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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011Aug18CharterCommMinutesCOLUMBIA HEIGHTS CHARTER COMMISSION MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING AUGUST 18, 2011 7:00 P.M. CONFERENCE ROOM 1 CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by President Rachel Schwankl at 7:03 p.m. ROLL CALL Members present: Matt Abel, Lee Bak, Jeff Diehm, Roger Johnson, Nancy King, Carolyn Laine, Nicholas Rivers, Rachel Schwankl, Greg Sloat, Charles Tyler, Tim Utz Members absent and excused: Mike Patiuk, Dan Vogtman Members absent and unexcused: Nick Jentsch, Katherine Pepple Also present: Tami Diehm, Council Liaison; Carole Blowers, Recording Secretary Jim Hoeft, City Attorney, was on vacation. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion was made by Charles Tyler, seconded by Jeff Diehm, to approve the minutes of July 2, 2011. Discussion followed. The following corrections were noted that needed to be made to the minutes: On Page 2, regarding Chapter 7, Section 74, remove "not vote" and change to "table ". On Page 3, regarding Chapter 6, Section 56, remove "First reading /motion passed 8 -yes, 3 —no ", as action taken on 7 -21 -11 was not in accordance with Rule #6 of the Charter Commission's rules of procedure. A motion was made to suspend the rules and not strike the aforementioned correction, but there was not a second to that motion. Motion by Matt Abel, seconded by Charles Tyler to approve the amended minutes of July 21, 2011. Status of Changes to Chapter 6, Section 56 (Purchases and Contracts) Ordinance 1601 was NOT passed by the city council on May 23, 2011. DISCUSSION: At the last Charter Commission meeting, a motion was made and seconded to remove the $3,000 amount and add the following wording: "the current amount set by the city council ". Motion by Carolyn Laine, seconded by Jeff Diehm to suspend Rule #6 of the Rules and hold the first and second reading of Chapter 5, Section 56. Motion passed 8 yes -3 no -4 absent -0 abstained. After discussion, motion was made by Carolyn Laine, and seconded by Roger Johnson, to remove the $3,000 amount and add the following wording: "the current amount set by the city council ". Motion passed 9 yes, 2 no, 4 absent, and 0 abstaining. OLD BUSINESS Revised Pages to the City Charter The Recording Secretary passed out pages that were recently revised: a new cover page dated August 7, 2011, page 8, 9, 20, and 32. Since there will be another revision in September, entire charters were not reprinted at this time. 8 -18 -11 Charter Commission Minutes 1 NEW BUSINESS Consideration of Amending the Rules to Convene Bi- Monthly Versus Quarterly Motion by Rachel Schwankl, seconded by Greg Sloat, to consider amending the rules to convene bi- monthly versus quarterly. Discussion followed. Greg Sloat stated it would only be two more meetings a year if we met bi- monthly. Matt Abel stated we can call a special meeting any time, if needed, if we stay with quarterly meetings. Charles Tyler stated we work on issues for a year before they are passed. Nicholas Rivers stated that more meetings may generate more work, and he is already serving on other committees /commissions as well. Jeff Diehm asked if there was some urgency to what we are doing? He is willing to spend two hours per quarterly meeting rather than meeting every two months. Matt Abel called the question. Charles Tyler made a motion to table the original motion. There was no second. Vote on motion to consider amending the rules to convene bi- monthly versus quarterly was defeated 3 -yes; 8 no, 4 absent, 0 abstaining. Council Liaison Tami Diehm stated that if we had more meetings than quarterly, the City Attorney may not attend them, as that is not in his contract with the city. Meeting every two months would mean more Recording Secretary's wages (or comp time) as well. Charles Tyler stated that by state statutes, the Charter Commission is allotted $1,500 a year. The Recording Secretary stated that Mr. Tyler had asked her (by an earlier e -mail) if the attorney's fees or her wages were taken out of these monies, and the answer is no. Carolyn Laine stated that historically those monies have been used to pay for expenses when there was a referendum item on the ballot. Consideration of Forming Three Committees Another item to tonight's meeting agenda was consideration of adding the following committees: Rules/Procedures, Public Relations, and Government Relations /Compliance. Discussion on what these committees would do followed. For example, Rules/Procedures could review current ones and could suggest some new ones and delete some. Public Relations could discuss have a web page on the city's website. Government Relations /Compliance could advise the commission about changes in State Statutes that affect charter commissions. Motion by Matt Abel, seconded by Greg Sloat to not form committees at this time. Motion passed. Charles Tyler feels more citizen awareness on what the Charter Commission is and does is needed. Councilmember Tami Diehm mentioned that the city is considering starting a Citizen's Academy. This could be a good place to publicize what the Charter Commission does. ADJOURNMENT Motion was made and seconded by adjourn the meeting at 8:26 p.m. Motion passed 10 -yes; 1 no, 4 absent, 0 abstained. Respectfully submitted, Carole J. Blowers, Recording Secretary 8 -18 -11 Charter Commission Minutes 2