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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-07-20 CHC MIN ....,. Charter Commission July 20, 1998 Present: Timothy Old, chairperson Kathy Czar, Chuck Donnelly, Steve Keister, Howard Lieberman, Nance Purcell and Mary Ruch Absent: Robert Kimbrel and Don Valsvik Others: Katie O'Brien, Stillwater Gazette Mr. Old called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Approval of minutes: Ms. Ruch, seconded by Ms. Czar, moved approval of the minutes of April 20, 1998; all in favor. Ms. Ruch, seconded by Ms. Czar, moved approval of the minutes of June 15, 1998; all in favor. Welcome new member: Mr. Old welcomed Mr. Donnelly as a member of the Commission; Mr. Donnelly was to officially sworn in on July 21. . Conflict of interest update: The first reading of the conflict of interest provision was done at the July 7 City Council meeting. The second reading was scheduled for the July 21 Council meeting. Mr. Donnelly volunteered to attend should the Council have any questions. Nile Kriesel's presentation: Mr. Kriesel was unable to attend the meeting. Mr. Old said Mr. Kriesel has some interesting views regarding the Water Board issue and suggested rescheduling his presentation for a later date. Mr. Old also noted that Mr. Kriesel has suggested getting City Engineer Klayton Eckles' views on the issue. Ms. Ruch suggested that Mr. Kriesel's presentation should be scheduled before the Commission resumes the City Manager project or put off until later as the Commission has decided in previous discussions that the City Manager/Water Board are two separate issues. Old business: · Publication of City Council minutes - Ms. Czar said the current charter provision allows 15 working days for publication of the minutes. The problem arises when there are five Tuesdays in a month and there are three weeks between Council meetings. Ms. Czar said she had talked with City Attorney David Magnuson regarding the issue. Mr. Magnuson said previously the clerk published draft minutes; if there were corrections to the minutes when approved by the Council, the corrections were published separately. He also noted by statute, the City could published a meeting summary, rather than minutes attested to by the mayor. Mr. Magnuson also pointed out that if there is an instance when a real time crunch occurs, the minutes could be published in the daily paper rather than the weekly. Ms. Czar noted that allowing another 15 working days for publication would result in the minutes being published six week after the fact. . ~ There was some discussion as to having all City committee/board meeting minutes published. It was pointed out that the City has a web page on the Internet where that information is available. Ms. Czar and Ms. Ruch said they favored either publishing summary minutes or unapproved minutes with corrections to be published at a later date if necessary. Mr. Keister moved to leave the publication provision as is; that motion died for lack of a second. Ms. Czar suggested meeting with City Clerk Modi Weldon to discuss the issue further and to get her preference as to publishing meeting summaries versus minutes approved and attested to by the mayor. Mr. Lieberman, seconded by Ms. Czar, moved to authorize Mr. Old to discuss the issue with Ms. Weldon. Ms. Ruch suggested amending the motion to indicate the Commission asked, rather than authorized, Mr. Old to discuss the issue with Ms. Weldon. Mr. Lieberman and Ms. Czar accepted the amendment to the motion; amended motion passed unanimously. . · Ms. Purcell expressed her disappointment regarding the Commission's action at the June meeting recommended that she take a leave of absence during her mayoral campaign. She said she had discussed the implications of her candidacy with the District Court judge and had been prepared to request a leave, which she did later in the discussion. Members assured Ms. Purcell that the action was a result of the point of view as a Commission as a whole, not as individuals. Mr. Keister also noted in the action taken at the June meeting, the leave will not impact her membership status. Ms. Ruch, seconded by Mr. Lieberman, moved to accept Ms. Purcell's request for a leave of absence until after the mayoral election; all in favor. New business: · Ms. Czar raised the issue of orientation for new members. Ms. Ruch said a National Civic League Guide for Charter Commissions would be useful for structuring an orientation. Ms. Ruch will have copies of the guide ordered for Commission members. Members were asked to go through the publication in preparation for the orientation session which will be held at the Aug. 17 meeting. Ms. Ruch stated she would pull out the list of initiatives for possible future Commission projects for the new members. Ms. Purcell has a history of the Commission/projects which she will give to Mr. Old. . · Mr. Donnelly asked for a "genesis" of the Commission's work on the city manager form of government. Ms. Ruch explained that several years ago the Commission started to study, "in bits and starts," the city manager form of organization. Last spring, the group decided to move forward with the study, with Ms. Ruch and Ms. Czar volunteering to lead a more systematic approach to the project. Ms. Ruch said in the past there was no consensus on the matter, due, in part, to member absences. In deciding to move forward with the project, it was felt that the Commission could reach consensus in a series of three meeting and decide whether to bring a proposal forward to the City Council. "~ . . · Mr. Ruch said she had an idea for a new initiative for the Commission to look into - codifying the Comprehensive Plan by ordinance. She will bring information explaining her proposal to the next meeting. Mr. Keister also suggested looking into the different between the school district and city's bonding authority. · Ms. Ruch brought up the issue of the Aiple property. She said the Commission has to be attune to when the City schedules a public hearing on the Aiple property. When the hearing is publicized, she said it will be important for the Commission to talk abut the process regarding the disposition of city-owned land. She said it is a time-critical matter and the Commission should be prepared to take action when the hearing is scheduled. Mr. Lieberman and Ms. Czar will work together in preparing an information piece outlining the process as dictated by the City Charter. Ms. Ruch, seconded by Ms. Purcell, moved that a draft of the Charter Commission's response be ready for the August meeting; all in favor. Mr. Lieberman, seconded by Ms. Purcell, moved to adjourn at 8:35 p.m.; all in favor. Respectfully submitted, Sharon Baker Recording Secretary