City staff ask McKeown Commission for feedback on consultant report; commissioners push back

The McKeown Commission spent much of its meeting debating a consultant report that included a recommendation to consider consolidating or winding down some boards and commissions, a proposal that commissioners said merits fuller discussion and more time for informed response.

Jason Ackley, assistant to the city manager, told the commission the report identified efficiency recommendations and that council had asked for feedback from boards and commissions. "There were recommendations that went across. Most of them were along the lines of best practices," he said, and acknowledged one question in the packet asked whether some commissions should be reduced or eliminated. He said the recommendation did not mean council must follow it and that council would make any final decision.

Commissioners responded sharply. "I don't understand how staff can stand behind a methodology for assessment that is so one-sided," Commissioner Beecher said, accusing the consultant of advancing a narrow view and urging direct dialogue with council rather than only answering a short survey. Beecher added that reducing commission seats to a blanket five-member standard would be disruptive to the McKeown Commission's work and its ability to keep the McKeown collection accessible.

Commissioner Kent pressed Ackley for a plan describing what would happen to the collection if the commission were disbanded; Ackley said he could not answer that and that such a decision would rest with City Council. Chair Trumper and others urged that the commission be given more time to prepare a substantive response and recommended a special meeting so commissioners could speak together in public rather than submit on-the-spot survey responses.

Several commissioners raised process concerns: that the packet and the consultant's questions arrived on short notice, that most staff had not visited the McKeown collection, and that the questions did not reflect the commission's unique role as a working, hands-on steward of a rare printing collection. "These aren't the right questions," Chair Trumper said, arguing that a written survey and a five-question form could not capture the commission's technical expertise or the collection's public value.

Brad Paul, the city's interim economic development director, said he saw cultural assets and history as central to economic development downtown and offered to work with staff and commissioners on next steps.

The commission did not take formal action on the report at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to explore whether the March deadline for feedback could be extended, requested staff arrange a special commission meeting to prepare a formal response, and asked for direct conversations with the city manager or council liaisons before council-level consideration.