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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,July 13,2015 Page 14 conversational approach or training for those performing the assessment. Mayor Roe opined that if individual assessors were simply presented with a checklist that they didn't fully understand the purpose of, it made it difficult to make a valid as- sessment. As an example, Councilmember McGehee spoke in support of training Depart- ments to evaluate this program, performing that assessment under the direction of the City Manager; but questioned if the City Council could look at the assessment tool and actually perform it. Mayor Roe opined that it may depend on the situation, using the example of a group exercise at the LMC training and various interpretations by participants and pre-conceived perceptions, which could also equate to the City Council and po- tential perceptions it held of citizens that were not necessarily accurate. Councilmember Laliberte also referenced misperceptions the public may have of the City Council or vise versa, such as "the fix is in," or"they've already made up their minds." Mayor Roe noted those perceptions were often informed by past experience; and as he interacts with the public, he frequently hears them state that once they un- derstand the issue or project, they no longer have a certain perception, but are ap- preciative of having a better understanding. Mayor Roe noted the need for all parties to own up to their particular misperceptions as part of the engagement pro- cess. Councilmember McGehee referenced the recent Dale Street Project and its col- laborative process as a very positive example of empowering residents through that process, and creating a large coalescing of neighborhoods or citizens around an issue. Councilmember Willmus opined it may become difficult when comparing the Dale Street process, with a city-controlled property, when trying to implement or carry forward with that same process when it involves a third party or private property. Mayor Roe noted the need at that time to identify the community engagement process; with the key going into it to acknowledge where that process was at the spectrum of engagement and depending on the situation as noted by Coun- cilmember Willmus. Mayor Roe opined that the real need was to get that spec- trum identification out upfront, whether the City is controlling a project or only informing citizens or something in-between. Whether it involved staff, the City Council, or CEC, Councilmember Laliberte added that while the City often referenced where something was at in the process,