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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetters and Memos 0°.No�j ! ST_9Tr yr MINNESOTA DISTRIC'L' :,OIJR SECOND DISTPICT 4,175 • RONALD E.HACH EY,JUDGE 1421 COURTHOUSE ST.PAUL,MINNESOTA 55102 June 16, 1978 Mayor and Members of the ' City Council of Mounds View " 11'`�� 2401 Highway 10 ' r\CL Mounds View, Minnesota 55112 I Ms. Delores Knaak 3515 Jerry Street White Bear Lake, Minnesota 55110 Mr. Howard Neisen 5150 Irondale Road Mounds View, Minnesota 55112 League of Women Voters of Minnesota 555 Wabasha St. Paul, Minnesota 55101 County Commissioner Robert Orth City and County Court House St. Paul, Minnesota 55102 I have been presented a petition to appoint the membership of a Charter Commission for the City of Mounds View, Minnesota. The petition is brought pursuant to M.S.A. 410.05. The number of registered voters casting ballots in the last gen- eral election, in Mounds View, was 7,609. The required number of voters ' signatures to petition for a Home Rule Charter Commis- sion under M.S.A. 410.05, is ten percent of the total voters at the last election, which in this case is 761. I have been pre- sented with the petition signed by 889 individuals who are shown as registered voters at the last election, November 2, 1976. All of said petitioners have been verified as having voted at the last general election by Dorothy Sandgren, Deputy City Clerk, Mounds View. I am of the opinion that the petition is in all things proper and pursuant to Law. I have also been presented with the names of 15 persons, who reside in Mounds View, and who are willing to serve as members of the Charter Commission. Each of the 15 has indicated a willingness June 16, 1978 Page 2 to serve on the Commission, if appointed. Before making appointments to the Charter Commission as provided by statute, it would be my desire to publicize the fact that a Commission will be appointed, and to give other interested persons who reside in Mounds View the opportunity of indicating their will- ingness to serve on a Charter Commission. I am, therefore, direct- ing this communication to all of the above named, with an invitation to publicize the fact that a Charter Commission will be appointed, and that the Court will be interested in receiving additional names of individuals who might be willing to serve. It is my intention to appoint 15 members to the Charter Commission. Pursuant to statute, eight will be appointed for two year terms and seven for four year terms. I shall give all interested organizations and individuals, until July 31, 1978, the opportunity to communicate to me concerning possible appointments among the registered voters of Mounds View. Shortly thereafter I shall make the official appointments by letter, having first been assured of the willingness to serve if appointed. Very truly yours, Ronald E. Hachey Chief Judge District Court cc: St. Paul Dispatch Sun Newspaper District Court Judges F 1� E Petition for Appointment of Charter Commission ', PETITION TO THE JUDGES OF THE DISTRICT COURT FOR APPOINTMENT OF A HOME RULE CHARTER COMMISSION FOR THE CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW, MINNESOTA To the Honorable Judges of the District Court For The Second Judicial District: In conjunction with the attached petition we respectfully submit the following names of qualified residents, for the courts consideration, to serve as charter commissioners. 1 . Duane W. McCarty 8060 Long Lake Rd. Mounds View Mn. 55432 ,--2. Willard C. Doty 3049 Bronson Dr. rr rr rr rr -3. Milan Illig 2809 County Rd. H ►� ri rr rr —4. William Werner Sr. 2765 Sherwood Rd. " Naja Werner 2765 Sherwood Rd. r, n It rr ..-6. David Coffey 2757 Hillview Rd. " " " 11 -7« Shirley Buntrock 8045 Greenwood Dr. " " _4-8. Charlotte Forslund 7886 Sunnyside Rd. " If " ._9. Lowell D. Nygaard 2214 Lambert Av. Mounds View Mn. 55112 10. Glenn E. Westerheim 2286 Bronson Dr. Mounds View Mn. 55112 --11 . Virgil D. Beyer 2748 County Rd. J Mounds View Mn. 55432 X12. John J. Curry 5391 Clifton Dr. Mounds View Mn. 55112 ' 13. Robert Bartkus 7749 Woodlawn Dr. Mounds View Mn. 55432 —14. Ruth J. White 2917 County Rd. I If If II " -15. Walter Skiba 7841 Long Lake Rd. " " The aforementioned have given their consent to serve as charter commissioners. spectfully Submitted, id., 7-Pte=0_,.azt Duane W. McCarty - 8060 Long Lake Rd. Mounds View Mn. 55432 Petition Chairman 6-(4,tystt.L,240 0 scsrakt til fD y KA 14 .�, CUNDY r< Y coo 4rY ti` -�:,r •, ;40Ft C L)G-MI J USJOTA tssi J 7;192 cc: City of Mounds View Attorney Meyers Jim Nagel , St Paul Dispatch 2562 Ridge Lane Mounds View, Minnesota 55112 October 14th, 1978 Honorable Judge Hachey Ramsey County District Court House 1421 Court House St. Paul , Minnesota 55102 Dear Judge Hachey: On October 11th, I spoke with you about my concern of the method of selection for the Mounds View Home Rule Charter Commission. You indicated a random selection of names from those submitted was used and that you used a screening process, but did not elaborate. My concern since Wednesday has been further intensified after learning that Mrs . Abbott, Mrs. Roth, and Mr. Wills had no idea they were even being considered as they had not submitted their names to you or to any other individual in regard to the consideration for commission members. The first they received this information was when they opened the letter from your office. Obviously you and your staff saw no need to contact all of the persons for interviews or verification before making your final determination as neither Mrs. Ziebarth nor Mr. Notaro were not contacted by yourself or staff either. (they were aware that their names had been submitted however) Mr. Notaro to date has still only heard of his selection from the list Mr. McCarty had at the October 10th Council meeting. It seems that the selection of a Home Rule Charter Commission is a matter for serious and careful examination considering that the process is begun by only 10% of those voting at the last general election, but will affect the entire population of 13,000 plus residents. Many of these residents do not understand this complex change of government structure and have been subjected to a multitude of theories, time lines, and possible solutions. It bothers me to think that appointments can be made without any prior knowledge about individuals , their philosophy, concerns, and knowledge of the charter process and I would hope and urge you to strongly to consider this list again and should vacancies occur be more thorough in your pre-investigation. Sj.n_ erely, //�� Ju y Rowley f Mounds View Councilmember tOI �• .fM MEMORANDUMt16111 TO: The Honorable John Pickar, Mayor of Mounds View Members of the City Council, Mounds View League of Women Voters Appointees, Mounds View Charter Commission Those persons who have written to the Court since the appointment of the Charter Member Commission Members #..-Citizens of the City of Mounds View SUBJECT: Method of Selection of Members of Mounds View Charter Com- mission Minnesota Statutes 410. 05, et seq. , provide that a charter commission shall be appointed upon presentation of a petition, signed by at least ten percent of the voters of the City, as shown by the return of the last regular city election, or upon resolution of the governoring body of the City requesting such action. The District Court, acting through its Chief Judge, shall appoint not less than seven nor more than fifteen persons to the commission. On or about the 10th of June, 1978 , a petition was presented to the Court for appointment of a fifteen member charter commission for the City of Mounds View. The petition purported to be signed by more than ten percent of the voters, registered as voting in the last general election. When the governing body or the petition specifies the size of the commission, the Court shall appoint the number in the resolution or petition, (M.S. 410. 05) . Upon receipt of the petition, it was noted that the names contained therein, had not been properly certified as registered voters at the last election. The Court sug- gested that the list of voters be certified by the City Clerk of Mounds View as to bonified residences and proper registration of each of those registered or listed on the petition. The certification was promptly attended to and returned to the Court. For the benefit of the Mounds View citizens, the Court proceeded to publicize the fact that the appointment of a Charter Commission had been requested, and in all probability would be appointed. The responsive interest among Mounds View citizens was encouraging. Individuals wrote personal letters to the Court. Some included a personal resume. Several were recommended by the City Council of Mounds View. The matter was advertized to the Board of County Commissioners and one member thereof recommended several persons. One of the District Court Judges submitted the names of two persons. In all , a total of more than 75 people were recommended or had indicated a desire to serve. I concluded that the matter had been adequately publicized. The Chief Judge shall make the appointments, (M.S. 410. 05) . The list of applicants however, was distributed among all members of the District Court. Each Judge was requested to make recommendations for appointment. It was unanimously agreed that personal interviews of all applicants would not be possible. Attention was given to the information furnished in writing, personal acquaintances, if any, and recommendations of different organizations. Consideration was also given to diverse occupations , past interest in civic endeavors and programs, sex membership and locations of residences. It was agreed that special consideration be given to the original petitioners, fifteen in number. They had initiated the movement, went door to door for signatures of registered voters and petitioned the Court to ap- point the commission. After due consideration the following were appointed as Members of the Commission : seven of the original petitioners of -2- fifteen, Milan Illig, Lowell Nygaard, William Werner, Sr. , Ruth J. White, Willard C. Doty, Duane McCarty, and Walter Skiba; two who had done extensive work with the Citizens Storm Sewer Advisory Task Force as sub committee chairpersons, Blanche Abbott, and Cathy Roth; and two who were recommended by the Mounds View City Council and County Commissioner Orth, Dave Notaro and Carol Ziebarth. Two additional persons at large were selected who had served as members of the Citizens Storm Sewer Advisory Task Force, Richard Lykke and James Wills. The remaining two were taken from the citizenry at large, Curtis Schmidt and Neil Loeding. In the Court' s opinion, all of the foregoing 15 appoint- ees seemed well qualified and appear to be a cross section represent- ative group of the citizenry of the City of Mounds View. The Court is of the further opinion that the appointments were made pursuant to law, _and, in all things , proper. Since the initial appointment of the Members of the Charter Commission, the Court has been made aware of political overtones among appointees, Members of the Council and other individuals and groups of individuals. This is not an uncommon experience in matters of this import. I do not intend to sit in judgment on those issues as it relates to my selection of Members of the Charter Commission. I have received several letters since the appointment of the Commission. Some commend me for the. manner in which the matter was . handled and are pleased with the Members of the Commission. Others are severely critical. Some have requested that I vacate the initial order, and do it over again. I shall not comply with that request. I respect the rights of individuals to criticize, but I must give the -3- matter finality. It will not be accomplished by vacating the init- ial order and making new appointments . So far, not all appointees have accepted. Possibly, the Court will be compelled to fill three or four places at the end of the initial 30-day period. Again, I shall not give consideration to politically inspired requests or criticisms. I remind those who are appointed to the Charter Commission to direct their activities toward recommendations of a good govern- ment system for the citizens of Mounds View. Their responsibility shall not include the matter of running the City Council or Mounds View, nor attempting to obstruct their endeavors in running the affairs of the City. All recommendations of the Charter Commission must be accepted or rejected by the voters of the City. This memorandum is being mailed to all of those who have communicated with the Court. Consequently, I shall not attempt to individually answer each communication. Ronald E. Hachey Chief Judge Second Judicial District DATED: October Z>, 1978 • -4- MEMO TO: City Council FROM: City Administrator DATE : October 10 , 1978 RE: Charter commission I received a phone call today from Jim Nagel , St. Paul Dispatch, indicating that he had received a letter dated October 5 , 1978 , from Judge Hachey, Chief Judge of the Second District Court of Minnesota, listing the names and terms of appointees to the City of Mounds View Charter Commission. The appointments are effective November 1 , 1978 . Appointees have 30 days in which to take their oath of office before the Clerk of Court, otherwise the Judge will replace them. Seven citizens are appointed to four year terms and eight citizens to two year terms as follows : 2 years 4 years Milan Illig Willard Doty Lowell Nygaard Neil Loeding William Werner, Sr. Duane McCarty Ruth White Walter Skiba Dave Notaro Carol Ziebarth Blanche Abbott Curtis Schmidt Richard Lykke Cathy Roth James Wells If' f MGP l�sk1 �, 5 �� iii ; Sf ;„,s,(�(� " ''--..�/ I 3024 County Road I. 4��t� � � i �`' 9 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55432 tO ?� r�Q (.-- I October 11, 1978 Judge Ronald Hachey Ramsey County District Court Office 1421 Court House St. Paul, Minnesota 55102 Dear Judge Hachey: I am sure you have spoken to many people about the appointments to the Mounds View Charter Commission since it became general knowledge October 10th at a Mounds View City Council meeting. I am also sure you are aware of what precipitated the petition to create a Charter Commission in Mounds View - if not, I want to reiterate it briefly for you. It was in opposition to a storm sewer proposal. An opposition group was organized and succeeded to defeat the $61 million proposal with' a City Council's 3-2 vote. Still unsatisfied, the group wanted a Recall option for the City to penalize the two who voted in favor of the proposal and a Referandum to prevent,`in the future, the Coucil having such authority to approve an unfavorable taxation or any other unfavorable decision they did not like. The petition for a Charter was birthedfrom such a narrow, tunnel line of vision - with no conception of its complexities. Fifteen people from this single minded group, plus more, submitted their names for consideration to the Charter Commission - 13 of whom were appointed. Some of these same people, when asked to submit their names to you, the judge, for consideration, said they were told the selection would be made in two weeks and that we could have a Charter ready for the November election. (The petition just came to you this summer; doesn't it seem unrealistic to you that anyone could draw up a complex Charter in such a short time - does not that indicate to you that some of these people were mislead and uninformed in the matter?) We were assured of your impartiality and I fear, we did not lobby hard enough to impress upon you the impact of the politics involved in this Charter Commission for the City of Mounds View. We have gone from a harmoniously run city of 13,000 to oneofchaos-in nine short months - - -- with accusations and falsehoods being thrown around with no thought or facts to back them up. A thorough investigation and an indepth discussion with each of the applicants for the Mounds View Charter Commission was so needed. Then your decision, based on your impartial observance of each of these individuals, would have given us a Charter Commission everyone in Mounds View could have lived with. My appeal to you would be to reconsider your list, re-examine -2- the applicants and give Hounds View a more representative Charter Commission (if your previous selection is not irrevocable) . Since I am making this appeal to you for the good of our community and my name is one submitted to you for your consideration, I would request at this time that my name be withdrawn since I do not wish to benefit from any reconsideration. Thank you. Sincerely, 44411.7Z 47f4 Barbara A. Haake, Chaiman, Hounds View Planning Commission s ‘1"4N-4- , t Art. . 'a 1![Ta `' :NeV C of Voundglii0d RAMSEY COUNTY,MINNESOTA GATEWAY TO THE NORTH 2401 HIGHWAY 10 MOUNDS VIEW, MINN. 55112 784-3055 July 26 , 1978 Ronald E. Hachey Chief Judge District Court STATE OF MINNESOTA 1421 Court House St. Paul, MN 55102 Dear Judge Hachey: The enclosed list of names has been received by the City Council of Mounds View for your consideration for appointment to the Home Rule Charter Commission. Some individuals enclosed resumes and those have been submitted with this list. The Council feels it is their responsibility to submit all the names of those residents who have indicated a willingness to serve, however we did feel our individual choices may give you further assistance in the selection process. Please feel free to contact any Councilmember for any additional information. Sincerely, CITY COUNCIL CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW John E. Pickar, Mayor 2299 Knoll Drive 784-1737 Donald Hodges 5086 Eastwood 784-6284 Roger Baumgartner 7585 Knollwood 784-3810 Judy Rowley 2562 Ridge Lane 784-8046 Gordon Ziebarth 5150 Bona Road 784-7506 egm Enc . 0 �UvW�2 p $ ,„.:14-d -Py al rd CO RI. N E b 131 0 A Hi b tr U b) $-1 N rd 'd O •H 0 cd 0 H 0 O O O ha xp C} N 1--) P4 rix Jerry Blanchard -p` 8005 Groveland 784-2206 X X X X i. Phyllis Blanchard 8005 Groveland 784-2206 X X X X . - Roger Baumgartner 7585 Knollwood 784-3810 X X X X Carol Baumgartner 7585 Knollwood 784-3810 X Fred Kaiser, Attorney 8275 Pleasant View 786-0695 X X 1 Tom Rowley 2562 Ridge Lane 784-8046 X X X Richard Paradise 5091 Eastwood 786-4437 X X X X m Barb Haake m 3024 County Road I 786-1022 X X X w j. Jerry Linke Z 2319 Knoll Drive . 786-4696 X X H U) Isabella Wille 7911 Spring Lake Road 784-5492 X X X X as Dave Notaro 2749 Arden Ave. 786-0246 X X X z - John Pickar 2299 Knoll Drive 784-1737 X X X X Paul Fedor 7 2288 Knoll Drive 786-6268 X X X X Richard Schonhardt p 5170 Bona Road 786-5015 X X H Bea Schonhardt 5170 Bona Road 786-5015 X r� Doris Welty o 7841 Eastwood Dr 784-3660 X X X H Lowell Uber 2625 Ridge Lane 784-6583 X X X X • 0 Dennis Zylla .1., 2634 Louisa 784-6894 X X X X Delores Paradise 5091 Eastwood 786-4437 X Carol Ziebarth 5150 Bona Road 784-7506 X X Diane Neisen 5150 Irondale 784-4821 X Howard Neisen 5150 Irondale 784-4821 X X