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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-12-2017 Charter PacketLINO LAKES CHARTER COMMISSION AGENDA THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017 6:30 PM 1. Call to Order and Roll Call 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Setting the Agenda: Addition or Deletion of Agenda Items 4. Consideration of Minutes A. April 28, 2016 minutes B. May 19, 2016 minutes 6:30 PM 5. Discussion on acquiring an attorney for the Charter Commission Next meeting date, Thursday, April 13, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. Adjournment Caroline Dahl Pat Devaney Chris Bretoi Chair Vice Chair Secretary Charter Commission April 28, 2016 Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 '22 23 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 24 Chair Dahl lead the Pledge of Allegiance. 25 26 SETTING THE AGENDA 27 Agenda was accepted as presented without additions 28 29 OPEN MIC/PUBLIC COMMENT 30 No one present opted to speak for the open mike. 31 32 APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES 33 Chair Dahl noted on line 198, it should state, "...of its self. Hea3ke ifth e agreement" She 34 noted on line 342, it should state, "...fig Chair..." Commissioner Storberg noted on line 35 268, it should state, "...1980 1982..." Commissioner Juni noted on line 330, it should state, 36 "MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Stanek, to appoint Chris Bretoi 37 as Secretary and Carol Stanek as Assistant Secretary." 38 39 MOTION by Commissioner Juni, seconded by Commissioner Stranik, approving the meeting 40 minutes of January 14, 2016 with the noted corrections. 41 42 Motion passed 13-0-1. (Lyden abstained) 43 44 NEW BUSINESS 45 DATE TIME STARTED TIME ENDED MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS EXCUSED MEMBERS UNEXCUSED STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT: DRAFT CITY OF LINO LAKES CHARTER COMMISSION April 28, 2016 6:30 p.m. 8:15 p.m. Aldentaler, Bretoi, Dahl, Damiani, Devaney, Johnson (arrived at 6:47 p.m.), Juni, Lyden, Poehling, Stanek, Storberg, Stranik, Turcotte, and Vanderpoel Combs None None Michael Manthey, City Administrator Jeff Karlson, and Erick Kaardal CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Dahl reconvened the meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission at 6:32 pm on April 28, 2016. 1 Charter Commission April 28, 2016 Page 2 46 A. Potential Attorney for Charter Commission 47 Chair Dahl noted that she included correspondence in the package between herself and the 48 League of Minnesota Cities. She distributed one additional letter that was not included in the 49 packet. She stated that she would not be able to sign the potential contract, as there would be 50 restrictions placed on the Charter. 51 52 Vice Chair Devaney stated that when he reads the original contract he is not sure where the 53 Charter would be vulnerable. 54 55 Commissioner Turcotte stated that a specific condition of the contract would allow the City to 56 shut down the work the League is doing for the Commission. 57 58 Commissioner Bretoi stated that it was made clear that the League works for the City and 59 therefore that relationship would come first. 60 61 Commissioner Johnson arrived. 62 63 Commissioner Lyden stated that the Charter is meant to be included in a system of checks and 64 balances and therefore does not want to mix the lines between the City Council and Charter 65 Commission. 66 67 Commissioner Stranik stated that he did not join the Commission to protect the Charter but 68 rather to update the Charter to adapt to the changes that have occurred since its creation in 1982. 69 He noted that there are weaknesses in the Charter that need to be updated. 70 71 Commissioner Bretoi stated that historically there have been several attempts by the Charter 72 Commission to update the Charter but the City Council has continued to deny the potential 73 amendments and funding for legal services in order for the Commission to pursue amendments. 74 75 Commissioner Lyden agreed that the Commission should be forward thinking and attempt to best 76 serve the residents of the community. He believed that the Commission has attempted to work 77 with the other bodies in power and hoped that the bodies would be able to work together in the 78 future. 79 80 Chair Dahl stated that the Commission still has an issue attempting to send this ward amendment 81 issue to ballot. She noted that she reached out to a potential attorney. 82 83 Commissioner Bretoi stated that he reached out to Erick Kaardal, a potential attorney that could 84 possibly assist in drafting the necessary legal language needed for a potential ward amendment. 85 He noted that Mr. Kaardal was willing to attend the meeting tonight pro bono but noted that there 86 would be a charge if there is additional work needed. 87 88 Erick Kaardal stated that he is pleased to help the Charter Commission in any way that he can. 89 He provided background information on his legal and career experience. He acknowledged that 90 it would be difficult for the Commission to interpret the legalese returned by the Council and 2 Charter Commission April 28, 2016 Page 3 91 therefore he is willing to assist pro bono in this interpretation. He noted that if additional work is 92 needed after that he would be willing to negotiate. 93 94 Commissioner Bretoi noted the July deadline to place the amendment on the ballot. He 95 suggested that the language be prepared before that date to allow time for the Council to respond 96 so the Commission is not in the same position as it was in previously. 97 98 Commissioner Stranik noted that the implementation of a ward system should also be addressed 99 in the language. 100 101 Commissioner Turcotte stated that implementation could begin immediately, noting that all 102 elected officials would finish their current term and when the term expires, the ward system 103 would begin. 104 105 Commissioner Juni asked and received confirmation that the legal counsel for the Commission 106 would be addressing the three areas identified by the Attorney Langel in order to move the ward 107 amendment forward. 108 109 Commissioner Turcotte stated that in addition, the legal counsel for the Commission would be 110 reviewing the opinion of the Attorney Langel to ensure that those comments made were correct. ill "IIN 12 Commissioner Juni asked what the Commission would do if the comments from Mr. Langel are 113 not needed. 114 115 Mr. Kaardal stated that he believed that the comments from Mr. Langel are correct and the 116 revisions could then be made. He noted that he could then review the language as a double check 117 before submitting to the City once again. 118 119 Commissioner Bretoi asked if there is enough knowledge within the Commission to rectify the 120 comments of Attorney Langel. 121 122 Commissioner Turcotte stated that the Commission can reword the language in order to match 123 the points made by Attorney Langel. 124 125 Commissioner Lyden stated that he would not foresee any other legal charges the Commission 126 would have this year and therefore believed that the Commission should use the annual legal 127 budget to pay Mr. Kaardal to have someone draft the language. 128 129 Mr. Karlson stated that the Commission has $1,500 budgeted for legal services in 2016. 130 131 Mr. Kaardal stated that he would need clear direction in respect to drafting, in example if the 132 Commission agrees with the three items outlined by Attorney Langel they could provide 133 direction for him to draft language that could address those repairs. 134 3 Charter Commission April 28, 2016 Page 4 135 Commissioner Bretoi summarized that although there were differing opinions regarding ward 136 representation, the Commission did reach consensus to draft an amendment to move forward to 137 the ballot, which would allow the residents of Lino Lakes to make that decision. 138 139 Commissioner Turcotte stated that in his opinion it would be best to have an outside neutral party 140 draft potential ward boundaries. 141 142 Commissioner Juni asked if the Commission would like Mr. Kaardal to draft possible language 143 to address the comments made by Attorney Langel in order to amend the language, if necessary, 144 to move the question forward to the ballot. 145 146 Commissioner Turcotte stated that he would also like an opinion as to whether certain aspects are 147 correct, noting that other cities are successfully implementing the items that this Commission has 148 wanted to do in the past and has been told is not allowed. 149 150 Commissioner Johnson asked if there are more issues other than the three points identified by 151 Attorney Langel. 152 153 Commissioner Lyden stated that he would like Mr. Kaardal to address the legal issues identified 154 by Attorney Langel as he has that expertise. 155 156 Mr. Kaardal stated that in his opinion the City Council and Attorney Langel are going to review 157 the text prior to submission to the ballot. He stated that if the Commission wants to get the item 158 on the ballot, his opinion would be to address the items identified by Attorney Langel rather than 159 attempt to fight with that opinion which would only delay and possibly mean that the item would 160 not go onto the ballot. He stated that he could draft potential language to address the items 161 identified and then have an independent check completed to ensure the language is legally 162 compliant. He noted that there is the possibility that Attorney Langel could find other items he 163 does not agree with, but then the Commission could gather again to address those comments in 164 order to submit to the ballot. 165 166 Commissioner Juni stated that if the Commission wants this item to move forward on the ballot a 167 decision needs to be made as to whether the Commission can live with the language that the City 168 Council determines ward boundaries and if so, then the item could perhaps move ahead to the 169 ballot. 170 171 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Juni, to allow the governing 172 body, specifically the City Council, to draw up the ward boundaries. 173 174 Further discussion: Vice Chair Devaney stated that he agrees that the Commission will be 175 stonewalled if they do not allow the City Council to draw the ward boundaries. He stated that the 176 membership of the City Council has changed and he feels that there is now better representation. 177 He stated that he would support Mr. Kaardal addressing the three items specified by Attorney 178 Langel in order to move the amendment forward. 179 4 Charter Commission April 28, 2016 Page 5 80 Chair Dahl asked if additional language could be added that would be more restrictive in regard 181 to the City Council drawing the boundaries. 182 183 Mr. Kaardal stated that restrictive language could be included that specify that the wards be 184 contiguous, similar in population or follow natural neighborhoods. He noted that a super 185 majority requirement could be required as well to ensure that three members of the Council do 186 not gang up on the other two. 187 188 Commissioner Lyden stated that in his opinion the best practice would be for an independent 189 body to set the boundaries but stated that he does agree that if this item is going to be able to 190 move forward to the ballot the Commission will need to allow the Council to draft the ward 191 amendments. 192 193 Motion passed 13-1 (Turcotte opposed). 194 195 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, to accept the offer of 196 Attorney Erick Kaardal to represent the Charter Commission in amending the ward amendment 197 language with the target to have the item on the 2016 ballot. 198 199 Further discussion: Chair Dahl stated that she spoke with Mr. Kaardal a few days prior to the 200 meeting and he preferred to have the Commission submit a resolution hiring him but noted that " 01 action would follow this action. 202 203 Motion passed unanimously. 204 205 Mr. Kaardal stated that he would like to have a regular attorney/client relationship and that is 206 why he attended pro bono tonight. He stated that his recommendation would be to have a 207 retainer of $500, noting that he would have a billing rate of $300 per hour. 208 209 Chair Dahl read aloud the potential resolution to hire Attorney Erick Kaardal as the Attorney for 210 the Commission. 211 212 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Lyden, to adopt Resolution 213 #2016- 214 215 Further discussion: Commissioner Johnson asked if language should be included that mentions 216 $500 for this item specifically. 217 218 Vice Chair Devaney stated that he knows the professionalism of Mr. Kaardal but agreed that 219 perhaps the estimate of $500 should be included, noting that if that limit is exceeded the 220 Commission would then review. 221 �222 Mr. Kaardal stated that his estimate is $500 but noted that if that limit is exceeded, his concern 223 would be that the Commission does not meet frequently. 224 5 Charter Commission April 28, 2016 Page 6 225 Commissioner Bretoi suggested that the Commission meet again in June rather than July in order 226 to meet the deadline for the ballot submission. 227 228 Chair Dahl provided potential draft language that could be included in the resolution that would 229 address the initial estimate of $500 for the initial review. 230 231 Commissioner Devaney asked the opinion of Mr. Kaardal in regard to the next meeting date. 232 233 Mr. Kaardal stated that he would prefer to have the Commission review the language in May in 234 order to ensure sufficient time for review. 235 236 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Lyden, to adopt Resolution 237 #2016- amended to include the initial estimate of $500. 238 239 Motion passed unanimously. 240 241 NEXT MEETING DATE 242 Chair Dahl noted the next regular meeting date is Thursday, July 14, 2016. 243 244 It was the consensus of the Commission to schedule a special meeting on Thursday, May 19, 245 2016. 246 247 Mr. Karlson stated that typically the Commission submits a letter with the potential amendment 248 language to the City Council for review and does not have to get onto a Council agenda. 249 250 Mr. Kaardal stated that would like to attempt to gain a preliminary legal opinion from Attorney 251 Langel prior to the May 19th meeting, so the Commission could review that opinion prior to the 252 meeting. He noted that Chair Dahl could distribute the potential language to the Commission via 253 email and if consensus is gained, he would then submit the letter to the City for review by 254 Attorney Langel. He stated that he would supply the draft language this next week for the 255 Commission to review. 256 257 Mr. Karlson confirmed that the City would be in agreement with that process. 258 259 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Stanek, authorizing Attorney 260 Kaardal to submit the draft language to the City for initial review and comment prior to the May 261 19, 2016 meeting. 262 263 Commissioner Lyden asked if the Commission would be violating open meeting laws by replying 264 to gain consensus. 265 266 Mr. Kaardal stated that he could gain approval from the Chair prior to submitting the language to 267 the City for review. 268 6 Charter Commission April 28, 2016 Page 7 _69 Commissioner Poehling stated that the information sent through email would simply be for 270 review purposes, as the Commission would not take formal action until the May 19th meeting. 271 272 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Stanek, to amend the motion to 273 authorizing Attorney Kaardal to submit the draft language to Chair Dahl and she will submit that 274 language to the City for initial review and comment prior to the May 19, 2016 meeting. 275 276 Motion passed unanimously. 277 278 B. Ward Amendment 279 No additional discussion. 280 281 C. Charter Commission Annual Letter to the Judge for 2015 (to follow) 282 Chair Dahl stated that the Commission could either choose to submit the letter or table the item. 283 She noted that the new members would have to abstain. 284 285 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, approve the annual 286 letter to the Judge for 2015 as drafted by Chair Dahl. 287 288 Motion passed 8-0-5. (Abstained: Juni, Stranik, Stanik, Devaney, and Vanderpoel) 289 ' 90 ADJOURN 291 292 MOTION by Commissioner Poehling, seconded by Commissioner Bretoi, to adjourn the meeting 293 at 8:15 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. 294 295 Drafted by: Amanda Staple, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 7 Charter Commission May 19, 2016 Page 1 DATE TIME STARTED TIME ENDED MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS EXCUSED MEMBERS UNEXCUSED STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT: DRAFT CITY OF LINO LAKES CHARTER COMMISSION May 19, 2016 6:30 p.m. 7:49 p.m. Aldentaler, Bretoi, Dahl, Damiani, Devaney, Johnson (arrived at 7:00 p.m.), Juni, Stanek, Storberg, Stranik, and Vanderpoel Combs, Lyden, Poehling, Turcotte None None Julie Pearson CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Dahl reconvened the meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission at 6:35 pm on May 19, 2016. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Dahl lead the Pledge of Allegiance. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 ..00N'22 23 24 SETTING THE AGENDA 25 Agenda was accepted as presented without additions 26 27 PROPOSED CHARTER WARD AMENDMENT, AMENDING SECTION 2.03. 28 COUNCIL COMPOSITION AND ELECTION, RELATING TO CITY WARDS 29 30 A. Discussion on Comments from City Attorney Mr. Langel 31 Chair Dahl stated that originally she was under the impression that Mr. Kaardal would be 32 attending the meeting tonight but noted that she received some information via email from him 33 prior to the meeting. She distributed the information to the Commission. 34 35 Commissioner Stranik stated that the Council recommendation would appear to be the easiest 36 method to amend the Charter and asked if it would make sense to go to a Council meeting to 37 open the conversation. He stated that perhaps a simple majority of the Council would be in favor 38 of wards and therefore the amendment could go forward in that method rather than follow the 39 costly process to amend the Charter outside of that option. 40 41 Commissioner Devaney stated that there was a discussion at the Council worksession at which 42 the question of the Commission obtaining help from the League of Minnesota Cities was 43 discussed and two of the Councilmembers were very vocal about their opposition to wards. He 44 noted that he himself is not sure whether he would vote to support wards but believed the item 45 should be placed on the ballot for voters to choose. 1 Charter Commission May 19, 2016 Page 2 46 47 Commissioner Bretoi stated that he would be open to that option if there was more time but 48 noted that if this item is going to go to ballot the Commission needs to continue to move forward. 49 50 Commissioner Stranik stated that there would need to be an advocate on the Council and noted 51 that he was not certain whether there would be such a person on the Council. 52 53 Commissioner Bretoi noted that the Commission attempted to do that the previous year and the 54 Council stalled until the point where the Commission did not have sufficient time to get the item 55 onto the ballot. He stated that he would not want to miss another opportunity. 56 57 Chair Dahl agreed that she would not want to have the Council delay and the Commission miss 58 another opportunity to place the item on the ballot. 59 60 Commissioner Juni stated that from the response from the City Council he would believe that the 61 Council would be open to continuing the discussion. 62 63 Commissioner Damiani stated that the Commission should just get things in order to place on the 64 ballot rather than wait around for responses and opinions of the Council. 65 66 Commissioner Vanderpoel stated that the decision on whether or not to have wards is not up to 67 the Commission or the Council and is the decision of the people of Lino Lakes. He suggested 68 that the Commission follow the steps for approval by election so that the residents can make the 69 choice. 70 71 Commissioner Bretoi stated that he would want to see additional language that would restrict 72 someone from drawing boundaries that would have self-serving purpose. He stated that he 73 would like to see enough restrictions so that members of the Council cannot be excluded or 74 included and it should be done in a fair manner. 75 76 Commissioner Devaney stated that he was impressed with the willingness of Mr. Langel to 77 provide the Commission with the information they would need to continue to move this forward. 78 79 Commissioner Devaney stated that there is language included in the proposed amendment which 80 would include sufficient restriction in creating boundaries. 81 82 Commissioner Storberg stated that her concern would be that people would not understand this if 83 the item were placed on the ballot. 84 85 Commissioner Stranik referenced the process to follow for approval by election, specifically the 86 third bullet point regarding legal. He asked for clarification on how the change would be 87 implemented. 88 89 It was explained that beginning in 2017, the Councilmembers would be at -large and when each 90 term came up for re-election the ward system would come into play. 2 Charter Commission May 19, 2016 Page 3 -"1 91 92 Commissioner Stranik stated that he would like additional information from Mr. Langel on how 93 the implementation would apply. 94 95 Commissioner Devaney stated that he would suggest moving this forward to the City Council 96 and Mr. Langel. 97 98 Commissioner Bretoi noted that the comments from the Council were already received from the 99 submission the previous year and those are the responses that Mr. Kaardal responded to when 100 making the updates to ensure the language is compliant with State statute. 101 102 MOTION by Commissioner Devaney, seconded by Commissioner Stanek, requesting to move 103 forward the amended language to the City Council for review. 104 105 Further discussion: Commissioner Vanderpoel suggested that the memorandum letter be 106 submitted with the new draft amendment. 107 108 It was the consensus of the Commission that the memorandum letter be included with the new 109 draft amendment. 110 111 Commissioner Bretoi stated that the Commission could have Mr. Kaardal draft the language 12 proposed to be on the ballot and that could be forwarded to the Council. He asked that the 113 motion be amended to submit a version consistent with number one from Mr. Langel, 114 specifically the redline copy. 115 116 The amended MOTION accepted by Commissioner Devaney, seconded by Commissioner 117 Stanek, requesting to move forward the memorandum letter and the new draft amendment, 118 amended to be a redline version consistent with number one of Mr. Langel's memorandum. 119 120 It was determined that the Commission would ask Mr. Kaardal to draft the redline version for 121 submission to the City Council and Mr. Langel. 122 123 Commissioner Bretoi called the vote to question. 124 125 Motion passed unanimously. 126 127 Motion passed unanimously. 128 129 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, requesting to ask Mr. 130 Kaardal to draft the redline version of the draft amendment, as long as the service is within the 131 original $500 budget approved for Mr. Kaardal. 132 ,...N133 Motion passed unanimously. 134 135 NEXT MEETING DATE Charter Commission May 19, 2016 Page 4 136 Chair Dahl noted the next meeting date is Thursday, July 14, 2016. She stated that an additional 137 meeting may be needed between now and that time depending upon the response received from 138 the Council and Mr. Langel. She stated that if another meeting is needed she would send out an 139 email to coordinate the most convenient date for the group. 140 141 Commissioner Bretoi stated that the July 14th meeting may not be needed if the response from the 142 Council does not call for a special meeting. 143 144 It was the consensus of the Commission that a deadline should be placed on the response from 145 the Council to ensure a timely review. 146 147 It was the consensus of the Commission to schedule a potential special meeting for June 16th, 148 should that be needed. It was also decided that the information submitted to the Council shall 149 have a deadline for response prior to that potential meeting date. 150 151 OTHER 152 Julie Pearson asked what would happen if the ward system is implemented and asked what 153 would occur if no one from the open ward wished to run for the position. 154 155 Chair Dahl stated that in the case of the Commission the current Commissioners remains on the 156 Commission until the position is filled. 157 158 Ms. Pearson stated that while she likes the idea of wards she was unsure that enough people 159 would want to run for the position. 160 161 Commissioner Stranik stated that the ward system usually encourages more participation and 162 interest. 163 164 Chair Dahl agreed that the ward system is less costly for the people campaigning. 165 166 Commissioner Johnson stated that if no one was interested in running he believed that someone 167 would step up and run. 168 169 Commissioner Juni stated that residents of each ward can encourage and support people to run 170 that they believe would appropriately represent their ward. 171 172 Commissioner Damiani noted that people could possibly be more encouraged to vote in the 173 election since they may actually know the person running 174 175 ADJOURN 176 MOTION by Commissioner Devaney, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to adjourn the 177 meeting at 7:49 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. 178 179 Drafted by: Amanda Staple, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 4