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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-13-2005 Charter Minutes Charter Commission October 13, 2005 ,.� Page 1 APPROVED 1 2 CITY OF LINO LADES 3 CHARTER COMMISSION 4 5 6 DATE : October 13,2005 7 TIME STARTED : 6:45 P.M. s TIME ENDED : 10:15 P.M. 9 MEMBERS PRESENT : Dahl,Aldentaler,Trehus, Handrick,Vacha,Bening, 10 Duffy,Bor,Richard Williams,Rosemary Williams, 11 Storberg,Zastrow,Warrem,Montain and Carlson 12 MEMBERS EXCUSED None 13 MEMBERS UNEXCUSED None 14 COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT: Carlson,Dahl,Reinert, Stoltz and Mayor Bergeson 15 STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT : City Administrator,Gordon Heitke 16 17 18 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 19 20 Acting Chair Carlson called the regular meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission to order `N21 at 6:45 p.m. on October 13, 2005. 22 23 APPROVAL OF AGENDA 24 25 Mayor Bergeson noted there is a different agenda for the City Council. The words"potential 26 amendments"to each agenda item were added per legal counsel. 27 28 Acting Chair Carlson stated changing the wording on the agenda changes the tone of the meeting. 29 He indicated the Charter Commission is not prepared to talk about possible amendments to the 30 Charter. He read the state statute regarding the role of the Charter Commission. 31 32 Chair Trehus arrived at 7:00 p.m. 33 34 Mayor Bergeson advised the Council did not change the wording to cause a problem. The 35 Council is trying to keep the meeting legal. The Council is present to discuss the issues and 36 proposed amendments to the Charter that may come from those discussions. 37 38 City Administrator Heitke explained the legal requirements regarding Council meeting notices. 39 He advised the Council not to stray from the posted agenda. 40 41 Commissioner Montain suggested prior to the next joint meeting, the Chair of the Commission 42 meet with City staff to discuss the agenda before the meeting is posted. 43 MOTION by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Montain, to approve the agenda 44 as presented. Motion carried unanimously. Charter Commission October 13, 2005 ,"ON Page 2 APPROVED 45 46 OPEN MIKE 47 48 No one was present for open mike. 49 50 JOINT MEETING WITH THE CITY QDUNCI L 51 52 Road Reconstruction--Chair Trehus advised there are two road projects on the ballot this year. 53 He asked for City Council perspective on road reconstruction within the City. 54 55 Councilmember Reinert provided a historical background regarding the City's Charter noting why 56 the Home Rule Charter was established. He stated today there are many more regulations 57 regarding the decisions that are made for the City. The current system pits neighbor against 58 neighbor. It is a very difficult process with no guarantee a road project will move forward. It 59 seems as though there are some problems with the current process and possible amendments 60 should be discussed. 61 62 Commissioner Storberg stated the Charter was set up to reconstruct City roads without a 63 referendum. She stated she does not understand why that is not happening. 64 ''�65 Mayor Bergeson stated he believes the process needs to be reviewed after the referendum. 66 67 Chair Trehus noted he believes the process for neighborhood meetings could be improved upon 68 also. 69 70 Commissioner Warrem stated properly informing the residents is key to making progress in the 71 City without referendums. The City may want to make amendments within the Charter to make 72 that process easier. 73 74 Commissioner Storberg asked how the Council has informed the citizens of the referendum. 75 76 Councilmember Reinert stated the City did have a proposal from a company for a communication 77 plan. The proposal failed on a 2-2 vote. 78 79 Mayor Bergeson suggested that if the City does not get everything done in time for a referendum, 80 the project be moved to a vote in the following year. 81 82 Chair Trehus stated there is a time limit within the Charter relating to a failed referendum. He 83 stated the Commission might want to look at amending that portion of the Charter. 84 85 Chair Trehus referred to the West Shadow Lake Drive Area petition that is now on the ballot. He 86 asked why there was not a survey done before ordering the feasibility study. 7 Charter Commission October 13, 2005 Page 3 APPROVED 87 City Administrator Heitke advised he knows of only one project where a survey has been done. 88 However, the City cannot continue to pay for feasibility studies if there is not enough interest in 89 the project. Surveys will be utilized more in the future. 90 91 Chair Trehus stated he would like the City to do more surveys on projects as opposed to residents 92 or the City paying for feasibility studies without knowing if a project will go through. 93 94 Mayor Bergeson stated the Council should discuss when surveys are used as opposed to ordering 95 feasibility studies. 96 97 Commissioner Storberg asked if the Charter Commission could call the City Attorney with legal 98 questions. She also asked if the Charter Commission's yearly budget could be accumulated if it is 99 not spent every year. 100 101 City Administrator Heitke suggested the Commission request more dollars during the budget 102 process. 103 104 Chair Trehus requested the Commission be copied on all surveys and petitions that have been 105 accumulated in the past year. 106 `^07 Commissioner Storberg suggested the City have a more standard form for petitions. 108 109 Pavement Management Report—Chair Trehus advised the Commission was expecting an no update and feedback during the meeting that was scheduled in April. He asked for any comments 111 relating to the Pavement Management Report. 112 113 City Administrator Heitke stated the Commission has received a copy of the report and there have 114 been no changes. 115 116 Five Year Plan—Chair Trehus stated the last update regarding the Five Year Plan was that staff 117 was waiting for the completion of the Pavement Management Report. 118 119 City Administrator Heitke advised staff has been working on the Five Year Plan. There have been 120 many delays due to revisions, budget changes, etc. The draft Five Year plan will be distributed at 121 the second Council work session in November. 122 123 Commissioner Montain stated the Commission has been hearing about the completion of the Five 124 Year Plan for five years. He asked when it would be completed. 125 126 Councilmember Carlson requested the Council received the draft Five Year Plan at the second 127 Council work session in November even if it is not completed. ^128 129 Councilmember Stoltz requested the Five Year Plan be placed on the next Council work session 130 agenda for an update. Z Charter Commission October 13, 2005 ,.� Page 4 APPROVED 131 Communication to the Residents—Chair Trehus stated communication to residents regarding 132 the Charter has been an ongoing concern for the Charter Commission. 133 134 City Administrator Heitke advised the City is informing the public about the upcoming 135 referendums including mailings,web site information,meetings, etc. The City still needs an 136 independent firm to develop a comprehensive communication plan for the entire City. 137 138 Mayor Bergeson stated if referendums continue to fail,the City might have to look at changing 139 the process so City roads can be fixed. 140 141 Chair Trehus stated he hopes the City gets a plan going and put in place soon. The Commission 142 would be interested in meeting with a consultant and helping in any way. 143 144 Councilmember Reinert noted the communication plan that was presented to the Council failed 145 by a 2-2 vote. 146 147 Eminent Domain Information/Discussion—Chair Trehus read the state statute that was 148 distributed regarding eminent domain. 149 150 Commissioner Bening stated Rylee Retzer has indicated any amendment to the Charter would 'N151 not be relevant regarding eminent domain. The state is trying to have uniform rules regarding 152 this issue and the statute sets a uniform standard throughout the state regarding this issue. 153 154 Commissioner Storberg thanked the City Council for attending the joint meeting. She noted the 155 Commission would like answers to the questions that were raised this evening. 156 157 City Administrator Heitke suggested the possibility of setting up a workshop for the City Council 158 and Charter Commission at some point in the future. 159 160 Chair Trehus stated the Commission would like to schedule another joint meeting in April 2006. 161 162 MOTION by Commissioner Montain, seconded by Commissioner Zastrow,to adjourn the joint 163 meeting at 10:08 p.m. The motion carried unanimously. 164 165 BRIEF RECESS 166 167 Chair Trehus called for a short recess at 10:08 p.m. 168 169 Chair Trehus reconvened the meeting at 10:15 p.m. 170 171 MOTION by Commissioner Vacha, seconded by Commissioner Aldentaler, to table the �172 remaining agenda items to the January 2006 Charter Commission meeting and adjourn. Motion 173 carried unanimously. 174 4 Charter Commission October 13,2005 .,.N Page 4 APPROVED 131 Communication to the Residents—Chair Trehus stated communication to residents regarding 132 the Charter has been an ongoing concern for the Charter Commission. 133 134 City Administrator Heitke advised the City is informing the public about the upcoming 135 referendums including mailings, web site information, meetings, etc. The City still needs an Charter Commission October 13,2005 ,..� Page 5 APPROVED 175 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 176 177 August 14, 2005— 178 179 August 4,2005— 180 181 REPORTS OF THE CHAIR 182 183 Citizens Petitions io Lino Lakes in 2005- 184 185 NEW BUSINESS 186 187 Discussion of Term Limits of Commissioner's within the Charter By-Laws— 188 189 Discussion Pertaining is the Definition-of Commission's Role— 190 191 Annual Charter Commission Report- 192 193 Set January 12,2006 Meeting Agenda— 194 "01.95 ADJOURN 196 197 MOTION by Commissioner Vacha, seconded by Commissioner Aldentaler, to adjourn the 198 meeting at 10:15 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. 199 200 201 Respectfully Submitted, 202 203 Kim Points 204 TimeSaver Of,f Site Secretarial, Inc. 205 5