02/13/2012 Council Packet (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Charter Commission In a joint meeting between the Charter Commission and the Citizen's Task Force, Commissioners expressed strong support for the charter and its provisions, which can force a citywide referendum on a specific reconstruction project. They further said the charter's intention when adopted was to improve citizen representation at a time when Lino Lakes was developing quickly. They said citizens were frustrated by unreasonable and unwanted assessments and lacked confidence in the city's leadership. Provisions in Section 8 were meant to guarantee that citizens would have a voice in public improvement projects. In a communication dated June 22, 2007, the Charter Commission made its position clear that it is opposed to any changes pertaining to referenda inhibiting the Council's ability to reconstruct streets. In our opinion, these historical perspectives voiced by the Charter Commission no longer reflect current reality in the City of Lino Lakes. • Public Comment Most of the comments from the public at the May 15 public forum came from property owners living along West Shadow Lake Drive. Most spoke in favor of amending Section 8 of the Charter. They cited safety and environmental issues that can't get resolved. Several also expressed frustration that public improvements that a neighborhood needs and wants can't get past citywide voters. A strong statement of support for a charter change came from Vern Reinert, former mayor and one of the original drafters of the Lino Lakes City Charter who said times have changed and the charter needs to be revised. This is another portion of his statement from the May 15 public forum: "Back then Lino Lakes was "way out" of the cities. There was no or little tax base. There was no planning (very little) in place. In the state we were about #1 in tax rate. Lino Lakes didn't have staff or the experts that we have today. There was basically no zoning. Things were really done "shooting from the hip ". This concerned the residents. The sewer and water back 32 years ago was only in the SW corner. At that time there was a plan was to run it up Lake Drive with no means to pay for it. There was no tax base. This concern is what led to the creation of the charter. A plan had to be put in place for the future. There was no intent to jeopardize the ability of a city council to run and manage a city. It was put in place to protect and manage development. It was not meant to halt development. Now the council and the commission are too far apart. They need to come back together and that is the responsibility of both parties. The charter needs to be tweaked and looked at based on how the city is today and not how it was at the time the charter was created." Vern Reinert, Former mayor 7