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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007 02-26 EACM EAC MEETING MINUTES FEBRUARY 26, 2007 COUNCIL COMMISSION ROOM The Employee Action Committee meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. EAC Members Present: Doc Miller, Bruce Johnson, Jill Berger, John Rued, Mark Reinking, Rick Nelson, Deanna Mickelson, and Tom Bublitz. Also present was City Manager Curt Boganey. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the future of the EAC. The City Manager briefly reviewed the duties and responsibilities of the EAC as set forth in the administrative document which created the EAC in 1997. Mr. Boganey explained he was seeking feedback from committee members to ascertain whether the EAC is serving its purpose and if it is effective in meeting expectations. He invited committee members to offer their observations and comments. Comments from committee members included:  The EAC has had low employee participation and there is no funding to support activities. Everybody is too busy for activities outside of work.  The EAC committee was an opportunity to meet other employees that I would not have otherwise met.  The EAC is ineffective and its time has come and gone. The EAC meetings are poorly attended and the committee should disband.  Some departments, such as engineering, work 12 hour days from May thru December and it is difficult to make meetings.  One committee member expressed optimism about the committee and believes it can be renewed.  There are both employee and public perception issues relative to the EAC and the employee activities need to be balanced with the social service aspect of the committee.  One committee member noted that it is his impression that some of the EAC activities may be redundant since things such as the employee newsletter and employee recognition program address some of the purpose of the EAC. The City Manager noted that all the comments made by committee members are valid and inquired whether the committee believes there is a need for the EAC. He briefly reviewed the purpose and scope of the committee according to the April 1997 document drafted when the EAC was created. He asked committee members for comments on if the committee dissolved, would it affect relationships and communication between employees. Comments from EAC members included the following:  Serving on the EAC has provided an opportunity to get to know other employees and departments, especially since employees are so spread out.  Believe we would be worse off without an event like the holiday luncheon which is still worth the effort.  One possibility would be to have a holiday luncheon committee along with other committees addressing specific activities. Do we need a year round committee to do this? The City Manager commented that he believes one of the purposes of the EAC at this stage and at the outset is about building relationships. He emphasized the need for positive relationships at the work place pointing out it is more difficult to accomplish projects without strong relationships and that they are very important with regard to productivity at the work place. He added that if there is a reason for a committee like the EAC, it is to facilitate a sense of community. Jill commented that one of the problems she sees is that there is no funding source for employee activities, which makes it very difficult to solicit volunteers and participants for activities which must be paid for completely by employees. John commented that in looking at past activities of the EAC including things such as the blood drive, it may be better to promote and solicit volunteers for a specific activity rather than have a year round standing committee. He noted that sometimes a call for volunteers for a specific event can achieve a better result than a standing committee. The City Manager stated that some events during the work day are not out of the question and gave the example of a speaker coming to address team building across departmental lines. Doc commented that the EAC has talked about the purpose of the committee numerous times and questioned whether we are trying to make something out of nothing. He noted that the recent history of the EAC shows a lot of negativism on the part of people serving on the committee and participating in EAC events. The City Manager suggested that perhaps the committee should not be the focus and invited committee members to comment on whether, without an EAC committee, is there an opportunity to create a sense of community both inside the organization and the larger community. He added that, from a morale standpoint, the more opportunities we have to build relationships, the better off we are. He observed that the perception is that people are appointed to the EAC who have no interest in serving on the committee. He suggested that perhaps we should change how participation happens. Mark commented that a number of years ago city employees were very active socially including evening outings to the former T Wright’s restaurant and Ground Round and football and softball games between departments. The City Manager stated that he believes that relationships do matter in the work place and that activities that make a more positive work environment are important. He noted that he thinks the past activities of the committee including the CEAP food drive, blood drive, and holiday luncheon are worthwhile. The question, he pointed out, is whether or not we can do this without the committee structure. He stated that what he would like to do is come up with some clearer idea of the committee with the premise that we do believe creating community is important and giving back to the larger community is also important. He suggested that the current committee could participate in rewriting the purpose of the EAC or create some other organizational structure aimed at achieving these goals and to be more effective and to have people involved who want to be part of the group and consider it time well spent. Mark commented that management’s support is the key in any organization that is successful. John commented that committees like the EAC have to sink or swim on their own and forced participation creates a negative attitude. The City Manager thanked committee members for their ideas and stated he would like to do something in a draft form and send it out to committee members via email. He stated he would like to draft some ideas on how to move forward and get the committee’s reaction. He added that he welcomes participation from anyone who has served on the committee in the past and that they are welcome to stay with the group. The meeting adjourned at 10:45 a.m.