June 10 Draft Letter_to_Judge_regarding_Charter_Commission

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DRAFT June ___, 2019 The Honorable John H. Guthmann Chief Judge Second Judicial District Room 1470 Ramsey County Courthouse 15 Kellogg Boulevard West St. Paul, MN 55102 Re: Mounds View Charter Commission Membership Your Honor: The Mounds View City Council (the “Council”) by unanimous decision has directed me to request your help in considering the removal of Mr. Brian Amundsen and Mr. Jonathan Thomas from the Mounds View Charter Commission (the “Commission”) effective immediately. The terms of Mr. Amundsen and Mr. Thomas expire October 1, 2020. The Council’s unprecedented request is based on a substantive effort over the past 16 months to achieve a full complement of Commission members in order for the Commission to address a number of issues and concerns involving the Mounds View City Charter (the “Charter”). Unfortunately, finally achieving a full complement of the Commission in January of this year, following the most recent Charter Commission meeting on May 21, 2019, the City received an abrupt resignation from the chair of the Commission and has notice from two more of the new members that their resignations are forthcoming as well. The Council has reviewed historical data, emails, legal opinions, and the May 21, 2019 Commission meeting and subsequently discussed the situation for over an hour at its June 4, 2019 Council workshop. Based on that review and discussion, the Council unanimously concluded that absent a removal of the two individuals detailed, the City and Commission will continue on a path of high turnover resulting in a continuation of a dysfunctional Commission. While possibly well-intended, the conduct and behaviors of Mr. Amundsen and Mr. Thomas have indisputably resulted in individual after individual leaving the Commission, with the result being that full Commission membership and quorums being unobtainable. The attached data details that reductions in Commission membership, via a change in the Commission’s bylaws, from 15 to 11 members in 2003 was insufficient to achieve a full complement for the Commission and a quorum. Similarly, from 2004 through 2016, a full Commission and quorum were seldom achieved, with the years of 2014, 2015, and 2016 exemplifying the situation, as out of 11 required Commission members, only 3 members remained. In the fall of 2016, two more Commission members were added bringing the total to 5. In 2017, the Commission again changed its bylaws further reducing its membership from 11 to 9 members. Through extensive efforts by Council and City staff, the Commission achieved 8 members at the end of 2018. In January of 2019, the Commission achieved a full complement of members, and for the first time in more than a decade, had a full Commission present for its 2019 meetings. Unfortunately, with the resignation