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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJanuary 15, 2004, Charter Minut CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, JANUARY 15, 2004 7 P.M. MURZYN HALL CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:10 P.M. by Vice President/Interim President Mike Hartel. ROLL CALL Members present: Bob Buboltz, Mike Hartel, Nancy King, Brian Scott, Joe Sturdevant, Ted Yehle Members absent and excused: Bill Antzaras, Charles Christopherson Members absent and unexcused: John Banyard, Clara Schmidt Also present: City Attorney, Jim Hoeft Council Liaison, Bobby Williams, arrived later in the meeting. NOTE: The Charter Commission currently has ten members and five vacancies. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Buboltz, seconded by Commissioner King, to approve the minutes of the October 23, 2003, meeting as presented. Motion passed unanimously. CORRESPONDENCE The Recording Secretary advised the commission that the following correspondence has been sent or received since our last meeting: ?? A memo was sent on October 29, 2003, to Bill Elrite, Finance Director, from the City Attorney regarding Chapter 2, Section 15, Bonded Debt. ?? A memo was received on January 7, 2004, from Bill Elrite, Finance Director in response to the above-mentioned memo to him on Bonded Debt. STATUS OF MEMBERSHIP The Recording Secretary reported that the commission currently has ten members and five vacancies. In checking with the office of the Chief Judge, there were no new applications received in his office to date. Bill Antzaras’ term will expire January 25, 2004. Mr. Antzaras has served two full terms (eight years). It was learned that Commissioner Christopherson is building a new home in another community, so there will be another vacancy when he moves from Columbia Heights. The Recording Secretary noted the commission must have a minimum of nine members. ELECTION OF OFFICERS Interim President Hartel asked commission members in attendance if there were any nominations from the floor for President. Motion by Commissioner Buboltz, seconded by Commissioner Scott, to nominate Joe Sturdevant for President. Interim President Hartel again asked commission members if there were any other nominations for President. Motion by Commissioner Yehle, seconded by Commissioner King, to nominate Mike Hartel. Interim President Hartel asked members if they had a preference in voting—either by hand or paper ballot. There being no preference noted, the following hand vote was taken: Sturdevant- 2; Hartel- 4. Mike Hartel will be the President for 2004. President Hartel asked commission members in attendance if there were any nominations from the floor for Vice President. Motion by Commissioner Buboltz, seconded by Commissioner Yehle, to nominate Joe Sturdevant for Vice President. President Hartel again asked commission members if there were any other nominations for Vice President. Motion by Commissioner Scott, seconded by Commissioner King, to nominate Brian Scott. The following hand vote was taken: Sturdevant- 4; Scott- 2. Joe Sturdevant will be the Vice President for 2004. President Hartel asked commission members in attendance if there were any nominations from the floor for Secretary. Motion by Commissioner Sturdevant, seconded by Commissioner Yehle to nominate Clara Schmidt for Secretary. President Hartel again asked commission members if there were any other January 15, 2004 Page 1 nominations for Secretary. There being none, a white ballot vote elected Clara Schmidt for Secretary. OLD BUSINESS All Inclusive Board/Commission Dinner-December 10, 2003 Commission members were asked for feedback about the dinner on December 10, 2003. Everyone spoke very favorably about the event and the dinner, and thanked the council for inviting them. Suggestions for just a few improvements were provided. Members thought it would be nice to have members of each commission stand when they are acknowledged, and that the Chair/President of each commission should be given special recognition. The Recording Secretary will pass the comments on to the City Manager and Mayor. Status of Proposed Charter Changes th President Hartel informed the commission members that he attended a work session on November 17 to th explain the proposed amendments to the council. At the city council meeting of November 24, the council held the first reading of the proposed ordinances. At the city council meeting of December 15, 2003, the council held the second reading of the proposed ordinances. The following charter amendments were passed unanimously by the City Council on December 15, 2003, and will become effective in March of 2004: Chapter 2, Section 7, Elective Offices. Chapter 3, Section 16, Council Meetings. Chapter 9, Section 89, Payment of Award. Chapter 5, Section 36, Expenditures by Petitioner. Chapter 12, Section 108, Official Publications. Discussion of Possible Charter Changes Possible charter changes to Chapter 2, Section 15 and Chapter 7, Section 72 were previously discussed. A memo was sent to the Finance Director after our last meeting asking for his input and feedback on this section. The Finance Director responded via memo on January 7, 2004, to the Charter Commission members. This memo was included in tonight’s agenda packet. Jim Hoeft, City Attorney, stated of the three alternatives given by the Finance Director, Alternative #3 is similar to what we did with the setting of a purchasing limit for the City Manager (by allowing the city council to set that amount by resolution). In further discussion, it was decided that some wording incorporating all three alternatives may be the best solution. The City Attorney will prepare new language for Chapter 2, Section 15, incorporating all three alternatives into the proposed language and will bring it back to the commission at their next meeting. Chapter 7, Section 72, Bonded Debt and Debt Limit. At the last commission meeting, the City Attorney stated if the commission wanted to bring this section of the charter up to date, he would need to do a sentence by sentence analysis. He again reiterated the fact that state statutes overrides many items in this particular chapter. Basically, there are three options: ?? leave as it ?? eliminate it ?? modify it. The City Attorney will meet with the Finance Director for some suggestions on this section as well, and will put something together for our next commission meeting. NEW BUSINESS Charter Commission 2003 Annual Report January 15, 2004 Page 2 A copy of the annual report was provided to members in their agenda packets. Motion by Commissioner Buboltz, seconded by Commissioner Yehle, to accept the 2003 annual report as prepared and presented. Motion passed unanimously. The Recording Secretary stated she would forward it on to the Finance Director and Chief Judge of Anoka County. Other Topics of Discussion Discussion was held on getting new members for this commission. Commissioner Scott inquired how old someone had to be to become a member of this commission. The City Attorney stated “18”. Commissioner Scott wanted to know if high school students could apply, and it was stated that as long as they were 18, they could. Members were informed that our vacancies have been advertised on the city’s website and local cable station as well as articles in the local newspapers. The Recording Secretary stated that there was a recent deadline for the first draft of the city newsletter, but perhaps she could still get something in the next newsletter if she asks tomorrow. All members were encouraged to tell other citizens about the vacancy and how to apply. Commission applications are available on the city’s website and also in Administration. NEXT MEETING DATE The next regularly scheduled meeting will be Thursday, April 15, 2004, at 7 p.m. at Murzyn Hall. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Scott, seconded by Commissioner Buboltz, to adjourn the meeting at 7:56 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Carole J. Blowers Recording Secretary January 15, 2004 Page 3