City of Mounds View Letter Brief August 12 2019

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The Honorable Chief Judge John H. Guthmann August 12, 2019 Page 3 on the way the Commission presently operates and its overall ineffectiveness. Because of these difficulties, Mr. Meehlhause indicated that he will forego any additional recruiting efforts if Mr. Amundsen remains on the Commission. Based on the evidence presented through the City's witnesses, the materials contained in the City's Petition and the historical public records related to the Commission's activity, it is readily apparent that the Commission is unable to effectively operate with Mr. Amundsen as a member. The ongoing dysfunction of the Commission and its longstanding failure to be productive has done the residents of Mounds View a substantial disservice. Mr. Amundsen's conduct at meetings, as described and detailed throughout these proceedings, creates an inherent inability by the Commission to fulfill its intended purpose and his removal is therefore warranted. b) The Commission cannot function with less than nine members, a number that will be difficult to achieve if Mr. Amundsen is not relieved of his membership. Finally, during the Hearing, Mr. Amundsen repeatedly inquired about not only the Commission's quorum requirements, but also its ability to operate without a full complement of nine members, a number that was previously set by the Court pursuant to its appointments to the Commission. Presumably, Mr. Amundsen is imploring the Court to place little emphasis on maintaining a full Commission when determining whether he should be removed. The City views these issues as red herrings and mostly insignificant to the issue presently before the Court, though they do warrant some discussion. Although the Commission's bylaws provide that "[t]he Commission is composed of up to and including nine (9) members," state law expressly provides that "[t]he commission shall be composed of not less than seven nor more than 15 members" and, unless specified in the city's charter, "[t]he size of the commission shall be determined within the above limits by the court. ,3 The Mounds View City Charter is silent with respect to Commission membership 4, however, membership has been established by the Court at nine members by way of its recent appointment history. Accordingly, the statutory language above makes clear that (1) the Commission expressly lacks the authority to dictate its size through its bylaws; and (2) the Commission requires no fewer than nine members or, in any event, seven members should a reduced number of Commission members be established pursuant to State laws, to function. The statutorily established requirements make sense, especially when considering a charter commission's important function of proposing amendments. This process demands substantial participation by numerous representatives of the 3 Minn. Stat. § 410.05, subd. 1 (emphasis added). a Id. (which expressly requires no fewer than seven members even when dictated by charter). 5 Id. 605223v4MU210-271