SUMMARY MINUTES OF DINNER MEETING

Monday, May 8, 2006

6:00 p.m.

Shoreline Conference Center

Highlander Room

PRESENT: Mayor Ransom, Deputy Mayor Fimia, and Councilmembers Gustafson, Hansen, McGlashan, Ryu, and Way

ABSENT: none

STAFF: Bob Olander, City Manager; Julie Modrzejewski, Assistant City Manager; Joyce Nichols, Communications and Intergovernmental Relations Director; Dick Deal, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director; Bernard Seeger, Management Analyst; Scott Passey, City Clerk; Carol Shenk, Records and Information Manager; and Ronald Moore, Deputy City Clerk

GUEST: none

At 6:20 p.m. Deputy Mayor Fimia called the meeting to order. Mayor Ransom arrived at 6:22 p.m.

Mr. Deal provided information to the Council about the mistaken phone calls made on behalf of the citizen committee working to pass the parks bond measure. He outlined the measures taken to notify people that the 12:30 a.m. calls made to Shoreline residents were by mistake and not intentional.

Mr. Passey provided an overview of the chain of events regarding the “mistaken” application for a liquor license for a winery operation near Einstein Middle School. He explained that it was unclear whether the applicant needed a liquor license for her Shoreline residence or whether she needed to apply for a home occupation permit. Mr. Olander said he’s writing a letter to the Liquor Board opposing the matter because her residence is not zoned for commercial activity. Also, the wine-associated activity will occur in Woodinville, so nothing will occur at the Shoreline residence except accounting and office work.

Mr. Seeger provided a presentation on the 2005 Council Correspondence Process. He reviewed the purpose and goals of the process, noting that staff provides responsive, personalized correspondence for letters and email written to the Council in an effort to

inform, educate, and answer questions regarding Council policy. Letters/email received by the Council Office is logged and citizens receive acknowledgement that they letter was received. The CMO consults with department (as needed) on responses, which are then forwarded to Mayor for review/approval.

Continuing, he provided statistics on the amount of correspondence and the recurring topics for the 2001-2005 period. In 2005, 320 letters were received, as compared to 459 in 2004, which represents a 30% decrease. Of all the correspondence, 67% is e-mail, with 29% by letter. No apparent trends emerged in the comparisons of the number of letters going back to 2001. The top issue identified was City Manager resignation (19%), followed by General Policy (14%), City Hall (13%), and the Comprehensive Plan (12%).

Over the five-year period of 2001-2005, the Aurora Corridor (76) and traffic (75) were the leading issues that we received letters on. From 2004-05, leading topics were North City (89), Cottage Housing (61), and City Hall (34). Average response time was 15 calendar days (both average and median) in 2005; the new time standard is 14 days.

Mr. Passey gave a report on the City’s public records disclosure process for 2005. He noted that all requests go through Carol Shenk, the City’s Records and Information Manager, and the City is in compliance with the model rules from the State Attorney General’s Office. He reviewed the legal requirements of the State Public Disclosure Act as well as the department’s customer service goals, which include timely response to records requests, and limiting the number of unwanted or unnecessary copies. He discussed the difference between routine and non-routine requests and how each is handled. He also reviewed the number of pages made available in 2004, 2005 and 2006 as well as the number of copies paid for.

Continuing, he identified the goal of trying to save paper by using electronic methods as much as possible. Permit files comprised the most numerous requests by category. For 2005, the average time to close a request was 7.57 calendar days; the median was 3 calendar days. Some of the major topics included Innis Arden tree cutting and City Hall. Customer satisfaction was rated very high, with 97% of respondents rating the customer service as good or excellent. He also discussed the records retention schedule and guidelines for City Council and employees. He concluded by outlining 2006 goals, which include refining tracking systems, helping departments organize and track records, and increasing the volume of records available electronically to outside customers.

The meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.

/S/ Joyce Nichols, Communications and Intergovernmental Relations Director