The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutVarious Documents Ulrich, Kurt From: Duane & Barb McCarty [duanem@usfamily.net] .Sent: Monday, January 19, 2004 2:36 PM To: kurt.ulrich@ci.mounds-view.mn.us Subject: Charter Commission Appointment Process Dear Mr. Ulrich: RE: Charter Commission Petition for the City Of Mounds View I personally wrote the petition for appointment of a Charter Commission for Mounds View. The petition was circulated by myself and two other citizens. I did not include a specific number of commission members to be appointed should the petition prove to be sufficient. The number of appointees to the Charter Commission was decided in conference with then Chief Judge Kenneth Hachey 2nd Judicial District Court after the completed petition was accepted by the court. If I may be of further service please feel free to call on me at (763) 784-6074 . 1111 Duane McCarty 8060 Long Lake Rd. Mounds View http: //USFamily.Net/info - Unlimited Internet - From $8. 99/mo! 4111 1 A 470 Pillsbury Center Kennedy 200 South Sixth Street • Minneapolis MN 55402 (612)337-9300 telephone Graven (612)337-9310 fax http://www.kennedy-graven.com CHARTERED SCOTT J.RIGGS Attorney at Law Direct Dial(612)337-9260 Email: sriggs@kennedy-graven.com MEMORANDUM TO Kurt Ulrich City Administrator FROM: Scott Riggs City Attorney DATE: February 2,2004 RE: Charter Commission Issues I am writing this memorandum in response to issues raised concerning actions by the Mounds View Charter Commission and the specific issue of a reduction in the size of the Charter Commission from fifteen members to eleven members. The specific question raised was whether the reduction in size of the Charter Commission from fifteen members to eleven members was properly accomplished pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05. Based upon the information available including information provided by the court administrator's office of the Ramsey County District Court, discussions with current and former Charter Commission members, and review of recent resolutions adopted by the Mounds View Charter Commission, it appears that the reduction in size of the Charter Commission from fifteen members to eleven members is generally appropriate. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05 sets forth the requirements for the size of a charter commission as well as for membership in the commission. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05, subd. 1 provides in part as follows: The commission shall be composed of not less than seven nor more than 15 members, each of whom shall be a qualified voter of the City. The size of the commission shall be determined within the above limits by the court, except that where the commission is appointed pursuant to a petition of the voters or resolution • of the governing body of the city, the size of the commission shall be as specified in such petition or resolution. Any city may by charter provision fix the size of the charter commission at a figure which shall not be less than seven nor more than 15 SJR-241598v1 MU210-35 Kurt Ulrich February 2, 2004 Page 2 • members, and such charter provisions shall prevail over any inconsistent provisions of this subdivision. While I was unable to locate through the District Court Administrator's Office, the City, or the Charter Commission, any copy of the original petition requesting appointment of a charter commission for the City of Mounds View, information provided by Mr. Duane McCarty, the original drafter of the petition, notes that no specific number for the size of the charter commission was established within the petition. (Please note that the Charter Commission was appointed pursuant to a petition of voters, rather than through a resolution from the City Council; as such,the size of the Commission was not established by the City Council). In addition, the Mounds View City Charter does not set the size of the charter commission at any specific number of members. Thus, the size of the Commission is determined within the above-referenced statutory limits by the Ramsey County District Court. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05, subd. 2 sets forth the requirements for appointment to vacancies in the Charter Commission. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05, subd. 2 provides in part as follows: Vacancies in the commission shall be filled by appointment of the chief judge for the unexpired terms. Upon the expiration of each term, the chief judge shall appoint new commission members. If the chief judge fails to appoint new commission • members within 30 days,then thereafter the governing body of the city shall appoint new commission members, unless within the 30-day period the chief judge indicates in writing to the governing body an intention to appoint new members, in which case, the chief judge shall have an additional 60 days within which to make the appointment. The appointment shall be made by order filed with the court administrator of the district court. While the court administrator's office did not provide any recent court orders pertaining to appointments to the Charter Commission, representations have been made that recently adopted resolutions by the Charter Commission (such resolutions appear to have been adopted after discussions with the court administrator's office — see memorandum provided by Charter Commission Chair Jonathan Thomas) have established the membership number of the Charter Commission that is to be appointed by the chief judge of the Ramsey County District Court. Assuming these representations to be true, the reduction in the size of the Commission from fifteen members to eleven members would appear to be consistent with the statutory authority for establishing the size of such a charter commission which states: "The size of the Commission shall be determined . . . by the court." (See Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05, subd. 1 —which does not provide for any specific procedure for the court to utilize to determine the size of a charter commission in the statute). Based upon the information provided to me and the representations made to me regarding the reduction in size of the Charter Commission membership and the actions of the chief judge of the Ramsey County District Court and the Charter Commission, such a reduction in size appears to be • within the authority provided by Minnesota statutes. Thus, the operating size and the quorum for purposes of conducting the Charter Commission's business both appear to have been properly established by the Court's direction and the Charter Commission's actions, including amending the bylaws of the Mounds View Charter Commission. Kurt Ulrich February 2, 2004 Page 3 • Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or with any other additional information that may exist that may possibly impact my review and opinion concerning the above- referenced issues. . City of Mounds View Charter Commission Annual Report Mounds October 14,2004 • VieW Q Honorable Greg Johnson, Chief Judge Charter P Ramsey County District Court Commission P 1010 Courthouse 15 W. Kellogg Blvd Chair Saint Paul, MN 55102 Jonathan J Thomas 763-784-5205 Honorable Judge : Vice Chair Michele Sandback P4 SUMMARY OF COMMISSION ACTIVITY: November. 2003- October 2004 763-783-1770 November 13, 2003 2°d Vice Chair Review of the 2003 Summary letter. Review of changes to Chapter 7, 763 786-3959 P4 iller Section 7.06 draft proposal. Review of changes for Chapter 10 and 11. Review of changes for Chapter 7, Section 7.12. Secretary Brian Amundsen December 11, 2003 763-786-5699 Meeting cancelled due to lack of a quorum. Bill Doty January 8, 2004 763-786-3421 Chair reported on the December 6, 2003 "Response to City Council Matthew Eenigenburg Comments of Nov. 24' regarding questions from the City Council in regard to Resolution 03-03 ding ducing Charter Commission 763-783-7216 membership from 15 to 11. Revieweof City Pur has g Manual and League of MN Cities as it relates the Chapter 7, Section 7.06. Review of changes • ' ' ' 3-784-3645 for Chapter 4, Section 4.02. Barbara 763-780-6226 6 February 12, 2004 Review and Approval of Resolution 2004-01 for Chapter 4, Section 4.02. William Werner Sr Review and Approval of Resolution 2004-02 setting Charter Commission 763-784-3603meetings for\ revisions for Chapter r 7, Sectionh -August of 7.06-7.08.04. Continuing discussion of p9 Chapter 7, Section 7.12 and Chapter 11. March 11, 2004 Continuing discussion on Chapter 7, Sections 7.06- 7.08. Continuing discussion n on Chapter 7, Sections 7.10- 7.12. Continuing discussion of Chapter April 8, 2004 Continuing discussion on Chapter 7, Sections 7.04- 7.08. May 10,City Council unanimous adoption of Ordinance 736 regarding Charter Resolution 2004-01. Note: This was not a Charter Commission meeting. 1111 Page 1 of 2 • May 13, 2004 Continuing discussion of Chapter 7, Sections 7.04 - 7.08 draft proposal with Mounds View City Finance Director, Charlie Hanson. June 10, 2004 Continuing discussion of Chapter 11 and Chapter 7. July 8, 2004 Continuing discussion of Chapter 7, Sections 7.04 - 7.12. August 12, 2004 Meeting cancelled due to lack of quorum. September 9, 2004 Review of Revision 8 draft proposal for Chapter 7, Sections 7.04, 7.05, 7.06, 7.07, 7.08, 7.10, 7.11 and 7.12. September 27, 2004 City Council unanimous adoption of Ordinance 742, Ordinance 748, and Ordinance 749 regarding Charter Commission Resolution 2003-04. Ordinance 743 regarding Charter Commission Resolution 2003-05 was not passed and will be returned for some more • clarification on a couple points. Note: This was not a Charter Commission meeting. October 5, 2004 Candidates for Mayor and City Council participated in a forum sponsored by the Charter Commission and the Mounds View Cable Committee. Questions were posed from the Charter Commission as well as from residents in attendance. Note: This was not a Charter Commission meeting. October 14, 2004 Numerous comments and discussion with Council Member Roger Stigney relating to Charter Chapter 7 Sections 6, 7 and 8. Candidate Forum Report. Chair offered appreciation to Barb Haake for moderating the Candidate forum. Attendance was estimated at 50 people. Election of Jean Miller as new 2nd Vice Chair. A Draft of the Annual Report was reviewed and approved with recommendation to add October meeting. Chapter 7 review continued in subcommittee form after loss of a quorum. Respectfully submitted, 0 Jonathan J Thomas, Chair Brian Amundsen, Secretary Page 2 of 2 Co rel of • Phone: (763) 717-4000 A 11110iNDO EW Fax: (763) 784-3462 •At S -tell ' Partners\v' TO: Mounds View City Candidates Mayor and Council members FROM: Mounds View Cable Committee and Mounds View Charter Commission DATE: September 22, 2004 RE: Question for Candidates' Forum - Mounds View City Hall Council Chambers, Tuesday, October 5, 2004, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Mounds View City Staff has requested that the Mounds View Charter Commission consider appropriate amendments to the Charter to clearly define the level of budget control required by the Charter, what can be changed and by III whom. The attached memos provide some of the background and a working draft of three subdivisions of the Charter that are not yet considered acceptable by Charter Commission, but will allow a starting point for your consideration. Please discuss your views of the levels of budget control that need to be specified in the Mounds View City Charter. i dr-tee i ' Jonathan Th•mas — 763.784.5205 Mounds View Charter Commission • 2401 Highway 10 • Mounds View, MN 55112-1499 VI r� PRINTED SOYINK NK TM Website address: http://www.ci.mounds-view.mn.us t. rJ Equal Opportunity Employer recycled paper Kennedy p 470 Pillsbury Center ft nnedy 200 South Sixth Street J Minneapolis MN 55402 Graven 337-9300 telephone Graven (612)337-9310 fax http://www.kennedy-graven.corn CHARTERED SCOTT J.RIGGS Attorney at Law Direct Dial(612)337-9260 Email: sriggs@kennedy-graven.com MEMORANDUM TO: Kurt Ulrich City Administrator FROM: Scott Riggs City Attorney • DATE: February 2,2004 RE: Charter Commission Issues I am writing this memorandum in response to issues raised concerning actions by the Mounds View Charter Commission and the specific issue of a reduction in the size of the Charter Commission from fifteen members to eleven members. The specific question raised was whether the reduction in size of the Charter Commission from fifteen members to eleven members was properly accomplished pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05. Based upon the information available including information provided by the court administrator's office of the Ramsey County District Court, discussions with current and former Charter Commission members, and review of recent resolutions adopted by the Mounds View Charter Commission, it appears that the reduction in size of the Charter Commission from fifteen members to eleven members is generally appropriate. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05 sets forth the requirements for the size of a charter commission as well as for membership in the commission. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05, subd. 1 provides in part as follows: The commission shall be composed of not less than seven nor more than 15 members, each of whom shall be a qualified voter of the City. The size of the commission shall be determined within the above limits by the court, except that • where the commission is appointed pursuant to a petition of the voters or resolution of the governing body of the city, the size of the commission shall be as specified in such petition or resolution. Any city may by charter provision fix the size of the charter commission at a figure which shall not be less than seven nor more than 15 SJR-241598v1 MU210-35 Kurt Ulrich February 2, 2004 Page 2 114 members, and such charter provisions shall prevail over any inconsistent provisions of this subdivision. While I was unable to locate through the District Court Administrator's Office, the City, or the Charter Commission, any copy of the original petition requesting appointment of a charter commission for the City of Mounds View, information provided by Mr. Duane McCarty, the original drafter of the petition, notes that no specific number for the size of the charter commission was established within the petition. (Please note that the Charter Commission was appointed pursuant to a petition of voters, rather than through a resolution from the City Council; as such, the size of the Commission was not established by the City Council). In addition, the Mounds View City Charter does not set the size of the charter commission at any specific number of members. Thus, the size of the Commission is determined within the above-referenced statutory limits by the Ramsey County District Court. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05, subd. 2 sets forth the requirements for appointment to vacancies in the Charter Commission. Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05, subd. 2 provides in part as follows: Vacancies in the commission shall be filled by appointment of the chief judge for the unexpired terms. Upon the expiration of each term, the chief judge shall appoint new commission members. If the chief judge fails to appoint new commission IPmembers within 30 days, then thereafter the governing body of the city shall appoint new commission members, unless within the 30-day period the chief judge indicates in writing to the governing body an intention to appoint new members, in which case, the chief judge shall have an additional 60 days within which to make the appointment. The appointment shall be made by order filed with the court administrator of the district court. While the court administrator's office did not provide any recent court orders pertaining to appointments to the Charter Commission, representations have been made that recently adopted resolutions by the Charter Commission (such resolutions appear to have been adopted after discussions with the court administrator's office — see memorandum provided by Charter Commission Chair Jonathan Thomas) have established the membership number of the Charter Commission that is to be appointed by the chief judge of the Ramsey County District Court. Assuming these representations to be true, the reduction in the size of the Commission from fifteen members to eleven members would appear to be consistent with the statutory authority for establishing the size of such a charter commission which states: "The size of the Commission shall be determined . . . by the court." (See Minnesota Statutes Chapter 410.05, subd. 1 —which does not provide for any specific procedure for the court to utilize to determine the size of a charter commission in the statute). Based upon the information provided to me and the representations made to me regarding the reduction in size of the Charter Commission membership and the actions of the chief judge of the • Ramsey County District Court and the Charter Commission, such a reduction in size appears to be within the authority provided by Minnesota statutes. Thus, the operating size and the quorum for purposes of conducting the Charter Commission's business both appear to have been properly established by the Court's direction and the Charter Commission's actions, including amending the bylaws of the Mounds View Charter Commission. Kurt Ulrich February 2, 2004 Page 3 �J Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or with any other additional information that may exist that may possibly impact my review and opinion concerning the above- referenced issues. • • ()(10dcrr-(- (/`� /vv MOUNDS VIEW CHARTER COMMISSION EXPIRATION DATES OF 2002 AND 2000 TERMS EXPIRING OCTOBER 31, 2000 SUSAN J. ROBINSON Replacement Term 2657 Lake Court Circle (99-00) Mounds View, MN 55112 612-786-7285 home 612-786-2370 fax MARY MALRICK Replacement Term 8289 Spring Lake Road Mounds View, MN 55112 612-784-3890 KATHLEEN A. MacRUNNELS Replacement Term (00) 7670 Knollwood Dr. N.E. Mounds View, MN 55112 612-786-6091 - RICHARD 12-786-6091 -RICHARD OMAN 2nd Term (96-00) 8205 Groveland Road Mounds View, MN 55112 612-786-6679 JONATHAN THOMAS Replacement Term 8040 Groveland Road Mounds View, MN 55112 612-784-5205 WILLIAM WERNER SR. 2nd Term (96-00) 2765 Sherwood Rd. Mounds View, MN 55112 612-784-3603 MICHAEL GROMMESH Replacement Term 2698 Lake Court Drive Mounds View, MN 55112 612-786-7541 DIANE WUORI t 1st Term (96-00) 5613 St. Stephen St. Mounds View, MN 55112 612-786-1939 GLp d aL d /40D