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<br />uncertainty and the fact that there was not a full Council, the matter was tabled to the January 8 <br />meeting. <br /> <br />Since that Council meeting, Staff has learned that the City's requests for technical and financial <br />assistance with both a land conservation feasibility study and a public opinion survey were <br />approved for a combined total of up to $20,000. However, the approval is contingent upon the <br />City adopting a resolution of support. <br /> <br />Council Liaison Strommen reiterated that there was a question about what the consensus was <br />from the November work session. She explained that since she sits on the board of Embrace <br />Open Space she would abstain from the vote there due to a conflict of interest. She stated that <br />she also thought it would be a good idea to abstain from the vote with the City Council on this <br />matter to also avoid a potential conflict of interest. She explained that in order to pass the <br />resolution, there would need to be four votes in favor and due to the fact that someone was <br />absent there were not enough votes and the issue was tabled. <br /> <br />Environmental Coordinator Anderson stated that he just found out today that there will not be a <br />full Council for either of the January meetings either. <br /> <br />Council Liaison Strommen stated that if there is a vote and there are note four affirmative votes <br />for the resolution, the motion will fail. <br /> <br />Chairperson McDilda voiced his concern over the issue. <br /> <br />Council Liaison Strommen stated that she feels badly about what is happening. She stated that <br />while she does not think there is a conflict of interest, she does not want to potentially jeopardize <br />the Board's work on this down the road. <br /> <br />Chairperson McDilda questioned if there would be a way to ask the City Attorney if this would <br />be a conflict of interest at the Council meeting. <br /> <br />Environmental Coordinator Anderson reported that resolution is on the agenda tomorrow night, <br />but if the Board felt strongly enough it could be pushed to a Council meeting in February. He <br />explained that the resolution does not require a public hearing but often times, residents are <br />permitted an opportunity to provide comments. He suggested that all the Board Members attend <br />the meeting if they decide not to push the case to a future meeting date. He reiterated that this is <br />not about endorsing an open space referendum but about getting the funding for a survey to <br />determine what the residents want. <br /> <br />Council Liaison Strommen reported that there were two concerns brought up in the discussion at <br />the last Council meeting. She advised that the first concern was over whether there is an interest <br />in open space and if they should be putting the City's time and money into something that may <br />not be the direction they want the City to go. The other concern was if Council authorized this <br />study and survey, it potentially would put them in a difficult position down the road when <br />considering whether this should be placed on the ballot for consideration. <br /> <br />Environmental Coordinator Anderson explained that initially, Staffhad indicated that funds from <br />the Professional Services line item of the Environmental Service budget could be utilized to <br />conduct the survey. However, since outside funding became a possibility, he made the <br />Environmental Policy Board / January 7, 2008 <br />Page 5 of 10 <br />