04-14-2005 Charter Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Charter Commission April 14, 2005 Page 5 APPROVED Commissioner Duffy stated she wondered how the Charter Commissioner got to this point. There was to be a meeting with the City Council but after a discussion with the League of Minnesota Cities, the Charter Commission was a pariah. It appears the Commissioners can not speak to the Council because the two groups were not allowed to talk to each other. Commissioner Handrick advised there was no common courtesy to let the Commissioners know before they arrived at this meeting. Commissioner Duffy noted there were many years of history with no issues. Now all of a sudden, the City Council cannot have a joint meeting with the Charter Commission. It appears to be so rush,rush and she wondered why the City Council needed to receive training. Council Member Carlson advised the decision to not have a joint meeting came after the training session. Commissioner Bor stated she was at the training,but saw it as a dialog discussion. She noted training had a didactic component with a clear objective. She thought it was an open dialog with some consultation. Council Member Carlson advised both attorneys were present at the training. She noted the Charter Commission Secretary could get a copy of the tape for the session and perhaps it could be cut down to the portions regarding the Charter Commission discussions. Commissioner Handrick questioned why the decision was made at 6:00 p.m. not to have a joint meeting. Council Member Carlson advised the minutes do not contain that detailed information. They decided to tape the meetings so the information would be available. Council Member Dahl stated she has a taped copy of every meeting. It was easier than to go to the City to get tapes. Commissioner Warren advised the Commission of her concerns about the language in the April 12, 2005 letter to Mr. Heitke from City Attorney Hawkins. It stated"I do not believe that the City Council is under any legal obligation to engage in any discussions or obtain direction from the Charter Commission". She was further concerned that the City Council then received training that indicated it did not need to communicate with the Charter Commission. The power is vested in the Charter Commission unless the Charter is changed. Council Member Carlson advised there was discussion at that meeting of the importance of talking to and coming to an understanding with the Charter Commission. She thought sometimes in writing people come across differently than face to face. There was still confusion for her r� being told things had been talked about previously. She questioned the meaning of the word "modify" and asked if that did not mean"amend". 5