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Home My WebLink About2020 09-28 CCM Study Session09/28/20 -1- MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA STUDY SESSION SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center City Council met in Study Session called to order by Mayor Pro Tem Butler at 6:13 p.m. The meeting was conducted via Webex. ROLL CALL Mayor Mike Elliott (arrived at 6:15 p.m.), Mayor Pro Tem Marquita Butler, and Councilmembers April Graves, Kris Lawrence-Anderson, and Dan Ryan. Also present were City Manager Curt Boganey, Deputy City Manager Reggie Edwards, Director of Public Works Doran Cote, City Clerk Barb Suciu, and City Attorney Troy Gilchrist. CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION OF AGENDA ITEMS AND QUESTIONS None. MISCELLANEOUS None. DISCUSSION OF WORK SESSION AGENDA ITEMS AS TIME PERMITS BROOKLYN CENTER BEAUTIFICATION AND PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN Deputy City Manager Dr. Reggie Edwards introduced Public Art Consultant Jack Becker. He added Mr. Becker would give a presentation on the Beautification Public Art Master Plan, receive feedback and comment from the City Council, after which the project will be finalized. He noted Mr. Becker recently retired but has continued to work on the project to see it through to its close. Dr. Edwards expressed his appreciation for the hard work and efforts of Mr. Becker, as well as his wonderful career in public art. He added Mr. Becker has continued to work on the Master Plan despite delays due to Covid-19, with the goal of verifying and finalizing the plan. Mr. Becker reviewed the Beautification and Public Art Master Plan draft, adding he is excited to have reached the point of being able to share it with the City Council and receive feedback and comments. He thanked all the participants who have supported this effort, including City Staff, City Council, and the Community Task Force. 09/28/20 -2- Mr. Becker stated the City of Brooklyn Center has many diverse communities that have put down roots, which is a powerful visual image related to the City’s cultural life growing and blossoming. The goal of the engagement process was to inform a larger cultural plan for the City that includes public art, environmental stewardship, and engagement of local artists. The plan has been updated to be relevant to the current pandemic and recent murder of George Floyd as well as broader attempts to fight racial injustice in the country, and around the world. Mr. Becker stated the community engagement process sought to obtain diverse perspectives through community meetings, interviews, and events, as well as the City newsletter and social media sites. He added notes from these community engagement efforts can be made available upon request, including resident responses and data that supported findings and recommendations. Mr. Becker reviewed short-term operational strategies, including plan launch; establishment of an Arts and Culture Commission; building the capacity of City Staff to manage projects; consideration of funding sources; and ways to increase awareness and appreciation of public art. He added the work plan action steps include exploring program funding; finances; community engagement; education; and development of public art spaces. Councilmember Graves thanked Mr. Becker for his presentation and hard work on this project and congratulated him on his retirement. She added she is very excited about the plan, and she appreciates the environmental stewardship and racial justice aspects of the plan. She added several City Council priorities are addressed, including resident economic stability; youth and resident engagement; community image; and a safe and healthy community. She asked whether a list of local resident artists was created through this process. Mr. Becker stated identifying residents of Brooklyn Center who identify as artists, and interested in participating in public art, was a big challenge. He added there are many artists that live close to Brooklyn Center, but few artists and arts organizations or related companies in Brooklyn Center that he was able to identify. He noted there are a lot of creative people from diverse cultures who may not identify themselves as an artist, which is why it is important to have workshops and educational program, to draw out Brooklyn Center residents who do creative work. Councilmember Graves stated it is time for Open Forum. Mayor Elliott stated he received feedback from Task Force members that there was low participation at Task Force meetings. He asked what Mr. Becker’s experience was in trying to engage people to be a part of the process. Mr. Becker confirmed there was a low level of participation from the Task Force members, even though they initially signed up for it. He added efforts to follow up with them were not successful, and the whole experience was a challenge, and very frustrating for him. He added there was no way for him to hold the Task Force members accountable, and only about half of the people who signed up actually came to the meetings. Mayor Elliott asked what the average attendance at the meetings was. Mr. Becker stated 5 or 6 people usually showed up at the meetings. 09/28/20 -3- Mayor Elliott expressed his congratulations to Mr. Becker on his retirement. Mr. Becker stated he is committed to having the Master Plan final draft back to the City Council before October 20, 2020. ADJOURN STUDY SESSION TO INFORMAL OPEN FORUM WITH CITY COUNCIL Mayor Elliott adjourned the Study Session at 6:49 p.m. RECONVENE STUDY SESSION Mayor Elliott reconvened the Study Session at 6:50 p.m. BROOKLYN CENTER BEAUTIFICATION AND PUBLIC ART MASTER PLAN – CONTINUED Mayor Elliott asked whether the City Council had any additional questions for Mr. Becker. There were no additional questions or comments. Mr. Boganey expressed his thanks and congratulations to Mr. Becker for completing the plan project. He added City Staff looks forward to implementing the plan. COUNCIL DIRECTION FOR CITY ATTORNEY City Attorney Troy Gilchrist requested City Council feedback and direction regarding the amount of individual service he should provide for individual Councilmembers. He added he has worked for the City of Brooklyn Center and with many Councilmembers over the past 6 years, and he is ready to help and be of assistance. He noted he has been asked recently to participate in meetings and prepare documents related to policy issues that have not been reviewed by the City Council. Mr. Gilchrist requested City Council feedback regarding whether there are any concerns with him performing that sort of work. He added there can be potential problems and issues related to time and resource management if he is instructed to prepare policy documents for individual Councilmembers on a regular basis. He noted the meetings and policy documents in question are not a result of direction from the City Council. Mr. Gilchrist stated his request for guidance from the City Council should not be viewed as a criticism of the Mayor or anyone else. Mayor Elliott stated Mr. Gilchrist is speaking in general terms, but referring to him specifically, with regard to requests for meetings. Mr. Gilchrist confirmed this. Mayor Elliott stated he asked to meet with Mr. Gilchrist in his capacity as Mayor, to stay abreast of legal questions that face the City. He added he has requested meetings every other week as he wants to do a good job as Mayor, especially with the added responsibility of the pandemic. He 09/28/20 -4- noted it is a common practice in other cities to seek legal advice from the City Attorney before presenting a certain document to the City Council, and he personally does not see anything wrong with it. He asked for comments from the City Council Councilmember Graves stated her first thought related to the emergency situation at the beginning of the pandemic, when the Mayor met with the City Attorney regarding legal action related to street construction, and there were concerns about air quality. She added those meetings made sense, but the City Council knew about those meetings. She noted she would want to know what the meetings are about, and what policies are being discussed. She noted, in the past, she has brought draft resolutions to City Staff for their review and recommendations. Councilmember Ryan stated he has no problem with the occasional calls for information, but he is concerned about the Mayor initiating policy research and position papers without City Staff or City Council involvement or knowledge. He added the usual practice is that the City Council works collaboratively through the City Manager. He noted leaving the City Manager out of the loop is not something he would consider best practice. Councilmember Ryan stated it is 7:00 p.m., and time for the Regular Session. He requested further review of this issue during the Work Session. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Elliott adjourned the Study Session at 7:00 p.m. STATE OF MINNESOTA) COUNTY OF HENNEPIN) ss. Certification of Minutes CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER) The undersigned, being the duly qualified and appointed City Clerk of the City of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, certifies: 1. That attached hereto is a full, true, and complete transcript of the minutes of a Study Session of the City Council of the City of Brooklyn Center held on September 28, 2020. 2. That said meeting was held pursuant to due call and notice thereof and was duly held at Brooklyn Center City Hall. 3. That the City Council adopted said minutes at its October 12, 2020, Regular Session. Barbara Suciu, City Clerk Mike Elliott, Mayor