08-03-93 CCM - Laserfiche WebLink

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LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES AUGUST 3, 1993 Several problems now arise: As already stated, this meeting was called by the Mayor specifically to discuss the city's strategy in opposition to House File 220.." There was no motion to change the agenda to include discussion of any senate action. The minutes of this 3:15 p.m. meeting, attended by Mayor John, Council persons Conlin and Johnson, City Administrator Mary Kueffner, City Attorney Jerry Filla and Representative Pam Neary, go into unusual detail for a special meeting taking almost two full pages, but not once was there any mention of a senate file or any senate action. Now at least four months later we are told that something as significant as three council members amending a resolution passed three days earlier at a regular meeting by five council members is not important enough to warrant even one line of reporting in the minutes. Further at the next regular meeting the minutes of February 19, 1993 meeting were approved with no revision to include the senate file discussion. The very last entry in these minutes was a statement by Representative Pam Neary referring to House File 220.."The next step is to hear the bill on the floor and the final step is to put it in front of the Senate." I called Representative Neary and asked if she recalled any discussion or even any mention of a Senate File at the meeting of February 19, 1993 and she said three times during our conversation that it never came up at any time while she was there and that Senator Price said that he would inform her when he planned to introduce it. I reiterated that her comments constituted the last entry in the minutes of that meeting. Of great importance is the fact that we have three references to Senate File #491 (by number) in the amended Resolution 93-10, which we are not told was passed not on March 19, but on February 19, 1993. This could not possibly have happened because on February 19, 1993 there was no Senate File #491 There was no Senate File #491 until it was introduced into the Senate six days later on February 25. The secretary in the Senate office also stated that no one would know the exact number of that as any other bill until the day it was introduced in the Senate. In addition when I talked with Senator Price's secretary I was told that Senator Price had scheduled this bill's first committee hearing for March 10. He withdrew it and rescheduled for March 25, 1993. So on February 19 we would not have known what bill to oppose nor when to file our opposition. There are other facts in my file that aided in my coming to the conclusion that it was not possible for the Lake Elmo City Council to take any action regarding Senate File #491 on February 19, 1993, but I believe for now enough has been said and I've made my case. I truly believe that the action to amend Resolution 93-10 was accomplished by a telephone vote in March (possibly the 1 Bth or 19th) and did not occur during a scheduled or a special meeting of the City Council. I request that this entire statement be included as part of the minutes of this meeting, not as an addendum but in order.)