Agenda Packets - 2019/06/24 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Mounds View City Council June 10, 2019 Regular Meeting Page 4 1 Charter members. He noted the Council was very careful not to mention names. He was of the 2 opinion that the actions of Jonathan Thomas do not warrant a character assassination of a man 3 that has an otherwise good reputation. 4 5 Barbara Smith, 2090 Burke Avenue in North St. Paul, stated Jonathan Thomas was her father. 6 She stated she was not hear to speak to the character of her father because he had enough people 7 in attendance to speak to that. She reported she was a member of a small, select group that has 8 served as a Councilmember and on the Charter Commission. Rather, she directed her comments 9 to the Council and noted the Charter Commission was a separate body for a reason. She noted 10 there has been contention between the City Council and the Charter Commission for years. She 1 1 encouraged the Council to be civil and to handle matters professionally. She stated she believed 12 in the work being done by the Charter Commission even though she no longer lives in the 13 community. She encouraged the City Council to not lose the value of the Charter Commission 14 but rather to work together for the betterment of the community. 15 16 Jerry Peterson, 8125 Red Oak Drive, stated he has been on the Charter Commission for just over 17 four years. He explained during this time he has not seen the type of behavior that was falsely 18 accused by the City Council at their June Yd worksession meeting. He wondered where the 19 Council got this information. He stated he was shocked by the Council's behavior at the June 3rd 20 worksession meeting. He indicated each Councilmember made false statements about the 21 Charter Commission members. He commented on a report that was provided to the Council at 22 the worksession meeting and requested this report be provided to the public. He stated the work 23 on the Charter Commission was tedious and somewhat boring. He feared the Council had 24 created such a hostile environment that residents would not want to serve on the Charter 25 Commission. He questioned why the Council had violated their own code of ethics and stated he 26 looked forward to receiving a report from City staff. 27 28 Wudnesh Gelett Etaffa, 8106 Groveland Road, stated she lived three houses down from Jonathan 29 Thomas's home. She explained she bought her home in 1997. She discussed her experiences 30 with Jonathan over the years and stated he was a man of high integrity that was always willing to 31 help his friends and neighbors. She stated she was a Christian that moved to the United States 32 from Ethiopia. She indicated she has never seen a person walking the Word of God like 33 Jonathan Thomas. 34 35 Barbara Haake, 3024 County Road I, stated she has lived in Mounds View for the past 53 years. 36 She explained she watched the May 21St Charter Commission meeting, along with the June 3rd 37 Council worksession. She indicated she did not see anything that was disrespectful but noted the 38 respect of the Mounds View citizens still had to be taken into consideration. She questioned why 39 this was being brought out in such a public forum. She stated it may have been better for the 40 Council to discuss the issues directly with Jonathan Thomas and Brian Amundsen, versus the 41 manner in which the Council proceeded. She feared if the Council had some other ulterior 42 motive. She explained she appreciated the City's Charter and the work that had been done by 43 Mr. Thomas and Mr. Amundsen. 44