Loading...
02/12/1979 - 00013912� THE MI_NUTES OF THE PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF THE FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL OF FEBRUARY 12, 1979 The Public Hearing Meeting of the Fridley City Council was called to order by Mayor Nee at 7:38 p.m. PLE�GE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Nee led the Council and audience in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. ROLL CALL: MEMBERS PRESENT: Counctlman Fitzpatr�ck, Councilwoman Moses, Mayor Nee, Councilman Schnetder and Councilman Barnette MEMBERS ABSENT: None PRESENTATION OF AWARD - EDWARD NAMERNIK, COUNCILMAN. WAR� I- 1976-1978: Mayor Nee, on 6ehalf of the Council, Councilman, Ward i from 1976 to 1978, member of the City Council. presented a plaque to Ed Hamernik, in recognition of his services as a Mayor Nee stated it was impossible to serve on the Council with such a person as Ed Hamernik, without developing a high respect and great regard for him. Mayor Nee read the inscription on the plaque presented in appreci- ation for his outstanding dedication in serving the community. Mr. Hamernik stated he en�oyed his tour on the Council and found it to be an �nteresting and rewarding experience. He stated he would m�ss the associ- � ation with the Council mem6ers and staff and thanked the const�tuents in Ward I for giving him the opportunity to serve. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: � Mayor Nee requested an i�em be added to the agenda, a resolut�on regarding participation in Minnesota Cities Week February 26 through March 2, 1979. MOTIDN by Councilman Schneider �o adopt the agenda as amended. Seconded by Councilman Fitzpatrick. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Nee de- clared the motion carried unanimously. NEW BUSINESS CONSIDERATION OF PAYMENT FOR RECOUNT OF WAR� I ELECTION: Mr Herrick, Ctty Attorney, stated he was asked for an op�m on on reimbursing the participants in the recent election contest Ne stated he did some research and discussed this matter wtth the Head Attorney for the League of Minnesota Cities. H2 stated the expenses could be div�ded 6y (1) the actual cost of the recount wh�ch would include the appointment of representatives and costs that were associated rn determi m ng whether the count obtained was correct, and (2) the legal fees involved. Mr. Herrick stated, as to the latter expense of legal fees, he couldn't find any rationale or authority for the City to pay the attorney fees He stated the statute does provide that the City may pay certain costs under conditions that are set forth, 6ut �t doesn't apply to attorney fees. Mr. Herrick stated a recent Supreme Court dectsion states, �n an election contest, the C�ty should not pay the fees because it is a private matter more than a public matter. This same opinton is shared by the attorneys from the League. PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF FEBRUARY 12, 1979 PAGE 2 He stated, if the cost of a recount �s something that is to be assumed by the general public, then either the Legislature should amend the existing State law or City Charter might be amended to provide that the City would pay for the cost of recounts, but not attorneys' fees Mr Herrick stated h�s recommendation is not to assume the costs of the attorney fees. Mr. Herrick stated, as far as the recount, inasmuch as there were some allegations made that there was an error and an indication there were some minor irregularities, in his op�nion, the Council could, if they wished, pay for the cost of recounting the ballots. , Councilwoman Moses asked if the State Legislature does pass something in thts regard, if it would be inappropriate to come back at that time w�th the request. Mr. Herrick stated it would depend somewhat on the terms of the action taken by the Leg�slature. He stated usually legislation is not retroactive and there are provisions, when leg�slation is passed, when it takes effect. Mr. Herrick stated the State Legislature has provided for recounts where there was less than a 100 vote margin. Councilman Schne�der asked, if a recount is required on the State level, if the State picks up the costs for attorney fees or �ust the cost of the recount. Mr Herrick stated he did not know at this time, but could check into it further Counc�lman Fitzpatrick asked, if the recount could have been requested, without representation of legal counsel Mr. Herrick stated the recount required an appearance in court and that anyone can go to court without an attorney, but this was a very complex matter that invoived interpretation of existing statutes. He stated, as , a practical matter, it would have been dtfficult to carry this out without a legal representative. Councilman F�tzpatrick asked, under the provision that the Legislature made for contests when a vote is within a margin of 100, if candidates had to be represented by counsel. Mr. Herrick stated he has not really looked at the statute thoroughly, but did read the provision for the automatic recount and didn't think you had to go to court to get it. Mr Herrick stated it seemed candidates could each appoint someone, or representatives of the City Clerk, could run the ballots through the computer to make sure they get the same count and examine the absentee ballots. He felt a relatively simple procedure could be provided for that purpose. However, if there was a question on whether ballots should be thrown out, at that point, �t could go to court. Councilwoman Moses stated she was under the impression that the City Attorney would take care of the legal matters involved. Mr. Herrick stated if there �s a question on whether ballots should be thrown out, it would be difficult for the C�ty Attorney to advocate what should be done. He stated the City Attorney is to represent the City Clerk's office regard�ng whether or not they acted properly. He didn't feel the City , Attorney could represent the candidates in this type of situation. f�1r. Hamer m k stated the costs, as broken down by the attorney, were a$40 expense incurred by Ms. Moses for two filings and one in�unct�on. Mr. Hamerm k stated he had a$20 filing fee, subpoena costs, and costs for three repre- sentatives at $75 each, for a total of $307 which included filin9 fees, representative costs and witness costs. � , , PUBLIC HERRING MEETING OF FEBRUARY 21, 1979 PAGE 3 Mr. Hamernik stated, basically, what expenses he would have incurred is the $225 for the representatives and the $A2 filing fees and subpoena and witness fees. He stated the balance of the $307 was for costs incurred by Ms. Moses and her attorney in fil�ng fees for the District and Supreme Court. MOTIDN by Councilman Barnette to reimburse the sum of $267 to Mr Hamernik for costs incurred that the City mtght be expected to pay and the sum of $40 to Councilwoman Moses for costs for filing fees that the Ctty might be expected to pay, for a total of $307. Seconded by Councilman Schneider Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Nee declared the motton carr�ed unanimously. Mr. Hamernik stated he wished to go on record that he feels the posttion the Council took in this ma�ter was the right one �n not paying attorney fees. He believed there would have to be some restr�ctions on this as he didn't think the citizens should he reponsible for the actions of the contestants Mr. Hamer m k felt this was a fair settlement for the Council io cover certain costs that were incurred. Councilwoman Moses stated, hopefully, �he entire process would be s�mplified so you wouldn't have all these expenses. Councilman Barnette felt there should be prov�stons in the Charter to cover this type of situation. Councilman Fitzpatrick stated he hoped there would be some way that the recount could take place without the contestants being represented by legal counsel, and have this provided for in the Charter. RESOLUTION N0. 24-1979 IN SUPPORT OF SENATE FILE N0. 371 RELATING TO THE TAXATION OF RAILROAD PROPERTY ON AN AD VALOREM BASIS. Mr. Brunsell, City Clerk, stated in the ftrst paragraph of this resolution, the word "operat�ng" should be inserted after the word "ra�lroad" MOTION by Councilman Fitzpatrick to adopt Resolution No. 24-1979, with the word "operating" tnserted in the first paragraph Seconded by Councilwoman Moses. Upon a vo�ce vote, all voting aye, Mayor Nee declared the motion carried unanimously. RESOLUTION N0. 25-1979 DIRECTING THE ISSUANCE OF TEMPORARY IMPROVEME Counctlman Schneider stated on Page 3, under Section 5, no sum was listed and on Page 3A of the agenda book, under Section 8, there was no interest rate shown. Mr. Brunsell, City Clerk, stated the sum should be $65,000 and the interest rate should be 7!. MOTION by Councilman Schneider to adopt Resolution No 25-1979 with the sum of $65,DD0 and interest rate of 7% to be inserted in this resolution. Seconded by Councilman Fitzpatrick. Mr. Brunsell, City Clerk, explained the purpose of the temporary bonds is so that the City doesn't have to sell permanent bonds for more money than they actually need. He stated, in this instance, the City is buying the bonds for a three year term and these projects will probably be paid, in part, with State Aid funds or the City may 6et assessments that are prepaid. He stated, when the City receives money, this will reduce the bonds outstanding so when permanent bonds are sold, they will only be for the amount needed. Mayor Nee stated, basically, �t is a matter of bookkeep�ng in order to keep the records straight �,� �,, „�� PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF FEBRUARY 12, 1979 •:. �� UPDN A VOICE VOTE TAKEN ON THE ABOVE MOTION, all voted aye, and Mayor Nee declared the motion carried unanimously. 979 DIRECTING THE SALE AND PURCHASE OF TEMPORARY IMPROVE- MOTION by Councilman Schneider to adopt Resolution No. 26-1979. Seconded by Counc7lman Barnette. Upon a voice vote, a71 vottng aye, Mayor Nee declared the motion carried unan�mously. MOTION by Councilman Fttzpatrick to adopt Resolution No. 27-1979. Seconded by Councilman Schneider. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Nee declared the motion carried unanimously. 28-1979 DIRECTING THE SALE AND PURCHASE OF TEMPORARY IMPROVE- CCORDANCE WITH LAWS OF 1957. CHAPTER 385 ST. 1975-4 : MOTION by Councilman Schneider to adopt Resolutton No. 28-1979. Seconded by Counctlman Fitzpatrick Upon a voice vote, ali voting aye, Mayor Nee declared the motion carried unanimously. CLAIMS. MOTION by Councilman Schneider to authorize payment of Claims No. 037F09 through 039F01. Seconded by Councilman Barnette. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Nee declared the motion carried una m mously. ESTIMATES: Counctlman Schneider stated in the tnvoice, No. 6690 dated February 6, 1979, from the City Attorney, a correction should be made to show "Councilman lst Ward” not Councilman 2nd Ward" MOTION by Councilman Schneider to approve the estimates, as corrected. Smith, Juster, Feikema, Malmon & Haskvitz Su�te 1250 Builders Exchange Building Minneapolts, MN 55402 For legal services rendered as Prosecutor during �anuary, 1979 Weaver, Talle & Herrick 316 East Main Street Anoka, MN 55303 For legal services rendered as City Attorney during January, 1979 $2,280 00 $2,635.95 Seconded by Councilman F�tzpatrick. Upon a voice vote, al] votrng aye, Mayor Nee declared the motion carried unanimously. RESDLUTION NO 29-1979 REGAR�ING PARTICIPATION IN MINNESOTA CITIES Mayor Nee stated the Council has received information rn regard to the support of the program of Minnesota cittes and asked if there was a motton for the proclamation or resolution MOTION by Councilman Fitzpatr�ck to adopt Resolution No. 29-1979. Seconded by Counc�lman Schneider Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Nee declared the mot�on carried unanimously. Mr. Qureshi, City Manager, outl�ned the time of the conferences and luncheon on March l, 1979. '_J � � � � �I PUBLIC HEARING MEETING OF FEBRIIARY 12, 1979 PAGE 5 Counctlman F�tzpatrick stated that he didn't feel the registration fee would be �ustified since the Council also had a Sister City meetrng on this date. Because of this conflict, no act�on was taken regarding registration. AD�OURNMENT: MOTION by Councilman Barnette to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilman Schneider. Upon a voice vote, all voting aye, Mayor Nee declared the mot�on carrted una m mously and the Public Hearing Meeting of the Fridley City Council of February 12, 1979 adjourned at 8:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted, , �.,�� ��.��-.�- Carole Haddad Secretary to the City Council Approved. 2/26/79 r � _� �`„"''�'��f ��� "---- William J Nee Mayor