Agendas and Minutes

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Study Session

Agenda
Monday, February 06, 2017

MINUTES FOR THE STUDY SESSION

ASHLAND CITY COUNCIL
Monday, February 6, 2017
Siskiyou Room, 51 Winburn Way

 
Council Chair Seffinger called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. in the Siskiyou Room.   Mayor Stromberg arrived at 6:32 p.m.
 
Councilor Seffinger, Rosenthal, Slattery, Morris, and Lemhouse were present.    
 
  1. Public Input
Kristina Lefever/2359 Blue Sky Lane/Announced the Protecting Pollinators, Benefits for Ecosystems and Food Security in Oregon event at the OSU Extension in Central Point February 11, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  She submitted an announcement into the record, described some of the presentations and invited everyone to attend.
 
Huelz Gutcheon/2253 Hwy 99/Explained China in the past put up one coal plant every week and now no longer did that.  The government in response to public outcry had closed one hundred coal plants as well.  He commented on the division in the US regarding climate change.  The best practices put in place since World War II were no longer applicable.  Mistakes would occur as the world moved forward regarding climate issues.  Currently there were 490 parts per million in Mauna Loa, HI but that was just carbons.
 
  1. Look Ahead review  
Interim City Administrator Chief John Karns reviewed items on the Look Ahead.
 
  1. Discussion of Council seat #6 appointment 
City Recorder Barbara Christensen explained her office advertised the vacancy with the four questions Council had selected with a January 27, 2017 deadline for receiving applications.  Fourteen people applied with one withdrawal.  The list of applications included Annie Hoy, Christine Fernlund, Mark Haneberg, Carol Voisin, Traci Darrow, Tonya Graham, Louise Shawkat, Jan Janssen, Emily Trivette, Theodore White, Gina DuQuenne, Susan Bradley Krant, and Shaun Moran.  Staff confirmed with Jackson County Elections each candidate met the requirements to run by living within city limits and being registered to vote.  The Charter required Council to fill the position within sixty days of the vacancy and the deadline for this position was March 1, 2017. 
 
She explained that the process for appointment was different for every Council and that there were no standard rules other than the Council set the process and made the appointment.  The Mayor would only vote to break a tie.  Since this was a Study Session, Council could not decide on an appointment but could direct staff on the selection process.  The Mayor and Interim City Administrator Chief John Karns had provided some recommendations.  Council needed to make a decision prior to March 1, 2017, whether that was in a regular or special meeting. 
 
City Attorney Dave Lohman shared some ideas for the Council to consider.  He distributed a document of scenarios submitted into the record.    There were two voting paradoxes almost every voting system tried to avoid, tactical voting, and the spoiler effect.  Tactical voting involved someone voting on whom he or she wanted to lose instead of voting for the best candidate.  The spoiler effect occurred with split votes between similar candidates that resulted in the selection of a candidate who would not have won if that candidate were running one on one against the third candidate.  Council’s goal was avoid either paradox and narrow the field of applicants in a way that did not subject the candidates to competitive disparity.
 
Mayor Stromberg further explained that staff was proposing two options for Council. Council could decide whom she or he wanted to interview between now and the February 21, 2017 meeting and come prepared to go through a voting process at that time.  Another option entailed Council determining a process during this meeting, narrow the applicant field to a short list, and meet with those applicants prior to the February 21, 2017 meeting.
 
Council discussed logistical concerns interviewing candidates, the process for submitting the candidates they preferred, transparency, and Scenario B and Scenario C in the Council Position 6 Selection Process document.  They agreed to select up to four candidates on a prepared ballot showing all thirteen that evening and forward their ballots to the City Recorder for compilation.  They would add the topic to the next night’s agenda for discussion, and try to interview the final candidate pool before February 21, 2017. 
 
Council proceeded to fill out their ballots and forwarded them to Ms. Christensen for compilation who also submitted them into the record.  They would add the topic for discussion at the Council meeting the next night.
 
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
 
 
Respectfully submitted,                                                                                                          
Dana Smith
Assistant to the City Recorder 
 
 

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