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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 15, 2004, Charter MinutesCOLUMBIA HEIGHTS CHARTER COMMISSION MINUTES APRIL 15, 2004 7:00 P.M. MURZYN HALL CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by President Hartel at 7:06 p.m. ROLL CALL Members present: Bob Buboltz, Charles Christopherson, Nicole Druckrey, Barb Gertsema, Mike Hartel, Nancy King, Kathleen Korday (7:15 p.m.), Michael Patiuk, Brian Scott, Dan Vogtman Members absent and excused: Joe Sturdevant, Ted Yehle Members absent and unexcused: John Banyard, Clara Schmidt Current membership totals fourteen. Also present: Julienne Wyckoff, Mayor; Jim Hoeft, City Attorney; Carole Blowers, Recording Secretary All members introduced themselves for the benefit of all the new members. Mayor Wyckoff welcomed all the new members to the commission and thanked them for volunteering their time to serve on this commission. The Mayor also passed out flyers about the upcoming town hall direction meeting on April 22nd at 7 p.m. at Murzyn Hall, and then left the meeting. Council Liaison Bobby Williams was not present at the meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Motion by Commissioner Buboltz, seconded by Commissioner Scott to approve the minutes as presented for January 15, 2004. Motion passed unanimously. CORRESPONDENCE The Recording Secretary advised commission members that since our last meeting, she received letters from the Chief Judge appointing Commissioners Druckrey, Gertsema, Korday, Patiuk, and Vogtman. She also advised commission members that the following correspondence has been sent since our last meeting: the annual report was forwarded to the Chief Judge and Finance Director; Charter Commission vacancies were advertised in the spring City Newsletter, The Northeaster, The SunFocus News; and local cable TV; a thank you letter was sent to outgoing member Bill Antzaras, and he was recognized at the council meeting February 9th; membership applications received from Druckrey, Gertsema, Korday, Patiuk, and Vogtman were forwarded to the Chief Judge and all were appointed, took their oaths, and the oaths were then forwarded to the Chief Judge; welcome letters and packets were supplied to all the new members along with new charters; all members were informed about the upcoming Prayer Breakfast on May 12th; the Mayor and City Manager were thanked for the joint board/commission dinner in December and were provided input for some small improvements to the event; and updated city charters were provided to the Mayor/City Councilmembers, the City Manager, the Page 1 April 15, 2004 Assistant to the City Manager, all division heads, the Council Secretary, the City Attorney, five local school libraries, our City Library, and the League of Minnesota Cities. OLD BUSINESS Discussion of Chapter 2, Section 15, Official Bonds City Attorney, Jim HoeR, has contacted Bill Elrite, Finance Director, as to what kind of fidelity bonds the city carries at this time. Mr. Elrite informed him that the city purchases a blanket fidelity bond for all city employees (through our local insurance carder) and has done so for several years now. He also explained that the St. Paul Companies was our local insurance carrier for years, but we currently use the League of Minnesota Cities which has saved the city some substantial amounts of money. He also explained that in the 1980's, the city was self-insured. The City Attorney reviewed the January 7, 2004, memo from the Finance Director to the Charter Commission members regarding this issue. Both the City Attorney and Finance Director agree that the city council should set the amount and kind of bond by resolution. New members will be provided with copies of the January 7, 2004, memo to understand more clearly what changes are being proposed to this section of the charter. Mr. Hoeft provided commission members with proposed new wording for this chapter and section of the city charter which would satisfy the requirement for a fidelity bond and also satisfy state statutes. Commissioner Korday asked why the commission is considering changes to this section. Mr. Hoeft explained that the commission was reviewing the entire charter for any updating that should be done, and it was decided that this section needed some revisions. Mr. Hoeft also explained for the benefit of the new members that proposed changes to the city charter have 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 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. Commissioner Patiuk asked if there were minimum requirements per state statutes for the bonds. Mr. Hoeft explained that the state statutes basically state we have to have fidelity bonds for certain employees. It was decided that since new members did not have the January 7, 2004, memo from the Finance Director to refer to, no action would be taken on this item tonight. The Recording Secretary would make sure that all new members receive this memo. Discussion of Chapter 7, Section 72, Bonded Debt and Debt Limit The City Attorney went on to discuss this section of the city charter. Questions regarding keeping and/or revising this section of the charter came up in reviewing the entire charter. Mt'. Hoeft explained for the benefit of the new members the difference between statutory and charter cities. He stated that many smaller cities, especially rural cities, are statutory cities. There was some discussion on what cities nearby are charter cities, and numerous cities were cited. Page 2 April 15, 2004 Commission members were referred to Chapter 7, Section 72, which is a rather long and detailed section of the city charter which covers this subject. Mr. Hoeft stated he did not prepare any new proposed language for tonight on this section, but suggested perhaps a side by side comparison between our current charter language and the current state statutes would be needed for members to look at. It was decided that Mr. Hoeft should prepare this comparison for our next meeting. NEW BUSINESS All members have been provided copies of the revised city charter as well as a new membership list. All members have been notified of the upcoming Community Prayer Breakfast which is on May 12th at Murzyn Hall at 7 a.m. OTHER ITEMS President Hartel advised the commission that tonight is the last night for Commissioner Christopherson. Mr. Christopherson has sold his home in Columbia Heights and will soon be moving. Mr. Christopherson became a member of this commission in December of 1997. He stated he will inform the Chief Judge of his resignation in writing. President Hartel also advised the commission that he has learned that Commissioner Yehle is also going to be moving from Columbia Heights soon. Mr. Yehle has been informed to provide the Chief Judge a letter of resignation at the appropriate time. (Please note: After the meeting, the President was informed that Commissioner Scott will also be moving out of our city in the near future.) President Hartel will prepare a letter to the Chief Judge stating his intention to serve another four year term on this commission. His fu'st four-year term expires in June of 2004. NEXT MEETING DATE The next Charter Commission meeting will be July 15, 2004, at Murzyn Hall at 7 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Christopherson, seconded by Commissioner Buboltz to adjourn the meeting at 7:47 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Carole J. Blo~v~Srs Recording Secretary Page 3 April 15, 2OO4