01-17-2008 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Charter Commission APPROVED January 17, 2008 X72 Commissioner Bening expressed his view that in being a Charter Commission member he does 173 not give up his individual rights as a citizen of Lino Lakes to present his feelings and beliefs. He 174 does not believe it undermines the Charter. Nothing in the Charter says anything against what he 175 did by speaking to the City Council. He stated he had brought up many times in Commission 176 meetings that he did not agree on most of the things the Commission was changing, the heart of 177 it in Sections 8.05 through 8.09. He had spoken about that at different times and had sent an 178 email to the Chairperson on November 18th specifically outlining many different things. He 179 agrees it was short notice and that is one thing he apologizes for, but he had discussed it at other 180 meetings. He felt as a citizen of Lino Lakes he had the right to speak to the City Council and staff 181 and present what he considered would be an alternative. 182 183 There was considerable discussion by the commission members regarding Commissioner 184 Bening's presentation to the City Council. The following concerns were expressed: 185 • Commissioner Bening should have resigned from the Charter Commission prior to 186 presenting his viewpoints to the City Council. 187 • Commission members have the right to present their viewpoints to the City Council if 188 they present themselves as a citizen, and not as a member of the Charter Commission. 189 • A member of the Charter Commission must separate their personal views and represent 190 the residents of Lino Lakes. 191 • The final vote was taken at the November Commission meeting on what would be 192 presented to the City Council. 193 94 MOTION by Commissioner Storberg, seconded by Commissioner Stockman Maher, to move on 195 in the agenda. 196 197 The following additional concerns were noted: 198 • Commissioner Bening disrespected the fellow commissioners. 199 • If the City Council accepts Commissioner Bening's amendment there will be additional 200 costs, as well as more time required from staff and legal attorneys. 201 • The Commission does not always agree but they should work as a team. 202 • Commissioner Bening should have informed the Commission he would be presenting an 203 amendment to the City Council. 204 205 Commissioner Bening stated he did not mean to be disrespectful to anyone on the Commission. 206 He wanted to be public and upfront about it. He noted that the press was there and interviewed 207 him, and there will most likely be information in the Citizen and the Quad. 208 209 Chair Duffy stated she received a call from the Quad wanting to do an article on this. She 210 expressed concern that there is a rift between what the Council and the Charter Commission 211 want. Now there will be a third option out there, which will add to more confusion for the 212 citizenry. 213 214 Motion carried unanimously. ,215 5