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CHM 01/26/2004 - 00027108CITY OF FRIDLEY CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING January 26, 2004 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Findell called the Charter Commission meeting to order at.7:09 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Peter Borman, Don Findell, Char Fitzpatrick, Daniel Garcia, Anita Gerrity, Craig Gordon, Harry Heck, Bill Holm, Members Absent: Janet Johnson, Nancy Jorgenson, Deborah Monden, Cynthia Soule, Francis Van Dan Others Present: Deb Skogen, City Clerk/Staff Liaison APPROVAL OF AGENDA: MOTION by Commissioner Gordon, second by Commissioner Gerrity to approve the agenda. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON FINDELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. APPROVAL OF NOVEMBER 24, 2004, CHARTER COMMISSION MINUTES: MOTION by Commissioner Gordon, second by Commissioner Heck, to approve the November 24, 2003, Charter Commission Minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON FINDELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 1. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS A. Application of Kathleen Linder Chairperson Findell said that the Charter Commission had received an application that had been forwarded from the City Manager's office for Kathleen Linder and the Commission discussed her appointment briefly. MOTION by Commissioner Gordon, second by Commissioner Garcia, to recommend appointment of Kathleen Linder based on her interest and to forward her name to the Court. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON FINDELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. B. Introduction of Commissioners Garcia and Borman The Commissioners introduced themselves to newly appointed Commissioners Daniel Garcia and Peter Borman, introduced themselves and their backgrounds to the Commissioners C. Request to Change February Meeting Date Adopted 03 -01 -2004 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF JANUARY 26, 2004 PAGE 2 Chairperson Findell requested that the February meeting date be changed to March I't due to his unavailability and that they would be holding a public forum in February to discuss the proposed amendment. The Commissioners agreed that the meeting would be rescheduled to Monday, March I't at 7:00 p.m. in Conference Room A in the upper level of City Hall and asked Ms. Skogen to send a notice to the Commissioners about the meeting date change. Amendment to Chapter 7 — Public Forum February 10, 2004 Chairperson Findell said he did a lot of research and felt that an amendment could be made without affecting the original intent of the petition amendment. Commissioner Heck said there was a lot of information available and it was debatable about the total volume of water used based on whether it was a dry or wet year. He said if the fees were supposed to be a pass through cost, the city's hands are tied and there is nothing they can do. He said what was done was done but they had some work to do and wondered if it was the Charter Commission's duty to change the will of the people. Commissioner Holm said he had served on the Work Group to make amendments to the language and he recalled, after reviewing the minutes referencing utilities, a decision was not made by the entire committee but made by the group of people who made up the petition group. He said this group agreed to all amendments, but because one person said no about utilities, they included utilities in the restrictions. Commissioner Gerrity said she remembered that there was not enough money set aside to replace the water tower or for the various other projects. Commissioner Heck said there was a systematic concern about reserve funds. Commissioner Holm said to lay out all of the parameters of what is involved by talking with citizens through an open forum about their reasons for or against amending the charter. The Charter Commission can continue to deliberate on this matter. Commissioner Gordon said the Commission was making an effort to inform people and it could not be said they were doing it behind closed doors. Commissioner Borman asked if there were any reserves left in the water fund. Commissioner Holm said the city could use other funds to subsidize the water fund but did not think water funds could be used for something else. Commissioner Heck said they should not micro- manage, but also wondered if they should change something that the voters supported in 2000. Commissioner Borman said the citizens want the council to quit raising taxes and felt they had to stop them. Because of that everyone keyed in on all fees the city was charging and did not really think about what they would be doing to the city. Commissioner Fitzpatrick said citizens came out in the 1980's due to franchise fees and because they felt it was an another tax. Commissioner Borman said some utility companies had to go before the Public Utilities Commission when they want to raise their fees, but that the Metropolitan Council did not have to and he wondered whether the city knew the Metropolitan Council was going to raise fees. Adopted 03 -01 -2004 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF JANUARY 26, 2004 PAGE 3 Commissioner Fitzpatrick said there were other unfunded mandates at the state and federal level. Commissioner Findell wondered whether he had the expertise to make decisions and that the city had a representative form of government and felt they should let those who are experts make those decisions. Commissioner Fitzpatrick agreed and asked why the city should have a city council. Commissioner Findell said if he had to study about an issue that is put before the voters every election, each voter would have to decide how to vote and would therefore be micromanaging. He said citizens had a right to change their representatives if they did not approve of their elected officials. Commissioner Fitzpatrick said the Charter Commissioners were not elected, but were appointed by the courts and did not specifically answer to the city council. Commissioner Holm suggested someone should give a presentation with statements for why the Charter should be changed to provide an opportunity for people to agree or disagree. Commissioner Gerrity said they should do the right thing, but did not want to undo what the people wanted. Commissioner Findell said that was why he researched the minutes to see what was intended and reviewed the original petition to see what the original intent of the petition was. Commissioner Holm thought there was a large increase in providing water and sewer and that the "big" users of the services were being subsidized by the residents for their services. Commissioner Gordon said the Commission should discuss this again after the forum to decide what should be done. Commissioner Holm said they could outline and explain the issue and at the next meeting they could maybe reach a consensus on the issue. He said they sent a letter to the editor, as well as a letter to the Sun Focus and they had called him to do an article on it. Commissioner Borman said if it was presented to the people in a way they could understand, by giving them the numbers and explaining what would happen in the future. Commissioner Heck felt that institutions could have a mentality of bureaucratic behavior and that all institutions have massive reserves that he felt should be used. Commissioner Borman said the citizens elect the city council and the city council appoints the city manager and that there were a lot of checks and balances in the system, as well as the city being audited by the State Auditor. Commissioner Heck wondered what mechanism was in place to determine how high the city's reserve funds were. Commissioner Findell said that the city could receive lower interest fees on bond purchases /sales with larger reserves. Commissioner Heck said there was no way to address what the proper dollar amount should be for reserve funds. Commissioner Gordon wondered how much of the reserve was attached to something and how much was free. He felt the Commissioners wanted to pursue the discussion on reserve funds. Commissioner Gerrity asked what reserve funds were being used to help finance the water, storm water and sewer utilities. Adopted 03 -01 -2004 CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF JANUARY 26, 2004 PAGE 4 There as a discussion on what type of reserve funds should be shown in the presentation and they felt the projected figures used by the City Manager earlier in the summer should not be used. They wanted to include only those reserves that would help subsidize the utilities. Commissioner Borman wanted to see the total cost to provide the service, how much was collected and what the subsidized funds were, as well as a history and what the pass through fees were from the Metropolitan Council and for recycling. Commissioner Heck felt there was a real disparity between the residential users and business users. Everyone was okay with Commissioners Findell and Holm setting up the presentation with staff. Other Business Commissioner Gordon reminded the commission that a nominating Committee should be appointed to present their nominations at the neat meeting. Commissioner Findell appointed Commissioners Heck, Fitzpatrick and Holm, with Commissioner Heck serving as Chair. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION by Commissioner Gordon, second by Commissioner Holm to adjourn the meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON FINDELL DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:36 P.M. Respectfully submitted, "a—A—w4oiq - Debra A. Skogen, City Clerk/Staff Liaison Deborah Monden, Secretary Adopted 03 -01 -2004