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did also indicate that I could think of a scenario where the Council could <br />operate as a 4 member Council for 5 to 6 months because of the State <br />Legislature's decision to define only specific months for holding a special <br />election. <br />The Mounds View City Council has been officially operating as a 4 person <br />Council since May 20t' and in reality since April Is'when Mayor Hull began <br />his chemo treatments as the last City Council meeting he officially led was the <br />second meeting in March. Thus, the Council has operated as a 4 person <br />Council for 7 months. <br />With Council member Lindstrom's election to Mayor on November 7t'', the <br />Council will continue to act as a 4 person Council until next April's special <br />election to fill the remainder of Mayor Lindstrom's council term. Thus, the <br />Council will have operated as a 4 person Council for one year. <br />A 4 person Council obviously can work, but it is not an ideal scenario <br />particularly when it becomes 5 or more months. Major decisions can be <br />decided by the opposition of 2 votes rather than 3 votes for or against. I will <br />also tell you there are other items that are not time sensitive that the current 4 <br />person Council has chosen to table until there is a 5 person Council. I <br />personally recommended tabling one item I am opposed to because I wanted it <br />to either pass or fail on a 3 — 2 vote rather than fail with 2 votes which was the <br />likely outcome. <br />There is another scenario that could happen with full recognition that the <br />odds of it occurring is remote. With the current 4 person Council, there is no <br />current solution provided by the City Charter in the event not one but two <br />additional seats became unexpectedly vacant. <br />I know City Attorney Joe Sathe has provided a memo to the Commission <br />related to Council vacancies, and thus I won't elaborate any further in that <br />regard. <br />As a further addendum, since I made this presentation to the Charter <br />Commission, the 4 person Council had to operate as a 3 person Council for at <br />least one if not two meetings when Council Member Gunn was away for <br />personal reasons dealing with her father's declining health and ultimate <br />passing. This scenario creates an additional challenge as all votes have to be <br />2 <br />