HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998-05-18 CHC MIN
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Minutes
Stillwater Charter Commission
May 18, 1998
Present:
Chairman Timothy Old, Steve Keister, Nancy Purcell, Don Valsvik, Kathy Czar,
Mary Ruch
Absent:
Howard Lieberman
Guest:
Katie O'Brien - Stillwater Gazette, Nile Kriesel, Marcy Cordes, Bob Kimbrel,
Chuck Donnelly
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Old at 7:10 p.m.
A motion was made by Mr. Keister, and seconded by Mr. Valsvik to table the approval of
minutes from April 20 until the next meeting when members have had a chance to look them
over. All in favor.
Presentation by Nile Kriesel. City Coordinator on Conflict of Interest
Mr. Kriesel joined the group to discuss the Conflict of Interest Charter Amendment that is being
proposed. Mr. Kriesel stated several concerns about the amendment:
. Nothing in past history has justified such an amendment
. The present state statue has enough language in it to deal with any problems that might occur
. The additional workload of staffing and administering a Board of Ethics
. Would the Board of Ethics have the capacity to make legal determinations
. Due process
. Wording already exists in the Policy and Procedures manual regarding conflict of interest
Issues
. The process would be cumbersome and could cause undue harassment of public officials and
employees.
There was a lot of discussion regarding these concerns. The Charter Commission has worked on
the amendment for 18 months and many of these issues were taken into consideration. The
amendment would be enacted to protect because the Board of Ethics could act as an advisory
board for public officials or public employees who whish to know if their interests may be in
conflict with the public good. The Board of Ethics would be comprised of the chairs of all City
Boards and Commissions. Ms. Purcell stated that this decision was made because these people
are already involved and committed to the welfare ofthe City. Mr. Old stated that even though
there may not seem to be a need for it now, we need to look down the road 10,20 or 30 years as
the City grows when everyone doesn't know everyone else. Mr. Keister stated that it is
important for the City to adopt a Conflict of Interest policy because the City Attorney can be put
in the untenable position of having to make an ethical decision about the people that employ him.
Mr. Valsvik stated that he felt that before an issue went before the Board of Ethics someone
would have to determine if it was a conflict of interest and that would probably fall to the City
Attorney. He felt that there needed to be some process in place to control the "nuisance factor"
. Discussion ensued regarding what would make the amendment more acceptable. Several issues
were broached including eliminating the formation of the Board of Ethics and using a different
enforcement mechanism and passing the Confiict of Interest Statement as an Ordinance rather
than a Charter Amendment.
Mr. Old asked if there were any other issues where Mr. Kriesel felt we were not on common
ground. There was discussion regarding public employees in terms of labor agreements,
clarifying definitions regarding personal benefit and financial interest, and which chairs would
be included on the Board.
It was decided that Ms. Purcell would talk to Dave Magnuson, City Attorney regarding concerns
.about the Board of Ethics .
Mr. Old also asked Mr. Kriesel if there were things he felt the Charter Commission should be
looking at in the next few years. Mr. Kriesel stated that he would like to attend another meeting
to discuss his ideas.
After Mr. Kriesel and Ms. Cordes left the meeting there was some discussion regarding what the
Charter Commission plans to do. There will be a workshop held on Tuesday, May 19 regarding
this amendment and it was decided that if the Council has some serious concerns than the
Charter Commission will consider other options they present.
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A motion was made by Ms. Ruch and seconded by Ms. Purcell to appoint Mr. Keister and Ms.
Czar as spokespeople for the workshop. The vote was three ayes and two nays with Ms. Czar
abstaining from the vote.
Candidate Interviews - Chuck Donnellv
Mr. Donnelly joined the group to discuss possible appointment to the Charter Commission. The
group asked Mr. Donnelly questions regarding his background, interest in Stillwater, decision
making methods, and ideas regarding the Charter Commission.
A motion was made by Ms. Czar and seconded by Mr. Valsvik, to recommend Chuck Donnelly
to the Chief Judge for appointment to the Charter Commission. All in favor.
A motion was made by Ms. Czar and seconded by Mr. Valsvik, to recommend that Mary Ruch
be appointed (with vigor) to another term to the Charter Commission.
A motion was made by Ms. Ruch and seconded by Ms. Czar to adjourn the meeting a 9:20 p.m.
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Submitted by Rose Holman
. Acting Recording Secretary