041403 CC WS1 Min
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CITY OF SHOREWOOD
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION
MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2003
5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD
COUNCIL CHAMBERS
6:00 p.m.
MINUTES
1. CONVENE WORK SESSION MEETING
Mayor Love called the Work Session to order at 6:00 P.M.
A.
Roll Call
Present:
Mayor Love, Council Members Garfunkel, Lizee, Turgeon, and Zerby;
Administrator Dawson; Engineer Brown; Finance Director Burton; and Planning
Director Nielsen
Absent:
None
B.
Review Agenda
Without objection from the Council, Mayor Love proceeded with the Agenda for the evening.
2. Communications
Council Member Turgeon discussed the lack of effective communication that is occurring
between Council Members and between Council Members and Staff. She expressed concern at
not receiving feedback like minutes and reports from other Council Members who had attended
various meetings like the Fire Board or the Police Board in which not all of the Council had
attended Also, Council Member Turgeon discussed the fact that not all Council Members were
aware of all the on going meetings as some Council Members were invited to certain meetings
while others were not. Also, Council Member Turgeon was concerned about funds spent which
the Council never discussed or approved. She requested a clarification of the communication
that is expected between the Council Members themselves, from Staff to Council, and from
Council to Staff.
Council Member Garfunkel agreed with Council Member Turgeon about the communication
issues facing the Council. He suggested that a lot of group discussions need to occur in which
the group specifically designates Council Members to attend various meetings.
Mayor Love suggested that a calendar be devised where he can record every meeting that he
attends and he expects the other Council Members to do likewise. Mayor Love stated how
difficult it is to alert other Council Members about last-minute meetings as he lacks the time to
adequately inform all of the other Council Members.
Council Member Garfunkel stated how the public can inaccurately perceive that a meeting with
some Council Members represents the will of entire Council.
Council Member Zerby stated that it was a matter of communication. As Mayor Love is the
City's representative for the Police and Fire Boards, he represents the Council's interest at those
WORK SESSION MEETING
APRIL 14, 2003
PAGE20F3
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meetings. By nature, the representative makes assumptions for the rest of the Council. Council
Member Zerby requested that any representative of the Council should synthesize the
information of that meeting and relay it back to the rest of the Council. He stated that the
Council was missing guidelines about reporting information from meetings to the entire Council.
Council Member Lizee discussed the issue of trust and that the Council must trust Mayor Love
as he attends some meetings without the entire Council. She stated that Mayor Love was
working in the best interests of the community and the Council and that it was not necessary to
have minutes and notes on every meeting that was attended. She stated that a verbal report back
to the Council would be sufficient.
Council Member Turgeon stated that the verbal report back to the entire Council about the
meetings attended by various Council Members was missing from the communication process.
Mayor Love stated that he would gladly report back to the Council and requested that verbal
reports be a uniform requirement for all Council Members. He stated that he would be happy to
supply all of the details about the meetings that he attends and also include more Council
Members into meetings that he attends.
Council Member Garfunkel stated that it was not a matter of trust but rather a matter of
knowledge. He stated that he needed the same information as other Council Members in order to
feel comfortable should a discussion arise. He stated that inequal amounts of knowledge among
Council Members did not benefit the Council as a whole.
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Mayor Love stated that there must be a certain level of trust in the Council that information was
being disseminated to all Council Members as it is not feasible to keep track of every detail. He
suggested a one week period of leniency in reporting back the details of meetings to the Council.
Council Member Garfunkel asked why the Mayor attended smaller meetings concerning staff-
level issues instead of the Staff.
Mayor Love agreed with Council Member Garfunkel that staff-level meetings should be attended
by Staff and policy meetings should be attended by the Council. He also stated that the only
meetings with staff that he attends are with the fire and police chiefs in this capacity on the
Boards or at their request. He also stated that there should not be too many meetings between
himself and the Staff and between the Staff and other Council Members outside of the particular
forum designed for interaction between the Staff and the Council. He stated how it would not be
beneficial for the line between the governing board and the Staff to be broken down.
Council Member Turgeon discussed other organization's meetings where a quorum of Council
Members had been present and the perception would be that it was an official Council meeting
although the meeting had never been discussed with the entire Council. She suggested the
necessity for discussion in order to prevent misinformation and misperceptions being
disseminated to the public.
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Council Member Garfunkel stated that the Council needed to be cautious of the perceptions of
the public when two or more Council Members attended a meeting in which the public would
assume that they represent the will of the entire Council.
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WORK SESSION MEETING
APRIL 14, 2003
PAGE30F3
Mayor Love stated that all of the Council should receive the minutes and agendas from the Fire
and Police Board meetings and that he could provide recaps from his attendance at those
meetings.
Council Member Turgeon requested that the lines of communication be kept open.
Mayor Love requested that this issue be brought up as a discussion item by Staff at the next
Council meeting.
3. Adjourn
Garfunkel moved, Lizee seconded, adjourning the Work Session of April 14, 2003, at 6:38
P.M. Motion passed 5/0.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,
SUSAN FISCHER
Recording Secretary
(LV1
Woody Love, Mayor