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Home My WebLink About06/18/2012 Work SessionCity of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, June 18, 2012 at 6:27 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors Pishioneri, VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, Ralston and Woodrow. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. 1. 2012 City Attorney Evaluation. Human Resources Director Greta Utecht presented the staff report on this item. The results of the City Attorney's Office annual evaluation had been received, tabulated and were now ready for Council review and discussion with the City Attorney's Office. The firm of Leahy, Van Vactor, Cox & Melendy LLP received high marks recently during the annual review of its performance of the city attorney duties which were summarized on Attachment 1 of the agenda packet. The Annual City Attorney. contract would be ratified at a Regular Session of Council on Monday, July 2, 2012. Present from the City Attorney's Office were Joe Leahy, Matthew Cox, Mary Bridget Smith and Taylor Murdoch. Ms. Utecht reviewed the overall results of the evaluation which were all very positive. The City Attorney's Office had been very helpful and they had a good relationship with staff. She noted an excellent response from Ms. Smith regarding a BOLI complaint from last year. Councilor Pishioneri said over the last eight years he had served on the Council, he felt the City Attorney's Office had improved and was doing very well. Councilor Wylie said it was nice knowing the Council was fully backed up and they had people they could go to with questions. She had confidence in the staff at the City Attorney's Office. Ms. Smith said they were in a transition and had a nice mix of experience and new people. They felt the transition was moving well and they were pleased. Some of the larger things the City Attorneys were working on included long range planning such as the Glenwood Refinement Plan and Urban Growth Boundary, personnel issues, and the fire merger. Councilor Moore said she appreciated that they were very approachable. Ms. Smith said that was one of the most important parts of the job so they could understand their clients. Councilor Pishioneri complimented them on how they handled the implementation of the Jail and asked questions when needed. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 18, 2012 Page 2 Mr. Cox thanked Councilor Pishioneri for taking his calls in the evening regarding the jail. Ms. Smith said planning the jail was a very interesting project to be involved with because of all of the new things they learned. Mr. Cox said there was a comment in the survey asking the City Attorneys to let them know if they were busy and something could take some extra time. He felt they could do better in that area. Mayor Lundberg said the firm had always been very professional and intelligent and the Council was very proud of them. She had a lot of confidence they were being taken care of and were getting well thought -out answers. Mr. Cox noted that they had a great leader in Mr. Leahy. Mayor Lundberg said it was also appreciated that they all participated in community events. It mattered that they felt part of the community. Ms. Smith said the firm had a long history in Springfield and it was very important to them. 1. Downtown Citizen Advisory Committee Applicant Review. Planning Supervisor Linda Pauly presented the staff report on this item. Due to an expiration of another Historic Commissioner's term limits, the Historic Commission's representative on the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) was currently vacant. Recruitment for candidates for this position was limited to the Springfield Historic Commission. At the March Historic Commission meeting, Commissioner Barbero volunteered to serve as the Historic Commission's representative on the Downtown CAC. The Committee for Citizen Involvement (CCI) recommended this appointment at their June 5t', 2012 meeting. Council was good with appointing Ms. Barbero during the Regular meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m. Minutes Recorder — Amy Sowa Christine L. Lundberg Mayor Attest: a" �U ��-- Amy So City Recorder