Laserfiche WebLink
Mounds View City Council May 28, 2024 <br />Regular Meeting Page 4 <br /> <br />that would be held at the Community Center on Saturday, June 22. She stated there would be <br />music, bounce houses and ice cream for all in attendance. <br />Andre Koen, 7951 Greenwood Drive, stated he was proud of the community for stepping up and <br />recognizing that all histories matter and that all people are connected. He appreciated the fact that <br />Juneteenth would be celebrated in a celebratory manner. He was excited about the direction this <br />event was going. He appreciated all of the wonderful and amazing things that were occurring in <br />the community. He encouraged the public to stay tuned for future community conversations. He <br />stated the tag line for the Community Engagement Committee would be “Welcome. Home.” He <br />indicated the goal would be to inform the community that this was a welcoming community that <br />was home. <br /> <br />C. Charter Commission council vacancy discussion – Council Member <br />Meehlhause & Administrator Zikmund. <br /> <br />City Administrator Zikmund reported the Charter Commission met last Tuesday and discussed if <br />there was an issue in the past year with not having five Councilmembers in place. He stated the <br />city attorney staffing the meeting could not come up with any concrete examples. <br /> <br />Acting Mayor Meehlhause indicated he brought this issue up to the Charter Commission back in <br />November. He stated the City Council operated for one year with four councilmembers. He <br />thought a lot about this situation and statutory cities are allowed to make temporary appointments, <br />if or when a vacancy occurs. He reported the City Charter requires that a special election be held <br />if a vacant position has more than 365 days left remaining on the term. He explained the Charter <br />Commission discussed this requirement for quite some time, but in the end recommended the <br />requirement remain as is. He was of the opinion some sort of temporary succession plan should be <br />put in place within the City Charter. He suggested the first person to be asked to serve in the <br />vacant role be the chair of the Charter Commission, then the chair of the Planning Commission, <br />the chair of the PTRC and then the vice chair of the Charter Commission. He stated the Charter <br />Commission was interested in hearing feedback from the Council on this proposal. <br /> <br />City Administrator Zikmund explained the Charter could state the Council determines the <br />succession plan. <br /> <br />Mayor Lindstrom indicated he thought about this and his only real concern was with the incumbent <br />advantage, if appointed to the seat. He commented he did like the idea of succession planning. He <br />did not believe it was appropriate to ask someone to not run for office, if appointed. He supported <br />the City pursuing some sort of succession plan with chairs of committees being appointed in the <br />event of a future vacancy. He was open to moving beyond the Charter Commission if need be. <br /> <br />Council Member Cermak supported the City having an order of succession in place. She indicated <br />she was uncertain if this should be commission chairs. She stated she would have to think on this <br />further, but she understood the Council had a tough time over the past year with only four <br />members. <br />