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Home My WebLink About02-23-2017 Charter MinutesCharter Commission February 23, 2017 Page 1 1 APPROVED 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES 2 CHARTER COMMISSION 3 4 DATE February 23, 2017 5 TIME STARTED 6:30 p.m. 6 TIME ENDED 7:25 p.m. 7 MEMBERS PRESENT Aldentaler, Bretoi, Dahl, Johnson, Juni, Lyden, Stanek, 8 Storberg, Stranik, and Vanderpoel 9 MEMBERS EXCUSED Poehling, Turcotte, and Damiani 10 MEMBERS UNEXCUSED Combs and Devaney 11 STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT None 12 OTHERS PRESENT: None 13 14 15 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 16 Chair Dahl reconvened the meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission at 6:33 pm on 17 Thursday, February 23, 2017. 18 19 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 20 Chair Dahl lead the Pledge of Allegiance. 21 22 SETTING THE AGENDA 23 Agenda was accepted as presented without additions 24 25 OPEN MIC/PUBLIC COMMENT 26 No one present opted to speak for the open mike. 27 28 APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES 29 Chair Dahl noted on page six, line 253, it should state, “It was noted that a specific dollar amount 30 would need to be included in the request would be submit in the amount of $4,000. She stated 31 that she would develop several drafts and will bring a draft back to the Charter Commission for 32 review before submittal.” 33 34 MOTION by Commissioner Juni, seconded by Commissioner Stranik, approving the meeting 35 minutes of January 12, 2017 as amended. 36 37 Motion passed unanimously. (Johnson, Lyden and Storberg abstained.) 38 39 NEW BUSINESS 40 41 A. Ward Amendment 42 Commissioner Juni stated that he contacted the offices of Robert Chamberlain and Linda 43 Runbeck, leaving voicemails and sending emails. He stated that he did receive a message back 44 that they received his messages and would respond but had not yet received a real response. 45 Charter Commission February 23, 2017 Page 2 2 46 Commissioner Johnson stated that he has regular contact with a representative and would be able 47 to reach out on behalf of the Commission. 48 49 Commissioner Juni provided background information noting that the State Statute specifies that 50 the Charter Commission would receive $1,500, or a higher amount determined by the City 51 Council. He stated that the attempt is to have the minimum specified in State Statute increased. 52 53 Commissioner Johnson confirmed that he would reach out. He noted that there is a lot going on 54 at the legislature right now and therefore this would not be high on the list. He stated that it may 55 be helpful if there are other cities that would join with the Lino Lakes Charter Commission. 56 57 Commissioner Stranik stated that while he would love for this to be successful, it is doubtful in 58 the given timeline and therefore the Commission should review alternative options. 59 60 Chair Dahl stated that even though it may be unlikely for this year, the comments will show that 61 the Charter Commission is interested in the matter and can continue the efforts in the future. 62 63 Commissioner Storberg noted that it would also be helpful if unused funds could roll over from 64 year to year, rather than reverting back to the general fund if unused. 65 66 Commissioner Bretoi asked for an update on the request for funds that was submitted to the City 67 Council. 68 69 Chair Dahl stated that she did submit a request for funds to the City Council and was told that the 70 Council would not take action as the Commission did not make a formal motion. 71 72 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Stanek, to direct Chair Dahl to 73 submit a request to the City Council for increased funds for the Charter Commission in the 74 amount of $5,500 annually as discussed the previous month. 75 76 Motion passed unanimously. 77 78 B. Attorney for Charter 79 Chair Dahl stated that at the January meeting, several Commissioners volunteered to reach out to 80 possible attorneys that could represent the Charter Commission. 81 82 Commissioner Juni stated that he plays tennis with an attorney and reached out to him to see if 83 there would be interest in representing the Charter Commission. He distributed information on 84 the attorney, who has worked as city attorney for multiple cities throughout his career. He noted 85 that they did not discuss a rate during the conversation. He stated that this appears to be the only 86 potential candidate and noted that if the Commission is interested, Chair Dahl could reach out to 87 the attorney and gain information on potential rates for his services. 88 89 Charter Commission February 23, 2017 Page 3 3 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Stranik, authorize Chair Dahl to 90 contact Fredrick “Fritz” Knaak on behalf of the Charter Commission, make the decision on 91 whether to engage him as the Charter Commission attorney for the ward amendment, and if 92 appropriate execute the contract on behalf of the Commission. 93 94 Further discussion: Commissioner Lyden asked if the hiring of an attorney would be an annual 95 renewal or whether it would be for a contracted amount of time. 96 97 Commissioner Juni stated that he did not discuss the attorney being a long-term option, but 98 simply contracting to assist with the ward amendment language. 99 100 Chair Dahl stated that the potential attorney does have experience with multiple municipalities 101 and therefore is aware of the lower rates that municipalities typically pay for services. She stated 102 that from the background information provided, the attorney seems to be fair and knowledgeable 103 and is not afraid to step up if need be. She asked if the Commission would want the potential 104 attorney attend a meeting before hiring. 105 106 Commissioner Lyden stated that he would feel comfortable with the submission of a contract. 107 108 Commissioner Stranik noted that he has been vetted and the Commission seems to be 109 comfortable. 110 111 Chair Dahl confirmed that she would contact the attorney, determine his costs and if acceptable 112 would ask him to draft a contract. 113 114 Motion passed unanimously. 115 116 Commissioner Stranik proposed that the potential attorney be presented with the comments from 117 the City Attorney and prior Charter Commission attorney to gauge his position on the topic, as 118 that seems to be a logical method to engage. 119 120 Chair Dahl stated that in the past all three Officers of the Commission have signed agreements 121 but noted that she could sign the agreement, as the Chair, if the Charter Commission was 122 comfortable with that. 123 124 Commissioner Juni noted that the potential attorney has served as a State Senator and therefore 125 he may also have an opinion on how the approach the legislature on a potential increase to the 126 minimum amount specified in the State Stature for Charter Commission funding. 127 128 C. Report on City Attorney Attending Charter Commission Meeting 129 Commissioner Stranik stated that he reached out to the City Administrator in regard to 130 potentially having the City Attorney assist the Charter Commission and received a response that 131 the City Attorney would not be able to assist the Commission as he represents the City Council 132 and therefore would have a conflict. He noted that he responded back to the City Administrator 133 stating that the Charter Commission was not asking for representation but simply asking the City 134 Charter Commission February 23, 2017 Page 4 4 Attorney to attend a meeting and explain his position on the ward amendment language drafted 135 by the Charter Commission. He noted that he did not receive a response to the clarification he 136 provided to the City Administrator. 137 138 NEXT MEETING DATE 139 Chair Dahl noted the next meeting date is to be determined and asked for input from the 140 Commission. 141 142 Commissioner Juni noted that the next regular meeting date is the Thursday prior to Easter and 143 therefore perhaps an earlier date be established. 144 145 It was the consensus of the Commission to change the date of the April 13, 2017 regular meeting 146 to Thursday, March 23, 2017 or Thursday, March 30, 2017. It was noted that Chair Dahl would 147 poll the Commissioners to determine which date would be best. 148 149 ADJOURN 150 151 MOTION by Commissioner Stranik, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to adjourn the meeting 152 at 7:25 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. 153 154 Drafted by: Amanda Staple, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 155