MINUTES OF THE SARASOTA CITY COMMISSION COMMUNICATIONPRODUCTIVITY WORKSHOP OF JANUARY 12, 2023 PRESENT: Mayor Kyle Scott Battie, presiding, Vice Mayor Liz Alpert, Commissioners Erik Arroyo, Jen Ahearn-Koch, and Debbie Trice, City Manager Marlon Brown, City Attorney Robert Fournier, and City Auditor and Clerk Shayla Griggs OTHER: Martin "Marty" Hurwitz, Facitator/independent Consultant ABSENT: None The meeting was called to order by Mayor Battie at 11:06 A.M. 1. DISCUSSION RE: COMMUNICATION AND PRODUCTIVITY WORKSHOP (AGENDA ITEM D Martin "Marty" Hurwitz, Faclitator/ndependent Consultant commended everyone for attending, complimented the new Commission for working together well, and stated that there seems to be a kinder atmosphere. City Manager Brown left and returned to his seat at 11:07 A.M. City Attorney Fournier left his seat at 11:07 A.M. Mr. Hurwitz stated that the purpose of today's meeting is for the five Commissioners to continue to grow as a Commission and what will be explored is what are some of the elements necessary to be productive in tension. City Attorney Fournier returned to his seat at 11:08 A.M. City Auditor and Clerk Griggs left and returned to her seat at 11:09 A.M. Mr. Hurwitz requested the Commission to check in and asked on a scale of one to ten, to share what their energy levels are which was addressed by the Commission. Mr. Hurwitz stated that the discussion is about a culture in a way of engaging with each other, which is important for a number of reasons, and posed a question asking what is decorum, which was addressed by Commissioners Trice and Arroyo as follows: Basic courtesy Order and civility Mr. Hurwitz defined decorum as follows: The requirements to share means of interaction which allows participants to show they are good people even as they argue and disagree A Code of Public Conduct A system of shared values in response to problems of external adaptation and internal integration City Auditor and Clerk Griggs left her seat at 11:12 A.M. Civil conduct is a simple, easy to employ means of conveying integrity and a way of behaving which guarantees the Commissioners are portraying themselves positively. City Auditor and Clerk Griggs returned to her seat at 11:13 A.M. CommuniatowPlacin)y Workshop -1- 01/12/23 Mr. Hurwitz continued and stated that decorum is about the Commission's public face; that the Commission will discuss what is needed to be the basic rules of interaction in which all Commissioners are willing to follow; that even as disagreement occurs, the hope is residents never lose sight of the fact Commissioners are good people and The Body" is respected; that if one Commissioner acts in a way which does not place a positive face forward, will hurt each Commissioner, and to act this way is disrespectful, selfish, and not productive, which will make coming to an agreement harder. Mr. Hurwitz define decorum as follows: Manners Conductbehavior according to a set criteria/common set of expectations A baseline of decent behavior and the requirements outline the most basic kinds of consideration which is owed to each other in public A code of behavior and a set of conventions that channel human contradictions in productive directions Question posed by Mr. Hurwitz asking what makes space and room for disagreement was addressed as follows: Good manners Treat each other respectfully Make space for each other Mr. Hurwitz stated that civility seeks predictability, and peace is desired by all, to have a peaceful safe place to do our jobs; however, peace requires rules. Question posed by Mr. Hurwitz asking what are some of the rules each Commissioner would desire, was addressed as follows: Vice Mayor Alpert stated that what is being done more recently such as following the protocol of Robert's Rules of Order, and the Public Code of Conduct, and not making issues personal Speak to the issue, not to the Commissioners; avoid statements such as "I agree with the Mayor" as opposed to saying "My position is similar on that issue.. Commissioner Trice stated that she does not want to outright disagree; however, in addressing a name acknowledges the Commissioner was heard as opposed to individuals speaking and waiting for their turn to speak and totally ignoring what everyone else is saying, and discussion ensued regarding whether names should be used and/or is divisive. Commissioner Ahearn-Koch left her seat at 11:29 A.M. and returned at 11:31 A.M. Mr. Hurwitz requested each Commissioner to state whether using names is more bonding or divisive, which was addressed as follows: Commissioner Trice stated that although she is new to the group, the belief is what is currently being done is more bonding; that frequently being the last Commissioner to speak, she has listened to three or four other comments and cannot really say the last speaker's statement, and Mr. Hurwitz provided input Commissioner Arroyo stated that he agrees with Mr. Hurwitz; that it is more than likely less divisive to not use names; however, extremely difficult to implement in practice, and Mr. Hurwitz provided input Vice Mayor Alpert stated that repeating what the person before or two times before said is redundant, whether than saying "I agree with those points and here are my extra points" and Commissioner Ahearn-Koch provided input CommunicantowProdacinp Workshop 2- 01/12/23 City Auditor and Clerk Griggs left her seat at 11:37 A.M. Commissioner Ahearn-Koch stated that the Commission should try to speak to the issues as much as possible and try not to make issues personal, such as "1 agree with Commissioner Arroyo and not with Commissioner Alpert", which is similar to creating teams City Auditor and Clerk Griggs returned to her seat at 11:40 A.M. Commissioner Ahearn-Koch voiced concerns regarding the inability for Commissioners to discuss amongst each other as the result of the Florida Govemmentin.he-Sunshine Law (Sunshine Law). Question posed by Mr. Hurwitz to the City Manager and City Attorney asking if the Chambers is the place where Commissioners should be having conversations with each other was addressed by the City Attorney, and the City Auditor and Clerk provided input. City Manager Brown left and returned to his seat at 11:43 A.M. Discussion ensued regarding whether having conversations using names is necessary, restraints of the Sunshine Law, divisiveness, appropriate times to address a Commissioner directly, the lack of having a place to explore issues amongst each other, which is what Workshops are for, and Workshops having the potential to create a more deliberative Commission. Mr. Hurwitz requested the Commission to discuss what makes conversations more or less productive, with "trust" being the first to be discussed; that the question to be addressed is what the four components of trust are, which were addressed as follows: onesymumnunessencery Credibility, reliability, intimacy, and self-orientation; "care" What does the Commission "cares" mean: Personally committed to the outcome The Commission has a grasp on the community and City and the responsibility to citizens to make the best decision possible The feeling of "We are all in this together" by each Commissioner, to make a better City and more productive Commission; each Commissioner has a vested and shared interest Reliability: mean what they say and do what they say Competence: Commissioners have an obligation to themselves and each other to attend meetings prepared and have an understanding and facility of the issues Mr. Hurwitz stated that if any of the four components are not met, there will not be trust, and without trust and trusting everyone has done their homework, as facility and understanding of issues, the Commissioners will commence divisive behavior, and exhibit microaggressions; that microaggressions compound over time. City Attorney Fournier left his seat at 12:01 P.M. Mr. Hurwitz stated that Workshops will help the Commission become more competent and facile with the issues and ideas, and give Commissioners time to process others' positions. Mr. Hurwitz requested the Commission discuss more issues which can create dysfunction in communication which was addressed as follows: CommanioatonPohactny Workshop -3- 01/12/23 Angermactoagyressions Not feeling heard Frustrations are caused by unrealistic expectations City Attorney Fournier returned to his seat at 12:04 P.M. City Auditor and Clerk Griggs left her seat at 12:05 P.M. and returned at 12:06 P.M Interrupting Being dismissive Telling someone they are wrong Making assumptions; do not make assumptions and always be open to input Mr. Hurwitz reminded the Commission to remember different ideas are not criticisms, remain focused on the facts, and commit to listening. Question posed to Commissioner Trice asking what led her to the conclusion of the Commission appearing to not be listening to each other when she was in the audience was addressed by Commissioner Trice who stated "speech making" by Commissioners; that sometimes the feeling was someone had a prepared speech directed to the audience which did not incorporate the thoughts of others. Mr. Hurwitz stated that being a good listener is not good enough; that equally important is for the person you are speaking with to believe you are a good listener; that some of the indicators of not being a good listener are as follows: When someone has finished speaking the first word out of your mouth is "but" When your response does not follow any line of thought the other person mentioned Question posed by Mr. Hurwitz asking what could be done to indicate you were listening, was addressed as follows: Repeat back to them some of the things they said Asked a question related to something they mentioned Say "It was very interesting what you just said. I want to make sure we are on the same page. This is what I heard.. 1 Question posed by Commissioner Ahearn-Koch asking should this process be done during the meetings when there is a time constraint was addressed by Mr. Hurwitz. Mayor Battie voiced concerns about time constraints, being in somewhat of a pressured situation with trying to be as productive as possible, and implementing the components of trust regarding decision making which affect citizens and their quality of life, and Mr. Hurwitz provided input. Question posed by Mr. Hurwitz asking if the Code of Public Conduct should be read before every meeting and is the current Code of Public Conduct desired by the Commission, the Commission stated yes. Questions posed by Mr. Hurwitz asking what the consequences are for submissions not meeting the deadlines to be placed on the Agenda, and what should they be, were addressed as follows: City looks unorganized; confusing to the public; Commissioners do not have enough time to review Only emergency Agenda Items should be added Question posed by Mr. Hurwitz asking is the Commission comfortable if the deadline is not met then the item will not be on the Agenda and if any Commissioner desires an Item to be an emergency then the decision can be made by the City Auditor and Clerk and City Manager, were addressed as follows: CommunicatowPotactinpy Workshop 4- 01/12/23 Commissioners Ahearn-Koch and Arroyo would not be in favor Vice Mayor Alpert stated that if the item is an emergency then a Special Sarasota City Commission Meeting should be scheduled Commissioner Arroyo stated that the Commission needs the flexibility to add items Discussion ensued regarding adding late Agenda Items as follows: Whether the issue of Parklets expiring was an emergency Poor planning shouid not create an emergency, and if an item is not on the Agenda in a timely manner, that is poor planning Concerns voiced regarding late changes and not receiving the information in an adequate timeframe therefore, consequently, the lack of confidence exists with making the correct decision in terms of the vote Having Workshops provides the ability to add items the Commission desires to have on the Regular Sarasota City Commission Meeting Agenda Similarly with Staff, if items are not submitted by the deadline they are not on the Agenda, and the request is for the Commission to abide by the same rules Place the calendar with the deadlines for Agenda item submissions on the City's website Note the timeframe in which items are to be submitted Change(s) to the Order of the day are approved by two-thirds of the Commission vote Staff is working hard to make sure the Agendas are manageable and the request is for the Commission to be more aware Choices before the Commission are: 1) Keep things the way they are, 2) Commission try to discipline themselves, and if not then 3) Modify when Agenda Items need to be submitted Mr. Hurwitz stated that another issue observed is the purpose of the Consent Agenda and the question is does the Commission want a Consent Agenda; that there are a number of items removed from the Consent Agenda often, and discussion ensued as follows: Items with issues assumed to need further discussion should not be placed under the Consent Agenda Should items be moved to New Business which will extend the meeting which is not routine Under what circumstances are Consent Agenda Items going to be removed Removing items is the only tool for the Commission to communicate in certain instances due to Sunshine Law restraints Commission needs the flexibility to remove Consent Agenda Items Predictability of meeting length Current process is satisfactory Should the time limits be implemented for items removed Mr. Hurwitz concluded and stated that today's conversation is a great example of what the citizens should see; that the Commissioners did not all agree, showed respect for what others said, listened made their statements, and moved on, and demonstrated great respect for one another; that having to vote should not change this and thanked the Commission. 2. ADJOURN (AGENDA ITEM 2) Mayor Battie adjourned the Sarasota City Commission CommuncalonPoducwy Workshop of January 12, 2023, at 1:01 P.M. CommunianoPodactiny Workshop -5- 01/12/23