20190607City Council RetreatEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL RLTREAT
APPROVED MINUTES
June 7, 2019
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT
Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Council President
Kristiana Johnson, Councilmember
Thomas Mesaros, Councilmember
Dave Teitzel, Councilmember
Neil Tibbott, Councilmember
ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT
Dave Earling, Mayor
Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember
Michael Nelson, Councilmember
1. CALL TO ORDER
STAFF PRESENT
Al Compaan, Police Chief
Phil Williams, Public Works Director
Carrie Hite, Parks, Rec. & Cult. Serv. Dir.
Patrick Doherty, Econ. Dev & Comm. Serv. Dir.
Shane Hope, Development Services Director
Scott James, Finance Director
Carolyne LaFave, Mayor's Executive Assistant
Maureen Judge, Council Legislative/Exec. Asst.
Jeff Taraday, City Attorney
Scott Passey, City Clerk
Jeannie Dines, Recorder
The Edmonds City Council retreat was called to order at 9:31 p.m. by Council President Fraley-Monillas
in the Brackett Meeting Room, 121 5th Avenue N, City Hall — 3rd Floor, Edmonds.
2. INTRODUCTIONS/MINUTE TO ARRIVE
Council President Fraley-Monillas introduced facilitator Phyllis Shulman, co-founder and sole principal of
Civic Alchemy, a consulting firm that provides consulting services to public agencies, organizations,
businesses and communities, and described Ms. Shulman's background. Attendees introduced themselves.
Ms. Shulman began the meeting with a "Minute to Arrive," requesting attendees turn off/silence their cell
phones and bring themselves into the room, away from what they came from, what they are going to after
and whatever is pulling on their minds.
AGENDA REVIEW
Ms. Shulman described the purpose of today's retreat:
• To strengthen the foundation for constructive relationships
To improve internal communications and identify what contributes to positive external
communications
• Not to discuss any past, specific conflicts other than the past helps inform the future
She reviewed ground rules:
1. Be present
2. No blame.
3. Be respectful
4. Appreciate each other's humanity
Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes
June 7, 2019
Page 1
4. ICEBREAKER
Ms. Shulman distributed a "dance card" with a series of questions; attendees went around the room asking
questions of each other and then shared what they learned about each other.
5. CURRENT STATE
• Overall Themes
Ms. Shulman acknowledged like any governing body or any group of people working together in an
organization, there are times when things are rough, there are tensions, conflicts, and things haven't worked
out well. The purpose of today is to identify ways to work together.
Whole Group Brainstorm: What are the unique circumstances and challenges you are facing
currently and during the rest of the year that can affect constructive internal
communications?
o Election
o Mayor's seat and several Council seats up for election
o Competition for attention
o Several Councilmembers retiring, turnover
o Change — creates opportunity and anxiety
o Directors approaching retirement age
o Polarizing — creates conflict
o Affects the way Councilmembers vote
o Tribal
o Tension
o Staff caught in the middle
o With Mayor not running, lame duck
o Big issues need to be addressed
o Election changes Councilmembers' commentary
o Interest in homelessness and housing affordability
o Three Councilmembers are running for mayor and up to five Councilmembers leaving the
Council
o Sense of urgency
o New things with new people
o Council candidates running because something's wrong
o Backlog of uninteresting but necessary projects
o Mayor and Council positions are nonpartisan but during election process, partisan politics tends
to leak into the process
o Decisions will be made in the next six months on big projects (Waterfront Connector, Hwy 99,
Civic Park) and then there will be a new group of people
o Citizens are getting more interested in issues — taking position on issues
o Rearranging the Council will create challenges
o Staff will be implementing the current mayor's agenda until December 31
o Staff is also implementing Council adopted policy
Ms. Shulman recognized this a particularly dynamic time filled with a lot uncertainty such as an urgency
to get things done while you can which is created by the atmosphere in an election year. People are running
against each but still have to work together. Even if everything was going great, that amount of uncertainty
brings up anxiety and concerns. In response to the question of now what Ms. Shulman, explained first, it's
important to acknowledge it exists. Each person has a different role in the landscape and each role has
different dynamics. Appreciate that the dynamics exist.
Edmonds City Council Retreat Draft Minutes
June 7, 2019
Page 2
5. THEME: ATTRIBUTES OF WELL-FUNCTIONING GROUPS PARTICULARLY IN A POLITICAL
SETTING
R Overview of attributes related to group interactions
Ms. Shulman distributed and reviewed a handout, Attributes of Well Function Groups Particularly in a
Political Context:
o Approach with Dignity
o Understand Mental Models
o Ability to See Perspectives/External Considering
o Going Beyond Assumptions and engaging in inquiry
o Mindfulness
o Not holding grudges
o Being adaptive
o Having discipline
o Effective communication, ability to connect and development of relationships
o Transparency and accessibility
o Focusing on interests, not positions
o Being able to identify a technical challenge compared to an adaptive challenge
o Diversity of thought/opinions as an asset
o Accountabilities
o Systems approach
* Overview of positions vs interests
Ms. Shulman described:
o Interests are the needs, desires, ad concerns that people have in regard to a given situation.
Interests focus on what outcome is important and why? Problem solving can be more effective
once there is agreement on the interests of a group.
o Positions (or solutions) are how people meet their interests. Positions can take into account the
set of interests expressed.
Overview of adaptive challenges vs technical challenges
o Technical Challenge compared to Adaptive Challenge
■ Key question: What is the principal challenge being faced?
■ A technical challenge is a challenge that requires the straightforward application of
expertise to solve the problem.
■ An adaptive challenge is a challenge that is more complex in that it necessitates addressing
and/or changing people's values, habits, practices, and priorities. This requires leadership
that orchestrates a process of getting the variety of people who own some of the problem
to do adaptive work. There are different adaptive challenges with different contexts.
Ms. Shulman said the number one thing that matters is psychological safety. During workshops at the state
level, what people talk about most is a desire for government to function, to bridge the political divide, for
elected officials to communicate, civic discourse. The public wants government to work together for
common good despite differences.
• Themes: What is currently working well
Ms. Shulman summarized feedback from attendees about what works well, 1) when people respect each
other, 2) meetings and phone calls, direct communication, 3) being proactive with each other before a public
setting and courteous about being responsive, 4) communicating professionally when there are differences
of opinions, and 5) teamwork and engaging together to handle complex things.
Edmonds City Council Retreat Draft Minutes
June 7, 2019
Page 3
6. THEME: THRIVING INDIVIDUALS AND GOVERNMENT
Ms. Shulman distributed a worksheet: Thriving Individuals and Government and asked attendees to take
three minutes to think about and write down answers to the following questions:
• What do you need to personally thrive and be successful as an elected official or department head?
What do you need from elected officials and department heads for you to personally thrive in your
job?
• What do the City Councilmembers, Mayor and Directors need to thrive and be successful together
as the leadership of the City?
Ms. Shulman explained when people understand that others need, they can change how they interact with
them. Attendees shared their responses.
o Honest communication, when asked a question, don't just say uh-huh, uh-huh, signifies
agreement. Be forthright
o Need trust fellow Councilmembers and staff, and if can't, erodes ability to be effective. If ever
feel stabbed in the back, find it difficult to get beyond. Effective communication and honesty
and trust what someone is saying. Difficult to effectively communicate without trust.
o Respect - be respected for one's ability to do a job. Mutual sense of respect, trust comes more
easily.
o Interested in progress on specific projects. Need to know if directors consider them priorities
and how to work together to implement priorities. Need more time to work things out.
o Difficult with shifting sands on project/policy. Marshalling troops to do something, priorities
eroding/shifting but not clear. Hard to thrive when not sure if platform is unstable, shifting,
sinking.
o Like flexibility and thinking creatively about possible solutions. Once reach solution, value
follow-through.
o Sense of respect, approach with dignity. Responsiveness — when reach out to someone, want
to get timely reply.
o Trust one another and with that trust, an expectation that everyone has the best intentions.
o Come to table and assume good intent, start at that place. Trust and respect, we're all one team.
Work together with good intent.
o All have same interest and reach best position
o Trust, respect, collaboration, working together as team, assume we're one team, have same
interest with different positions
o What is our purpose? Are we achieving that purpose? Getting feedback on whether meeting
goal. Develop vision, objectives to reach vision. Need sense of purpose. And then revisit
whether achieving that vision. Honest communication.
o Respect. Ways to show respect — listening and forcing oneself to listen to what person is saying
versus thinking about your response. Be better listeners. Difficult in Council meetings but
public would like to see. Think creatively about small changes that could be made instead of
just saying no. Easy to do behind the scenes such as questions, suggestions via email instead
of having to respond at a Council meeting.
o Concept in philosophy and rhetoric, principle of charity: one should interpret other people's
statements and actions in their best, most reasonable form and not in their worst, most offensive
way possible. Conflict can be prevented and resolved through a return to the principle of
charity. Important to understand what conflict is and isn't; conflict is not a simple different of
opinion or competition, or different in background/experience. A conflict is a work relationship
in which at least one person is angry, resentful or hurt and behaves in a way that impedes the
functioning of the organization. Respectful communication requires understanding
behaviors/elements that cause someone to be angry, hurtful or resentful.
Edmonds City Council Retreat Draft Minutes
June 7, 2019
Page 4
o Resist the temptation to be offended. Internal choice to be offended, but be honest with each
other to say ouch, that was harsh but get your point. Important because if have respect, trust
and working for the common good and assuming good intent, should be free enough to say that
a comment hurt but not be offended.
o Do not put something in email you do not want on the front page of the newspaper. Don't put
something in writing that offends or elicits an angry response. Try not to offend, especially in
written communication
o One of the most restraining things has been the lack of teamwork. The theory of getting 4 votes
and not communicating with other 3 Councilmembers makes her feel resentful and creates an
environment where she responds by get 4 votes instead of having an open conversation. Getting
4 votes and run away builds walls and creates adverse interactions
o Can have disagreements and vote different ways, and then accept outcome.
o Teamwork, collaboration and cooperation — understand where each other is coming from. Time
to figure things out and have discussions is helpful.
o Important to common good to respect the public process and past decision making. Engage in
robust processes and respect the outcome
o All roles should be appreciated for their unique contributions
o Respect and public input is important, getting public input is important but is it from the public
at large or a small vocal group? The Council respects public input but may not always agree
with it.
o Easier to be on the "I'm against something" side. Hard to get things done, figure out what's
right for the whole City. Sometimes have to take a position that some members of public do
not support. Criticism is easy. More people come to Council meetings upset about things than
what they like. Expect naysayers, weigh their input in decision.
o Do not want everyone to always agree.
o Exciting times. Passionate about projects/programs and want to contribute to community.
Ms. Shulman summarized what contributes to respect and trust is attitude and behavior. Electeds and staff
have different roles, democracy is messy. Government is organic, need relearn over and over again how to
be together. There is a reason people run for office or choose to be a director in a city.
THEME: IMPROVING INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
• General themes for improvement
Ms. Shulman recognized the following themes from comments:
1. Respect. Already have established Code of Ethics. Encourage to read occasionally
2. Ability to ask questions respectfully and be able to disagree in a way that is not personal and uses
good communication skills
3. Professionalism — given size of staff and Council and City, face-to-face or phone calls work to vet
issues, vetting via email does not work as well.
4. Differentiate between dynamics of politics and the presentation of information needed for policy
making
5. Transparency. Direct communication. Honesty.
6. Responsiveness
7. Preparedness and being proactive. Ask questions ahead of meetings, can provide more thoughtful,
complete information
8. Leadership is important. Councilmember have ability to be leaders. Helpful if Mayor and Council
President's goal for organizational norm is positive communication
Ms. Shulman distributed and reviewed Top Eight Tips for Keeping Communication Respectful:
Edmonds City Council Retreat Draft Minutes
June 7, 2019
Page 5
I . Keep all communication (email, phone, twitter, etc.) civil and professional
2. Only communicate about city business
3. Other than coordination on scheduling, do not use city staff, offices, phones or computers for
campaign related activities
4. Refrain from utilizing open public meetings to make personal attacks or criticism of elected
officials, city staff or community members.
5. Don't use a public forum to shame others.
6. Consider your body language when communicating or listening to others in public meetings
7. Minimize surprises at public meetings including vet amendments or new ideas prior to introduction
and/or discussion
8. Utilize the followinp- P-eneral -guidelines for when best to utilize different forms of communication:
When best to use email/social media (remember
these are all disclosable to thepublic)
When best to use phone or in person
meeting
Constituent communications
Policy deliberations
Scheduling and logistics
Peer consultation
Sharing of existing information including briefing
papers, etc.
Political strategizing
Newsletters and other outreach
Discussion and attempted resolution of
conflicts or disagreements
Showcasing a city project or activity
Discussion of personnel matters
Sending questions to staff
_
Exploration and discussion of
misunderstandings
Constituent en a ement
• Identification of 5-6 principles
Ms. Shulman distributed post -it notes and asked attendees to identify principles that they believed would
improve communication. Responses were grouped as follows:
o Share as much relevant info as possible rather than holding something back that may be
helpful to my personnel agenda
o Avoid surprises that require an immediate response on camera
o No surprises — communicate up front
o Honest, respectful communication inside and outside public meetings
o Respectful interactions in all forms
o Be respectful of person you are talking with, talk with them, not at them
o More frequent and substantive communication on important issues out of public forum
o Follow through on decisions
o Stand behind decisions voted on by Council
o Respect for previous process, engagements, information and decision-making
o Recognize the public interest in the other's position
o Provide feedback
o Once you get feedback, acknowledge receipt of feedback, then follow up on it by either
implementing suggested change or discuss - ask for clarification
o Be responsive
o Appreciation of different perspective
o Assume the best of intentions
o Assume the other has good intentions
o Principle of charity — interpreting another person's comments or opinions in their best, most
reasonable form
o Assume best intentions
Edmonds City Council Retreat Draft Minutes
June 7, 2019
Page 6
o Assume input being provided for the right reasons
o Resist temptation to be offended
o Include everyone in ideas, not just 4 votes and go
o Collaborative approach
o Separate personal politics from decision-making
o Work out differences in person if possible
o Speak directly about issue without overselling or ignoring the other person
o Listen carefully and acknowledge what was said before responding if it is a critical point, i.e.
prove you listened
o Decrease use of email, too easy to say negative things
o Read your own email with a critical eye before sending
o Trust
o Trust each other
o Provide time between meetings for big decisions.
Attendees identified commonalities in the responses:
o Honesty, respect, teamwork, collegiality, collaboration, teamwork, recognizing we're all
members of the same team
o Desire for good communication
o Defining what good communication looks like and committing to it
o Communication, trust, respect
o Respect, trust, collaboration
o Learn how to discuss and understand and bring that to Council meeting
■ Discussion
Suggestions included:
o Do this same exercise in February when new Councilmembers and Mayor are seated
o Hold a quarterly half day retreat — various topics such as communication, issues staff will be
bringing to Council in the next three months, develop commonality regarding interests, vision
and how to achieve it, create oneness instead of us versus them
o Two to three Councilmembers meet with directors to retain openness and build trust, more
opportunity for open dialogue in small groups.
o Hold collaborative workshop around major topics such as Civic Park. Difficult to have open,
honest discussion in open Council meeting. There is a difference between deliberation at
Council meetings versus communication at a retreat.
o Quarterly study session regarding a topic.
• Personal commitments
Ms. Shulman distributed Personal Commitments and encouraged attendees to complete the statement(s).
"I value ; therefore, I will (identify behaviors)
s Reflections
Attendees offered the following:
o Appreciate everyone's participation. Atmosphere of participation was great
o View Council and staff as a team, appreciate work doing to make the City better. Can be a
better team going forward
o Value everyone's willingness to come and participate in the retreat
o Unfortunate three electeds are not present. Group did good work but missing electeds were
not able to participate
Edmonds City Council Retreat Draft Minutes
June 7, 2019
Page 7
o Ms. Shulman did a tremendous job for the group
o Value mutual understanding, communication is a tool versus an end. Strive for understanding
of each other, strive to understand another person's viewpoint and strive to be understood.
Does not necessarily mean agreement
o Value tempered calmness. If someone is overheating, stating their opinion without respect,
may indicate listening but actually shutting down.
Council President Fraley-Monillas announced a budget retreat is scheduled for July 12tH
The retreat was recessed for a lunch break at 12:58 p.m. and reconvened at 1:39 p.m.
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT
Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Council President
Kristiana Johnson, Councilmember
Thomas Mesaros, Councilmember
Dave Teitzel, Councilmember
Neil Tibbott, Councilmember
ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT
Dave Earling, Mayor
Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember
Michael Nelson, Councilmember
STAFF PRESENT
Maureen Judge, Council Legislative/Exec. Asst.
Jeff Taraday, City Attorney
Council President Fraley-Monillas introduced the afternoon session of the retreat: Council Questions and
Visioning.
1. Three -Touch Rule - How study items are brought forth and voted on in area cities.
■ First touch — Introduction and Q&A
• Second touch — Discuss concerns and vet issues
• Third touch — Vote
Discussion included the three touch rule helping to eliminate surprises and ensure well thought out ideas
and communication; Shoreline, Mukilteo and Lynnwood's practice; allowing the Council to make informed
decisions without undue pressure; issues that are not significant enough to warrant three touches; how the
three -touch rule would be adopted (such as via resolution); Council being reactive rather than proactive;
and potential exceptions to three touch rule such as items discussed in Executive Session that come out for
decision.
Council suggestions included:
a. Having a fourth touch if amendments are made at the third touch
b. Not voting immediately following a public hearing unless there's no public comment
c. Amendments should be made at the second touch
d. Committee meetings count as one -touch
e. Have Audience Comments follow the Consent Agenda
f. Establishing a dollar threshold for when the three -touch rule applies
• Council President Fraley-Monillas and Ms. Judge research what other cities are doing
g. The above suggestions do not include emergency ordinances
2. Talk About Our Approach to Interviewing Candidates for the Housing Commission.
Edmonds City Council Retreat Draft Minutes
June 7, 2019
Page 8
Councilmember Tibbott introduced this topic. Discussion included questions that were on the Housing
Commission application, inability for Councilmembers to interview all candidates, each Councilmember
following their own selection/interview process, and alternates attending meetings (possibly sitting at the
dais). Council suggestions regarding the process included:
a. Get list of candidates
b. Select top 3-5 candidates
c. Conduct face-to-face interviews
d. Determine availability (tentative meeting date 3' Thursday)
e. Make selection by July 31, 2019
f. Meetings start in August
• Two Councilmembers sign up to attend each monthly meeting
3. How do we actively engage the public early in our decision-making process?
Council President Fraley-Monillas relayed this topic was suggested by Councilmember Teitzel. There have
been several topics where the public has gotten involved late in the process such as Civic Park, Waterfront
Connector, Haines Wharf, Urban Forest Management Plan, etc. which illustrates there is some
communication deficit between the City and the public. She asked how to better engage the public earlier
in the process.
Discussion included the existing public process, extensive public engagement on Civic Field,
misinformation that sometimes gets the public involved, City does not have a staff person that does public
engagement, people don't believe a project will happen until they see the bulldozer, using the local press
to cover City issues, effectiveness of emailed vs mailed communications, reaching citizens for whom
English is not their first language, the Council ultimately makes the decision, and the cost of mailing to all
Edmonds households. Suggestions included:
a. Looking back at projects when the public get involved late in the process and determine the
trigger. Interview people about projects
b. Preference for overkill on notification such as mailers for larger capital projects
c. Not presuming that the process is broken - there will always be people who get involved late
d. Getting staff input regarding ways to engate the public early in the process
e. Establishing a dollar threshold for providing mailed notice
f. Consider whether the City is using the Cable TV station as a resource. For example televise
open houses, etc.
4. Future planning - Timeline with Council Vision
Council President Fraley-Monillas invited Councilmembers and staff to respond to the follow questions:
1. How do we see our City in 5 years?
2. What would we like to see changed within the next 5 years?
3. In a perfect city, what would you see?
Suggestions were grouped by years as follows:
2020
1. Prioritized and budgeted Facility Maintenance Schedule
2. Future building with more underground parking now
2021
1. Update Codes
2022
1. Support small business beyond the BID and DEMA
Edmonds City Council Retreat Draft Minutes
June 7, 2019
Page 9
2023
1. Board & Commission Ordinance: streamlined & standardized
2. More diversity in racial and cultural mix
3. Creative District fully recognized and engaged
4. More diversity in business mix across the City
2024
1. Connected walkways & alternate transportation system
2. Completion of the 4"' Avenue Arts Corridor
3. More housing density in select areas
2025
1. More people living AND working in Edmonds
2. 500 Units of affordable housing in place by 2025
3. City office annex on Highway 99 — Police annex?
4. Enhanced environment with tree protections
5. Public walkway around the Edmonds Marsh by 2025
2026
1. Redevelopment on Highway 99 (code and economics to catalyze redevelopment)
2. Close Main Street to vehicular traffic from 3`d Ave. to 6th Ave
2027
1. Restoration of Edmonds Marsh
2028
1. City with a complete sidewalk system
2029
2030
1. 2,000 units of affordable housing by 2030
2. Interconnected park system with trails and walking connections to other parks
3. Underground utilities on Highway 99
4. All City utilities underground by 2030
5. Ideally -located fire stations
6. New fent' dock collocated with other transportation
7. 100% clean energy throughout the city including private homes
Beyond
1. A vibrant Highway 99 within 20 years
Discussion included challenges with updating the code, cultural programming being done by ECA, holding
community court on Hwy 99, funding for Hwy 99, citywide sidewalk plan, prioritizing projects via the
budget, and preparation for the July budget retreat.
Council President Fraley-Monillas announced a Council Student Representative has been identified; he will
be a senior at Lakeside and lives in Edmonds. She plans to introduce him to the Council at a special meeting
in early July.
Council President Fraley-Monillas said Councilmember zone assignments for the Housing Commission
will be made soon.
5. ADJOURN
The retreat was adjourned at 3:46 p.m.
J ___ - - _& - Ifyi- z
DAVID 0. 6RLING, MAYOR
PA 5EY, CITY
C RK
Edmonds City Council Retreat Draft Minutes
June 7, 2019
Page 10