2021.04.27 WS Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas stated she was really excited about this initiative. She agreed it would bring about a greater collective ownership for the work being done by the City. She anticipated this would unleash some amazing creativity along with community connections. She thanked staff for thinking this through. Councilmember Allen agreed this was a great step in the right direction. He asked if the application period could be moved up a month or two in order to have members in place a couple months sooner to provide them more time to get onboard prior to requesting them with creating a work plan for the next year. He stated he liked the idea of having Commissioners take the lead on particular issues and noted this would help staff as well. Massopust understood the concerns about the timeline. He stated in code the new Commissioner's terms begin in April and without a change to code, this timeline had to be followed. He commented staff would support a change to City Code if this was the desire of the Council. Councilmember Dunsworth explained she would like to see the work plan and priorities set in January with this information articulated to each of the Commissions shortly thereafter. She indicated this would provide new candidates with more information and greater clarity on what to expect for the next year. She stated this may draw people to serving on a Commission if this information was made available prior to applying. She explained she was also interested in hearing from each Commission as to what priorities they have. She commented she was concerned about a feedback loop noting she would like to see information going to the Commission from the Council as well as coming from the Commission to the Council. She believed this would assist in keeping Commission members better engaged. Councilmember Axberg stated she believed overall the plan was very well laid out. She believed the City was doing a good job with its Commissions given the number of Councilmembers that had previous experience on a Commission. She agreed priorities should be set by the Council and the Commissions. She questioned how Commission members could be better leveraged as ambassadors in the community. Councilmember Abdulle thanked staff for the presentation. He indicated he really liked what he was hearing and he appreciated the structure that was being proposed. He wanted to be assured there was alignment between the vision of the Council and the Commissioners. He suggested student commissioners be made a priority and that they have a voice at Commission meetings, along with the right to vote on items. He stated he would like to see student commissioners having the right to vote. Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas questioned why the student commissioners were not able to vote on matters at Planning Commission meetings. Massopust explained this was a decision of a previous City Council given the brevity of the decisions being made by the Planning Commission. He stated it was determined students could serve on the Planning Commission in an ex-officio manner. In addition, it was noted that student commissioners may not live in the City even if they attend Irondale High School. Councilmember Dunsworth indicated she agreed with Councilmember Abdulle regarding student commissioners. She recommended all student commissioners be able to vote on matters. She stated this would provide the student commissioner with an opportunity and buy in. She commented so long as there was not a conflict of interest, she believed student commissioners should have the right to vote on matters in order to provide them with a voice and equal say. Mayor Niedfeldt-Thomas requested further information regarding the role of the Council liaison on Commissions. She suggested this position be further spelled out in order to enhance the relationship between the Council and its Commissions. Massopust agreed clarification would benefit the City Council. He indicated the Council liaison position was to serve as a representative to the Commission in a communicative way versus in a policy influencing manner.