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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019 01-17BROOKYLN CENTER CHARTER COMMISSION Thursday, January 17th, 2019 City Hall Council/Commission Conference Room 1. Call to Order - 6:30pm 2. Roll Call 3. Adoption of Agenda 4. Consideration of Minutes 5. Audit Report 6. Election of Officers 7. Old Business a. Review language for update to charter section 2.05 regarding process for filling city council vacancies 8. New Business 9. Adjournment Brooklyn Center Charter Commission Meeting Minutes July 19, 2018 Draft Called to order by Chairman Mark Goodell at 6:30 pm Roll Call: Chairman Mark Goodell called the roll. Present: • Mark Goodell • Mawuli Blabuh • Donald Bumgarner • Gail Ebert • Kathryn Ellgren • Robert Marvin • Mary O'Conner • Beverly Rieschl • Judy Thorbus • Susan Warner • Mark Yelich • Micheal Elliott arrived at 6:33pm • Stanley Leino arrived at 6:47 pm Excused: • Charlene Johnson Absent: • Abraham Rizvi Guests: • Meg Beekman, Community Development Director Adoption of Agenda: A motion was made by Robert Marvin and seconded by Judy Thorbus to approve the agenda. The motion passed. A motion was made by Gail Ebert to suspend the rules and move the new business 6a and 6b to before the discussion of the old business. Mark Yelich seconded. The motion passed. Consideration of Minutes: The April 19, 2018 minutes were approved as amended with a motion by Robert Marvin and a second by Don Bumgarner. Motion passed. Old Business: a. Review Special Election alternative research: Council members provided their research findings. The majority of cities follow state procedure. Charter cities are allowed to supersede the state law per the League of Cities, information provided by Mark Yelich. The question was raised by Chairman Goodell as to what the commission would like to do moving forward. Mary O'Conner and Gail Ebert proposed working to clarify the current verbiage in Section 205 of the Brooklyn Center City Charter. Stanley Leino made a motion that the commission leave the current charter substantively as is but to bring mark-ups to review proposed changes to Section 205. Robert Marvin seconded the motion. Mark Yelich wanted to be able to still consider other changes to the current charter section 205. Motion was withdrawn by Stanley Leino and Robert Marvin. It was decided that this item would be continued in old business at the October 11, 2018 Charter Commission meeting. Chairman Mark Goodell will query the city council as to what suggested changes they would be seeking as well as a historical record of the amount of Brooklyn Center municipal special elections. New Business: a) Request for Consideration of reduction period before ordinances go into effect after publication. Meg Beekman, Community Development Director brought a request to reduce the 30 day wait period to 1 day. The relevant section is Section 3.09 in the City Charter. She answered questions from the Charter Commission regarding why this change was requested and the hoped for results of making such a change. Gail Ebert moved that discussion of the proposed changes be moved to the next meeting. Stanley Leino seconded. Michael Elliott felt that the discussion should happen now. Mark Yelich proposed that we ask questions now. Chairman Goodell reminded us that we were currently under a motion. Michael Elliott proposed an amendment to the motion to allow questions while still tabling the debate for next meeting. Gail Ebert agreed to the amendment. Stanley Leino agreed. The motion passed. b) Update on Brooklyn Center's Comprehensive Plan Stanley Leino moved to accept the written documents regarding the plan and end discussion. Gail Ebert seconded. The motion passed. c) Receiving electronic copies of the Charter Commission documents. Stanley Leino moved to have Charter Commission packets sent electronically to those on the Charter Commission who wish to receive them electronically. Kathryn Ellgren seconded. The motion passed. Chairman Goodell will talk to the City Clerk about options for this. d) Stanley Leino asked to have a discussion of ranked choice voting added to the October 11, 2018 agenda. Adjournment: With a motion by Robert Marvin and a second by Mary O'Conner, we adjourned the meeting at 8:31 p.m. The next meeting is October 11th, 2018 at 6:30pm. Kathryn Ellgren Charter Commission Secretary Brooklyn Center Charter Commission Meeting Minutes October 11th, 2018 Draft Called to order by Chairman Mark Goodell at 6:31 pm. Roll Call: Mark Goodell called the roll. Present: • Mark Goodell • Mawuli Blabuh • Donald Bumgarner • Gail Ebert • Kathryn Ellgren • Charlene Johnson • Beverly Rieschl • Judy Thorbus • Mary O'Conner arrived at 6:38 pm • Stanley Leino arrived at 6:48 pm Excused: • Susan Warner • Mark Yelich Absent: • Micheal Elliott • Robert Marvin • Abraham Rizvi Adoption of Agenda: A motion was made by Beverly Rieschl and seconded by Judy Thorbus to approve the agenda. The motion passed. Consideration of Minutes: July 19, 2018 minutes were approved pending correction of spelling errors on Mark Goodell's name with a motion by Judy Thorbus and a second by -Beverly Rieschl. Motion passed. Old Business: a) Special Election Alternatives: Chairman Goodell opened the floor to any commission members who wished to propose changes to the current wording of section 205. Mary O'Connor proposed holding the special election vote until the next standard voting day. Don Bumgarner proposed a motion to have the vacant position offered to the 3rd and 4th place runner up from the most recent vote in lieu of holding a special election. Charlene Johnson seconded the motion. Stanley Leino asked to ensure clarity of the wording of the proposed replacement. Chairman Goodell asked if there would be a threshold require for the 3rd and 4th place winners to be considered a viable replacement. Kathryn Ellgren wanted a percentage threshold. Mary O'Connor called the question. The question was called. Motion to begin drafting a replacement for section 205 in regards to filling city council vacancies passed 8 to 2. Stanley Leino, Don Bumgarner and Mary O'Connor will draft verbiage for the proposed motion. Mark Goodell will consult the League of Cities and the City Staff to see if this measure will run counter to MN election law. Mary b) Discussion of consideration of a reduction period before ordinances go into effect after publication: concerning charter section 3.09. Meg Beekman provided ordinances research from other cities. Discussion was held regarding whether the 30 day hold was offered any advantages for residents or clear and present disadvantages for doing business with Brooklyn Center. Stanley Leino moved to keep section 3.09 as is. Beverly Rieschl seconded. Chairman Goodell stated that he id feel that this discussion deserved more research and reminded the commission that the discussion could be re- opened at a later date. The motion passed. New Business: a) Discussion of Ranked Choice Voting: Stanley Leino brought the issue forward for discussion. As there is no definitive desire of the charter commission to move this idea forward, the discussion was tabled to be possibly considered at a later date. b) Mary O'Connor informed the Charter Commission that this was her final meeting with the Commission and that she was not pursuing re -appointment at this time. Chairman Goodell thanked her for her years of service both as a member and as for taking on the role of secretary. C) Stanley Leino brought up reinstating the Nominating Committee to the Charter Commission. Gail Ebert, Kathryn Ellgren, Stanley Leino and Judy Thorbus volunteered to be on this committee. Adjournment: With a motion by Stanley Leino and a second by Gail Ebert, we adjourned the meeting at 8:16 pm. The next meeting is January 11th, 2019. Kathryn Ellgren Charter Commission Secretary