3-3-2025
Charter Commission Meeting
March 3, 2025
7:00 PM
Fridley City Hall, 7071 University Avenue NE
Minutes
Call to Order
Vice Chair Johnson called the Charter Commission meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.
Present
Mohammed Barre
Brad Bremener
Greg Gardner
Clifford Johnson
Nikki Karnopp
Steve Kisner
Ted Kranz
Dave Linton
Audrey Nelson
Rick Nelson (via Zoom)
Pam Reynolds
Doug Schmitz
Kathy Smith
Absent
Donald Findell
Val Rolstad
Others Present
Dave Ostwald, Mayor
Ann Bolkcom, Councilmember
Scott Lund, Resident
Melissa Moore, Assistant City Manager
Beth Kondrick, Deputy City Clerk
Approval of Agenda
Motion to approve the agenda as presented by Commissioner Reynolds, seconded by Commissioner
Barre.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
Approval of Meeting Minutes
1. Approval of February 3, 2025, Charter Commission Meeting Minutes
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Motion to approve the February 3, 2025 Meeting Minutes by Commissioner Gardner. Seconded by
Commissioner Reynolds.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
Administrative Matters
2. Election of Officers
Vice Chair Johnson reviewed the nominees for each position and asked for any nominations from the
floor. No additional nominations were added.
Motion to accept uncontested ballot by Commissioner Reynolds. Seconded by Commissioner Bremener.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
3. Upcoming Terms Expiring: Don Findell and Val Rolstad.
Ms. Moore informed the Commission that the terms of Commissioners Findell and Rolstad are set to
expire in May. Due to Commissioners Findell and Rolstad being absent this evening, a recommendation
was made to table the item until the next meeting.
Motion to table the item by Commissioner Reynolds. Seconded by Commissioner Barre.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
4. Review Bylaws
Ms. Moore reminded the Commission that part of the Bylaws is to review the Bylaws each year.
Commissioner Reynolds handed out a document with some proposed amendments to the Bylaws.
Given the substantive changes proposed, Ms. Moore suggested the Commission table the review of the
Bylaws to give time to review Commissioner Reynolds’ document. The review will be added to the May
meeting.
Motion to table the item by Commissioner Reynolds. Seconded by Commissioner Kranz.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
5. Preparing for April 7, 2025 Joint Meeting with the Fridley City Council
Ms. Moore asked the Commission for topics to discuss at the Joint Meeting to be held with the City
Council at the April 7, 2025 meeting.
Ideas shared by the Commission included:
Getting to know the new Council members and how the transition is going
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Any chapters the Council would like to see reviewed
Discussion of the Council’s 2025 goals, objectives and budget priorities
Any resident feedback received by Council pertaining to the Charter
Old Business
6. Commission Onboarding Manual
Ms. Moore presented the Commission Onboarding Manual to the Commission and gave some
background information about its creation and how it can be used. The Commission held a discussion
and decided to table until the May meeting to give more time to figure out how to incorporate it.
Motion to table the item by Commissioner Reynolds. Seconded by Commissioner Nelson.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
7. Chapters 5 Review
Ms. Kondrick gave an overview of the work that has been done so far on Chapter 5 and read through
section 5.07 with clarifications drafted by Staff.
Motion to accept the changes to section 5.07 with headers for each paragraph by Commissioner
Reynolds. Seconded by Commissioner Bremener.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
The Commission picked up review of the Chapter with section 5.12.
Motion to accept the proposed changes by Commissioner Reynolds. Seconded by Commissioner Kisner.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
The Commission reviewed the proposed changes in section 5.13.
Motion to accept the proposed changes by Commissioner Reynolds. Seconded by Commissioner
Karnopp.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
The Commission reviewed the proposed changes in section 5.14.
Motion to accept the proposed changes by Commissioner Reynolds. Seconded by Commissioner Barre.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
The Commission reviewed the proposed changes in section 5.15.
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Motion to accept the proposed changes by Commissioner Karnopp. Seconded by Commissioner Kranz.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
The Commission reviewed the proposed changes in section 5.16.
Motion to accept the proposed changes by Commissioner Linton. Seconded by Commissioner Gardner.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
The Commission reviewed the proposed changes in section 5.17.
Motion to accept the proposed changes with correction of “General Election” to “Presidential Election”
by Commissioner Karnopp. Seconded by Commissioner Barre.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
The Commission reviewed the proposed changes in section 5.18.
Motion to accept the proposed changes with correction of “General Election to “Presidential Election” by
Commissioner Linton. Seconded by Commissioner Reynolds.
Commissioner Karnopp mentioned that the language for “postmarked” should be changed to “Date
received.”
Amended Motion to accept additional corrections by Commissioner Linton. Seconded by Commissioner
Reynolds.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
The Commission reviewed the proposed changes in section 5.19.
Motion to accept the proposed changes by Commissioner Reynolds. Seconded by Commissioner
Karnopp.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
The Commission reviewed the proposed changes in section 5.20.
Motion to accept the proposed changes by Commissioner Reynolds. Seconded by Commissioner Barre.
Upon a voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously.
This concluded the review of Chapter 5. Ms. Moore stated that Staff can draft an ordinance for the April
meeting along with a full draft of Chapter 5 with all changes accepted for final approval from the
Commission before it will be sent to the City Council.
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New Business
Future Meeting Topics/Communications
8. Future Meeting Topics
Candidate Interview Process
Adding Language to the Charter for who can and cannot serve on the Commission, specifically
section 2.013 of Chapter 2
Next Chapter to Review
Adjournment
Motion by Commissioner Kranz to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Karnopp. Upon a
voice call vote, all voting aye, Vice Chair Johnson declared the motion carried unanimously. The meeting
adjourned at 8:38 p.m.