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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-11-14 CHC MIN . . . City of Stillwater Charter Commission Meeting November 14, 2000 PRESENT: Members: Wayne Anderson, Mary Ruch, Chuck Donnelly, Richard Colemier, Gary Kriesel and Dan Feia ABSENT: Members: Nance Purcell and Julie Ann Gustanski CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chair Member Wayne Anderson called the meeting to order at 7:05 p,m, APPROVAL OF MINUTES from the September 18, 2000 meeting DISCUSSION: On the second page, a typographical error was noted in the "Ms," Before the name of Mr, Kimbrel. Mr, Anderson requested that a clarification be made that with Mr, Kimbrel's resignation that the statement "Mr, Anderson will become chair" is incorrect, A process of nomination should occur according to Robert's rules, A motion was made by Mrs, Ruch , seconded by Mr, Colemier, to accept the Minutes of the Meeting from September 18, 2000 with the corrections. The vote to accept the Minutes with conditions passed unanimously, NEW BUSINESS ITEM #1: Election of Chair and Vice Chair, DISCUSSION: Mr, Anderson said that he would be willing to serve as Vice Chair of the Charter Commission, A motion was made by Mrs, Ruch, seconded by Mr, Donnelly, to nominate Mr. Anderson as chair, The vote to accept the nomination ofMr, Anderson was accepted unanimously, A motion was made by Mr, Colemier, and seconded by Mrs, Ruch for a "White Ballot" to nominate Mr, Anderson Chairperson of the Charter Commission, The vote to nominate Mr, Anderson as Chairperson passed unanimously. A motion was made by Mr, Feia to nominate Mr, Kriesel as Vice Chair, Mr, Kriesel declined, Mr, Anderson said that it was his understanding that Mrs, Ruch would be willing to serve as Vice Chair. Mrs. Ruch expressed a willingness to serve as Vice Chair, A motion was made by Mr. Kriesel, seconded by Mr, Feia, to nominate Mrs, Ruch to Vice Chair. The motion passed unanimously, A motion was made by Mr, Colemier, seconded by Mr. Kriesel, for a "White Ballot" to nominate Mrs, Ruch as Vice Chairperson of the Charter Commissions, The vote passed unanimously, ITEM #2: OLD BUSINESS A.) Presentation ofl{eport from Mrs, Ruch regarding" Discussion Framework for Water Board Study", DISCUSSION: A draft of discussion framework 10/16/00 was presented to the Charter Commission by Mrs. Ruch, The framework to study the Water Board has these goals listed which were discussed; 1. Gain a clear understanding of Stillwater's Water Board and how it currently functions, 2, Gain an understanding of why Water Boards are/were not placed under the Council's management and why they have separate bonding authority, 3, Gain an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of placing the City's water supply under the Council's authority, 4. Separating facts from opinion, Once the facts are known, determining if change is a good idea for the City and it's citizens, Also covered in the Framework were suggestions for conducting an effective study, general background on cities and water, history of Stillwater's Water Board, a view from the Chair of the Water Board, a view from the city administrator and a swnmary of facts, ~ . Page two The question of there being any prior information available was brought up by Mr, Colemier, This question brought to the discussion a possible file cabinet for materials brought before the Charter Commission, to be made available to future members and the general public, as there is no known materials available of any prior study, It was made known that the question of a Water Board Study had been mentioned previously, Mr, Donnelly questioned the reason for doing this study, A discussion followed regarding the Library and the Water Board being separate from the Council and why it was necessary to consider the possibility of Council involvement. Mrs, Ruch said that it was not necessary to do anything in regard to the Water Board, Mrs, Ruch said that it has been brought up several times in the past and it is an interesting study to consider, The discussion ended with the conclusion that the Charter Commission Members would review the Draft of Discussion Framework at home before the next meeting. A motion was made by Mrs, Ruch., seconded by Mr. Kriesel that a permanent file (Charter Commission Library) be kept and left within the City Hall. The motion passed unanimously. Chairperson Anderson agreed to request a permanent file to be kept at City Hall, b,) Review of Charter A review of the new copy of the Charter was opened for discussion, Mr, Colemier question the numbering of the text, Mr, Colemier asked if5,Ol0 should not read 5,10 instead Mr, Anderson said that the mnnbering was not the responsibility of the Charter, however, thought that the number should be as Mr, Colemier thought, The last sentence of number 5,02 was questioned in regard to the Vice-Mayor or Vice President being the same person and any confusion that may cause, Mrs. Ruch questioned if the City Attorney should draft a proposal for Section B that would bring the charter in line with State Statutes, This was in regard to making a $500,00 contribution in 4,05, The question of the cost of the attorney fees was brought up and the request that anything brought before the attorney be kept specific, No action was taken in regard to this matter at this time, . c,) Resources An order sheet was available to member from the National City League with a list of possible resources for the Charter Commission, "A Guide for Charter Commissions", fifth edition was mentioned as a potential for purchase, The cost of the Guide is $10,00 and all agreed that it was a necessary resource for members, A second reference, a handbook for managers and councils was mentioned as a resource, A review of the guide and handbook was discussed, A motion was made by Mr, Donnelly, seconded by Mr, Anderson to purchase 10 copies of a Guide for Charter Commissions and one Handbook, 008, for City Managers for a cost of$112.00 from the City of Stillwater, The motion passed unanimously, Mr, Anderson said that he would ask the City for the reference materials, Mr, Feia requested a book of "Robert's Rules", Mr, Colemier said that he could acquire a copy for Mr, Feia to review, OTHER NEW BUSINESS Mr, Colemier mentioned that the new annexed areas were going into Ward 4, Mr. Donnelly said that he had heard complaints regarding the use of Wards in the last election, Mr, Donnelly said that it use to be a citywide election without Wards, Mr, Colemier said that it was only five years ago that a referendum was made to establish the wards. Mr, Anderson commented that he did not think the Council would want to address this issue, ADJOURNMENT A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Mr, Donnelly and seconded by Mr, Kriesel. The motion passed unanimously. . Respectfully submitted Diane Martinek, Recorder