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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-09-2009 MinutesCharter Commission April 9, 2009 Page 1 APPROVED 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES 2 CHARTER COMMISSION 3 4 DATE : April 9, 2009 5 TIME STARTED : 6:45 p.m. 6 TIME ENDED : 8:37 p.m. 7 MEMBERS PRESENT : Dahl, Bretoi, Carlson, Drennen, Gunderson, 8 Stockman Maher, Minar, Storberg, Sutherland, 9 Trehus, Williams 10 MEMBERS EXCUSED : Aldentaler, Lyden, Vacha, Zastrow 11 MEMBERS UNEXCUSED : None 12 STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT : None 13 14 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 15 Chair Dahl called the regular meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission to order at 6:45 16 p.m. on April 9, 2009. 17 18 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 19 20 APPROVAL OF AGENDA 21 Chair Dahl added item 6C, the former Chair's report required to be submitted to Judge 22 Bloomquist. She also deleted item 7B in lieu of Commissioners Aldentaler and Zastrow's 23 absence this evening, and in its place added a presentation by Commissioner Sutherland 24 regarding Facebook technology. 25 26 Commissioner Bretoi requested a status report regarding commercial zoning exclusions. 27 28 Commissioner Carlson suggested the Commission discuss this at a future meeting. 29 30 Chair Dahl agreed to put this item on the July agenda. 31 32 MOTION by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Bretoi, to approve the agenda, 33 as amended. Motion carried unanimously. 34 35 OPEN MIKE 36 No one was present for open mike. 37 38 Commissioner Trehus arrived at 6:51 p.m. 39 40 APPROVAL OF MINUTES — JANUARY 8, 2009 41 Chair Dahl noted that line 136 should be corrected to add a space between the words "Vacha" 42 and "stated." P".\ 43 44 Commissioner Bretoi asked if line 198 should refer to the January 2009 agenda and not January 45 2008. Charter Commission April 9, 2009 Page 2 APPROVED 46 47 Commissioner Carlson stated the reference to 2008 is accurate. 48 49 MOTION by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Drennen, to approve the 50 minutes of January 8, 2009, as amended. Motion carried unanimously. 51 52 OLD BUSINESS 53 54 A. Communication Plan/Web Site/Public Awareness 55 Chair Dahl presented a breakdown of expenses prepared by Commissioner Drennen for the 56 November ballot issue. 57 58 Commissioner Drennen stated total expenditures for the Communication Committee were 59 $3,445.69, of which the City paid $2,725.47 and the commissioners paid $720.22. 60 61 The Commission discussed the Charter Commission's budget and expenses appropriately paid 62 for by the City with respect to the ballot question. 63 64 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Storberg, to request that the City 65 pay the outstanding invoice of $371.53. 66 67 Further Discussion: 68 Commissioner Carlson requested further information regarding any differences in the first and 69 second flyer printing. It was noted that the second flyer stated that the printing cost was paid by 70 the commission; as a result payment for the second flyer should be paid for by commission 71 members on a voluntary basis. 72 73 Commissioner Bretoi withdrew the motion on the table. 74 75 Commissioner Storberg withdrew her second to the motion on the table. 76 77 B. Statement of detailed expenses incurred up to April 1, 2009 — Charter Budget 78 Balance 79 Chair Dahl presented the statement of detailed expenses incurred up to April 1, 2009 and noted 80 this item does not require action by the Charter Commission. 81 82 C. Letter to Judge Bloomquist 83 Chair Dahl noted that former Chair Duffy previously presented this to the Charter Commission 84 and stated the letter needs to be sent in; she asked the Charter Commission to approve the letter 85 in its current form for submission to the Judge. 86 87 Commissioner Trehus stated the report covers the period through September 2008 and felt the 88 report should be updated to cover the remainder of 2008. 89 Charter Commission April 9, 2009 Page 3 APPROVED 90 MOTION by Commissioner Trehus, seconded by Commissioner Sutherland, to table this item to 91 the July 9, 2009, meeting. Motion carried unanimously. 92 93 NEW BUSINESS 94 95 A. Audit Update 96 Chair Dahl presented a letter from Doherty law firm dated February 2, 2009, and a letter from 97 Karen Marty dated March 18, 2009. She stated she contacted Ms. Marty today and was 98 informed there has been no further correspondence since that time. 99 100 B. Commissioners Aldentaler and Zastrow: Discussion of City Road Maintenance 101 This item was removed from the agenda. 102 103 Substitution for Item 7B 104 B. Commissioner Sutherland: Facebook Technology 105 Commissioner Sutherland presented information regarding Facebook and stated this free social 106 networking technology represents another opportunity to reach residents with a target age of 28 107 to 55. She stated Facebook would provide immediate access and is an interactive site, which 108 would allow residents to ask questions or express concerns. She stated a Facebook link could be 109 added to the Commission's existing website. She indicated the Communication Committee 110 discussed the technology and is aware of the need to insure that any communications do not 111 violate any open meeting laws. She stated that because the technology is static, it is not virtually 112 interactive and there would be no ability to conference with this technology. She stated this 113 technology should be viewed as another information source for residents, particularly since the 114 Charter Commission rarely has residents who attend the meetings for open mike; this would 115 provide additional interaction from people who would not normally come to open mike She 116 added she sees this as a free way to educate residents about issues of interest to them and a way 117 to open the dialogue with the community. 118 119 Commissioner Carlson asked who would be responsible for putting information on the site and 120 making sure it is accurate. 121 122 The Commission discussed the use of Facebook by residents and the ability by the Charter 123 Commission to control the site. 124 125 Commissioner Drennen stated he felt this was a wonderful idea and serves as a means to 126 encourage interactivity and to know what people are thinking and saying. 127 128 Commissioner Gunderson concurred and stated it will be important to determine who will have 129 editor access to the site on behalf of all members of the Charter Commission. 130 131 Commissioner Bretoi recommended that this issue be taken under advisement by the 132 Communication Committee and to bring a recommendation back to the Charter Commission for 133 its consideration. Charter Commission April 9, 2009 Page 4 APPROVED 134 Chair Dahl stated she mentioned this idea to Ms. Marty and Ms. Marty indicated she would like 135 to know more about it. 136 137 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Sutherland, to table action on 138 this item until the July 9, 2009, meeting and directing the Communication Committee to prepare 139 a recommendation for consideration by the Charter Commission at its next meeting. Motion 140 carried unanimously. 141 142 C. Report from Commissioner Trehus on the ballot question, newsletter, ballot 143 language and related funding 144 Commissioner Trehus reported that he contacted the State Auditor's office and the Attorney 145 General's office. He stated the State Auditor's office would deal with the question of financing 146 and the ballot language would be dealt with by the County. He stated he spoke with Heidi Holtz 147 148 of the investigative unit of the State Auditor's office and was informed if the State Auditor's 149 office conducts an investigation, there would be no cost to the City for that investigation. He 150 added that Ms. Holtz was unable to give him further detailed information; until an official 151 complaint is filed and investigative work performed, she was unable to provide further comment. 152 153 The Commission discussed reporting financial concerns and what type of concerns the State 154 Auditor will review. 155 156 Commissioner Trehus presented a Statement of Position from the Office of the State Auditor and 157 an excerpt from the State Auditor's website. 158 159 The Commission discussed the ballot language and whether to approach the County. 160 161 Commissioner Drennen stated he felt in the interest of the citizens of Lino Lakes, this is worth 162 pursuing. 163 164 Commissioner Carlson stated he was not opposed to this, but would like to see the flyers and the 165 ballot to review the language. 166 167 Commissioner Sutherland pointed out the Charter Commission has previously reached consensus 168 that it has concerns and the next step is to ask the State Auditor to review the matter. 169 170 Commissioner Bretoi concurred. 171 172 Commissioner Trehus proposed that the communication subcommittee prepare a letter for review 173 by the entire Charter Commission. 174 175 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Sutherland, to prepare a letter to 176 the Office of the State Auditor or other appropriate governmental agency requesting an 177 investigation that includes, but is not limited to, the wording on the ballot and the use of City 178 funds for the City newsletter and other election related items. Charter Commission April 9, 2009 Page 5 APPROVED 179 180 The Commission discussed at length the role of the State Auditor and statutes applicable to an 181 investigative review. 182 183 Commissioner Trehus called the question. 184 185 Motion carried. Voting AYE: Commissioners Bretoi, Drennen, Gunderson, Sutherland, Trehus, 186 and Williams. Voting NO: Commissioners Carlson and Storberg. Abstaining: Chair Dahl and 187 Commissioner Stockman Maher. 188 189 D. Next Meeting Date, agenda for Thursday, July 9, 2009 190 Chair Dahl noted the next meeting of the Charter Commission will be Thursday, July 9, 2009. 191 192 ADJOURN 193 MOTION by Commissioner Stockman Maher, seconded by Commissioner Drennen, to adjourn 194 the meeting at 8:37 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. 195 196 Respectfully submitted, 197 Barbara Hughes 198 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.