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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,May 11,2015 <br /> Page 13 <br /> sues, and while not always pretty or on the proscribed schedule they remained ac- <br /> countable to their constituents. Under that scenario, Councilmember Willmus <br /> noted that often things may come up during a City Council meeting that staff had <br /> not previously thought about and therefore additional information and time was <br /> required to resolve a particular issue. <br /> Regarding the strategic initiative identified as "establish framework for respectful <br /> dialogue and exchange of ideas," Councilmember Willmus opined that there <br /> would always be Councilmembers who were passionate about a particular issue <br /> and who may disagree. However, Councilmember Willmus questioned the bene- <br /> fit for staff to spend too much time attempting to address that concern. <br /> Recognizing how much additional preliminary work may be required of staff to <br /> get information to the City Council ahead of time and how that may dramatically <br /> change the current operating procedures, Councilmember Etten cautioned creating <br /> additional work for staff that may not prove useful to the City Council. Regard- <br /> ing timeframes, Councilmember Etten expressed appreciation for those times staff <br /> clearly laid out in the RCA the "next steps" and a proposed timeframe (e.g. Dale <br /> Street Project). Using the Dale Street Project as an example, Councilmember Et- <br /> ten suggested pulling some of the pieces from the Development Agreement for <br /> that timeline to provide a direct target or window for presentations or action by a <br /> Commission or the City Council, since staff often has that information available <br /> without causing them too much additional work. <br /> While recognizing that the strategic initiative identified as "establish framework <br /> for respectful dialogue and exchange of ideas," may be tough to maintain a con- <br /> tinuum for respectful meetings, Councilmember Etten suggested each new City <br /> Councilmember packet include a refresher from the League of Minnesota Cities <br /> (LMC) materials for discussion. Councilmember Etten agreed that, while the <br /> body could agree to disagree, there should always be a reminder to remain re- <br /> spectful with no need to go for blood. <br /> Regarding that referenced initiative, Mayor Roe opined that respect went beyond <br /> the City Council, but also the City Council's respect of staff, and also to everyone <br /> participating in a meeting. Mayor Roe further opined that it was the City Coun- <br /> cil's role to set a good example for everyone else, otherwise it became easy for a <br /> member of the community to follow the Council's bad example. <br /> As part of that respect initiative, Mayor Roe suggested a trial period providing an <br /> opportunity for anyone participating in a meeting to turn in a response at the end <br /> of that meeting as to whether they found the meeting respectful or not, with a tally <br /> of those responses to see if it matched the impressions of the City Council. <br /> Mayor Roe suggested this would provide a chance for feedback, whether at the <br /> end of the meeting, or reported at the next meeting, and if tracked for awhile, it <br /> may provide enlightening. Mayor Roe recognized that there would always be is- <br />