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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/08/2008 Council PacketI hereby call for a special meeting of the Lino Lakes City Council to be held on Sc-rt- g , 2008 at 6, ° oa v-1 , for the purpose of rLLV (e- 4 ),vv,t (Dam 0_,a4 -� - said meeting having been properly noticed and called. John BergesorvMay Julie Bartell From: Gordon Heitke Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 4:16 PM To: Carol Danielson Cc: Julie Bartell Subject: Announcement Can you inform those who have received notice of the special meeting Thursday (and change the website, etc.) that the special meeting regarding the charter amendment communication plan, originally scheduled for Thursday, September 18, has been rescheduled to be part of the council work session on Monday, September 22 at 5:30 p.m. Can you make sure that Bob Benning gets this as he was in and plans to attend? Gordon Heitke City Administrator 600 Town Center Parkway Lino Lakes, Minnesota 55014 (651) 982 -2405 (direct) (651) 982- 2499 (fax) gordon.heitke@ci.lino-lakes.mn.us 1 /2/x4. Rea a-►>,a, c c ttuivto `1J'Jzoo� I'm Laura Carlson, I've lived at 585 Ash Street in Lino Lakes since August of 1989. About two years ago I received an invitation to attend a Lino Lakes visioning session that resulted in my involvement in the 2030 comprehensive plan. The assignment of the first team that I was on, the Traffic Management group, was to envision what we wanted our roads to be like in the year 2030. Of course we envisioned our streets to be well maintained with new connecting streets in place to manage our increasing population and needs. It was then that I discovered what it meant to be a "charter city ". Although I had been a resident of Lino Lakes for 18 years I never knew what the sign meant as I entered the city. I was sure it was a good thing but now I am no longer certain. Section 8 of the Lino Lakes charter was written to protect the citizens at a point in time over 20 years ago but I feel now that it does not serve the long term good of our community. The Charter provision was meant to protect owners of larger parcels from being charged for roads and from being forced into water and sewer charges that they did not want in order for land beyond them to benefit from the access and services. According to those involved at the time of the charter creation it was never intended that the charter would impact the city's ability to cost effectively finance the reconstruction of existing streets and other needed infrastructure. While there are still pockets in the community where this issue exists and these property owners (like me!) need special consideration the impact on the full community of Lino Lakes needs to take priority. Through a series of meetings with the city planners and lawyers it became apparent to our traffic focus group that it would be unlikely for the roads to be in good shape in 2030 with our current charter provisions. Although a pavement management plan had been compiled that outlined the best and most cost effective strategy for road management the city would not be allowed to follow the management plan without consistently passing continual referendums on the election ballots when roads needed reconstruction. There had already been several efforts to pass a referendum on just one street in the recent past, the worst street in Minnesota according to records, and it just can't get passed. How could we count on consistent passage through the years of all the referendums that would be needed to rebuild streets as they were needed. After all, even a street properly constructed and maintained will not last forever. And streets built on the substructure beneath Lino Lakes have challenges beyond average. Within charter provisions the city could decide to finance the street without special assessments but this is not the most cost effective method of financing and thankfully the city has not yet resorted to it. I fear they may have to if the charter is not changed. The result would be that 100 % of the cost of projects would be paid for by the full community instead of having the benefiting property owners pay their share. This would be limited to either the 20% statute limit or the amount the project increased their property value. After completing my work with the Traffic Management group some of us stayed with the project and with additional volunteers we formed a Special Task force that studied the charter issue as it is impacting the citizens of Lino Lakes. With this specific focus and access to the city planners and lawyers over several months we came up with what we felt was a fair amendment proposal to section 8 of the city charter. In our amendment proposal we retained the voice and vote of the affected community but removed the question from the citywide referendum. Many in our group were in favor of moving straight to the method used by basically all other communities in Minnesota, State Statute 429. The more conservative members recognized that this was a large shift and it would be more likely that a revision to the current charter would be either be accepted by the charter commission or pass through election. Unfortunately our amendment was not embraced by the charter commission. It was hoped that by this years election that either the amendment would have been accepted by the charter commission or been reworked in an acceptable manner by the charter commission. When it was apparent that the amendment was not going to make it onto this falls ballot another group began to meet that proposed a stronger change. They proposed moving straight to State Statute 429. These are the provisions that are in place for virtually every other city in Minnesota. There are occasional issues, the ones that you hear about, in using these provisions. No system is going to be perfect. I need to applaud this citizen effort. They organized and collected the necessary signatures to put on this years ballot a proposal to use State Statute 429 instead of Lino Lakes City Charter Section 8. It is certainly more tried and true and used by the bulk of the state. I have to recognize that through the gaining of over 400 signatures that the city may be more ready for this change than our task force recognized. I further recognize that it would be confusing to try to put multiple proposals for how to amend the charter on the same ballot. At this point it is not up to the city council to decide whether or not to put the proposal to move to State Statute 429 on the ballot, it must be on the ballot according to current law. The decision is whether to also include the proposal to merely amend section 8 of the City Charter. The inclusion of both proposals on the ballot would be confusing and likely split voters that recognize the need for change and are ready for it. Therefore, it is my wish and the desire of the citizens who have signed the petition to please place only the proposal to adopt State Statute 429 on the ballot this fall. Thank you for your time and consideration. • • CHARTERED 'knit S i vv 1-fl o (Std-1412vAk I wool ‘tat:) 470 US Bank Plaza 200 South Sixth Street Minneapolis MN 55402 (612) 337 -9300 telephone (612) 337 -9310 fax http://www.kennedy-graven.com MEMORANDUM TO: Gordon Heitke, City Administrator FROM: Stephen Bubul DATE: September 4, 2008 RE: Charter Amendment Ballot Accompanying this memo is the proposed resolution calling an election and setting the ballot form, for an amendment to the City Charter as petitioned by voters. At the September 2, 2008 work session, the Council directed me to prepare the ballot in a way that identified the amendment as being initiated by petition, and also to expand on the ballot question itself. I have prepared the ballot (included within the resolution) with three options for the ballot question: Option A is the language from the prior draft reviewed on September 3, which simply states the text of the amendment. Option B describes the text, indicating that the amendment would change assessment procedures from the separate procedures under the charter to the procedures under Chapter 429. Option C is similar to Option B, except that it highlights two features of the existing charter that would change —the referendum and the veto by affected owners. My recommendation is that the ballot should include either Option A or B. The difficulty with Option C is that the ballot singles out two particular features of the existing charter without explaining any of the alternative features under Chapter 429. Also, by selecting just these features (which are admittedly significant and controversial), the Council might viewed as making a statement about what is most important, rather than letting voters investigate the entire amendment and make their own decision on that point. The alternative — providing a very detailed description of the differences between Chapter 429 and existing Chapter 8 of the Charter —is practically impossible in a ballot. The most practical option is to describe the general concept of the amendment in the ballot, and explain the amendment and the context in educational materials. Note that this is essentially what happens when a charter is adopted in the first place. In that case, the ballot question simply states: "Shall the proposed new charter be adopted ?" See Minnesota Statues, Section 410.10, Subd. 3. The contents and significance of the charter must be explained in background materials made available to the public. If you have questions on this point, please contact me. 2 • • • • • Member introduced the following resolution and moved its adoption: CITY OF LINO LAKES RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION RECEIVING PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT AND CALLING A SPECIAL ELECTION THEREON BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Lino Lakes, Anoka County, Minnesota ( "City") as follows: 1. The City Council hereby finds and determines that the City Council has duly received a proposed amendment to the City's Charter initiated by a petition of voters pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 410.12, subdivision 1, 2 and 3, which amendment generally changes the procedures for financing of public improvements with special assessments. 2. In accordance with Minnesota Statutes, Section 410.12, subdivision 3, the City Clerk duly examined the petition within ten days after filing thereof, and after notifying petitioners of certain insufficiencies and examining a supplemental petition filed by petitioners within ten days after such notification, duly certified that the petition was properly attested and was signed by a sufficient number of registered voters (being a number equal to five percent of the total votes cast at the last previous state general election in the City). 3. As required under Minnesota Statutes, Section 410.12, subdivision 4, the proposed charter amendment will be submitted to the voters of the City at the special election to be held (as part of the general election) on Tuesday, November 4, 2008. The election will be held and conducted in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota relating to municipal elections and the City's home rule charter. 4. The City Clerk is directed to cause a notice of election or sample ballot, or both, in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A to be posted and published as required by law and as follows: (a) The notice of election, including the complete text of the proposed charter amendment, will be published in the official newspaper of the City once a week for two successive weeks prior to the election; (b) The notice of election and a sample ballot will be posted in the office of the City Clerk at least four days prior to the election and a sample ballot will be posted at each polling place on election day; and (c) The sample ballot will be published in the official newspaper at least one week prior to the election. (d) The City Clerk will provide written notice of the election to the Anoka County Auditor at least 53 days before the election, including the date of the election and title and language for the ballot question. 1 5. The polling places, hours of election and the respective judges for the election will be those established by the City for general elections. The polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. 6. (a) The City Clerk is authorized and directed to prepare the ballot in substantially the following form, subject to the terms of Section 6(b) hereof: CITY QUESTION BALLOT SPECIAL ELECTION CITY OF LINO LAKES November 4, 2008 INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS: To vote for a question, fill in the oval next to the word "YES" for that question. To vote against a question, fill in the oval next to the word "NO" for that question. CITY QUESTION NO. 1: PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT INITIATED BY VOTER PETITION Option A: Should Chapter 8 of the City of Lino Lakes charter be amended to read as follows: "The City may undertake public improvements financed in whole or in part with special assessments in accordance with state law" Option B: Should Chapter 8 of the City of Lino Lakes charter be amended to authorize the financing of public improvements with special assessments using the procedures of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 429 instead of the separate procedures under the current City Charter. Option C: Should Chapter 8 of the City of Lino Lakes charter be amended to authorize the financing of special assessments using the procedures of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 429 instead of current City Charter procedures that include a city -wide referendum and potential veto by affected owners for most improvements? OYES NO 2 • • • • • • (b) The City Clerk is authorized and directed to prepare ballots pursuant to the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, Section 206.61. The City Clerk will provide each polling place with at least two sample ballots which are facsimiles of the card to be voted on in that precinct, in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, Section 206.62. 7. The City Council shall meet in the City Hall on November , 2008, at p.m., C.T. to canvass the results of the election and to declare the results thereof. Approved by the City Council of the City of Lino Lakes this 8th day of September, 2008. John Bergeson, Mayor ATTEST: Julianne Bartell, City Clerk The motion for the adoption of the foregoing resolution was duly seconded by member and upon vote being taken thereon, the following voted in favor thereof: And the following voted against the same: Whereupon said resolution was declared passed and adopted. 3 Julie Bartell *u 6/ma vi 'esstdo k loi From: ant: Subject: MICHAEL TREHUS [mtreehugger @msn.com] Monday, September 08, 2008 3:57 PM Julie Bartell; Carol Danielson; Gordon Heitke; Michael Grochala; Michael Grochala cdah122231@aol.com ballot wording, please deliver to city council Dear Honorable Mayor Bergeson and the Lino Lakes City Council, I regret that I am unable to attend either tonight's Council work session or meeting. In lieu of that I offer the following for your consideration. It is not my intent to be inflammatory, however, I do seek to be candid about how the wrong choice in the ballot wording might look to voters across the city. If my wording seem passionate, and I'm sure you can understand that residents will be passionate about most of the actions the city council takes on this matter. I feel it is best that you are aware of other perspectives, and I urge you to give the following fair and thorough consideration. I have read the three proposed options question pertaining to the proposal to initiated by the petition turned in by I am confused as to how there can be 3 accurately the matter to be voted on. for the wording of the ballot amend the city charter, that was residents of West Shadow Lake Drive. options, yet none of them conveys Is it the intent of the city council to confuse the electorate at the time of the election in order to increase the chances that the proposal passes? If so, then it appears that the three options reflect that intent. However, if the intent is to accurately represent what is at stake, then the �liot question must clearly state that our residents are being asked to andon the protections that have been afforded to them under the charter nce 1982. Anything less would be a disservice to the community that many residents, once made aware, would find questionable. Drafting and selecting appropriate wording should be a relatively simple task for both public servants and high -paid, specializing attorneys, and to that end I suggest that the following appear on the ballot: "The City of Lino Lakes has received a citizen petition to eliminate all provisions in Chapter 8 of the City Charter, which have been in place since 1982, and instead transfer these powers and rights to the City Council. This would mean that residents who would be required to pay assessment costs to the City for projects including road reconstruction, city sewer, city water, street lights, sidewalks, etc. will no longer be allowed to reject such projects. This further means that Lino Lakes voters will no longer be able to limit city expenditures that affect their property taxes for these projects, because the current right to a public referendum on these projects would also be removed. "Shall the right that a majority of affected property owners may reject special assessments by the City Council against their property be removed from the City Charter, and shall the right of the voters to limit City spending of property tax monies on these projects through a public referendum also be removed from the City Charter? Yes No" •yor and Concil, I thank you for your consideration! Best regards, Mike Trehus Concerned Citizen 1 Checklist for City Council Additional Meetings Meeting: \'J e,_ c2_ ss s oti-, ti-< &Jio - l� ��- Date: f g,' -®oS t,vn A Mayor signs special meeting notice Schedule room bl- Notify and remind all members / staff erZie uW&Azerbrill) Post on website Post on front "Public Notice" bulletin board Publish to Quad Pre — time permit leoals(c�presspubs.com. Joyce to code t• : -405- 4340 -00 E -mail official notice to ie, Joyce, The Citizen. Ask Send to agenda e-mail list - . • M• - - . . _r_ua- • U $ - -a- ,P- Add to community calendar on agenda and weekly update Add approval of those minutes to future agenda Add meeting dates to Council timesheets Carol Julie Carol Carol JuFiCtCarol Carol Carol Julie Julie Example of e-mail text: Quad Community Press: Please publish the attached meeting notice in the Public Notice section of the August 14, 2007 edition of the Quad Community Press. Please verify receipt of this request. Thanks. Joyce: please code to 101 -405 -4340 -000. Cc to Julie and The Citizen (for your information) See next page for example of a Public Notice. 9, — cg, CITY OF LINO LAKES NOTICE OF SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION SEPTEMBER 8, 2008 6:00 P.M., PRIOR TO THE 6:30 P.M. CITY COUNCIL MEETING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lino Lakes City Council has scheduled a special work session on Monday, September 8, 2008, at 6:00 p.m., prior to the regularly scheduled City Council meeting, for the purpose of discussing ballot language. The meeting will be held in the Police Workroom at Lino Lakes City Hall, 600 Town Center Parkway, Lino Lakes, Minnesota and is open to the public. If you have any questions or need special accommodations, please call 651- 982 -2406. Julie Bartell, City Clerk