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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-09-2015 MinutesCharter Commission April 9, 2015 Page 1 1 APPROVED 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES 2 CHARTER COMMISSION 3 4 5 6 DATE April 9, 2015 7 TIME STARTED 6:30 p.m. 8 TIME ENDED 7:30 p.m. 9 MEMBERS PRESENT Bretoi, Damiani, Johnson, Lyden, Poehling, Storberg, 10 Sutherland, Timm, and Turcotte 11 MEMBERS EXCUSED Aldentaler, Combs, Dahl, Penn, Bartsch and Helgemoe 12 MEMBERS UNEXCUSED None 13 STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT None 14 OTHERS PRESENT: Michael Manthy, Resident 15 16 17 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 18 Chair Sutherland reconvened the meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission at 6:31 p.m. on 19 April 9, 2015. 20 21 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 22 Chair Sutherland led the Pledge of Allegiance. 23 24 SETTING THE AGENDA 25 MOTION by Commissioner Lyden, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, approving the agenda 26 as presented. 27 28 Motion passed unanimously. 29 30 OPEN MIC/PUBLIC COMMENT 31 No one present to speak for the open mike. 32 33 APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES 34 Chair Sutherland noted on line 19, it should state, “Michael Manthey, Resident”. 35 36 MOTION by Commissioner Timm, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, approving the meeting 37 minutes of February 12, 2015 as amended. 38 39 Motion passed unanimously. 40 41 OLD BUSINESS 42 43 A. No Unfinished Business 44 45 Charter Commission April 9, 2015 Page 2 2 NEW BUSINESS 46 47 A. Outcome of Motion Requesting City Attorney at April 9th Meeting 48 Chair Sutherland stated that a handout is available on the table, which is the official legal 49 response from Attorney Joe Langel. 50 51 Commissioner Bretoi stated that this puts the Commission in a difficult situation as the Council 52 stated that the proposed language from the Commission was unconstitutional, yet the City 53 Attorney is not available for consult. 54 55 Chair Sutherland stated that the Council has stated several times that the Charter Commission 56 could use their attorney but this is the first time that the response has been that there would be a 57 conflict of interest and the two groups could not share an attorney. 58 59 Commissioner Timm stated that the attorney has never said that the idea of wards was 60 unconstitutional but that the proposal from the Commission was contrary to statute. She stated 61 that the Charter Commission could draft a ward amendment consistent with State law and 62 explained that the Commission had used the Saint Paul language as a template, which had been 63 approved prior to changes in State statute. 64 65 Chair Sutherland stated that the Commission would need to find their own resources if they wish 66 to move forward with a ward amendment. 67 68 Commissioner Storberg questioned if the Commission could utilize the League of Minnesota 69 Cities for assistance. 70 71 Commissioner Turcotte believed that City approval would be needed. 72 73 Commissioner Johnson stated that perhaps the League of Minnesota Cities could provide 74 assistance as long as the issue is not in conflict with the City. 75 76 Commissioner Timm stated that she suggested that option in the past. 77 78 Commissioner Damiani stated that the legal response bothers her because it seems that no matter 79 what the Commission does, the Council will not agree with what is proposed. She stated that it 80 does not appear that there are rights as residents. 81 82 Chair Sutherland stated that the Commission does have options to bring the issue to ballot as part 83 of the Charter. She stated that the Commission could clean up the language as suggested and 84 bring the proposal back to the Council, noting that if the Council still does not agree the issue 85 could move forward as a petition. She agreed that there would not be sufficient time to pursue 86 that option this year but noted that the work could still be done. 87 88 Charter Commission April 9, 2015 Page 3 3 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Timm, to approach the League 89 of Minnesota Cities to determine if they could offer assistance with the ward amendment 90 language and if so, proceed with their help. 91 92 Motion passed 7-0-2. (Turcotte and Sutherland abstained) 93 94 Commissioner Timm stated that she consulted with another attorney at her place of business, 95 Jennifer Urban, on another municipality issue. She stated that she is not aware of her rates but 96 would suggest pursuing that option should the League of Minnesota Cities not be able to assist. 97 98 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Lyden, to invite Jennifer Urban 99 to attend the July meeting to discuss her rates and possible representation of the Commission. 100 101 Motion passed 7-0-2. (Turcotte and Sutherland abstained) 102 103 Commissioner Turcotte stated that the original amendment should not have been held from the 104 ballot. 105 106 Commissioner Lyden believed that everyone on the Commission provides their own perspective 107 and puts a lot of work into this. He stated that ultimately it will come down to whether the 108 Council is willing to work with the Commission. 109 110 Chair Sutherland stated that residents do not understand that the Commission does not have 111 power and only has the authority to move things forward to the Council, who is then supposed to 112 move things forward as well which unfortunately is not happening. She stated that until the faces 113 on the Council change this is the position the Commission will be in. 114 115 Commissioner Damiani stated that she believed that the two groups were at one time working 116 together and questioned when that changed. 117 118 Chair Sutherland stated that in her opinion it seemed that the change occurred when the 119 originally proposed change to Chapter 8, went to ballot and failed. 120 121 Commissioner Timm stated that she is very disheartened that this situation will ever change. She 122 stated that her term expires at the end of the year and she will not be seeking reappointment. She 123 stated that when she speaks with people in other branches of government the thought they have is 124 that the Charter Commission is the issue, unless they are thoroughly aware of the situation. She 125 believed that the Commission should move an amendment forward to dissolve the Charter, 126 which will force the Council to operate in the open rather than placing blame on the Charter 127 Commission. 128 129 Commissioner Lyden left the meeting at 7:03 p.m. 130 131 Chair Sutherland stated that the Commission has had some great proposals, which the Council 132 has not allowed to move through to the citizens. She stated that the Commission has also been 133 Charter Commission April 9, 2015 Page 4 4 denied the request to educate the residents on the Charter, noting that the City is unwilling to 134 provide that education. 135 136 NEXT MEETING DATE 137 Chair Sutherland noted the next meeting date is Thursday, July 9, 2015. 138 139 ADJOURN 140 141 MOTION by Commissioner Bretoi, seconded by Commissioner Turcotte, to adjourn the meeting 142 at 7:18 p.m. 143 144 Motion failed 3-4-1. (Poehling, Bretoi, and Damiani voted in favor and Sutherland abstained) 145 146 Commissioner Storberg stated that the Commission has a difficult time getting a quorum in July 147 and suggested canceling that meeting. 148 149 MOTION by Commissioner Storberg, seconded by Commissioner Timm, to hold only two 150 meetings per year, in April and October. 151 152 MOTION by Commissioner Timm, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to amend the motion to 153 also hold a January meeting on years when new Commissioners are appointed. 154 155 Further discussion: Chair Sutherland read language from the bylaws that state that four meetings 156 should be held in January, April, July and October. 157 158 The amendment failed unanimously. 159 160 The original motion failed 1-7-1. (Storberg voted in favor and Sutherland abstained) 161 162 MOTION by Commissioner Timm, seconded by Commissioner Johnson, to make an exception 163 to the bylaws and schedule the next regular meeting of the Commission to the second Thursday 164 of October. 165 166 Motion passed unanimously. 167 168 Chair Sutherland noted that the next regular meeting will then take place on October 8, 2015 at 169 6:30 p.m. 170 171 Michael Manthey commended the Charter Commission for their efforts and stated that he does 172 attend the Council meetings and work sessions. He stated there are other residents that are 173 opposed to the City Council and will be running against them. He stated that while the Council 174 may put restrictions on funding, the Commission members can still speak with their neighbors 175 and other residents in the community. 176 177 Charter Commission April 9, 2015 Page 5 5 MOTION by Commissioner Timm, seconded by Commissioner Damiani, to adjourn the meeting 178 at 7:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. 179 180 Drafted by: Amanda Staple, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 181