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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-10-15 CHC MIN City of Stillwater Charter Commission Oct. 15, 2007 Present: Patrick Needham, chair Jeanne Anderson, Gene Bealka, Orwin Carter, Tom Corbett, John Lund, Dorothy Molstad, Dwayne Nelson and Terry Zoller Approval of minutes: Mr. Zoller, seconded by Mr. Lund, moved to approve the minutes of June 12, 2007. Motion passed unanimously. Old Business · There was discussion about City Attorney Magnuson's memo regarding the timing of putting forth a possible Charter provision in order for the question to appear on the November 2008 general election ballot should the Council vote require a City-wide referendum. It was noted that if the Commission submits a proposed provision to the Council for consideration by Sept. 1, 2008, and the Council vote requires a general election, there will still be time to include the question on the regular general election ballot without incurring the cost of a special City-wide election. Ms. Molstad moved to accept Attorney Magnuson's memorandum. Mr. Carter seconded the motion; motion passed unanimously. · Conflict of Interest discussion - Mr. Needham suggested it was good this issue came up. It was noted the City had a Conflict of Interest policy on the books for many years, but the policy hadn't been followed/enforced. Ms. Molstad asked if the Chair had received a follow-up report regarding the number of employees/commission members who had provided the required Conflict of Interest information; Mr. Needham responded that he assumed there had been 100% response, as a response is mandated by the City policy. Ms. Anderson asked if there are any written procedures to ensure the policy is followed and not forgotten again. It was decided to ask for a copy of the personnel procedures that are being followed for new employees, elected officials and new commission/board members. Mr. Carter moved to request a copy of the procedures; Ms. Molstad seconded the motion, indicating the Chair will forward the request to City staff. Motion passed unanimously. New Business · Mr. Needham noted he was unaware that the Commission is responsible for preparing an annual report to be submitted to the District Court judge. He wondered if there was some standardized format to follow, and stated he does not recall ever submitting a report in the past. Mr. Bealka suggested there might be some report on file with the City Clerk. Mr. Needham suggested the report could be a matter of going through the Commission minutes and preparing a synopsis of the Commission's activities for the year. Mr. Corbett explained that state statute is not specific as to what the report should include, but does state that the Commission shall submit to the Chief Judge of the District Court, on or before Dec. 31 of each year, an annual report outlining its activities and accomplishments for the calendar year; it also states the report should be forwarded to the Clerk of the City, he noted. Mr. Needham said he has materials from previous years, and he has not seen a copy of any annual report. Mr. Corbett volunteered to prepare the annual report and bring a draft of the report to the next Commission meeting for review; members suggested that Mr. Corbett e- mail the draft to members for their review prior to the next meeting. Mr. Needham said he would work with Mr. Corbett in preparing the report. · Presidential poll discussion - Mr. Corbett stated he had e-mailed members language in the Minneapolis City Charter; he pointed out that, unlike Stillwater, the City of Minneapolis has local elections in odd-years, but Stillwater does not have local elections the year immediately preceding a presidential election. Mr. Needham said he had discovered that Minneapolis passed a charter provision in 1994 allowing for presidential preference polls. Mr. Needham's information referred to a news article which explained the impetus for local presidential polls - a way of forcing national candidates in address local urban issues directly. Mr. Needham's information indicated that the idea of local presidential polls has disappeared since 1999, and it noted the movement was primarily directed at polls in large urban cities, such as Minneapolis. It was consensus not to pursue the possibility of a presidential poll. Mr. Corbett said if Stillwater had an election in the year immediately preceding the general election, he would favor pursuing the possibility as a way of encouraging local voter turnout, but given the timing of Stillwater's election cycle, agreed the idea wouldn't work here. There was discussion as to the next meeting date. It was noted that if the annual report is circulated bye-mail and filed after any comments are received, the next meeting wouldn't need to be scheduled until the third Monday in January. Motion by Mr. Zoller, seconded by Ms. Molstad, moved to schedule the next meeting for the third Monday in January, Jan. 21, 2008. Several members spoke in favor of meeting at least on a quarterly basis. Motion by Mr. Carter, seconded by Mr. Bealka, moved to adjourn at 7:30 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Baker Recording Secretary