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July 11, 2019 Brandon Clawson, Acting Chair Charter Commission Charter Commission Members Re: Council Action and Expectations Acting Chair Clawson: On behalf of the City Council I want to share with you our recent actions and expectations. The genesis for this communication, unfortunately, is the abrupt resignation of Marissa Reyes-Johnson as a member and Chair. Since the May 21, 2019 Charter Commission meeting and her resignation shortly after the conclusion of that, much has happened. The purpose of this letter is to detail what we have done, what actions we have taken, and our hope/expectation for the future. After the resignation of Chair Reyes-Johnson council discussed the situation at their June 4, 2019 workshop and followed that with more discussion at the June 11, 2019 council meeting during which members of the public were allowed to provide comment and advice. Subsequently, meetings were held with 5 commission members with some members of the council and or the City Administrator. Finally, the council discussed the issue again at their July 1, 2019 workshop and by unanimous consensus, directed staff to draft a letter to send Judge John Guthman requesting that Commissioner Amundsen be removed from the Commission for cause. Additionally, council had discussion on two other specific issues; Mr. Thomas serving in any officer position and council expectations on role of the Charter Commission with a focus on drafting of language. Commissioner Thomas stated during his meeting with the Council members and Administrator Zikmund that he had no desire to serve in any officer position and council supports that. Furthermore, it is the Councils position that the City Attorney should be the primary agent for crafting charter language which is then reviewed and amended by the Commission and Council working together for the betterment of the Community. Like our other commissions, Commission members and meetings should focus the majority of their time on the policy discussion and leave the ministerial duty of crafting the language to qualified experts. In closing, the Council took this unprecedented move based on what occurred at the May 21, 2019 meeting and more importantly, the realized and probable resignations that did or likely will occur following that event. In making their decision, Council reviewed historical documentation, discussed issue at two workshops and one council meeting, and held meetings with 5 of the commission members prior to taking the action they have. If the Judge acts on the request, in conjunction with Mr. Thomas’s stated desire to serve as a commissioner sans any leadership position, the Commission has the ability within itself to establish new leadership and embark forward in the manner they wish. We believe a focus on policy versus formality