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04-12-21 City Council Work Session MinutesCITY COUNCIL ""`OF WORK SESSION MINUTES KALISPELL April 12, 2021, at 7:00 P.m. This meeting occurred with Council and staff present in Council Chambers with social distancing in place, as well as via video conferencing. The public was available to participate via videoconferencing by registering at h ps://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/V,rN idNph1DR004-CJeIOZdxw. Public comment was also available via email to publiccomment@kalispell.com. Video of this meeting with time stamped minutes can be found at: httys://www.kalispell.com/480/Meeting-Videos. A. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Johnson called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Mayor - Mark Johnson: Present Council Member - Kari Gabriel: Present via video conferencing Council Member - Sandy Carlson: Present Council Member - Sam Nunnall : Present Council Member - Chad Graham: Present Council Member - Kyle Waterman: Present Council Member - Ryan Hunter: Present Council Member - Tim Kluesner: Present Council Member - Sid Daoud: Present via video conference Staff present in Council Chambers included City Manager Doug Russell, City Attorney Charles Harball, and City Clerk Aimee Brunckhorst. Guests present included Alan Hulse with Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority (MMIA) and Dan Clark with the Montana State University Local Government Center. B. DISCUSSION ITEMS 1. Council Policies and Procedures City Manager Doug Russell provided background as to why this issue was brought forth. He then introduced Dan Clark with the Local Government Center and Alan Hulse with the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority. 00:02:01 Dan Clark with the Local Government Center thanked Council for their service. He then began discussing the purpose of local government and how to engage local citizens appropriately while adhering to the public process. Mr. Clark and Council began discussing the purpose of local government and the values that play into the purpose and the transparency and accountability that plays into that system. They then talked regarding the three branches of representative government and the roles and Page 1 of 5 Kalispell City Council Minutes, April 12, 2021 responsibilities of each. Mr. Clark spoke regarding the inherent tension built into the system to get the best outcome if a healthy tension with collegiality is maintained. Discussion continued talking about the right to know and the right to participate within the state of Montana constitution. They spoke regarding the role of elected officials to facilitate that. Mr. Clark talked about the importance of policies and norms of the Council. Mayor Johnson provided discussion about past norms and how those have changed over time. He then spoke about the gray areas that are not spelled out clearly, the resulting lawsuits, and the rise in social media and how that affects the norms. He spoke regarding the venue that is appropriate to facilitate the right to participate. Alan Hulse CEO of MMIA spoke regarding defending lawsuits, and how actions that undermine and erode the public's trust in government make that job difficult. 00:30:33 Councilor Daoud provided discussion about how this discussion should be framed around political speech. He provided information about related recent lawsuits and his views on them. 00:33:26 Dan Clark spoke regarding norms that add to the civil discourse. He then spoke regarding the public trust and the concept that the higher the public trust, the lower the transaction cost. 00:37:50 Councilor Hunter thanked Mr. Clark and Mr. Hulse for their presence. He then asked questions of Dan Clark and Alan Hulse related to open meeting laws and social media. Dan Clark spoke regarding what constitutes an open meeting. He then spoke regarding other municipalities social media policies. Alan Hulse with MMIA spoke regarding a case in Missoula. 00:41:55 Councilor Hunter provided discussion related to the definition of a quorum and the convening of a meeting. Dan Clark provided further discussion related to the content of discussion. Councilor Hunter provided further discussion and his rules as related to social media. He then spoke regarding norms and to try to find ways to work with new ways of communicating. 00:49:19 Councilor Hunter shared his concerns related to social media use and elections. 00:50:54 City Manager Russell spoke regarding current policy and staff recommendations. 00:52:06 Councilor Hunter discussed the difference between a city Facebook page and an elected official page. He then spoke regarding elections. He talked further about the right to participate, and how those statutes relate to a meeting. He discussed the use of social media as an elected official as contributing to transparency. Councilor Hunter explained how he manages his social media accounts. Dan Clark spoke regarding the nature of engaging the public and reframing the conversation. Page 2 of 5 Kalispell City Council Minutes, April 12, 2021 01:04:26 Alan Hulse spoke regarding the nature of challenges to officials and municipalities. He then provided discussion regarding engagement of the public. 01:06:46 Council and guests discussed varying views of social media, possible comments, and interactions within. 01:12:42 Councilor Daoud provided discussion related to his internal policy around his social media use and how he relates to people in person on city issues. He spoke regarding the importance of the city social media page and the constituents that only engage in that manner. He spoke regarding the nature of campaigning. He spoke regarding being respectful in dialogue. 01:17:38 Councilor Graham provided discussion related to misinformation and how that negatively affects dialogue and how the council functions. Council discussed social media use and council relationships. 01:28:36 Councilor Nunnally thanked the guests for attending and spoke regarding the intent of tonight's meeting. He then spoke regarding election communications. He asked about policy related to public comment email discussion. 01:33:53 Councilor Nunnally spoke regarding using this discussion as a learning tool for his own social media use. 01:34:36 Councilor Waterman thanked the guests for attending and educating. He spoke regarding building norms as a Council, and how those norms vary in different board settings. He spoke regarding building relationships among Council and norms around deliberation. 01:38:29 Councilor Kluesner spoke regarding past council history and a lawsuit. 01:40:07 City Manager Russell provided further clarification related to the lawsuit Kluesner referred to. Councilor Kluesner continued to discuss social media use, the potential for lawsuit, and when those lawsuits would include insurance coverage. Alan Hulse spoke regarding coverage and related variables. 01:50:46 Councilor Hunter spoke regarding his expectation of transparency related to reasoning behind votes. 01:53:52 Dan Clark spoke regarding norms related to decisions as being made as the body. He spoke regarding the importance of democracy at the local level. 01:58:58 Councilor Waterman spoke regarding decorum, politics, and past decisions. 02:01:57 Councilor Gabriel spoke regarding her 17-year council term and how social media has changed everything. She spoke regarding not trying to post her personal opinions on her social Page 3 of 5 Kalispell City Council Minutes, April 12, 2021 media page. She directs the public to make their comments to all council instead of just her directly. She spoke regarding the importance of the council being politically diverse. 02:06:29 Councilor Carlson agreed with Councilor Gabriel's points and also added that people have a right to learn more, deliberate, and change their minds on votes. 02:07:32 Councilor Nunnally spoke regarding his reasoning behind changing a previous vote. 02:08:57 Councilor Hunter spoke regarding his learning process, previous votes, his reasoning and feelings and his views of being singled out. Mayor Johnson provided discussion regarding teambuilding on council and thanked Dan Clark and Alan Hulse for providing information and feedback for this discussion. He summarized the discussion and acknowledged points of others. He spoke to the importance of public participation. He spoke to the importance of airing concerns to work on teambuilding and building trust. C. PUBLIC COMMENT Persons wishing to address the council were asked to provide public comment via email to publiccomment@kaliMell.com or verbally during the online meeting. Mayor Johnson opened public comment. Jamie Quinn, Public Comment Ms. Quinn of 1403 3rd Ave West spoke to her views that the council should be ashamed for spending time discussing this issue and other issues such as ducks when there are other issues that need to be discussed. She said she would hope that council can move on to other things. 02:26:36 Seeing no further public comment, Mayor Johnson closed public comment. Public comment received recently to publiccomment@lalispell.com can be found at: https•//time ci kalispell mt us/WebLinkBrowse.aspx?id=142669&dbid=0&repo=Kalispell. D. CITY MANAGER, COUNCIL, AND MAYOR REPORTS 02:26:49 City Manager Russell spoke regarding the importance of discussions to create a functioning governing body. E. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Johnson adjourned the meeting at 9:29 p.m. O •�poR4;k ., `- .�S92 .r- _ RN AiTee Brunckhorst, CMC City Clerk Page 4 of 5 Kalispell City Council Minutes, April 12, 2021 UPCOMING SCHEDULE / FOR YOUR INFORMATION Next Regular Meeting — April 19, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. — Council Chambers Next Work Session — April 26, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. — Council Chambers Watch City Council sessions live on Charter Cable Channel 190 or online at the Meetings on Demand tab at www.kalispell.com. Page 5 of 5