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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-08-2004 Charter Minutes Charter Commission January 8, 2004 APPROVED Page 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES CHARTER COMMISSION DATE : January 8,2004 TIME STARTED : 7:06 P.M. TIME ENDED : 9:27 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT : Dahl,Aldentaler, Trehus, Vacha,Montain G. Lane,DeMotts, S. Lane,Bening,Zastrow,and Carlson MEMBERS EXCUSED : None MEMBERS UNEXCUSED : None STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT : City Clerk,Ann Blair(part) CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL Chair Montain called the regular meeting of the Lino Lakes Charter Commission to order at 7:06 p.m. on January 8, 2004. APPROVAL OF MINUTES August 14,2003—Commissioner Bening advised a copy of the August 14, 2003 meeting minutes were distributed along with a transcript of a portion of the meeting relating to communication. City Clerk Blair advised there was concern at the last meeting regarding the corrections that were made to the August 14 minutes. She stated she was asked to do a transcript of that portion of the meeting. She referred to the open meeting law portion of the transcript and noted "archives"was not mentioned. She stated that if the Commission prefers, she would not do any corrections to the minutes. The August 14, 2003 meeting minutes were tabled until later in the meeting. REPORTS OF THE CHAIR New Members (Chair Montain)—Chair Montain asked the applicants for the Charter Commission to introduce themselves. Ms. Rosemary Storberg stated she has been in the City of Lino Lakes for many years. She stated she knew the Commission was looking for new members so she applied. 1 Charter Commission January 8, 2004 APPROVED Page 2 Ms. Paulette Warren stated she has been in Lino Lakes since 1996. She indicated she would like to be more involved with the City. Ms. Barbara Bor stated she has lived in Lino Lakes all her life. Commissioner Bening distributed and reviewed information about Members Terms, Roll Call and Term Progression of Commission Members. He explained which new commissioners would be replacing old commissioners along with their term expiration date. The terms and expiration date were calculated from the meeting minutes and Charter Commission Roll Call that was developed. Chair Montain advised Commissioner DeMotts and Commissioner Bening could continue to serve on the Commission until a replacement is found. Commissioner Bening advised the Progression of Commission Members outlines who replaced whom on the Commission. Three terms expired in 2003. One term is a partial term. The Commission has to determine who will fill the partial term. A partial term would not apply towards a full term. Chair Montain suggested the City Clerk clarify if members taking over for Commissioner DeMotts and Commissioner Bening will have a full four-year term with the City Attorney. City Clerk Blair noted the judge has not yet officially appointed the new members. All new members and those who are re-appointed will be sworn in at the next meeting. Chair Montain advised the Commission would have to table the discussion regarding who will take the full terms vs. partial term until all new members are sworn in. He noted a copy of an application for the Commission was developed and distributed. Any suggested revisions should be submitted to the City Clerk. August 14,2003 Meeting Minutes—MOTION by Commissioner Trehus, seconded by Commissioner DeMotts, to table the August 14, 2003 meeting minutes to the April meeting to review the draft and transcript. Motion carried with Commissioner S. Lane and Commissioner G. Lane abstaining. October 9,2003 Meeting Minutes—MOTION by Commissioner DeMotts, seconded by Commissioner Vacha,to approve the October 9,2003 meeting minutes. Commissioner Trehus referred to page 1, second paragraph, and revised it to read "Commissioner Trehus disagreed with City Clerk Blair's distribution". Commissioner Trehus referred to page 3 regarding the paragraph on the Commission Consensus. He added the following statement"In response to an informal inquiry by Community Development Director Grochala". 2 Charter Commission January 8, 2004 APPROVED Page 3 Commissioner Bening asked if Commissioner Dahl was going to review the meeting tape from the August meeting. Commissioner Dahl advised she had indicated she would ask the City Clerk to review the meeting tape. Commissioner DeMotts and Commissioner Vacha agreed to the revisions of the meeting minutes and amended the motion to include approval of the minutes with noted revisions. Motion carried unanimously. Five-Year Plan (Chair Montain)— Chair Montain advised the Five-Year Plan is on the agenda as a reminder and to ensure the City Council is still working on it. He stated the Plan is a budget item and will be discussed further at the July meeting. Commissioner Dahl advised the Five-Year Plan would be revised through the budget process. Finance Director Rolek will answer any questions that Commissioner's may have about the Plan. Chair Montain advised the Five-Year Plan would be put on the April meeting agenda. REPORT OF COMMITTEES Archives Report(Commissioner Rafferty,Dahl and Trehus)—Commissioner Dahl stated at the last meeting she proposed a Charter Commission web site. She indicated she met with staff and developed a proposed site. She distributed a list of what might be included in the site. She stated she would like the Commission's agendas and minutes separated from the other City Boards. She asked that Commission Member's send her comments and suggestions for the site. She noted the Home Rule Charter would be on the site along with the by-laws. The archives of the Commission will be put on a disk. Commissioner Bening stated the Commission should discuss a policy to access the archives for both members and non-members. He asked who has keys to the file and suggested the policy be included in the by-laws. Chair Montain advised there are three keys to the Commission file. He indicated he has a key along with Secretary Rafferty and City Clerk Blair. He noted he would talk to Mr. Rafferty about returning his key. Commissioner Bening suggested a log be developed for things that are taken out of the file. However,when the files get put on a disk security is not such a big issue. Chair Montain asked Commissioner Trehus to work with the City Clerk regarding a policy for security of the Charter Commission Archives. An update will be given at the next meeting. 3 Charter Commission January 8, 2004 APPROVED Page 4 Commissioner Bening noted the Commission does not take direction from the City Council or Administration. The Commission can develop its own policy. By-Laws/City Clerk/Treasurer Term (Commissioner Bening)—Commissioner Bening advised each member received two handouts regarding the by-laws. One handout is the by-laws before July 13, 2000. On July 13, 2000 there was a proposal about appointments. He indicated he reviewed the minutes and it was agreed that the Chair would notify the City Clerk the names of incumbents and their expiration dates. That policy was never added to the by-laws and there are other mistakes. MOTION by Commissioner Bening,to change Amendment#3, Sect. 4 Article II,the two occurrences of City Clerk-Treasurer to be replaced with City Clerk and Article II where there are two headings labeled Section 9. The first should be changed to Section 8. Commissioner Dahl requested the dates of the amendments be added to the top page of the by- laws. Commissioner Bening amended the motion to include the date of the amendments on the top page of the by-laws. Commissioner S. Lane seconded the motion. Commissioner Trehus clarified that the date will be added to the top page of the by-laws. Motion carried unanimously. Chair Montain advised the Commission would review the final copy of the by-laws at the April meeting. Status of City Council Meeting Minutes (Commissioners Vacha and DeMotts)— Commissioner Vacha advised the Commission did not receive copies of the past Council meeting minutes because they were not yet approved. The Commission did receive the minutes after they were approved. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Review City Council Meeting Minutes for Charter Compliance—Chair Montain asked if there were any problems with the past City Council meeting minutes. The Commission indicated there was no problem with the past City Council meeting minutes. Open Meeting Law/E-Mail—Chair Montain stated at the last meeting there was a concern about emailing that may violate open meeting laws. He stated it does not really apply to the 4 Charter Commission January 8, 2004 APPROVED Page 5 Commission. He asked that the new Chair of the Commission get a clarification from the City Clerk for the next meeting. NEW BUSINESS Letter from Resident—Chair Montain advised Commissioner's received a copy of a letter written by Jamie and Sherry Stern, 6820 West Shadow Lake Drive, sent to Mayor Bergeson. The letter indicated Mr. and Mrs. Stern felt it was the Charter's fault that the street referendum did not pass. He advised the reason the Charter was originally put into place was that residents felt the City was assessing too much. Commissioner Bening stated the Charter does work. There were many reasons why the street referendum did not pass. Commissioner S. Lane stated Mr. and Mrs. Stern should be informed that they could petition to get sewer and water. The Charter does have avenues to address this situation. Chair Montain suggested the Chair of the Commission talk to Mayor Bergeson about a response to Mr. and Mrs. Stern. Commissioner Dahl advised Commissioner's also received a copy of a letter from the City Clerk that was sent to residents regarding old Charter documents. Chair Montain asked Commissioner's to fill out the current information form and return it to City Hall. Commissioner G. Lane suggested the letter from Mr. and Mrs. Stern be placed on the April agenda for an update on how the Mayor responded to the letter. Minutes Editing—Chair Montain advised a summary version on the meeting is done for the meeting minutes. The City Clerk has been going over the minutes and making some revisions. Commissioner Bening stated he was concerned when he received the August 14 meeting minutes. Many corrections had been made before the Commission received them. The City Clerk indicated she does make some revisions. The Commission should consider how to control editing and that policy should be included in the by-laws. Commissioner Trehus stated he does not believe anyone at City Hall should edit the meeting minutes. The Charter Commission is separate from the City. Commissioner Dahl stated the City Clerk has a journalism degree. She does edit the Council minutes per Council direction. The changes are highlighted on the drafts. The City Clerk also numbers the lines for easy reference. 5 Charter Commission January 8, 2004 APPROVED Page 6 Commissioner Bening suggested the Commission think about how or if the City Clerk should edit the minutes. The issue can be discussed further at the next meeting. MOTION by Commissioner Bening, seconded by Commissioner S. Lane to table the discussion of meeting minutes editing to the next Commission meeting. Motion carried unanimously. Joint Meeting with City Council—Chair Montain advised the past few years the Charter Commission has had a joint meeting with the City Council at the regular April meeting. He suggested the Chair of the Commission schedule a joint meeting with the City Council. Commissioner Trehus suggested that due to the letter from Mr. and Mrs. Stern, Community Development Director Grochala should be invited to the meeting. Commissioner Dahl stated the new City Administrator would also be in place by then and can also attend the meeting. Commissioner Bening suggested the Community Development Director give an update on the three development areas that staff is proposing be changed within the Charter. Set April Agenda— Chair Montain advised the following items would appear on the April 2004 agenda: 1. Call to Order and Roll Call 2. Approval of Minutes: A. August 14, 2003 B. January 8, 2004 3. Reports of the Chair A. New Members B. Five-Year Plan 4. Reports of the Committees A. Archives Report(Commissioner Trehus) B. By-Laws/City Clerk/Treasurer Term (Commissioner Bening) 5. Unfinished Business A. Review City Council Meeting Minutes for Charter Compliance B. Open Meeting Law/E-mail (early in the agenda) 6. New Business A. Set July 2004 Agenda B. Mayor's response to Mr. and Mrs. Stem's Letter 6 Charter Commission January 8, 2004 APPROVED Page 7 C. Minutes Editing D. Joint Meeting with City Council 7. Adjourn The Commissioner determined the following items would be placed on the agenda for the Joint Meeting with the City Council: 1. Road Reconstruction 2. Five-Year Plan 3. Update on Charter Changes—Community Development Director ELECTION OF OFFICERS Chair Montain advised the by-laws state the Commission must elect officers at the January meeting. He opened the nominations for Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary. Commissioner Bening stated an assistant secretary should also be elected. He clarified that the current officers are eligible to be re-elected. Commissioner S. Lane indicated she would prefer not to be Vice-Chair again. Commissioner Trehus stated he would like to be Chair. Commissioner Dahl nominated Commissioner Carlson for Vice-Chair. She also volunteered to be secretary. MOTION by Commissioner Zastrow, seconded by Commissioner Bening,to close the nominations for officer elections. Motion carried. MOTION by Commissioner G. Lane, seconded by Commissioner Bening, to have one ballot for all three officers. Motion carried. The Commission voted on the officers: Commissioner Trehus was elected Chair. Commissioner Carlson was elected Vice-Chair. Commissioner Dahl was elected Secretary. ADJOURN MOTION by Bening, seconded by DeMotts, to adjourn the meeting at 8:47 p.m. Commissioner Dahl suggested the web site and response to the Charter documents letter also be placed on the agenda. Motion carried unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:47 p.m. 7 Charter Commission January 8, 2004 APPROVED Page 8 Respectfully Submitted, Kim Points TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 8