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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-13-2005 Charter Minutes Charter Commission January 13, 2005 DRAFT Page 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES CHARTER COMMISSION DATE : January 13, 2005 TIME STARTED : 7:03 P.M. TIME ENDED : 9:20 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT : Dahl, Aldentaler, Trehus,Handrick,Vacha Duffy, Williams, Bor,Montain, Storberg, and Carlson MEMBERS EXCUSED : Warren and Zastrow MEMBERS UNEXCUSED : None STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT : City Clerk,Ann Blair(part) CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Trehus called the regular meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission to order at 7:03 p.m. on January 13, 2005. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Trehus added Item 6G, Council Minutes Discussion and Item 7C, Members Resignations. OPEN MIKE No one was present for open mike. APPROVAL OF MINUTES October 14, 2004—MOTION by Commissioner Vacha, seconded Commissioner Handrick, to approve the October 14, 2004 Charter Commission minutes as presented. Motion carried with Commissioner Montain abstaining. REPORTS OF THE COMMITTEES Archives Report/City Web Site (Commissioner Dahl)—Commissioner Dahl advised she contacted the Minnesota Historical Society regarding the names of previous Charter Members. They can look up names to locate previous members but there is a charge of$12.00 per name. She suggested Commissioners split up the names on the list and do their own search. Commissioner Storberg suggested Mr. Weibel is contacted to see if he knows anything regarding the outstanding names on the list. 1 Charter Commission January 13, 2005 DRAFT Page 2 Commissioner Dahl advised letters have been sent out to the previous members but the City has not received any responses. The intent is to collect any old Charter documents. Commissioner Handrick and Commissioner Bor volunteered to help locate outstanding names on the previous member's list. Commissioner Dahl stated she would get a list of the names from the City Clerk. The names could also be advertised in the Quad. Commissioner Bor also suggested contacting Betty Friesen regarding this issue. City Website Update (Commissioner Dahl)—Commissioner Dahl advised Lisa Hogstad emailed everyone possible regarding the new website. The new website is up and running. If anyone has any concerns or suggestions, contact Lisa Hogstad at the front desk. City Clerk Blair requested the Commission move to the Council Chambers for a group picture. Response to Charter Documents Letter(Commissioner Dahl)—Commissioner Dahl had previously indicated the City has not received any responses to the Charter Documents letter sent by the City. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Five-Year Plan (Chair Trehus)—Chair Trehus indicated he has no new information on the Five-Year Plan. Commissioner Dahl stated the Council does not have any additional information either. The Commission can ask the City Administrator or could discuss the Five-Year Plan with the Council at the joint meeting. She noted the Five-Year Plan will be updated every year and is a work in progress. Commissioner Montain asked when the Plan would be up-to-date. He stated it seems as though the Commission is always waiting on something to have the Plan finished and in place. Chair Trehus stated the City is currently waiting on the Pavement Management Program to be completed. Commissioner Montain stated the Charter requires the City have a Five-Year Plan. It is the Commission's job to make sure the Five-Year Plan is in place. The Plan can be amended yearly but the framework needs to be in place. Chair Trehus noted the Commission did get a Five-Year Plan. The City is currently doing updates on it. This issue will be discussed at the Joint meeting with the City Council. 2 Charter Commission January 13, 2005 DRAFT Page 3 Commissioner Bor stated she would like to know the history of the Five-Year Plan as well of the dates of completion and dates of the revisions. MOTION by Commissioner Vacha, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to request an update from City Staff at the next meeting on a Five-Year Plan that is compliant with the City Charter per Section 7.05. Commissioner Montain stated he would also like information on how the Five-Year Plan is tied into the City's budget. Commissioner Storberg suggested property taxes be raised throughout the City to pay for road improvements, which ties into the Five-Year Plan and Pavement Management Plan. Chair Trehus advised he would send a letter to the City Council regarding this issue prior to the joint meeting. MOTION carried. Pavement Management Program (Chair Trehus)—Chair Trehus advised the Commissioner's received a preliminary Pavement Management Report. He asked for any questions or comments. Commissioner Storberg stated she has an issue with the Plan in relation to some of the bad roadways within the City. It seems as though there are some bad roads in new developments and that the developer should be responsible for those roadways. Commissioner Bor stated the City is working on an AUAR process to provide information to the City on transportation issues with the City. All of the information gathered needs to be shared with residents within the City. The City also needs to make sure every effort is made to communicate the transportation issues, as well as funding issues, to the residents. Communication to the Residents—Chair Trehus stated it was disappointing that there was no reference to communication to residents in relation to the Pavement Management Plan. The Pavement Management Plan as well as communication to residents will be discussed further at the joint meeting with the City Council. MOTION by Commissioner Bor, seconded by Commissioner Duffy,that an update be provided to the Commission on the draft Pavement Management Plan and any communication that may be evolving to residents. Motion carried. Commissioner Storberg stated she would ask City Staff and the City Council about the possibility of the City increasing property taxes city wide to pay for road reconstruction within the City, and to put funds into the Public Works Fund at the joint meeting in April. She indicated she would also ask for clarification on the definition on reconstruction of roadways and new road construction. 3 Charter Commission January 13, 2005 DRAFT Page 4 Charter Commission Budget—Chair Trehus advised a copy of the state statute regarding the Charter budget was distributed in the packets. The statute states the Charter Commission has up to $1,500 per year to spend at its discretion. A memo from the Finance Director was also in the packets. The memo indicated that regardless of where the funds are put into the budget, the Charter Commission could spend the $1,500. If the Commission needs additional funds, approval from the City Council would be required. Commissioner Storberg stated the City was wrong by spending the Commission's funds for the lawyer's fees. The City does not have the right to do that. Chair Trehus stated that regardless of how the attorney was billed, the Commission can spend up to $1,500 per year at their discretion. Any fund left over go back into the General Fund. Commissioner Carlson stated the attorney's fee should not be shown as a Charter Commission expense. City Staff initiated that expense. MOTION by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Storberg, to have Chair Trehus communicate to City staff, by letter, that any expenditure's shown in the budget as Charter Commission expenditures must be approved by the Charter Commission. The $1,500 expense for the attorney must not be noted as a Charter Commission expense. Motion carried. Application to Charter Commission (Commissioner Dahl)—Commissioner Dahl advised a draft copy of the application to the Charter Commission was distributed at the last meeting. Commissioner Carlson has made some suggestions to the draft. A copy of that draft was distributed. Commissioner Carlson reviewed the suggested changes noting he would like to make the application more user friendly. MOTION by Commissioner Montain, seconded by Commissioner Bor, to use the revised application to Charter Commission as the official application. Chair Trehus indicated he would like to add the statement regarding the addition of a resume to the application. Commissioner Handrick stated she believes if an applicant has a resume, they would automatically attach it to the application. Commissioner Montain agreed to accept the amended motion to include on the application the statement"Attach any additional information if you desire". Commissioner Bor accepted the amendment to the motion. 4 Charter Commission January 13, 2005 DRAFT Page 5 Commissioner Carlson indicated he would email the approved application to the City Clerk and also forward to the Commissioner's. MOTION carried. Review City Council Meeting Minutes for Charter Compliance—Chair Trehus asked if any of the Commissioners had found any issues with the City Council Meeting Minutes. The Commission had no comments. Council Minutes Discussion (Chair Trehus)—Chair Trehus advised the City would no longer be emailing meeting minutes to the Commission. The meeting minutes can be found on the City website. Hard copies are still available to those who request them. He asked the Commission to note any missing set of meeting minutes on the website. NEW BUSINESS Update from League of MN Cities Regarding Other Charter Cities (Commissioner Handrick)—Commissioner Handrick advised she called the League of MN Cities and was sent a list of all Charter cities within the state. She distributed that list along with a list of city Charters available on-line. She stated she also inquired about restrictions of other Charter cities. Mr. Duke Addicks, Attorney from League of MN Cities, responded that he was unaware of other cities that have such strict restrictions as the City of Lino lakes. She indicated she would go on line and review some of the other cities Charters. Also, Rylee Retzer, League of MN Cities, advised she does do Charter presentations for cities and City Councils free of charge. The only charge that would occur is if the Commission had a specific question about a section of the Charter. It was the consensus of the Charter Commission to try to schedule a presentation by Rylee Retzer for the July 2005 Charter Commission meeting. Member's Resignations—Chair Trehus advised he received a resignation letter from Commissioner S. Lane and Commissioner G. Lane. Therefore,the Commission has two vacancies. He asked Commissioners to encourage anyone interested to submit a letter of application. The vacancies will also be advertised in the Quad. Set April 14, 2005 Agenda—Chair Trehus advised the following items would appear on the April 14, 2005 Charter Commission agenda: 1. Call to Order and Roll Call 2. Approval of Agenda 3. Open Mike 5 Charter Commission January 13, 2005 DRAFT Page 6 4. Joint Meeting with Council A. Road Reconstruction B. Five-Year Plan C. Pavement Management Report D. Communication to the Residents E. Charter Commission Budget F. Other 5. Approval of Minutes A. January 13, 2005 6. Discussion of Joint Meeting 7. New Business A. Set Agenda for July Meeting B. Confirm League of MN Cities Presentation 8. Adjourn ADJOURN MOTION by Commissioner Dahl, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to adjourn the meeting at 9:20 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Kim Points TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 6