Del Mar City Council Special Meeting Agenda
Hotel Indigo
710 Camino del Mar, Del Mar, California
April 22, 2024 City Council Special Meeting – Retreat
Workshop
INFORMATION RECEIVED
AFTER THE COUNCIL AGENDA
WAS DISTRIBUTED
(“Red Dots”)
1 Melinda Gould
From: Ken Olson <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2024 7:15 PM
To: City Clerk Mail Box; David Druker; Terry Gaasterland; Tracy Martinez; Dan Quirk; Dwight Worden; Ashley Jones
Subject: Red Dot for Council workshop
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
To the City Council and City Manager:
As a longtime practitioner and wonk on process and governance, I’m pleased to see the City Council devoting a workshop to the combined topics . Good governance and good due process together need nonambiguous rules, consistent enforcement, and diligent oversight. Our city is behind the curve on all three.
Of particular workshop interest is how City officials can best serve their residents in instances of failure to communicate when one party decides that the opposing view is so absurd that there is no need to try to understand it. In an attempt to help a few years ago I suggested an ombudsman program with the narrow aim of getting each party to understand the other’s position. I also proposed an alternative that if a resident’s issue goes before the Council, one member could function as the resident’s advocate during discussion before a vote. I’d like to see the City revisit those two potential improvements.
It's distressing that the City so often winds up in court, spending staff and Council energies and consuming significant taxpayer money. Much of that could be avoided by better processes of listening to each other and of exercising better prosecutorial discretion.
The workshop discussion of various governance roles could encourage the Council to clarify that great service to residents is paramount and is worthy of being stated as an individual City government goal.
Thank you for the invitation to the workshop. I plan to listen and to learn, not to participate. I come in peace.
Ken Olson
Torrey Point Road
[email protected]
April 22, 2024 Item III
1 Melinda Gould
From: Richard R. Rice <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, April 21, 2024 7:46 PM
To: Ken Olson
Cc: City Clerk Mail Box; David Druker; Terry Gaasterland; Tracy Martinez; Dan Quirk; Dwight Worden; Ashley Jones
Subject: Re: Red Dot for Council workshop
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Ken:
This is excellent.
R
On Apr 21, 2024, at 7:15 PM, Ken Olson <[email protected]> wrote:
To the City Council and City Manager:
As a longtime practitioner and wonk on process and governance, I’m pleased to see the City Council devoting a workshop to the combined topics . Good governance and good due process together need nonambiguous rules, consistent enforcement, and diligent oversight. Our city is behind the curve on all three.
Of particular workshop interest is how City officials can best serve their residents in instances of failure to communicate when one party decides that the opposing view is so absurd that there is no need to try to understand it. In an attempt to help a few years ago I suggested an ombudsman program with the narrow aim of getting each party to understand the other’s position. I also proposed an alternative that if a resident’s issue goes before the Council, one member could function as the resident’s advocate during discussion before a vote. I’d like to see the City revisit those two potential improvements.
It's distressing that the City so often winds up in court, spending staff and Council energies and consuming significant taxpayer money. Much of that could be avoided by better processes of listening to each other and of exercising better prosecutorial discretion.
The workshop discussion of various governance roles could encourage the Council to clarify that great service to residents is paramount and is worthy of being stated as an individual City government goal.
April 22, 2024 Item III
2 Thank you for the invitation to the workshop. I plan to listen and to learn, not to participate. I come in peace.
Ken Olson
Torrey Point Road
[email protected]
April 22, 2024 Item III