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Mounds View City Council January 24, 2000 Regular Meeting Page 8 courage to make those things that are wrong, right. He presented the Council with a written statement which he had prepared for consideration, and read the statement as follows: "A week before the January 13th meeting of the Mounds View Charter Commission, I learned that meeting had been changed to a place outside of City Hall. I called a Charter Commissioner to verify whether the customary City Hall meeting place had, in fact, been changed. I was assured the meeting place had not been changed, on the basis of what that Commissioner knew at the time. I arrived at City Hall about 6:45 p.m., on January 13th, intending to observe Charter Commission proceedings, only to find City Hall dark and locked. There was no notice regarding any change in the meeting place posted on the front door. I mentioned to the Charter Commission Secretary, who was also waiting outside City Hall, what I had heard, and wondered if it weren't true, after all. By checking the informational packet she had in her briefcase, we discovered that the meeting had been changed to another location, something she hadn't noticed before. When we finally located the Charter Commission ready to call to order in a side room of a local pub, I was both offended and outraged. This change from the customary meeting place had been ordered by the Charter Commission Chairperson, who took full responsibility, with explanation added. What I found particularly troublesome was that two Charter Commissioners justified their own consent to meeting away from City Hall by publicly charging this City Council with past actions of like kind. Quote: "The City Council does this all the time, making decisions in secret away from City Hall." Ordinarily, I take such statements in spontaneous debate to be basically well • meaning human error devoid of critical malice. But in this instance, the condemnation came from two court-appointed officers of the Charter Commission. This City Council represents the citizens of Mounds View, and any loss of trust by this elected body, unfortunately, has an insidious way of negatively reflecting upon the very people you have sworn to honorably serve. I don't think it is overly dramatic at this time, to take some advise from Shakespeare's Othello, where Iago proclaimed ...Good name in man and woman, dear my lord, Is the immediate jewel of their souls: Who steals m~purse steals trash; `tis something, nothing; `Twas mine, `tis his, and has been slave to thousands: But he that filches from me my good name Robs me of that which not enriches him And makes me poor indeed. This City Council is being robbed of your good name. Also, experience has it that negative reflections on your membership oftentimes brands our larger community as well. I am petitioning this City Council to meet your responsibilities under Sec. 2.08 of the City Charter. Investigation of City Affairs. "The Council may make investigations into the affairs of the city and the conduct of anY city department, office or ag_ency and for this purpose may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony, and require the production of evidence." • I do not believe public accusations like those I mention here can be swept under the rug, because they were made behind the scenes when the citizenry's ability to observe first hand was in effect curtailed. This isn't an off the cuff closed club winking situation. I clearly heard a public charge of violations to the open meeting law by this council. I hold that must be either proven an appropriately correct, or disproved and put to rest on behalf of the citizens of Mounds View."