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Mounds View City Council February 18, 2022 Special Meeting Page 2 a just method this could have easily been looked at as a petition was presented, did it represent the citizens, it did represent the citizens and had the necessary signatures. In justice, the Council can accept this petition. Although the attorney did not give this as an option, the Council can say the petition was received and is sufficient, and will move this issue to the general election so there is no further cost related to the subject. This would allow the voters weigh in on, this or is this not an appropriate language change to the charter. He asked for this justice, and the 500 signatures ask for this same justice. That they be allowed to provide input on this question of the levy taxation limit. Valerie Amundsen, 3048 Woodale Drive, thanked all of the people that were on the Zoom call, the attorney, the press and all of the residents that care that are watching. She stated this petition is about justice, like Brian just said and it was a big deal for all residents. She indicated this was not her petition. She reminded the Council that this was not her and Brian’s petition. Rather, as Brian said, she was representing the community. She explained she got 500 signatures in three weeks and she could have gotten many, many more. She stated she was being respectful of the fact that it turned cold and wanted to care for the people walking the petition. She reported justice needs to be served here folks. There were technicalities that they (the Council) were playing into and the Council was not listening to the will of the people but were looking for a way to dispute what was submitted. She indicated there were so many things in the letter that were submitted in the packet today that were just plain wrong. One of the things noted was that Ramsey County provides guidance to potential petitioners and you said there was evidence of extensive interaction with us and them. That was all done after you found the petition deficient, you referred us to Ramsey County. We had been in touch with City staff right from the get go in the middle of December, asking the City for guidance on how to prepare the petition so it would meet all of the requirements. She asked so many questions through emails and finally saying what else do we need to do, and she was referred to statutes. She was never referred to the County or the supposed rules that the City has in place. It was never provided and it should have been. She encouraged the Council to keep in mind City staff should work for the citizens as well as the Council. She stated she was never given the proper guidance. In the packet today, it says we had been in constant contact with the Secretary of State. The only reason she contacted them was to find out how to get the list of registered voters so she could go to the list and make sure all of the people that signed were registered voters. When she contacted them, they never ever, even though your statement says that they always tell people about the rules, it was never mentioned to us. She indicated they simply told us there was 7,623 registered voters so she could calculate the 5%. Lastly, when she has been asking for information about the number of signatures required, she has been denied that information. Andrea Shoup, 8330 Groveland Road, shared her frustrations with regard to the petition. She stated using the words of the Council, you must follow the letter of the law and we know the letter of the law was not followed with regard to Statute 410.12 which states within one month of receiving a recommendation the City must publish a public hearing, which must contain the text of the proposed amendment and not sooner than two weeks and not later than 30 days. That public hearing was held 34 days after the publishing date. She can’t help but feel there is a higher expectation with regard to following policy and law for community members than it is for some of our elected officials. She contended that if concessions can be made with meeting dates and not providing timely follow up with requests for the number of signatures that are needed then surely