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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-08-2015 Charter PacketLINO LAKES CHARTER COMMISSION AGENDA THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015 6:30 PM 1. Call to Order and Roll Call 2. Pledge of Allegiance 3. Approval of the Agenda 4. Open Mike / Public Comments 5. Minutes A. Consider approval of April 9, 2015 Charter Commission Meeting Minutes (pgs 2-6) 6. Unfinished Business A. No Unfinished Business 7. New Business 6:30 PM A. Outcome of Motion requesting League of MN cities offer assistance with ward amendment B. Outcome of Motion inviting Jennifer Urban to July meeting C. Expiration of Charter Commission Terms and application deadline of October 31, 2015 D. Next regular meeting date, Thursday, January 14, 2016 at 6:30 PM 8. Notices and Communications A. No notices or communications Adjournment Connie Sutherland Kathryn Timm Caroline Dahl Chair Vice Chair Secretary Page 1 of 6 Charter Commission April 9, 2015 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 April 9, 2015 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Bretoi, Damiani, Johnson, Lyden, Poehling, Storberg, Sutherland, Timm, and Turcotte Aldentaler, Combs, Dahl, Penn, Bartsch, and Helgemoe Bartsch None Michael Manthy, Resident CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Sutherland reconvened the meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission at 6:31 p.m. on April 9, 2015. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chair Sutherland lead the Pledge of Allegiance. SETTING THE AGENDA MOTION by Commissioner Lyden, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, approving the agenda as presented. Motion passed unanimously. OPEN MIC/PUBLIC COMMENT No one present epteEl-to speak for the open mike APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES Chair Sutherland noted on line 19, it should state," , Resident; Michael Manthy, Resident" MOTION by Commissioner Timm, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, approving the meeting minutes of February 12, 2015 as amended. Motion passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS A. No Unfinished Business Page 2of6 Charter Commission April 9, 2015 Page 2 46 NEW BUSINESS 47 48 A. Outcome of Motion Requesting City Attorney at April 9th Meeting 49 Chair Sutherland stated that a handout is available on the table, which is the official legal 50 response from Attorney Joe Langel. 51 52 Commissioner Bretoi stated that this puts the Commission in a difficult situation as the Council 53 stated that the proposed language from the Commission was unconstitutional, yet the City 54 Attorney is not available for consult. 55 56 Chair Sutherland stated that the Council has stated several times that the Charter Commission 57 could use their attorney but this is the first time that the response has been that there would be a 58 conflict of interest and the two groups could not share an attorney. 59 60 Commissioner Timm stated that the attorney has never said that the idea of wards was 61 unconstitutional but that the proposal from the Commission was contrary to statute. She stated 62 that the Charter Commission could draft a ward amendment consistent with State law and 63 explained that the Commission had used the Saint Paul language as a template, which had been 64 approved prior to changes in State statute. 65 66 Chair Sutherland stated that the Commission would need to find their own resources if they wish 67 to move forward with a ward amendment. 68 69 Commissioner Storberg questioned if the Commission could utilize the League of Minnesota 70 Cities for assistance. 71 72 Commissioner Turcotte believed that City approval would be needed. 73 74 Commissioner Johnson stated that perhaps the League of Minnesota Cities could provide 75 assistance as long as the issue is not in conflict with the City. 76 77 Commissioner Timm stated that she suggested that option in the past. 78 79 Commissioner Damiani stated that the legal response bothers her because it seems that no matter 80 what the Commission does, the Council will not agree with what is proposed. She stated that it 81 does not appear that there are rights as residents. 82 83 Chair Sutherland stated that the Commission does have options to bring the issue to ballot as part 84 of the Charter. She stated that the Commission could clean up the language as suggested and 85 bring the proposal back to the Council, noting that if the Council still does not agree the issue 86 could move forward as a petition. She agreed that there would not be sufficient time to pursue 87 that option this year but noted that the work could still be done_ this 88 2 Page 3of6 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 Charter Commission April 9, 2015 Page 3 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Timm, to approach the League of Minnesota Cities to determine if they could offer assistance with the ward amendment language and if so, proceed with their help. Motion passed 7-0-2. (Turcotte and Sutherland abstained) Commissioner Timm stated that she consulted with another attorney at her place of business, Jennifer Urban, on another municipality issue. She stated that she is not aware of her rates but would suggest pursuing that option should the League of Minnesota Cities not be able to assist. MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Lyden, to invite Jennifer Urban to attend the July meeting to discuss her rates and possible representation of the Commission. Motion passed 7-0-2. (Turcotte and Sutherland abstained) Commissioner Turcotte stated that the original amendment should not have been held from the ballot. Commissioner Lyden believed that everyone on the Commission provides their own perspective and puts a lot of work into this. He stated that ultimately it will come down to whether the Council is willing to work with the Commission. Chair Sutherland stated that residents do not understand that the Commission does not have power and only has the authority to move things forward to the Council, who is then supposed to move things forward as well which unfortunately is not happening. She stated that until the faces on the Council change this is the position the Commission will be in. Commissioner Damiani stated that she believed that the two groups were at one time working together and questioned when that changed. Chair Sutherland stated that in her opinion it seemed that the change occurred with when the originally proposed change to Chapter 8 went to ballot and , which failed. Commissioner Timm stated that she is very disheartened that this situation will ever change. She stated that her term expires at the end of the year and she will not be seeking reappointment. She stated that when she speaks with people in other branches of government the thought they have is that the Charter Commission is the issue, unless they are thoroughly aware of the situation. She believed that the Commission should move an amendment forward to dissolve the Charter, which will force the Council to operate in the open rather than placing blame on the Charter Commission. Commissioner Lyden left the meeting at 7:03 p.m. Chair Sutherland stated that the Commission has had some great proposals, which the Council has not allowed to move through to the citizens. She stated that the Commission has also been 3 Page 4 of 6 Charter Commission April 9, 2015 Page 4 134 denied the request to educate the residents on the Charter, noting that the City is unwilling to 135 provide that education. 136 137 NEXT MEETING DATE 138 Chair Sutherland noted the next meeting date is Thursday, July 9, 2015. 139 140 ADJOURN 141 142 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Turcotte, to adjourn the meeting 143 at7:18p.m. 144 145 Motion failed 3-4-1. (Poehling, Bretoi, and Damiani voted in favor and Sutherland abstained) 146 147 Commissioner Storberg stated that the Commission has a difficult time getting a quorum in July 148 and suggested canceling that meeting. 149 150 MOTION by Commissioner Storberg, seconded by Commissioner Timm, to hold only two 151 meetings per year, in April and October. 152 153 MOTION by Commissioner Timm, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to amend the motion to 154 also hold a January meeting on years when new Commissioners are appointed. 155 156 Further discussion: Chair Sutherland read language from the bylaws that state that four meetings 157 should be held in January, April, July and October. 158 159 The amendment failed unanimously. 160 161 The original motion failed 1-7-1. (Storberg voted in favor and Sutherland abstained) 162 163 MOTION by Commissioner Timm, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to make an exception 164 to the bylaws and schedule the next regular meeting of the Commission to the second Thursday 165 of October. 166 167 Motion passed unanimously. 168 169 Chair Sutherland noted that the next regular meeting will then take place on October 8, 2015 at 170 6:30 p.m. 171 172 Michael Manthy commended the Charter Commission for their efforts and stated that he does 173 attend the Council meetings and work sessions. He stated there are other residents that are 174 opposed to the City Council and will be running against them. He stated that while the Council 175 may put restrictions on funding, the Commission members can still speak with their neighbors 176 and other residents in the community. 177 4 Page 5of6 Charter Commission April 9, 2015 Page 5 178 MOTION by Commissioner Timm, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, to adjourn the meeting 179 at 7:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. 180 181 Drafted by: Amanda Staple, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 5 Page 6of6