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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 18, 2007, Charter Comm MinutesOFFICIAL MINUTES OF THE CHARTER COMMISSION THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2007 7:00 P.M. GAUVITTE ROOM MURZYN HALL Call to Order The meeting was called to order by President Mike Hartel at 7:11 p.m. Roll Call Members present: Bob Buboltz, Barb Gertsema, Mike Hartel, Tim Johnson, Nancy King, Carolyn Laine, Mike Patiuk, Lori Ritzko Members absent and excused: Katy Korday, Joseph Sturdevant, Dan Vogtman Members absent and unexcused: Scott Kyseth, Joe Sturdevant (Jr.) Council Liaison for 2007, Tami-Ericson Diehm, was present. Carole Blowers, Recording Secretary was present. Jim Hoeft, City Attorney, was not present. Approval of Minutes of October 19, 2006: One page 3, the word "spurn" should be "spur", and on page 4, the word "hour" should be "house". With these corrections noted, motion by Commissioner Patiuk, seconded by Commissioner King, to approve the minutes for the October 20, 2006, meeting. Motion passed unanimously. It should be noted that the minutes of the September 16, 2006, and the August 26, 2006, sub-committee meetings were also provided for the entire commission in the mailing of tonight's meeting. Election of Officers President Hartel asked commissioners for nominations for President. Motion by Commissioner Patiuk to nominate Commissioner Hartel for President. Nominations for President were called for again. There being no further nominations, Commissioner Hartel was elected President for 2007 via a white ballot. President Hartel called for nominations for Vice President. Motion by Commissioner Patiuk to nominate Commissioner Johnson. Commissioner Johnson declined the nomination. Nominations for Vice President were called for again by President Hartel, who noted that Commissioner Vogtman asked (via e-mail due to his absence tonight) that Joe Sturdevant (Jr.) be nominated. Nominations for Vice President were called for again. There being no further nominations, Joe Sturdevant (Jr.) was elected Vice President for 2007 via a white ballot. President Hartel asked for nominations for Secretary. Motion by Commissioner Laine to nominate Commissioner King. President Hartel again called for nominations for Secretary. There being no further Charter Commission January 18, 2007 Page 1 nominations, Nancy King was elected Secretary for 2007 via a white ballot. Therefore, officers for 2007 are: President Mike Hartel Vice President Joe Sturdevant, Jr. Secretary Nancy King Correspondence The Recording Secretary advised the following correspondence took place since the last meeting in October of 2006: Numerous e-mails were sent to commission members throughout the past three months regarding the proposed charter change, progress of the ballot wording, communication to the public, taping and showing of the October public informational meeting, results of work session and regular city council meetings dealing with this issue, results of the election, etc. Also numerous e-mails were sent and many calls were made to various printers regarding the insert we did. • Numerous council letters were prepared for work sessions and city council meetings regarding the proposed amendment. • Several e-mails were sent to the Northeaster regarding our insert and quarter page ad about the October meeting. • Numerous e-mails were sent to the sub-committee members, the President, the City Attorney, and other city staff members throughout the process. • Received November e-mail from Nicole Druckrey advising of her resignation due to her moving out of state. • A thank you letter was sent to Nicole Druckrey for her years of service • A letter was sent to the Chief Judge advising him of Nicole's resignation; we now have two vacancies on the commission. • An e-mail was received from Dan Vogtman requesting an excused absence for tonight and giving his nominations for officers for 2007. Status of Membership With the resignation of Commissioner Druckrey (who moved out of state), the Charter Commission has two vacancies. Slips were passed out to members to verify their current phone and e-mail addresses for the Recording Secretary. Old Business Commissioner Johnson wished to discuss the results of the Charter Commission November ballot question. He stated that he felt adding the two at-large councilmembers at large is what killed the passing of this amendment. We should have just went with dividing the city into four wards. He stated that reviewing the 2004 election and census data, more of our citizens voted for their neighbor. Commissioner Patiuk stated that maybe if the charter amendment had been presented as two separate issues instead of one, it may have passed. He stated that the sub-committee worked hard to get the Charter Commission January 18, 2007 Page 2 information out to the citizens, keeping in mind it had to be neutral and approved by the City Attorney. If we are going to work on this issue again in the future, we should figure out how we are going to present this information to the public. The Charter Commission sub-committee had to remain neutral in the information distributed. The City Manager had changed some wording at the last moment in the "cons" area of the information the subcommittee put together to go out to the public, which the City Attorney approved. The City was kind enough to provide paper and the copy machine to produce the insert in the newspaper we did. The City Council is different-they don't have to be neutral. Commissioner Laine asked if the $1,500 allowed by state statutes was enough, or if she should work on advocating more? President Hartel stated that we did get the information out without using the entire $1,500. The intent was to get the information out to every person via mail, as not everyone has cable. We do not want to start on this issue again soon, as we don't want to hold a special election. Commis- sioner Patiuk stated that we need to know how much money to do this issue. Commissioner Buboltz stated he, too, felt that the two additional councilmembers probably killed the amendment. Commissioner King stated that the comment made about residents voting for their neighbors is just a guess. Commissioner Johnson stated that most people voted east of Central Avenue. Commissioner Johnson stated that the city went from nine precincts to eight precincts, and we are 3.5 square miles large. We also have three liquor stores, which is one per square mile. President Hartel stated that the commission members should look over the Charter as a whole. He has been approached about changing the Mayor's term from two years to four years. It was also brought up about the council's pension and benefits. President Hartel stated he did not think we should continue this discussion right now, but maybe later in the year. Commissioner Ritzko asked how we could poll the citizens about this issue. Suggestions were to put it on Channel 2, the government channel, our website, a mailing, or have residents call into a specific phone number at city hall. Commissioner Johnson asked what were the results by precinct on the ballot question. Councilmember Diehm stated she thought that information was on our website. New Business 2006 Annual Report Motion by Commissioner Buboltz, seconded by Commissioner Johnson to approve the 2006 Charter Commission Annual Report as presented. The Recording Secretary will forward a copy to the Chief Judge and City Clerk. Annual Board/Commission Dinner The annual board/commission recognition dinner will be held on Thursday, March 29, 2007, at Murzyn Hall. Members who were at the meeting tonight were given their invitations. Invitations to those members not present tonight will be mailed. Next Meeting Date Charter Commission January 18, 2007 Page 3 The next regular Charter Commission meeting date is April 19, 2007, at 7 p.m. at Murzyn Hall. Again, President Hartel asked commissioners to review the entire charter for changes or any questions. Councilmember Diehm stated that the City Attorney at one time had a chart indicating what sections of the City Charter are overridden by state statutes. The Recording Secretary will find this chart, ask the City Attorney to update it, and provide it to members. Other Councilmember Diehm was asked about the open space on 47t'` and Central and the open space next to Heights Theater (former Burger King site). She responded that at 47t'` and Central, the Metropolitan Council has provided the city with funding for parking lots and a potential restaurant like Panera Bread. The Heights Theater owner is interested in possibly putting up a restaurant or pizza place. Adjournment Motion by Commissioner Patiuk, seconded by Commissioner Ritzko, to adjourn the meeting at 7:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Carole J. Blowers, Recording Secretary Charter Commission January 18, 2007 Page 4