June 10 Draft Letter_to_Judge_regarding_Charter_Commission

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of Chair Reyes-Johnson and the pending resignations of two more Commission members, the Commission will once again revert to times past. Included with this correspondence is the unapproved minutes of the most recent Commission meeting; however, if so inclined, the video is available on the City’s web page at https://webstreaming.ctv15 .org/viewer.php?streamid=3589. The video arguably provides a more descriptive display of body language, voice modulation, and inflection of Commission members. The combination of this Commission membership turnover, when combined with a focus on minutia, extreme formality, and substantive resistance to change/suggestions by Mr. Amundsen and Mr. Thomas, as well as repeated rejection of City Attorney advice, has/will have a compound negative impact. Attached is a document illustrating the current Commission membership revealing most members abundant with minimal service. Effective public policy adoption and Charter updates simply fail as meetings are monopolized by reliving the previous Commission meetings. By way of example, the annual reports submitted to the Court pursuant to Minnesota Statutes reveal that the Commission spent 8-plus years (69 meetings) discussing issues related to revising Chapter 8 of the Charter. The attached flow chart produced by the Commission for Chapter 8 illustrates both the minutia as well as the failure to create a Charter that is simple to read and easy to understand. Similarly, but less egregious, was the recent Commission task of reviewing Chapter 4 of the Charter (special election if a vacancy occurs) which traversed an 18-plus month journey (this review and proposed language revision is ongoing). In both cases, Council had advocated for a “simplification” of Charter language as a component of the Commission’s work product. The dysfunction of the Charter Commission for more than a decade continues to prohibit the Council and the City from realizing the necessary contributions of the Commission and the willing members that have stepped forward to serve the community. The Council’s analysis, observations, review and discussions lead it to the unfortunate but necessary conclusion that the removal of Mr. Amundsen and Mr. Thomas is necessary for the success of the Commission and the City. The consequences of failing to take this action will result in a continuation of past Commission practice and dysfunction. The most recent events involving the Commission provide extreme clarity on this point. The situation if further exacerbated as both Mr. Amundsen and Mr. Thomas have stated to City Administrator Zikmund that he has “hidden or ulterior” motives with the former vowing to watch his every move and the latter stating it was Zikmund who was trying to “take over all things in City Government.” Thus, in conjunction with the indifference towards advice from the City Attorney (who is council to the Commission) the relationship with City Staff is something less than desirable. In closing, the Mounds View City Council has minimal desire to cast deleterious aspersions on two long serving individuals in the community and prefers to focus on the viability of a functioning Charter Commission body. The City’s Planning and Zoning Commission, Parks, Recreation and Forestry Commission, and Economic Development Commission all operate with stability, a high degree of functionality and productivity. This is critical to good government and policy making. Attached to this correspondence please find the following: Email from Mr. Amundsen to Commission Members and City Staff with Mr. Amundsen giving clear direction to City Staff. Mr. Amundsen has not authority or permission to direct city staff.