HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 21, 2005, Charter Commission Minutes
OFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE
CHARTER COMMISSION
THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2005
7:00 P.M.
GAUVITTE ROOM
MURZYN HALL
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by President Joseph Sturdevant at 7:02 p.m.
Roll Call
Members present: Bob Buboltz, Nicole Druckrey, Barb Gertsema, Mike Hartel, Nancy King, Carolyn
Laine, Mike Patiuk, Lori Ritzko, Joseph Sturdevant
Members absent and excused: Jim Johnson, Katy Korday, Scott Kyseth, Joe Sturdevant, Dan Vogtman
Members absent and unexcused: Clare Schmidt
Council Liaison, Mayor Gary Peterson, was not present, as he was out of town.
Also present: Mark Ruff, Ehlers and Associates; Jim Hoeft, City Attorney; Carole Blowers, Recording
Secretary
Approval of Minutes of April 21, 2005
Motion by Commissioner Hartel, seconded by Commissioner Buboltz, to approve the minutes as
submitted for the April 21, 2005, meeting. Motion passed unanimously.
Correspondence
The Recording Secretary reported the following correspondence since April 21, 2005:
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Charter updates were sent to the Mayor/Council, DivisionHeads, and school libraries
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The signed oath of Robert Buboltz for reappointment was sent to the Chief Judge
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A request was made to the League for information on “bonds”
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A request was made to our Public Works GIS area for two maps showing population by quadrant
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The information requested by commission members in April was mailed to all Charter
Commission members on May 12, 2005
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Request was made to Finance Director, Bill Elrite, to have Mark Ruff attend the July meeting
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Confirmation was received from Mark Ruff that he will be able to attend July meeting
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Tonight’s meeting agenda was prepared and mailed out July 13, 2005, to commission members
and Mark Ruff
Status of Membership of the Commission
The commission has its full complement of 15 members at this time.
Old Business
Discussion on Chapter 3, Section 19 and Chapter 7, Section 72
Mark, Ehlers and Associates, was present at tonight’s meeting per this commission’s request to answer
any questions commission members may have about the bonding issue.
Per request of the Charter Commission members in October, in January the City Attorney put together
some new language which is stated below. He stated that after receiving this issue and the city charter,
he feels that this change could be addressed simply by adding a sentence in the last paragraph of Chapter
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July 21, 2005
Page 1
7, Section 72 of the city charter.
The Charter Commission passed, on their first reading in January of 2005, that the last paragraph of
Chapter 7, Section 72 should read as follows:
Before any bonds are sold, there shall be a four-fifths vote of the council authorizing the
issuance of the bonds by ordinance. However, bonds to be sold for the refinancing of
any existing bonds shall be authorized by four-fifths vote of the council by resolution.
Following its passage, the ordinance shall be published at least once by publication in a
legal newspaper having general circulation in the city. The registered voters of the city
shall have thirty days from the date of publication to initiate a referendum on the
ordinance authorizing the issuance. Subsequent to the passage of the authorizing
ordinance, its publication, and the thirty-day period, the bond sale shall occur within
sixty days. During said sixty day period, the City Manager shall have the authority to
establish a special meeting upon at least
seventy-two (72) hours advance notice to each member of the council. At that special
meeting, the City Manager is authorized to receive the actual bid(s) or sale of the bonds
to be negotiated. The actual award or sale of the bonds shall be approved by a
resolution passed by a four-fifths vote of the council.
The Recording Secretary had contacted the Research Department at the League of Minnesota Cities to
learn how other cities word this section on their city charters, and to obtain any further information they
may have regarding this issue. Once the information was received, it wa maild out to commission
members in May for their review before tonight’s meeting.
Mark Ruff from Ehlers and Associates gave a brief presentation. He stated that he has been doing
business with Columbia Heights for the past 15 years. He has worked on all our redevelopment projects.
He stated Ehlers represents 150 cities, and that he himself works with 40 cities.
Mark stated that the wording (the 30 day wait period) in our charter is unusual. He stated that Columbia
Heights does not have a lot of debt, and bonding/refinancing does not come up very often. Mark
prepared a chart which he passed out to Charter Commission members. The chartshowed the revenue
bond index and bond buyer index from December 2003 to July 18, 2005.
Mark reiterated that what triggered this discussion was the redevelopment bonds for Parkview Villa the
end of 2004. Because of the 30-day wait period, Mark stated the city realized $10,000 less in savings on
this particular situation.
President Sturdevant asked if there is a certain percentage that makes refinancing worthwhile. Mark
stated that was a good question and indicated that a good rule of thumb is that rates should drop at least
1.5% to make it worthwhile. His company “watches” the various city’s portfolios and makes suggestions
for changes. Then Ehlers and Associates assists cities with bond sales/refinancing bygetting larger firms
to bid for the bonds. They usually charge 1.5 to 2% in fees.
Commission Hartel asked if changing the charter language would allow for misuse in refinancing. The
City Attorney stated that by changing the language as proposed, it requires a 4/5 vote to pass by the
Council. Therefore, the majority of the council must feel it’s a good move.
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July 21, 2005
Page 2
Motion by Commisioner Buboltz, seconded by Commissioner Hartel to approve the second reading on
the proposed change to Chapter 7, Section 72 indicated above, and forward to the City Council for their
action. Motion passed unanimously.
Discussion on Districts/Wards
This topic is ongoing from the past couple of commission meetings. In May, the Recording Secretary
mailed commission members maps showing the population figures if the city was sectioned off in four
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sections (with Central Avenue and 45 Avenues as dividing lines). This map was prepared by the Public
Works GIS area and used the 2000 census data. Using this map, the population by quadrant is as
follows:
NW-3,667
NE-3,659
SW-5,744 and
SE-5,450.
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44
The Recording Secretary also passed out at tonight’s meeting a map using Central Avenue and
Avenue as dividing lines. This map was also prepared by the Public Works GIS area and used the 200
census data. Using this map, the population by quadrant would be as follows:
NW-4,550
NE-4,115
SW-4,911 and
SE-4,994.
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The City Attorney stated that the map using Central Avenue and 44 Avenue brought the population
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figures more into line for each quadrant. An additional map using Central Avenue and 44 Avenue as
dividing lines was provided tonight also, which also indicated census block populations.
Commissioner Patiuk asked how close in population does the quadrants have to be. The City Attorney
stated he believed it is a certain percentage governed by state statutes.
If the city would be divided into four quadrants, one councilmember would represent each quadrant, and
the Mayor would run at large. It was also reiterated that there has been some discussion that two more
councilmembers should be added. There was discussion on the fact that it would seem unrealistic to
divide the city into more than four districts. So if and when any additional councilmembers were added,
they would also be running at large.
Commissioner Ritzko questioned what would happen if we did divided the city into four quadrants and no
one decided to run in one of the quadrants. The City Attorney stated that there more than likely would be
write-in candidates, and if not, the Council could appoint the person currently serving in that district or
someone new, or decide to hold a special election.
Commissioner Laine stated that with development in the SW quadrant (the Industrial Park area), an
increase in population from very little to possibly many new residents could make a difference in that
quadrant. The City Attorney stated that perhaps 200 units will be built there in the next few years, with a
possibility of about 360 additional residents.
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July 21, 2005
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Commissioner Hartel stated that the population totals will also change for the NE quadrant due to the
addition of The Lofts. It was estimated that an additional 380-400 residents could change the totals for
that quadrant.
The City Attorney also stated that other possible sites that could change quadrant totals are the
redevelopment of Mady’s Bowling area (75-100 additional residents) and NEI. He also stated that at this
time, there is nothing on the table for the NEI site. These are all good things to talk about in discussing
this issue.
The City Attorney stated that he could come up with proposed wording for the City Charter to reflect a
change to wards or districts. There would also be parts of the existing charter that would have to be
amended/modified relating to elections.
The City Attorney reiterated the procedure on proposed changes to the city charter. There are two
readings at the commission level, and two readings at the city council level. The city council has the
option of passing the proposed revisions unanimously (which are done by ordinance) or returning them to
the commission for possible modifications. The Charter Commission can make modifications to the
amendments or place the item on the ballot for the voters to decide for themselves. This fall there will be
a special election held on November 8 regarding the school district’s proposed levy.
Commissioner Laine stated that dividing the city into wards/districts helps keep the costs down for mailing
campaign literature and also allows that councilmember to focus on details of their own district, still
keeping the good of the entire city in mind.
The City Attorney suggested that the Charter Commission ask the City Manager to set up a joint meeting
with the City Council to discuss the pros and cons of this issue and get a feel for how the council feels on
this issue. Such a meeting could be held in the Council Chambers so it is large enough to hold everyone
from this commission and the City Council. It was suggested that a packet of information be provided to
everyone ahead of the meeting, and should include all the information that the Recording Secretary has
already provided Charter Commission members to date and any other material that is put together by the
Charter Commission and/or city staff. This meeting could be on a regularly scheduled work session date
or a special meeting date.
Motion by Commissioner Buboltz, seconded by Commissioner Hartel, to request a joint meeting with the
City Council on this issue. Motion passed unanimously.
The Recording Secretary will discuss this with the City Manager and report to all Charter Commission
members when and where this meeting will take place.
New Business
Other Topics of Discussion
Commissioner Hartel stated that in the absence of our Council Liaison tonight, it would have been
informative to have someone else from the council present to hear the Charter Commission’s discussion on
districts/wards, as well as the information Mr. Ruff presented tonight and the Charter Commission’s
discussion on that issue. Commissioner Buboltz stated that when council liaisons cannot make
commission/board meetings for which they are a liaison, they usually do not arrange for another
councilmember to attend in their place. However, when there are significant items of discussion on the
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July 21, 2005
Page 4
agenda, it would be nice to have representation from the city council present at those board/commission
meetings. The Recording Secretary reminded the Charter Commission members that the city council does
receive copies of all board/commission meeting minutes in their agenda packets.
Next Meeting Date
The next regular Charter Commission meeting date is October 20, 2005, at 7 p.m. at Murzyn Hall.
Adjournment
Motion by Commissioner Hartel, seconded by Commissioner Ritzko to adjourn the meeting at 8:22 p.m.
Motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
Carole J. Blowers,
Recording Secretary
Charter Commission
July 21, 2005
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