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CHM 03/24/2008 - 29974CITY OF FRIDLEY CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING March 24, 2008 CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chairperson Soule called the Charter Commission meeting to order at 7:01 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Peter Borman, Gary Braam, Don Findell, Carol Hoiby, Bill Holm, Nancy Jorgenson, Mary Kirkwood, Ted Kranz, Noel Ryan, Lois Scholzen, Cynthia Soule Members Absent: Craig Gordon, Leslie Plummer and Pam Reynolds Others Present: Deb Skogen, City Clerk/Staff Liaison APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Deb Skogen asked to amend the agenda to include a discussion about city governance structure under Item 7. Future Items. Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion to approve the agenda as amended. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON SOULE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. APPROVAL OF JANUARY 28, 2008, CHARTER COMMISSION MINUTES: Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Braam seconded a motion to approve the January 28, 2008, Charter Commission Minutes. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON SOULE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Vice Chairperson Soule stated due to a lack of quorum, the February meeting was cancelled and there were no minutes to approve. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS A. Nominating Committee Report Commissioner Holm said the Nominating Committee had met and recommended the following individuals for the 2008 -09 Officers: Chair, Peter Borman; Vice Chair, Cindy Soule; and Secretary, Carol Hoiby. All three members were asked and have agreed to serve if elected. He said the Chair could open the floor for additional nominations. CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MARCH 24, 2008 PAGE 2 Commissioner Jorgenson MOVED and Commissioner Kranz seconded a motion accepting the nominating committee's report. Vice Chairperson Soule asked for additional nominations. Seeing none, Vice Chairperson Soule closed the nominations. Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Jorgenson seconded a motion approving the nominating committee's recommendation. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, VICE CHAIRPERSON SOULE DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Vice Chairperson Soule handed the meeting back to Chairperson Borman. B. Appointment of New Charter Commission Members Deb Skogen stated the Commissioners had three applications from 2006 of individuals that were interested in the Charter Commission in their packets. She wondered if they wanted to rank these individuals so she could call them in that order to see if they were interested or asked if the Charter Commissioners wanted to interview them. The Commissioners determined staff would contact the individuals to see if they were interested, and if they were interested invite them to the next Charter Commission meeting to meet the Commissioners for interviews. If none of the individuals were interested, then staff was directed to put the notice on the web and cable to see if there were other interested individuals out in the community. PROPOSED ORDINANCE AMENDMENT FOR CHAPTERS 2 -6 Deb Skogen reported the City Council had received the draft ordinance in January and that she had not received any feedback from them or any concerns about the amendments. Commissioner Jorgenson MOVED and Commissioner Hoiby seconded a motion to approving the draft ordinance and recommendation to the City Council to adopt the amendments to the Fridley City Charter as proposed by the Charter Commission. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BORMAN DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Staff will notify the City Manager's office of the proposed ordinance and schedule a public hearing as required by state law for the first meeting in May. DISCUSSION OF CHAPTER 7 Deb Skogen stated Chapter 7 now included the change from the 2007 special election removing utility fees /charges from fees. Commissioner Borman wondered if Chapter 7 had ever been brought forward for anything other than utilities. Commissioner Holm said it had for recycling fees. He said nothing else that would be city -wide had come before the Council. An instance might be similar to Anoka County who is CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MARCH 24, 2008 PAGE 3 now discussing a proposed sales tax for transportation or the county -wide wheelage tax which was approved in 2007. Commissioner Jorgenson wondered about the County HRA. Commissioner Holm said the City Council decided not to implement or join the County EDA or HRA. Commissioner Kranz said the government was now using the word "fees" for revenue rather than taxes and the Commissioners should stay on top of the City to see what they propose going forward. Commissioner Scholzen had a dictionary definition of fees and taxes: Fee — a charge fixed by an institution or by law Tax — contribution for support of a government required of those within that domain fee or due levy to meet its expenses. Commissioner Soule said the Charter had been changed previously regarding cell towers and districts had been set up to allow the city more control of where the towers could be located. The Commissioners had a discussion about lowering market values and the economy and how they might impact the City. Commissioner Holm MOVED and Commissioner Jorgenson seconded a motion tabling Chapter 7 and 8 to the April meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, CHAIRPERSON BORMAN DECLARED THE VOTE WAS UNANIMOUS AND THE MOTION CARRIED. DISCUSSION OF FUTURE ITEMS Deb Skogen handed out research that Commissioner Borman had provided in reference to a question from Commissioner Reynolds. Commissioner Reynolds would like to explore a strong mayor /council form of government structure rather than a city manager /council government structure. Commissioner Borman said Commissioner Reynolds felt the mayor should be more accountable to the voters by being a strong mayor. He said he had researched the web and found the City of Federal Way, Washington, had just put this issue before their voters and it had been defeated by the voters. Commissioner Jorgenson felt the mayor was already accountable to the voters through the election process and a mayor would not have the expertise a city manager would have. Commissioner Holm said that would mean the mayor would be the city administrator requiring a full-time position and salary and benefits. Would that mean the rest of the city council would be full-time as well to off -set the mayor which would also mean more salary and benefits. Commissioner Jorgenson said the voters were represented by three individuals and wondered why you would give one person more control than the other two. She said the city manager does have control but they also have certain expertise and training in public administration. She said CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING OF MARCH 24, 2008 PAGE 4 ultimately the city council provides the direction to the city manager. She did not feel the city had been abused nor was the city large enough for this type of governance. Commissioner Ryan said she was fairly new to the process and wanted to know why everyone was reacting to Commissioner Reynolds. Commissioner Jorgenson explained she was a member of Concerned Citizens of Fridley who were long -time residents of the City who wanted to go back to the status quo of 50 to 60 years ago when the city was first established rather than change with the growth and needs of today. They are now primarily focused on the preservation of housing. Commissioner Borman said Commissioner Reynolds felt the city manager and staff run the city more than the city council did and that whatever staff wants the city council supports. Commissioner Jorgenson said the city council decides what the top issues are important and they make the provide direction to the city manager to carry out their policies. The Commissioners reviewed the research that was provided to them. Commissioner Soule said people are entitled to their opinions and that the Charter Commission could review the request by discussing it and making a decision to change or to keep things the same. ADJOURNMENT: Commissioner Braam MOVED and Commissioner Jorgenson seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON BORMAN DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND THE MEETING WAS ADJOURNED AT 8:20 P.M. Respectfully submitted, Debra A. Skogen, Carol Hoiby, Secretary City Clerk/Staff Liaison