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<br />Regular City Council Meeting <br />Monday, May 13, 2024 <br />Page 9 <br />Mayor Roe thought that meant the City needs to be very explicit in however this is <br />approached. <br />Councilmember Etten thought that brought up things he had heard from former members <br />of the HRIEC and some people who were in the public who were not a part of the HRIEC. <br />One of the considerations for having this not be a commission and not videotaped is that it <br />allows for more frank and open conversations. He noted an example was given to him as a <br />member of the MAC who has legal trouble in their past and was able to openly talk about <br />that in what that person considers to be a safe space. As soon as there is a video going and <br />make it open meeting law, that does not become a safe space for that person and the person <br />cannot share personal experiences. When the group talks about how a regulation affects <br />people who have experiences like someone in the group, at some point, that is going to be <br />discussed and may not be something the person wants to be videotaped. The City loses that <br />benefit. <br />Councilmember Etten indicated this is something he heard from people where they felt it <br />was something that changed how that person could talk and operate in the meeting. He <br />thought, for him, it was an important thing to consider. If the City does a commission, then <br />he thought the City cannot have any exceptions to the commission code or it gets very <br />messy. When the person interviews for a position, it will be in front of the Council and that <br />person will need to use Roberts Rules of Orders, but he thinks then the City starts making <br />the space less comfortable. When this happens it may not allow the City to get the people <br />that are needed for that type of commission or would allow the person to fully participate <br />in a way that is so useful for the City. <br /> Councilmember Etten indicated he appreciated Councilmember Strahan’s point about <br />internal focus that others agreed on. For him, part of the reason this would be different is <br />because of its extreme internal focus and it is thinking about how the City operates and <br />what are the City policies being reviewed versus the very public output that a lot of the <br />City Commissions have. Those are things that are important for him as he thinks forward <br />about why he would lean away from a commission. He explained this is not about him but <br />about the feedback he has heard and why he thought a distinction here is that internal focus <br />and why a committee approach makes more sense for that, a clear distinction line in how <br />these groups would operate, and what the groups would do in the City. <br />Councilmember Strahan said her biggest concern was that it will get too loose and there is <br />no continuity, because she knows that given changes in the Police Department and having <br />different staff leave, it has had kind of fits and starts. She wants continuity for the people <br />who are involved and an opportunity for it to be successful because the Council is also <br />setting them up for failure if they are not providing an opportunity for it to be consistent. <br />She agreed that setting up a regular meeting and people are a lot better off knowing when <br />this meeting is a set meeting on the calendar. She thought people needed that consistency <br />even if they cannot make it, but she also wanted there to be an expectation that the person <br />is making some type of commitment. She indicated her understanding from the MAC is <br />that it is looser than what the Council probably wants here. She thought it was almost like <br />Qbhf!:8!pg!354 <br /> <br />