HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 01142020I CITY OF ST. ANTHONY
2 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
3 JANUARY 14, 2020
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5 CALL TO ORDER.
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7 Mayor Stille called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
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9 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
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1 I Mayor Stille invited the Council and audience to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance.
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13 ROLL CALL.
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15 Present: Mayor Stille, Councilmembers Jenson, Randle and Walker.
16 Absent: None
17 Also Present: City Manager Mark Casey, Fire Chief Sitarz, and Lieutenant Jaros.
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19 CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING
20 ITEMS.
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22 I. APPROVAL OF JANUARY 14, 2020 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA.
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24 Motion by Councilmember Randle, seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve the City
25 Council Meeting Agenda of January 14, 2020.
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27 Motion carried 4-0.
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29 H. PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS.
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31 A. Swearing in of Mayor Randy Stille
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33 City Manager Casey administered the Oath of Office to Mayor Randy Stille.
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35 Mayor Stille thanked the residents for allowing him to serve as Mayor of Saint Anthony Village
36 and indicated it was an honor and privilege. He stated he looked forward to improving the City
37 and making it a better place live but needed the residents, Council and staffs help in doing this.
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39 B. Swearing in of Councilmember Thomas Randle
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41 Mayor Stille administered the Oath of Office to Councilmember Thomas Randle.
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43 Councilmember Randle thanked the residents for voting him in for a four-year term. He thought
44 it was a lot of work but also fulfilling and he wanted to continue to serve the City to the best of
45 his ability.
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47 C. Swearing in of Councilmember Bernard Walker
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49 Mayor Stille administered the Oath of Office to Councilmember Bernard Walker.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
January 14, 2020
Page 2
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16 III.
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46 VI.
Councilmember Walker thank everyone who voted for him and wants to represent Saint Anthony
Village to the best of his ability and bring forward the skills that he has.
D. Presentation of 2019 Fire Prevention Poster Winners presented by the Fire Department
Fire Chief Sitarz introduced Lieutenant Mattie Jaros who make a presentation to the City Council
and announced the 2019 Fire Prevention Poster winners. Fourth place went to Lia Isaacson, 5d'
grader at Wilshire Park. Third place went to Kelly Quan, 5`h grader at Wilshire Park. 2nd place
went to Josie Tomas, 5d' grader at Wilshire Park and first place went to Ellie McCormick, 5'
grader at Wilshire Park.
Mayor Stille thanked Chief Sitarz and the Fire Department for doing the educational piece and
all of the participants.
CONSENT AGENDA.
A. Approve December 10, 2019. Council meeting minutes
B. Licenses andpermits.
C. Claims.
D. Resolution 20-001: a Resolution Accepting Donations and Grants Received in the 4`h
Ouarter of 2019.
E. Housekeeping Resolutions:
20-002; a Resolution Designating Jan Jenson as Mayor Pro -Tem for the Calendar Year
2020
20-003; a Resolution Authorizing the Mayor, City Manager and Finance Director to
Make Certain Financial Transactions Regarding City Financial Accounts
20-004; a Resolution Designating US Bank, N.A. of St. Anthony as the Official
Depository for City Funds for the Calendar Year 2020
20-006; a Resolution Adopting the Standing Rules of Conduct for City Council Meetings
for 2020.
20-007; a Resolution Adopting the Elected Officials Travel Policy for 2020.
20-008; a Resolution Designating Steve Carlson of Hedback, Arendt, and Carlson the
Prosecuting Attorney for the City of St. Anthony for 2020.
20-009; a Resolution for the 2020 Street Improvement Bond Reimbursement.
Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Councilmember Randle, to approve the Consent
Agenda items.
PUBLIC HEARING — NONE.
REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF — NONE.
GENERAL BUSINESS OF COUNCIL.
Motion carried 4-0.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
January 14, 2020
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A. Resolution 20-010, a Resolution Appointing Wendy Webster to fill a vacancy on the
Saint Anthony Village City Council.
City Manager Casey reviewed the resolution with the Council and indicated that the Council is
requested to appoint someone to fill a vacancy on the City Council. He noted on Wednesday,
January 8, 2020, Mayor Stille and Councilmembers Jenson, Randle and Walker interviewed four
applicants.
10 Mayor Stille indicated he had one public input sheet.
12 Ms. Maret Olson stated as a resident of Saint Anthony, she always comes to the meeting to speak
13 in favor of diversity and while she was glad to see the Council the way it is, thought the Council
14 still needed a woman representing the citizens of the City and would speak in favor of all of the
15 female candidates the Council is considering. She would also like to remind the Council to not
16 only consider this person because the Council enjoys working with or agrees with or has a vision
17 that Council thinks will work and accommodate the Council's vision but choosing a
18 representative for everyone in the City. As a citizen of the City, she has not had the opportunity
19 to meet the candidates and to talk to the people who have applied to the position. There are some
20 members within the pool of applicants who ran for office, who made an effort to get her vote and
21 to find out what her views were, sought to represent her, and one of those applicants is Nancy
22 Robinett. She noted Ms. Robinett did not win as Mayor but received 1,150 votes which is
23 enough to win a City Council race in most years. She would speak on her behalf and hope the
24 Council would seriously consider Ms. Robinett as a representative of the citizens of this
25 jurisdiction who have chosen her with their votes in other elections.
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27 Mayor Stille thanked Ms. Olson for speaking. Mayor Stille asked for the audience to withhold
28 applause during the meeting.
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30 Councilmember Jenson stated Saint Anthony was fortunate to receive four applications for this
31 position and each one has unique and insightful concepts describing their desire to serve the
32 City's residents. He encouraged residents to go to the City's website to review the four
33 applications. He thought the residents will find, as he did, that significant amount of preparation
34 and time was spent in their development. During last Wednesday's interview session, each
35 candidate was asked eleven questions and provided formal responses. On behalf of Saint
36 Anthony, he thanked all of the applicants for stepping forward and for the willingness to
37 participate in the process and desire to serve the City. He encouraged the applicants to continue
38 using their energy towards areas of public service.
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40 Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Councilmember Randle, to approve Resolution
41 20-010; a Resolution Appointing Wendy Webster to fill a vacancy on the Saint Anthony City
42 Council.
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44 Councilmember Walker explained he has conducted interviews over his years in his profession
45 and it was a difficult task in choosing the right person because all of the candidates usually were
46 competent persons for the position. The occasions where the process was easy to disqualify a
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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
January 14, 2020
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person was when a candidate said something that did not fit well with him. The interviews that
took place last Wednesday did not present any applicant who was unqualified to be on the City
Council or who said something that did not fit well with him. If the truth be told, it is his
judgement that all four applicants are all capable persons to perform as a Councilmember.
Whichever one is appointed, whether it is Wendy, Nancy, Dan, or Dave, he will be pleased and
excited to have that person work along side him along with the other Councilmembers and
Mayor. For him, it is not an issue of who is not fit or not qualified to be on the Council or who
does not fit well with the defacto members of Saint Anthony Village Council. It is a matter of
who best exemplifies the need and qualities to be on the Council. As in basketball when people
try to decide whether Michael Jordan or LeBron James is the greatest player of all time, surely
no one would dare say that their choice selection entails that the other person, Michael or
LeBron, is not a great player. Michael and LeBron are both great players, although he would say
Michael is the best. This analogy in choice selection between Michael and LeBron is very
similar to him in his choice selection among the four applicants interviewed. When the decision
is made tonight, he will be happy with whomever is appointed to be on the Council. He stated in
conclusion, any nay vote he may express will not indicate a disapproval of any person whose
motion to be on the Council.
Councilmember Randle explained he did not come to this conclusion easily either and he did
believe all four are great candidates. What first impressed on him about former Mayor Faust was
when he said his bond is his word and what he has learned about being on the Council is how
important trust is. It is everything and without it, nothing will happen. He looked at it from
Wendy Webster's standpoint and he did not know if there is a more trusted, able, and willing
person who gives all for the community as a whole, other than her which is why he is supportive
of this motion.
Mayor Stille stated earlier tonight, he said what is best for the community and that is the way he
is going to vote. Not to diminish anyone else's application, but Wendy's application is
extremely well done and she interviewed extremely well for the people who were not able to
attend and view that. Wendy is invested in the community, is a twenty-year resident, and
understands Saint Anthony. She understands the community and members and where the City
has been and the struggles and successes. She is so personable, intelligent, respected and
community oriented. She is a great listener and advocate for the City. One of the things he did
want to bring up is when the City had Bonnie Grevor on Council it was so nice to have just a
little representation from the school side. He stated he is supportive of Wendy, would vote for
her, and thought she was the best candidate for the community.
Ayes — 3. Nays —1 (Walker). Motion carried.
B. Swearing in of new Councilmember Wendy Webster.
Mayor Stille administered the Oath of Office to Councilmember Wendy Webster.
Mayor Stille indicated he was looking forward to working with Councilmember Webster.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
January 14, 2020
Page 5
1 Councilmember Webster explained she has highly considered this opportunity over the past
2 couple of years and thanked the number of residents who met with her for coffee, stopped her at
3 the Community Center, and tapped her on the shoulder to ask her to someday think about
4 running for Council. She strongly considered that possibility last Spring and one of the things
5 that she was torn about was her mom's declining health. Councilmember Webster knew she
6 could not do both and so she really looks forward to this opportunity to serve the community.
7 She noted she has been grateful for living in the community with her husband Seth for the past
8 twenty years and extremely excited to be hired by the School District with Community Services
9 in 2008. She has really enjoyed getting to know the residents and families and looking at how
10 the school can better meet their needs through different programs. She stated each day she learns
11 so much from her sons, Chandler and Jayden. She thanked her family for their support of this
12 opportunity and for being at the meeting tonight. She also thanked Dr. Rene Corneille, School
13 Superintendent, who was behind her decision one hundred percent.
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15 C. Quarterly Goals Update
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17 City Manager Casey reviewed the quarterly goals with the Council.
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19 Councilmember Jenson added that these goals are part of the City's pyramid that comes out of
20 the strategic planning meeting. Some things are added and removed and part of the strategic
21 plan is to identify these goals.
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23 Mayor Stille explained what the City's pyramid is for the residents.
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25 VII. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
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27 Councilmember Randle stated Coffee with the Council is scheduled for January 18th at 9:00 a.m.
28 in the Council Chambers. He indicated Sister Cities is looking for residents to host guest from
29 Salo, Finland from July 25th to August 4h. All guests are over fifty years old and if anyone
30 needs more information, Bonnie Brevet can be contacted.
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32 Mayor Stille indicated he has hosted a couple before, and Christmas cards are still exchanged.
33 He did not know what to expect but got a lot out of it and made friends as well.
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35 Councilmember Jenson stated he attended the Ramsey County Local League of Governments
36 meeting on January 10`h, which meets monthly. He was on the Board of Directors and elected
37 President at the end of last year to representative Saint Anthony.
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39 Councilmember Walker stated he was at the meeting for the interview process along with all of
40 the other Councilmembers.
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42 Mayor Stille stated he attended the Affordable Housing seminar in December and thought it was
43 always good to see and be abreast of what is going on in that industry. He and the City Manager
44 also interviewed for the League of Minnesota Cities article regarding Advanced Oxidation
45 Process Plan. January 8th was the Council Worksession. On January 13th, he attended the
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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
January 14, 2020
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Regional Council of Mayors, a very important and powerful organization. On January 14`h, he
attended the Mississippi Water Management Organization meeting.
VIII. COMMUNITY FORUM.
Mayor Stille invited residents to come forward at this time and address the Council on items that
are not on the regular agenda.
Mr. Joe Lofgren, 2704 31St Avenue NE, stated expressed his disagreement that the Council,
except Councilmember Walker, chose Wendy Webster for the Council. He noted that over one
thousand residents in the City voted for Nancy Robinett for Mayor and while it is their choice to
choose the next Councilmember, he thought the Council should have chosen Nancy Robinett
because over one thousand residents in the City wanted her as their representative.
IX. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS — NONE.
X. ADJOURNMENT.
Mayor Stille adjourned the meeting at 7:47 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sue Osbeck
TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.
ATTEST: _IL/L'' `/
City C erk