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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-12-2015 MinutesCharter Commission February 12, 2015 Page 1 1 APPROVED 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES 2 CHARTER COMMISSION 3 4 5 6 DATE February 12, 2015 7 TIME STARTED 6:30 p.m. 8 TIME ENDED 8:10 p.m. 9 MEMBERS PRESENT Aldentaler, Bartsch, Bretoi (arrived at 7:31 p.m.), Dahl, 10 Damiani, Johnson, Helgemoe (arrived at 6:34 p.m.), 11 Lyden, Penn, Storberg, Sutherland, Timm, Turcotte 12 13 MEMBERS EXCUSED Combs and Poehling 14 MEMBERS UNEXCUSED None 15 STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT None 16 OTHERS PRESENT: Michael Manthy, Resident 17 Greg Lucid, Quad Community Press 18 Michael Manthey, Resident 19 20 21 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 22 Chair Sutherland reconvened the meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission at 6:30 pm on 23 January 8, 2015. 24 25 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 26 Chair Sutherland lead the Pledge of Allegiance. 27 28 APPROVING THE AGENDA 29 Agenda was accepted as presented without additions 30 31 OPEN MIC/PUBLIC COMMENT 32 No one present opted to speak for the open mike. 33 34 APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES 35 36 A. Consider Approval of July 25, 2014 Charter Commission Special Meeting Minutes 37 It was noted the header should be removed from the top margins. 38 39 Commissioner Helgemoe arrived. 40 41 MOTION by Commissioner Dahl, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, approving the special 42 meeting minutes of July 25, 2014. 43 44 Motion passed unanimously. 45 Charter Commission February 12, 2015 Page 2 2 46 B. Consider Approval of August 1, 2014 Charter Commission Special Meeting Minutes 47 Chair Sutherland referenced the motion by Commissioner Bretoi that begins in line 31 and 48 continues to mention amendment. She suggested to end the motion at Commissioner Bretoi., 49 “The motion by Commissioner Bretoi ??.” It was noted that the space from line 34 should be 50 removed to add lines 35 and 36 to follow line 33 with a double space to follow line 36. 51 52 MOTION by Commissioner Lyden, seconded by Commissioner Turcotte, approving the special 53 meeting minutes of August 1, 2014 as amended. 54 55 Motion passed unanimously. (Timm abstained) 56 57 C. Consider Approval of November 6, 2014 Charter Commission Rescheduled Regular 58 Meeting Minutes 59 It was noted on line 91, it should read, “…the Commission Board…” On line 119, it should 60 state, “She wondered asked…” On line 121, it should state, “…would be comfortable with it 61 noted her as seconding the motion.” On line 156, it should state, “…wondered asked…” On line 62 178, it should state, “The Commissioner recessed at 7:13 to move to a different conference 63 room.” On line 188, it should state, “Motion as amended carried unanimously, Sutherland 64 abstained.” On line 195, it should state, “…stated this there was an email…” On line 200, it 65 should state, “…thought in the Charter it is required the five year plan.” On line 209, it should 66 state, “…wondered what asked the Commission what they want wanted her to do.” On line 145, 67 it should state, “…seconded by Commissioner Penn…” 68 69 MOTION by Commissioner Timm, seconded by Commissioner Penn, approving the rescheduled 70 regular meeting minutes of November 6, 2014 as amended. 71 72 Motion passed unanimously. (Johnson and Lyden abstained) 73 74 UNFINISHED BUSINESS 75 76 A. August 6, 2014 Packet Item: Ward Charter Amendment Council Response 77 Commissioner Turcotte stated that there is a process when amendments are brought before the 78 Commission in order for adjustments to be made if necessary. He did not agree with the process 79 followed by the City Council, noting that the Commission did not have sufficient funds for an 80 outside attorney to provide input. 81 82 Commissioner Damiani questioned if anything would be moving forward this year. 83 84 Michael Manthy stated that there is a Centennial Fire Department and concerned citizens group 85 will be meeting in March to discuss a formal appeal of voter rights. 86 87 Chair Sutherland explained the process for setting the meeting agenda and stated that an agenda 88 item can be added by Commissioner request prior to the meeting date. She stated that there is 89 Charter Commission February 12, 2015 Page 3 3 also the ability to set a special meeting noting that process simply requires the request by two 90 Commissioners. 91 92 NEW BUSINESS 93 94 A. Outcome of Budget Request Letter per Motion 95 Chair Sutherland referenced the written and audio materials that were included for the 96 Commission review. She stated that the Council did decline the request to cover the additional 97 $183. 98 99 Commissioner Lyden questioned the official rational that was given for the decision. 100 101 Chair Sutherland stated that in her opinion the Council did not receive the desired outcome and 102 based the decision off of that. She confirmed that all of the original Commission funds were 103 used prior to this request. She stated that the total legal fees were $2,825 and believed that was a 104 phenomenal job. 105 106 Commissioner Lyden stated that seems like such a small amount compared to the dollar amounts 107 and changes in the fire discussions the Council is having. 108 109 Commissioner Damiani commented that the Commission is working to assist the community in 110 the best way possible. 111 112 Chair Sutherland confirmed that TimeSavers was being funded directly by the City and does not 113 count against the budget of the Commission. 114 115 Commissioner Turcotte stated that there could have been cost savings if the Council would have 116 simply presented the amendment they wished to move forward with rather than bringing two 117 amendments for the Commission to review. 118 119 Commissioner Bartsch confirmed that the $183 will be taken from the Commission budget for 120 2015 and questioned why that nominal amount would not simply be taken from something in the 121 2014 budget. 122 123 B. Outcome of Five Year Plan Letter to Council per Motion 124 Chair Sutherland stated that a letter has been submitted to the City Council, which identifies their 125 non-compliance with a five year plan and advised that there has not been a response from the 126 City. She stated that the Commission currently does not have an attorney. She stated that the 127 Commission is limited in their powers and although they can make requests of the Council, she 128 did not feel that there was additional enforcement efforts. 129 130 C. Draft Letter to the Judge for 2014 131 Chair Sutherland read aloud the proposed letter to the judge for 2014 and accepted friendly 132 amendments. 133 134 Charter Commission February 12, 2015 Page 4 4 MOTION by Commissioner Penn, seconded by Commissioner Timm, approving the draft letter 135 to the judge for 2014. 136 . 137 Motion passed unanimously. 138 139 D. Attorney Karen Marty 140 Chair Sutherland advised that when she alerted Attorney Karen Marty to the Council’s decision 141 regarding the $183, she resigned from representing the group. She explained that the attorney 142 was worked at a reduced rate and supports the work of the Commission but feels that it would be 143 difficult for the Commission to accomplish anything with the relationship between the 144 Commission and the City Council. She stated that there may be interest from a legal intern that 145 could assist the Commission, as the Commission funds are very limited. 146 147 Commissioner Johnson questioned if the funds could be generated privately or whether the 148 Commission funds have to come directly from the City. 149 150 Chair Sutherland explained that a legal entity would need to be created in order to collect 151 donations and pay bills. 152 153 Commissioner Lyden stated that as a private resident he would be willing to pay the $183.75. 154 155 Chair Sutherland stated that the approval of that bill is already underway and will be paid. 156 157 Commissioner Penn stated that perhaps the City Attorney should be invited to a future meeting to 158 provide legal input on why recent work of the Commission had been declined, including the 159 ward amendment. 160 161 Chair Sutherland stated that it had been suggested by the Mayor in the past that the City Attorney 162 be used by the Commission and suggested that perhaps the Commission ask the City Attorney to 163 draft the ward language. 164 165 Commissioner Bretoi arrived. 166 167 Commissioner Johnson confirmed that the Commission could make the request but the decision 168 as to whether the City Attorney would attend would be made by the City Council. 169 170 MOTION by Commissioner Penn requesting the City Attorney attend the next regularly 171 scheduled meeting to discuss items of concern to the Commission and City Council. 172 . 173 Motion failed for lack of a second. 174 175 Commissioner Lyden referenced the Commission meeting schedule and stated that it would be 176 difficult to draft language to include on the ballot for this year. 177 178 Charter Commission February 12, 2015 Page 5 5 Chair Sutherland confirmed that the amendment could be drafted and then placed on the 179 appropriate year’s ballot, meaning that could occur in 2016. 180 181 Commissioner Bartsch stated that an invitation to the City Attorney could simply be made which 182 would allow him to provide input on the work he did in conjunction with the items that affect the 183 Commission. 184 185 Commissioner Lyden stated that perhaps the Commission simply ask the City Attorney to draft 186 language regarding wards, which the Commission could then review. 187 188 Commissioner Bartsch believed that would be a bit naïve because ultimately the City Attorney 189 represents the City Council. He did believe there would be benefit to the City Attorney simply 190 attending a meeting to provide input. 191 192 Commissioner Dahl stated that the Commission could request the City Attorney to draft the ward 193 amendment language, which they could review at the April meeting, which would allow the 194 Commission sufficient time to review and include on the ballot if desired. 195 196 Commissioner Damiani expressed frustration that it appears the City Council simply declines 197 anything the Commission brings forward for action. She believed that the City Attorney should 198 be invited to attend a meeting and commented that if he chooses not to attend that would show 199 that he does not care about the residents of Lino Lakes. 200 201 Commissioner Turcotte agreed that the Commission could request the City Attorney to draft 202 language but did not feel that the Commission would agree with the results because ultimately 203 the City Council does not want the ward amendment. 204 205 Commissioner Johnson stated that it would be naïve to assume that the City Attorney would 206 simply draft the language in time for the April meeting and instead stated that perhaps the best 207 path would be for the Commission to simply gauge the level of openness the City Attorney has to 208 working with the Commission. 209 210 Commissioner Storberg stated that she would like input on why the Council is not accepting the 211 requests of the Commission. She believed that rather than asking the City Attorney to address 212 that concern, a better setting may be for a portion of the Commission to attend a City Council 213 meeting and ask that of the Council during the open mic portion of the meeting, which would be 214 televised. 215 216 Chair Sutherland stated that the City Council will never answer that question. 217 218 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Dahl, requesting to invite the 219 City Attorney to the next meeting to obtain his opinion on what would need to be done to the 220 ward amendment in order for that to move forward. 221 222 MOTION by Commissioner Timm to close debate on the motion on the table. 223 Charter Commission February 12, 2015 Page 6 6 224 Motion passed 9-3-1. (Aldentaler, Penn and Dahl opposed) (Sutherland abstained) 225 226 Motion passed 7-5-1. (Johnson, Penn, Bartsch, Storberg, and Turcotte opposed) (Sutherland 227 abstained) 228 229 NEXT MEETING DATE 230 Chair Sutherland noted the next meeting date is Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. She asked 231 that the Commissioner consider the possibility of not meeting in July because the meeting tends 232 to be canceled for lack of attendance. She reminded the Commission that a special meeting can 233 be called at any time by the request of two Commissioners. 234 235 ADJOURN 236 MOTION by Commissioner Turcotte, seconded by Commissioner Helgemoe, to adjourn the 237 meeting at 8:10 p.m. Motion carried unanimously. 238 239 Drafted by: Amanda Staple, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 240