Assistant City Administrator Stevens, Public Works Director Brown, Community Development Director Allen, Community Services Director Row, Finance Director Gillespie, City Recorder Tennant 0025 CITY ADMINISTRATOR HIRING PROCESS. Mayor Figley stated that the general business being discussed at this meeting relates to the hiring process of a new City Administrator. She introduced Greg Protham whose firm has been hired by the City to perform the recruitment for this position and stated that he would be making a report to the Council on the proposed time line to complete the process along with providing a sample brochure for the Council to review and make suggested changes. As part of this process, the public will be given an opportunity at this meeting to comment on how the recruitment is being handled, qualifications to be considered, and to ask any questions or concerns they may have on this process. Greg Protham stated that he had provided copies of the following documents to the Council just prior to this meeting: (1) Position profile, (2) salary survey information, and (3) a time line for each phase of the process. In regards to the position profile, he requested that, within the next few days, the Mayor and Council review the position profile and provide comments back to Asst. City Administrator Stevens so that changes can be made and a final position profile provided to the Council before the position is advertised. The draft position profile is the product of the interviews his firm conducted with the Mayor, Council, staff, and several other individuals. Before a search can begin, he stated that he needed to obtain salary information from the Council. In reviewing the League of Oregon Cities salary and benefit survey information, he stated that the City had paid the former Administrator $131,400 annually and the average of all salaries on the survey was $126,643 annually. The total cost of compensation of the City's former Administrator was $170,000 with the average of cities in the survey being approximately $165,054 annually. He stated that his more recent experience in recruiting for this type Page 1 -Special Council Meeting /Workshop Minutes, April 23, 2008 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING /WORKSHOP MINUTES APRIL 23, 2008 TAPE READING of position in cities of comparable size has been to offer total compensation in the range of $165,000 to $180,000 annually in northwest communities which includes, but not limited to, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Colorado. He recommended that the Council establish a salary range of $120,000 to $145,000 which would give the Council flexibility in negotiating a salary based on the qualifications of a selected candidate. Councilor McCallum questioned if the City could negotiate a higher salary if necessary to obtain the preferred applicant. Mr. Protham stated that the Council could offer a higher salary since it is a contractual relationship and the advertised salary range is a marketing tool to attract qualified candidates. Mayor Figley agreed that it is a marketing tool in hopes that candidates will have a wide variety of experience so that the City can make a decision on a final candidate based on that individual's qualifications and prior work experience whether it be from a smaller, larger, or comparable size city. Councilor McCallum stated that he was not interested in overpaying an individual but wanted flexibility in being able to negotiate total compensation. Councilor Bjelland suggested that, based on his review of the survey data, the minimum salary range amount be lower than the recommended amount of $120,000. Mr. Protham stated that he had also noticed the lower amount of current salary paid to administrators in cities in larger than Woodburn and assumed that the individuals in these positions are fairly new employees with potentially limited experience and the wages will increase as tenure is established. He did not object to lowering the starting salary range amount since, in his opinion, the top end of the salary range is more critical. It was the consensus of the Council to advertise the salary range from $115,000 to $145,000 annually excluding benefits. Mr. Protham questioned the proposed area to advertise this position and suggested that, at a minimum, the eleven (11) western states be established as target states. His firm would screen cities within these states with an approximate population of 5,000 to 100,000 and send letters to each of the managers inviting them to apply. He would also be placing about twelve Internet ads which, by definition, will make the recruitment a national search. He has found that managing cities on the west coast is different from the east coast or in the south and managers in the target states generally have a better fit with the west coast positions. It was the consensus of the Mayor and Council to target the eleven (11) western states with targeting to be to Administrators /Managers and Assistants. Mr. Protham referred the Mayor and Council to the document with the time line for moving through this process which will need to be adopted by the Council once they have received input from the public. In regards to reference checks, his firm will conduct the reference, education, and criminal checks and he explained the process they use in determining which applicants will be forwarded to the City for further consideration. He stated that advertising costs will be approximately $4,000 and is hopeful that he will receive 45 applicants since the baby boomer generation is no longer actively applying for Administrator /Manager jobs and the next generation behind them is about 30% - 35°Io Page 2 -Special Council Meeting /Workshop Minutes, April 23, 2008 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING /WORKSHOP MINUTES APRIL 23, 2008 TAPE READING smaller with some of those individuals being groomed for their boss's position. This results in a smaller pool of applicants and, of the 45 applicants, he feels that the City should receive at least 15 applicants that will be potential candidates for the City to consider. 1612 Richard Jennings, former Mayor and Councilor, stated that some mistakes were made in the last recruitment process and he shared his concern regarding hiring an Interim City Administrator that is not a current City staff member. When an interim was hired 10 years ago during the City's last recruitment process, several problems occurred that took some time to correct and having a current staff member as Interim Administrator, along with the Mayor and Council taking a more active part in management issues, is the proper way to handle the daily business. He was, however, concerned with Chief Russell being an Interim Administrator since he could get caught between the enforcement and political sides of the City. He felt that Chief Russell is his first choice as interim but did not want to see the Police Chief being placed into the general City political arena. He recommended that the Council consider the following actions: (1) appoint Assistant City Administrator Terri Stevens as Interim City Administrator, (2) if the Council preferred, then Police Chief Russell be appointed as Interim City Administrator, and (3) the Council not bring in an outside interim Administrator. He reiterated that the Mayor and Council need to become involve in daily City business even if that requires them to be micro managers to support staff in decisions being made during this interim period. 2070 John Gervais stated that the annual salary for the City Manager of Gresham was recently raised to $135,000, therefore, the salary range level to be advertised is within the range of what other very well qualified managers are receiving. 2154 Mayor Figley stated that, in order to be in compliance with State Law regarding open and executive sessions in addition to how the Council handles the various stages of the interview and decision making process, she would like a motion to adopt the City Administrator search time line proposed by Greg Protham as the overall direction of the process that will be followed by the Council. NICHOLS/SIFUENTEZ... adopt the City Administrator Search Time Line as presented by Greg Protham. The motion passed unanimously. 2216 For the record, City Attorney Shields stated that the Council has adopted the process but the Mayor should ask for any public comment on the adopted process. Mayor Figley stated that Police Chief Russell had been appointed as Interim City Administrator last month for an indefinite period, however, Asst. City Administrator Stevens was appointed fora 3-day period while Chief Russell was out of town. It was the consensus of the Council not to make any changes in the Interim City Administrator appointment. No one in the audience commented on the adopted process. 2380 AD.TOURNMENT INTO COUNCIL `WORKSHOP ON INTERIM GOALS AND OB.TECTIVES. Page 3 -Special Council Meeting /Workshop Minutes, April 23, 2008 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING /WORKSHOP MINUTES APRIL 23, 2008 TAPE READING NICHOLS/SIFUENTEZ.. adjourn special meeting and convene into a Council workshop. The motion passed unanimously. 2400 At 6:12 p.m., the Council adjourned the special meeting and convened the workshop session. Mayor Figley stated that the workshop is being held primarily to discuss work priorities during this interim period. Goal setting sessions are held every two years to establish a list of goals to work on over the next two years and, being short on management, she expressed her hope that the Council can focus on what is critically important to complete this summer. Additionally, staff needs to provide the Council with information on action to be taken or tools provided in order to accomplish the assigned tasks. She had requested Interim Administrator Russell to compile a list of what the various departments feel to be priorities so that the Council is aware of what may be necessary in respect to tools needed or support to move forward with the work. She stated that the City's Department Managers, even though some may be new to the City's organization, are a quality-group of people which is given the Council the ability to appoint an Interim Administrator from within City staff. She also stated that she, along with the Council, are available for support as needed during this interim period. 2664 Interim Administrator Russell stated that staff had looked at a number of goals and have tried to provide a set of goals that matched a given criteria and identified those goal areas by the way of time frame of completion, the importance of the goal area, and how much involvement does the Interim Administrator need to have in the goal operation. Staff is also prepared to talk about objectives that would be completed if the entire goal was not completed during the interim period. Additionally, he would like to hear from the Mayor and Council on any goals that they feel are important but are not listed in the staff report. Administration Goals: Interim Administrator Russell stated that the goals listed include the Woodburn Police Association (WPA) contract negotiations, finalizing the Garbage Franchise, City Administrator recruitment, and assisting Public Works with review of the maintenance and transit operations. He stated that he is spending about 60%-70°Io of his time trying to pay attention general City business and the balance in overseeing the Police Department operations. He assured the Council that enforcement is his number 1 priority and political issues can be dealt with by the Mayor and Council. Councilor Cox questioned if there was a time deadline in getting the garbage franchise finalized. Interim Administrator Russell stated that the contract had a couple of issues that are being reviewed by the franchisee's legal staff. The draft contract had been completed just prior to Administrator Brown's leaving the City and the garbage company has had the document for review over the last few weeks but they have not provided any comments on the document as of this date. Councilor Cox also questioned if the franchise will be with United Disposal who is listed Page 4 -Special Council Meeting /Workshop Minutes, April 23, 2008 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING /WORKSHOP MINUTES APRIL 23, 2008 TAPE READING as the current franchise holder or will it be Allied Waste who purchased United Disposal's corporation. Attorney Shields stated that he believes it will name the same franchisee but he will also be doing a thorough review of the contract language prior to it being submitted to the Council for consideration. Councilor McCallum responded to comments made by Richard Jennings and stated that the Council is the policy maker and he is prepared to address political issues as he has done in the past. To date, Interim Administrator Russell has given the Mayor and Council a weekly update on what has been going on in the various departments which has been very helpful in keeping them informed. Community Development Goals: Community Development Director Allen stated that his department is finally being fully staffed for the first time in over a year, therefore, goals to be worked on include the updates to the Woodburn Development Ordinance (WDO), staff training on the Sign Ordinance enforcement, completion of the Rental Housing Ordinance, and re- commencing the Downtown Development Plan update. He provided a brief status report on each of the identified goals. Councilor McCallum questioned if staff will be taking a look at the sign ordinance since he has noticed that new signs seem to be appearing even though there has been a lot of clean-up of signs in violation of the ordinance. Director Allen stated that there seems to be some clauses in the ordinance that were intended to minimize government interference concepts and those exceptions seem to be a little too broad based on comments received from the Mayor, Council, and members of the public. Staff is trying to work out a solution that would not be overly cumbersome for the people who want to put up signs and for staff who has to administer the ordinance. Mayor Figley questioned if the newly appointed consultant firm has begun to work on the Downtown Development Plan. Director Allen stated that ODOT is still in the negotiation process with the Transportation Growth Management program for the scope of work and the consulting firm tentatively selected to complete the work has not signed a contract yet allowing them to begin work on the project. 4373 Community Services Goals: Community Services Director Row stated that he did not foresee any delays during the interim period on projects they are currently working on. Over the next few months, they will have significant work occurring on the Park Master Plan, the Aquatic Center HVAC project, and Weed and Seed program. He briefly reviewed the work to be done on the master plan project which includes (1) an analysis of a community survey, programs, budget, maintenance and operations, (2) a public input meeting, and (3) development of a draft plan. The pool HVAC replacement will most likely not be completed until after a new City Administrator is appointed but he will be working closely with Public Works to develop a Request for Proposal to select the firm that would be implementing the project for the City. In regards to the Weed and Seed program, the Steering Committee recently Page 5 -Special Council Meeting /Workshop Minutes, April 23, 2008 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING /WORKSHOP MINUTES APRIL 23, 2008 TAPE R F A TITNC', met and staff would like to see more general residents on the Committee that have an interest in having a positive impact in reducing crime in our community. He stated that their biggest hurdle has been to try and find the right person to fill the full-time coordinator position. He stated that funding needs to be reapplied for each year and the maximum length of funding for any site is five years. The City's program was funded as of October 1, 2007 and staff has applied for the second year of funding. There is no guarantee of funding but he would expect funding for the entire five year period provided that the City is successful in administering the program and meeting the Department of Justice reporting requirements. One of the major strategies of this program is to focus on developing a sustainable program. He also mentioned that two playgrounds will be replaced on Friday, May 16`'', one of which will be at Burlingham Park and the other at Hermanson Park I. 5178 Police Department Goals: Interim Administrator Russell stated that their goals include (1) completion of the new Police Facility punchlist, and (2) Emergency Management training. He stated that the updated emergency management plan will be tested in May to see if the checklist operates properly. Once the plan meets their acceptance, training will begin city-wide. Councilor McCallum questioned the status of the work on the Police Department's certification program. Interim Administrator Russell stated that the plan is to provide the Council with a draft Accreditation program by the end of this summer. Public Works Goals: Public Works Director Brown stated that the first citizen involvement meeting on the Wastewater Treatment Plant Facility Plan update will be held on April 24`'' and, to date, this process has been going along very well. Another goal is to review the transit system operation and he would like to come before the Council to talk more strategically about where the transit program should move in the future. In regards to upcoming Capital Improvement Projects, the two big projects the department will focus on will be Front Street and the Highway 214 / Settlemier intersection. He reported that his department has made tremendous strides this week on the intersection project and he is hoping to keep the momentum going forward. On the Front Street project, he hopes to get through the grant review issues soon then the City can move forward with that particular project which includes community outreach. 6100 Personnel and Human Resources Goals: Assistant City Administrator Stevens stated that she is working on the update to the City's Personnel Policy Manual which should be completed over the next few months. She will begin sharing recommended changes with staff one policy at a time for their review and input so that once the entire manual is completed it will be brought to the Council for review and approval. Councilor Cox stated that it is hoped that a new Administrator will be hired in about 4 months and he questioned how far along she will be in the Personnel Manual update by the time a new Administrator is employed. Assistant Administrator Stevens stated that it will depend on the feedback from Interim Page 6 -Special Council Meeting /Workshop Minutes, April 23, 2008 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING /WORKSHOP MINUTES APRIL 23, 2008 TAPE READING Administrator Russell and the department heads. She felt that she would be done with preparing her recommendations within three months. Interim Administrator Russell stated that the current document is about six years old from the last update and it is reasonable to say that it could be updated during the interim. 6438 Finance Department Goals: Finance Director Gillespie stated that the major goal is to complete the 2008-09 budget. Most of the statistical work has been completed and the budget hearing before the Budget Committee will be held on May 19`''. Another goal is to get the revised website in place by July 1, 2008. He also mentioned that Finance staff is preparing for the water/sewer delinquency fees which will go into effect May 1, 2008. For those customers who have been delinquent in the past, they may have difficulty in adjusting to the new process and fee schedule, however, staff is prepared to try and explain the process to the customers. Tape 2 0020 City Attorney Goals: City Attorney Shields stated that goals for his department include (1) participation in the Police negotiations, (2) completion of the Transportation System Development Charge ordinance for Council review and consideration, and (3) continue to provide legal assistance as necessary relating to the Urban Growth Boundary expansion which is currently in the Court of Appeals. 0115 Councilor McCallum expressed his appreciation in receiving the weekly updates which keeps him informed on City issues and activities. 0144 AD.TOURNMENT. NICHOLS/MCCALLUM... workshop be adjourned. The motion passed unanimously. The workshop adjourned at 7:05 p.m. ATTEST Mary Te nt, Recorder City of Woodburn, Oregon Page 7 -Special Council Meeting /Workshop Minutes, April 23, 2008