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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993 02-01 CCM Special Work Session MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA SPECIAL WORK SESSION FEBRUARY 1, 1993 C BARN, EARLE BROWN HERITAGE CENTER CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council met in special work session and was called to order by Mayor Todd Paulson at 7 p.m. ROLL CALL Mayor Todd Paulson, Councilmembers Celia Scott, Dave Rosene, Barb Kalligher, and Kristen Mann. Also present were City Manager Gerald Splinter, Director of Community Development Brad Hoffman, Community Development Specialist Tom Bublitz, and Council Secretary Nancy Berg. DISCUSSION OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING THURSDAY PRIOR TO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS AND /OR COUNCIL WORK SESSIONS Mayor Paulson presented for discussion the Committee of the Whole meetings. He encouraged the Council to set forth some of the priorities the City has and also the priorities of the Council. Councilmember Rosene presented the Councilmembers with a memo outlining his proposed Committee of the Whole meetings. He explained he had been asked who was working for whom -- was the Council working for the staff or was the staff working for the Council. He stated both staff and the Council should have equal access to the City Council agendas, and Councilmembers should be afforded the same opportunity to review the agenda prior to the meetings. He continued to say he wanted the Council to have an agenda meeting such as the one staff has on the Tuesday prior to City Council meetings. He said he believed Council had no means to remove an item prior to it being placed on the agenda. Councilmember Rosene listed the arguments raised against holding Committee of the Whole meetings: 1. Replacing the Council work sessions -- It was not his intent to replace the Council work sessions. 2. Require more staff time -- The City Manager was already spending time reviewing the agenda with Mayor Paulson and Councilmember Kalligher. 2/1/93 - 1 - 3. Increased number of monthly meetings -- The Council must have enough meetings to get the job done. Councilmember Rosene suggested attendance at the Committee of the Whole meetings be voluntary rather than mandatory. 4. Scheduling conflict with other meetings -- According to the meeting schedule provided for this work session, there would be very few conflicts. 5. Difficult for staff to prepare -- Staff is ready on the previous Tuesday, and the agenda packets will soon be delivered on Thursdays, rather than Fridays. 6. Cable TV coverage -- There was no television coverage at the Council work sessions. Councilmember Rosene listed the advantages of holding Committee of the Whole meetings: 1. It would provide the opportunity for needed input from the Councilmembers. 2. There is already a precedent set for Councilmembers to meet with staff to review the agenda. A Committee of the Whole meeting to review the agenda would provide an openly democratic method versus private one -on -one sessions between Councilmembers and staff. 3. It would allow for more transaction between the Council and the staff. Councilmember Scott appreciated Councilmember Rosene's rhetoric and understood his need for meetings. She added she had never felt the need for extra meetings. She explained if she had questions after reviewing the agenda packet, she would contact the City Manager and he provides her with answers. She further stated she would have difficulty attending Thursday evening meetings. She also explained she had received calls from citizens against such meetings. She reminded Council they had been accused of having their minds made up before the Council meetings in the past, and this could happen again. Councilmember Mann stated as a new Councilmember she was unsure of what a Council work session was, and she congratulated staff on putting together a very good work session. She reminded Councilmember Rosene that an item can be removed from the agenda at a Council meeting by tabling the item. She felt an issue affecting the public should be discussed and reviewed at the regular Council meetings. She stated the Council work sessions are a good resource, and she would also have difficulty attending Thursday night meetings. Councilmember Kalligher added she would have a conflict on Thursday nights also because of the Earle Brown Neighborhood meetings. She stated she had also received calls from 2/1/93 -2- i i citizens concerned more items would appear on the consent agenda. She also supported the Council work sessions. Mayor Paulson stated he would like to approach review of the agenda in a different way -- much the same way as presented by Councilmember Rosene. He suggested Council should meet more often, but keep the meetings shorter. He warned Councilmembers should not just depend on staff and should be soliciting reactions from the community. He believed Councilmember Rosene's proposal had been misconstrued and was not intended to replace the work sessions or to be private meetings. Mayor Paulson explained he meets with the City Manager to review the agenda and had found it very helpful. He believed this was the intent of the Committee of the Whole meetings -- strictly to review the Council agendas. He added he thought the Council should meet more often, and the Council must have more time to review the Council packets prior to the meetings. He stated the Council must take control of the Council agendas. Mayor Paulson suggested before the Council talk about the issues or concerns, the Council needs to talk about what forum to use to address these issues. He stated he liked the work sessions and wanted to keep them. Councilmember Scott stated the problem was Council did not have enough work sessions. She suggested scheduling at least one work session a month with the sessions being open to the public. Councilmember Rosene agreed with Councilmember Scott and asked the work sessions include reviewing agenda items. He reiterated Committee of the Whole meetings would not necessarily mean putting more items on the consent agenda. He recognized the problem with Thursday evening meetings and suggested the Committee of the Whole meetings could be held in the late afternoon at 4:30 or 5 p.m. He felt the public would become accustomed to the Thursday night Committee of the Whole meetings and would attend if they wanted to. He also recognized an item can be taken off the agenda at the Council meeting by tabling the item. He explained tabling of agenda items can sometimes indicate a Councilmember's objection to an entire item, when it may only be a matter of a small portion of the item. He asked the Councilmembers try the Committee of the Whole meetings for one year. Mayor Paulson stated the Council was facing a backlog of issues to be discussed and suggested the Council start with two work sessions a month and size down to one a month later in the year. Councilmember Kalligher asked if a rough draft of the agenda could be delivered to Councilmembers on Tuesday or Wednesday evenings. The City Manager answered this would be possible, however it would be a very preliminary agenda in a very rough draft form. 2/1/93 -3 - He also suggested the Council schedule work sessions on Tuesday evenings, as the Financial Commission meets on Monday evenings and he must be in attendance at both. Councilmember Kalligher asked if Councilmembers could receive the agenda packets on Thursdays rather than Fridays. The City Manager informed Council the packets will be available on Thursday evenings in the near future. He asked Council to be patient in the next month as staff tries to implement this new procedure. There was a consensus of the Council to schedule work sessions and to request staff deliver the City Council agenda packets on Thursday evenings rather than Friday evenings. DISCUSSION OF COUNCIL 1993 PRIORITIES AND PROJECT SCHEDULES The Council reached consensus on the following work session schedule. February 16, Work Session Brooklyn Boulevard Study -- joint work session with the Brooklyn Boulevard Task J Force and the City Council Brookdale Mall February 18, Town Meeting Crime and Safety February 27, Town Meeting Crime and Safety March 2, Work Session Financial and Administrative Issues Benchmarking Public Works Preliminary iscussion on Street Improvements rY P Review of Attorney's Fees March 15, Work Session Capital Improvements Municipal Operations ADA 2/1/93 -4- April 5, Work Session Joint Meeting with the Financial Commission May 3, Work Session Community Development Review Ordinances and Comprehensive Plan Redevelopment Policies Neighborhood Groups Mayor Paulson reviewed with Council the items he would like discussed in a work session this year: Crime and Drugs Housing Finance Community Development Communications Business Retention Economic Development Space Needs -- including ice arena, police station, senior citizens' center Municipal Operations ADA and Parks and Recreation Infrastructure Mayor Paulson asked when the Director of Finance would be retiring and when would discussions begin for his replacement. The City Manager answered the Director of Finance has not yet submitted his date of retirement. He said after staff receives notice of his date of retirement, the City Manager will bring his recommendation to the Council, and the Council will make the final decision. He suggested Council contact him if they had any concerns or recommendations. Councilmember Kalligher informed Council there are four openings on the Earle Brown Neighborhood Housing Advisory Committee. Councilmember Scott volunteered to recruit new members. Mayor Paulson inquired as to the status of the realtors' forum. The Community Development Specialist answered the target date is March 31. He explained the City was attempting to develop a program which will not only interest the realtors but provide them with continuing education credits. Mayor Paulson reviewed the decisions the Council reached at this work session. He stated Council would have the flexibility to add or remove items from the agenda; Councilmembers 2/1/93 -5 - will soon be receiving the agenda packets on Thursday evenings; and Council has scheduled discussion items for the work sessions through May 1993. He asked if both the Councilmembers and staff were in agreement with these decisions. Both Councilmembers and staff members agreed. Councilmember Rosene reported he had recently looked at the services directly at the Northland Inn and had noted there was no listing for the Brooklyn Center community center, slide, pool, or golf course. He suggested staff look into having these facilities listed in the directory. The City Manager stated the City has a good working relationship with the Northland Inn, and he will contact them about this matter. ADJOURNMENT There was a motion by Councilmember Scott and seconded by Councilmember Kalligher to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. The Brooklyn Center City Council adjourned at 9:05 p.m. T t/Yi�c��ad� Deputy City Clerk Todd Paulson, Mayor Recorded and transcribed by: Nancy Berg TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial 2/1/93 -6-