CHA 07/18/2005 CITY OF FRIDLEY
CHARTER COMMISSION
AGENDA
MONDAY, JULY 18, 2005 7:00 P.M.
LOCATION: Fridley Municipal Center
Conference Room A (Upper Level)
CALL TO ORDER:
ROLL CALL:
1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
April 25, 2005
3. Administrative Matters
n
4. Discussion and Recommendation to City Council on City Council Proposed Charter
Amendment.
5. Adjournment
Next regular meeting: Monday, September 26, 2005, at 7:00 p.m. in Meeting
Room 1 in the Lower Level
CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 23,2005 PAGE 2
Commissioner Hoiby said that most people did not know or understand what the charter was,even from before when
she served on the Commission in the past.
Commissioner Reynolds said she had done a search on the web site to see what other cities had and read a brief
paragraph from the Minneapolis web site.
Commissioner Van Dan said few people know,but should be able to correlate the charter and local government with
the Constitution and the US Government with the people serving as the executive branch,the city council as the
legislative branch and the Charter Commission as the courts.
Commissioner Jorgenson said there is a whole issue of getting people involved in local elections,especially due to
the drop off rate that was experienced at the last general election.
Commissioner Findell felt the word"has"was bossy and he liked part of the description that was used for
Minneapolis.
Commissioner Hoiby said she did not like the word has and recommended removing"has to"from the sentence.
Commissioner Van Dan read an article from the May 10,2005,Minneapolis Star Tribune regarding an issue of
connecting water and sewer in Ramsey and what the citizens have done.
Commissioner Reynolds said she like language similar to Minneapolis that the charter defines the powers the citizens
agree to give the city government and how the government is to be structured.
Don Findell recommending changing the first sentence from"The Fridley home rule charter is the fundamental law
by which city government has to operate."To"The Fridley home rule charter is the fundamental law which defines
the powers the citizens agree to give their city government."
Chairperson Jorgenson wondered if the mission statement was something they could agree on now or whether the
commission needed more time to work on it.
Commissioner Reynolds MOVED and Commissioner Findell seconded a motion to adopt the mission statement with
the above change made by Commissioner Findell as follows:
The Fridley home rule charter is the fundamental law which defines the powers
the citizens agree to give their city government. The Charter Commission is
comprised of court appointed citizens under Minnesota state law. The
Commission, in response to the needs of the community or state legislature,
discusses and refines the charter. Changes to the charter can also be initiated by
the citizens.
HEARING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION AND UPON A VOICE VOTE,ALL VOTING AYE,CHAIRPERSON
JORGENSON DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
3. ITEMS FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION
Commissioner Borman said the commissioner survey results overwhelmingly agreed a change is needed to the
charter to remove utility fees in Chapter 7 to allow the city to pass on the rate charge from the Metropolitan Council
for sanitary sewer and to charge the rate needed to provide the service for water. He explained there was a lot of
discussion as to when to place the item on the ballot,this year or next year and wondered how the other
commissioners felt.
n
DRAFT
n CITY OF FRIDLEY
CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING
MAY 23,2005
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairperson Jorgenson called the Charter Commission meeting to order at7:04 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
Members Present: Peter Borman,Gary Braam,Don Findell,Craig Gordon,Carol Hoiby,Nancy Jorgenson,
Kathleen Linder,Pam Reynolds,Cindy Soule and Francis Van Dan
Members Absent: Char Fitzpatrick,Anita Gerrity,Bill Holm,Janet Johnson
Others Present: Deb Skogen,City Clerk/Staff Liaison
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
Commissioner Gordon MOVED and Commissioner Soule seconded a motion to approve the agenda.
UPON A VOICE VOTE,ALL VOTING AYE,CHAIRPERSON JORGENSON DECLARED THE MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
n APPROVAL OF APRIL 25,2005,CHARTER COMMISSION MINUTES:
Commissioner Gordon MOVED and Commissioner Reynolds seconded a motion to approve the April 25,2005,
Charter Commission Minutes.
UPON A VOICE VOTE,ALL VOTING AYE,CHAIRPERSON JORGENSON DECLARED THE MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
1. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
Commissioners Jorgenson,Van Dan,Gordon,Hoiby,Findell,Reynolds,and Soule accepted the appointment to the
Charter Commission by citing and signing the Oath of Office.
Deb Skogen stated there are 14 members to the Commission with one vacancy due to the termination of
Commissioner Monden. Ms Skogen stated that Commissioner Fitzpatrick had called to say she wanted to resign due
to the continual problems with a knee replacement and amputation of her leg. Ms. Skogen told her she could go
through therapy and come back in the fall.
2. ADOPTION OF MISSION STATEMENT
Commissioner Soule noted the biggest discussion item was on the word"has" in the very first sentence and that other
words like should,shall,may or must we also considered.
Commissioner Van Dan said Commissioner Soule led a very pleasant discussion and felt the Commission was
making tremendous headway.
i'-. Chairperson Jorgenson explained a lot of members needed to know what their charge was and to be able to
communicate that charge to other citizens as well.
DRAFT
CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MAY 23,2005 PAGE 3
Ms. Skogen explained there were four ways to amend the charter, 1)the Commission could recommend an
amendment by sending it to the city council to send on to the voters;2)an initiative petition could be circulated by
5%of the voters;3)the city council could recommend an amendment to the charter commission who has 60 days to
review,and if necessary an additional 90 days to accept or reject the proposed amendment and send it back to the
city council to place on the agenda;or the charter commission could recommend amending the charter by ordinance
and sending the ordinance to the city council for their adoption.
Commissioner Borman said it was the wording of the ballot that was so cumbersome and there was very little voter
education on the issue.
Commissioner Gordon said that the Finance Director had said the city was losing$350,000 in the water and sewer
funds.
Chairperson Jorgenson said that there was also$2.3 million in reserves to be considered. She said it should be fixed
but was concerned about whether to place it on the ballot this fall for a special election,especially since most people
that come out will be coming out to vote for school district issues or candidates.
Commissioner Borman said if he had a business that was losing$350,000 a year he would want to fix it.
Commissioner Van Dan said that the water charge was not a fee but it was a commodity or a price for a service the
city provided.
Commissioner Reynolds said Chapter 11 referred to it as a rate charge,as well as other cities.
Commissioner Soule thought Chapter 7.3.B.removed utilities from fees because it talked about services or materials
routinely provided by the city to its citizens and that Minnesota state law does not allow a city to charge more for the
service than the actual cost of providing the service.
Chairperson Jorgenson said if anything is done with fees,it has to go before the voters in an election. She said she
did not mind putting it forward again from the Charter Commission,but felt it should wait until the general election
in 2006. She felt it was important to discuss it with the City Council to see what they would like to do and when it
should be put before the electorate.
Commissioner Van Dan thought it would also be good to collaborate with the City Council to change the charter to
help make it a smoother operation.
It was suggested and agreed a letter be written to the City Council seeking their advice,concerns or direction on how
they wish to proceed and to be able to provide information for the September meeting,as well as possibly scheduling
a joint meeting of the Commission and Council to discuss how to amend the charter.
ADJOURNMENT:
Commissioner Gordon MOVED and Commissioner Van Dan seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting.
UPON A VOICE VOTE,ALL VOTING AYE,CHAIRPERSON JORGENSON DECLARED THE MOTION
CARRIED AND THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:15 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra A. Skogen, Kathleen Linder, Secretar
City Clerk/Staff Liaison
DRAFT
To: Charter Commission
From: Deb Skogen, Staff Liaison
Date: June 30, 2005
Re: City Ordinance Proposing Amendment to City Charter
Attached is the memo prepared for the June 8, 2005, City Council meeting regarding the
Council's request to amend the City Charter. MN Statutes Chapter 410.12, subd. 5, allows the
Council to propose an amendment by ordinance subject to the Charter Commission Review.
The Commission has 60 days from the date received to review, discuss and make a
recommendation to the Council on the proposed amendment. If the Commission feels it needs
more than 60 days, they must adopt a Resolution stating why they need more time and will be
given an additional 90 days.
After reviewing the proposed amendment, the Commission shall approve or reject the proposed
amendment or suggest a substitute amendment. The Commission shall promptly notify the
Council of the action taken. On notification of the Commission's action, the Council may
submit to the people, the original proposed amendment or the substitute amendment proposed by
the Commission. The amendment shall become effective only when approved by 51% of the
votes cast by the voters during the election. If so approved it shall be filed in the same manner as
other amendments and become effective 30 days after the date of the election, or at such other
time as is fixed in the amendment.
State law requires that charter amendment questions to be placed before the voters be sent to the
county 12 weeks before the general election. This year,this would require the city clerk to
notify the county by August 16t. The Council has expressed their desire to place the proposed
amendment on the ballot in a special election this fall. If the Commission agrees with the
Council, their recommendation must be sent to the Council no later than August 3rd to allow staff
the opportunity of preparing a staff report to the Council for the August 8th Council meeting.
AGENDA ITEM
CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF
an'of
FRIDLF( June 13, 2005
To: William W. Burns, City Manager
From: Richard D. Pribyl, Finance Director
Debra A. Skogen, City Clerk
Date: June 8, 2005
Re: First Reading of an Ordinance Proposing to Amend the City Charter and Providing for a
Special Election
Based on the Council/Commission Survey Questions and the follow up conference meetings the City
Council held with many of the Commission members, a majority felt the City should limit the losses
occurring in the utility funds due to the limitation in the City Charter and put the question of removing
water, sanitary and storm sewer rates once again before the voters. Most members in attendance at the
meeting felt that the last election regarding this issue had a question that was too long and complicated
and voters did not understand what they were voting on. We have received numerous comments from
other residents who felt they had misunderstood the question and would have voted differently if they
knew what it was they read.
MN Statutes Chapter 410.12., subd. 5, allows the City Council to propose an amendment by ordinance
subject to Charter Commission review. Given the direction of the City Council and their wish to
amend the Charter, staff drafted an ordinance and reviewed it with the City Attorney. This ordinance
initiates the possibility of a special election this fall and is meant to be a catalyst for discussion.
Should changes be suggested that create simpler and clearer ballot language, this ordinance could
possibly be modified by its second reading.
Because the law appears to be silent on the process, it is our interpretation, should the City Council
wish to proceed,that the City Council would hold a first reading of the ordinance and forward the
ordinance to the Charter Commission for their review and recommendation. Once the Charter
Commission has received the ordinance proposing the amendment,the Charter Commission has 60
days to amend or recommend approval or denial (August 12th). In addition, if the Charter Commission
feels it needs more time to study the proposed amendment,they may adopt a resolution requesting an
additional 90 days to review the proposal (November 10). Once the proposed amendment is returned to
the City Council,they may hold a second reading of the ordinance. If the City Council is interested in
holding a special election this year,they may wish to convey the urgency of that message to the Charter
Commission.
State law requires charter amendments to be placed on the ballot for a general election be forwarded to
the County 12 weeks before the general election, or by August 16, 2005. This would mean the Charter
Commission would want to complete their review and recommendation by August 3rd so that staff
^ could provide the materials to the City Council by August 8d'.
Staff recommends discussion and first reading of the ordinance proposing an amendment to the city
charter.
it
ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING FRIDLEY CITY CHARTER, CHAPTER 7. TAXATION
AND FINANCES, SECTION 7.02.3.A. & B. PERTAINING TO UTILITY FEES
SECTION 1.
The Fridley City Council hereby finds the following:
That in 2000, a successful initiative petition proposing an amendment to the Fridley City Charter
requiring voter approval for tax increases beyond specified inflationary adjustments, or to create,
expand or increase various fees was received and placed on the November 7, 2000, municipal
election ballot. The question was approved by the voters by 57% of all people voting in the
election. In an attempt to remedy confusing language contained in the amendment and
potentially dangerous and costly problems for the City, an ad hoc work group met and
formulated an ordinance designed to correct the language contained within the amendment. The
ordinance was reviewed by the City Charter Commission and recommended to the City Council
for adoption. The ordinance was approved April 9, 2001.
That in 2004, due to the City's increased costs in providing the sanitary sewer, storm water and
water sales to its customers, it was found that an unintended consequence to the City had been
created by the amendment by not allowing the City to recover its full costs for providing sanitary
sewer, storm water and water sales. The Charter Commission recommended adoption of an
ordinance removing utility fees from Section 7.03.A. of the City Charter as a defined fee that
could not be increased above 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. The City Council
adopted the ordinance; however, a successful Referendum Petition requesting withdrawal of the
ordinance was received and placed on the November municipal election ballot. The question
approving the ordinance failed and the ordinance did not become effective.
During the 2006 budget preparation and planning it was determined that sanitary sewer, storm
water and water costs continue to increase due to a number of outside factors beyond the control
of the city. Some of these factors include federal mandates imposing increasingly higher
standards for water and sewer, higher sewage disposal charges imposed by the Metropolitan
Council Environmental Services agency, and ongoing repairs and maintenance of the system's
infrastructure. The City Council sent a Survey to all current city commissioners to query their
thoughts about utility rates. There was overwhelming agreement that the charter should be
amended to allow the city to recover its costs for sanitary sewer, storm water and water sales.
That a proposed charter amendment will help eliminate potential for long term subsidy of
sanitary sewer, storm water and water deficits; provide cost recovery for federal or state
mandates; and maintain all other spending restrictions which requires city council to obtain
direct voter approval for programs that increase costs above 5% or the rate of inflation,
whichever is lower.
SECTION 2.
That Chapter 5, Section 5.09 of the Fridley City Charter states that, "The ways to initiate
amendments to this Charter are set forth in Minnesota Statutes. Minnesota Statutes Chapter
Ordinance No. Page 3
410.12, subd. 5, allows for the city council to propose an amendment to the voters by ordinance.
This ordinance shall be submitted to the charter commission for review. After the charter
commission completes its review and notifies the city council of its recommendation, the city
council may submit it to the people.
SECTION 3.
That the Fridley City Council hereby ordains that the Fridley City Charter be amended and that a
Special Election be held in the City of Fridley on November 8, 2005,to allow the people to vote on
the following question:
Shall the Fridley City Charter be amended in a manner that removes limits on the rates that may
be charged for the operation and improvement of its water, sewer and storm water systems as
shown by the underlined language below:
O Yes
O No
FRIDLEY CITY CHARTER
CHAPTER 7. TAXATION AND FINANCES
Section 7.02. POWER OF TAXATION
3. Any other fees created, or increased beyond the limits set forth in subsection 1, shall require
voter approval as stipulated in subsection 2.
A. For the purposes of this subsection, 'fees" includes sales and use taxes, utility
charges, (other than water, storm water and sanitary sewer sales charges), recycling
fees, gas and electric franchise fees and any other fee that produces a tax burden or
direction financial obligation for all property owners and/or residents of Fridley.
B. For the purposes of this subsection, the term 'fees"does not include: Water, storm
water and sanitary sewer sales charges; Parks and Recreation Department
participation fees, charges for photo-copying, sales of municipal liquor store products,
or civil and criminal fines and other charges collected in cases of restitution or violation
of law or contract. The term 'fees"also does not include rental housing fees, building
permit fees, liquor license fees, the extension or transfer of cable television service
authority to additional service providers for which fees are already being charged,fees
for the operation of junk yards, annual license fees for the operation of pawn shops and
other regulated business, and any other charge for services, including health and safety
related Code enforcement, and other goods, services or materials routinely provided by
the City to its citizens or other members of the public which, by law, must be limited to
the actual cost of the service being provided The term 'fees"shall not include any
special assessments made under Minnesota Statutes Section 429.
SECTION 4.
That the City Clerk shall cause notice of said election to be given to the Anoka County Auditor
within 53 days of said election and that notice of said election be published in the official
newspaper of the City for at least three weeks prior to said election; and
Ordinance No. Page 4
That the City Council ordains that the election shall be held at the usual polling locations for the
state general election, as set forth in Exhibit"A," and that said election shall be held and
conducted in accordance with the Minnesota State Statutes applicable to municipal elections and
the provisions of the Home Rule Charter; and
That the City Council shall meet within seven days from said election as required by law for the
purpose of canvassing said election and declaring the results thereof.
PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FRIDLEY THIS
DAY OF , 2005.
First Reading: June 13, 2005
Charter Commission Review:
Second Reading:
Publication:
Exhibit A
Polling Locations
WARD 1 PRECINCT 1 Grace Evangelical Free Church
755 73rd Avenue Northeast
WARD 1 PRECINCT 2 Hayes Elementary School
615 Mississippi Street Northeast
WARD 1 PRECINCT 3 Fridley Municipal Center
6431 University Avenue Northeast
WARD 1 PRECINCT 4 Fridley Community Center
6085 7th Street NE
WARD 2 PRECINCT 1 Woodcrest Elementary School
880 Osborne Road Northeast
WARD 2 PRECINCT 2 Knights of Columbus
6831 Highway#65 Northeast
WARD 2 PRECINCT 3 St.Philip's Lutheran Church
6180 Highway#65 Northeast
WARD 2 PRECINCT 4 North Park School—Gym 1
5575 Fillmore Street Northeast
WARD 2 PRECINCT 5 North Park School—Gym 2
5575 Fillmore Street Northeast
WARD 3 PRECINCT 1 Springbrook Nature Center
100 85th Avenue Northeast
WARD 3 PRECINCT 2 Redeemer Lutheran Church
/1 61 Mississippi Way Northeast
WARD 3 PRECINCT 3 Stevenson Elementary School
6080 East River Road
WARD 3 PRECINCT 4 Fridley Covenant Church
6390 University Avenue Northeast
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FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL, JUNE 13, 2005 Page 32 of 38
1,470 square feet of accessory structure. He asked for an explanation why he = not
allow-: to proceed with his plans.
Councilmem•- Billings asked what accessory structures are curr= y on Mr. Tippler's
property.
Mr. Tippler responded the - • a four-car detached gar- e and a 12' x 16' shed. All he
was trying to do was get rid o • - flat-roofed car. y ' and build a garage in the same
amount of square footage.
Mayor Lund asked that Mr. Tippler work h 'ty staff to resolve his concerns regarding
the garage.
Mr. Tippler stated he thinks it ,ould be a mistake to a. ore rental property when the
current rental areas are al - -dy creating problems.
Mr. Jackels stated - - could not find a definition for "twin home 'n the code and he
questioned whe - -r they will be owner occupied or rental.
MOTIO • Councilmember Wolfe, seconded by Councilmember Bolkco to table this
matt= o the June 27 Council meeting.
' UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
011) First Reading of an Ordinance Amending the Fridley City Charter,
Chapter 7, Taxes, Section 7.03.A, Pertaining to Utility Fees.
Mr. Pribyl, Finance Director, stated earlier this evening, he handed out a corrected
ordinance to Council members. As a result of the 2005 City Council and Commission
Survey, it was determined that the City should limit its losses in the water and sanitary
sewer utility funds due to increasing costs and the limitation of the City Charter, by
holding a special election to amend this section of the Charter. Minnesota statutes
allow an amendment by ordinance subject to the Charter Commission review. The
ordinance before the Council is proposing a charter amendment that would begin the
public discussion on this issue. If Council wishes to proceed, this would be the first
reading and then it would be forwarded to the Charter Commission for review. The
Charter Commission has a 60-day review period for approval or denial of the proposed
amendment and that date would be August 12, 2005. If more time is needed for the
review, the Charter Commission may adopt a resolution requesting a 90-day review
period which would actually take the matter to November 10, 2005. The ordinance
would need to be forwarded to the Charter Commission on June 14 for their review.
State law requires that charter amendments that are to be placed on the ballot for a
general election be forwarded to the county 12 weeks before the general election, which
would require the City to notify the Anoka County by August 16, 2005. When forwarding
the ordinance, the City Council may wish to express an urgency and request the
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL, JUNE 13, 2005 Page 33 of 38
Charter Commission try to make their recommendation to the City Council by August 8
to allow enough time for the City Clerk to notify Anoka County of the special election.
Mr. Pribyl said in 2000, there was a successful initiative petition which amended the City
Charter. In 2000-2001 an Ad Hoc work group met to remedy confusing language and
recommended an amendment to the Charter Commission to review. In 2001, the
charter was amended by Ordinance 1152. In 2004, the Charter was amended by
ordinance and a successful referendum petition was circulated resulting in a defeat of
the amendment at the general election. During the 2006 budget preparation and
planning, it was discovered that we were unable to recover the costs for providing water
and sanitary sewer services to customers due to the language in the charter. Some of
the costs incurred were due to Federal mandates regulating higher water standards,
higher sewage disposal rates imposed by MCES and ongoing repairs and maintenance
of infrastructure. This proposed charter amendment would help eliminate the potential
for long-term subsidy from the general fund. The Charter review and recommendation
should be returned to Council by August 3 so the second reading can be held at the
Council meeting on Monday, August 8. If the second reading is held, the proposed
special election would be held Tuesday, November 8, 2005, in conjunction with School
Districts 13, 14 and 16. Staffs recommendation would be to discuss this item and pass
the first reading of this ordinance and forward it to the Charter Commission.
Councilmember Barnette commented the biggest reason for the failure of this issue
^ during the last election was that the ballot question was very difficult to understand.
Mr. Knaak explained that the ballot question has to be laid out by Council and must be
"sufficient to identify the amendment clearly and to distinguish the question from every
other question on the ballot." The closer you get to the actual language the less likely
there would be a challenge to the ballot.
Councilmember Barnette commented that the summary is fairly clear and the more
words that are added, the more confusing it becomes.
Mayor Lund commented that the Council could pass this on the first reading since it
would then go to the Charter Commission who could further clarify the language.
Ms. Nancy Jorgenson, 5730 Polk Street N.E., Charter Commission member, stated the
Charter Commission does not meet again until September 26. However, they are going
to attempt to meet in July to review this recommendation. They have discussed this
matter several times. At its last meeting, the Charter Commission decided that the
ballot question needed to be simplified and time was needed to educate residents on
the issue. The Charter Commission, therefore, recommends that there not be a special
election this year and that they work with the City Council to amend Chapters 7 and 11
at the same time. There are a number of reasons for this recommendation. There will
be levy referendum issues for School Districts 13 and 14 on the ballot this year. It is
very difficult when the City comes up against a School referendum, as most voters will
support the increase for the children but not for the City's ballot question. She stated
FRIDLEY CITY COUNCIL, JUNE 13, 2005 Page 34 of 38
she will call a special meeting of the Charter Commission in July and pass their
recommendation on to Council.
Mayor Lund stated Council could proceed with passing this on the first reading because
in 2005 alone the City is looking at about half a million in losses that have to be pulled
out of the storm water/sewer fund reserves.
Ms. Jorgenson stated the Charter Commission believes the City should operate as a
business. Also, they are aware that the City cannot charge more for water and sewer
than the actual cost to maintain those services. They do believe the City should be able
to make up those losses.
Councilmember Bolkcom stated Council did hold a joint meeting with the Charter
Commission related to this survey and she thought there was support at that meeting
from some of the Charter Commission members.
Ms. Jorgenson stated at the last Charter Commission meeting, only three of the
members present wanted to go forward with this ballot question this year. The others
did not. One of the issues the Charter Commission has discussed was not only looking
at the fees for the cost of services but also having charges for the product consumed or
post consumed wastes. She will inform Council members of the July meeting date.
Mr. Bill Holm, 7424 Melody Drive N.E., Charter Commission member, stated he would
like to applaud Council for bringing this item back for consideration. There may be
some advantages to bringing this ballot question to the voters this year because there
are fewer issues on the ballot which may result in more focus by the voters. However,
there may be less turn-out than there would be in 2006. The key point is this needs to
be on the ballot and the public needs to be informed as to how critical this issue is.
MOTION by Councilmember Bolkcom, seconded by Councilmember Barnette, to waive
the reading of the corrected copy of the ordinance and approve the ordinance on first
reading.
UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, MAYOR LUND DECLARED THE MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
Resolution Supporting the Improvements to Springbr• - `ature Center
Asso '• • • ith the SPRING (Sanctuary Protecti• • -enewal into the Next
Generation) Pro - - d Supporting the - - - •est to the State of Minnesota
for Financial Assistance.
Mr. Jack Kirk, Recreation an. -tural Resourc- ' ector, explained that Council has
before it a prelimina • -nt application to the State • '1. nesota and a resolution
supporting impro - ents to the Springbrook Nature Center. ' • committee with
representati - from the Parks and Recreation Commission and the - • 'brook
Found- •. has worked on this application and continue to refine the overall plan o