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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012/04/23 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session f/fSt. Louis Park OFFICIAL MINUTES MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION ST. LOUIS PARK,MINNESOTA APRIL 23, 2012 The meeting convened at 6:40 p.m. Councilmembers present: Mayor Jeff Jacobs, Steve Hallfin, Anne Mavity, Julia Ross, Susan Sanger, Sue Santa, and Jake Spano. Councilmembers absent: None. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Deputy City Manager/Director of Human Resources (Ms. Deno), City Clerk (Ms. Stroth), City Attorney (Mr. Knutson), and Recording Secretary(Ms. Hughes). Guest: Joe Mansky(Ramsey County Election Manager). 1. Future Study Session Agenda Planning—May 7 and May 14, 2012 Mr. Harmening presented the proposed special study session agenda for May 7, 2012, and the proposed study session agenda for May 14, 2012. 2. Ranked Choice Voting Ms. Stroth presented the staff report and introduced Joe Mansky, Ramsey County Election Manager. She stated that the City has held seven primary elections since 1975 and two primary elections were won with less than 50% of the vote. She indicated the current state certified voting equipment does not count ranked votes and would not notify voters of errors with RCV. Mr. Mansky stated that the website www.rcelections.org contains useful information regarding RCV. He discussed several myths regarding RCV and stated the RCV system does not guarantee a majority winner and indicated the more candidates that are on a ballot will reduce the likelihood of a majonty winner. He stated they have found that voters do not want to rank their choice and typically want to vote for only one candidate. He indicated that another myth is that people will not understand RCV and stated that St. Paul's expenence has been that the voters knew what they were doing and they received no complaints from voters. He stated their public information campaign included a mailing to every resident as well as website videos and advertising on Metro Transit buses, with the goal of directing voters to the website to learn about RCV. He advised that it cannot be proven that RCV will save money and stated that they did not spend money on the primary election but the public information campaign overwhelmed those savings and that this did not include the many hours of additional staff time needed to develop, educate, communicate and run this process. He stated that after the voters approved the Charter amendment for RCV in 2009, they spent over a year implementing the RCV system in order to enact the ordinance and prepare for the 2011 St. Paul RCV Election. He also discussed the reallocation process required for candidates who do not receive 50%+1 of votes cast and the process used to hand count ballots. He noted there is currently no RCV equipment available that is certified for use by the Secretary of State but there are products currently in development that will deliver data that can be used to perform reallocations. Ms. Deno stated that if the issue is to hold or not hold a primary, it is the City Charter that currently requires that primary elections be held. If the Council wished elimination of primary to Study Session Minutes -2- April 23, 2012 be explored they could ask Charter Commission to consider whether primary elections should continue. Councilmember Sanger expressed thanks for the educational information contained in the staff report. She stated she had requested that Council consider RCV but is now convinced that RCV is not administratively practical at this time. Councilmember Ross questioned the cost of converting to RCV and the return on investment." Councilmember Hallfin agreed that RCV should not be pursued at this time and felt the current method used for voting did not need to be changed. Councilmember Spano stated that advocates of RCV will argue that it changes the way candidates run their campaigns and that it encourages more people to run. He agreed that from a financial standpoint, RCV does not make sense for the City. Mr. Mansky stated they did not see an increase in voter turnout as a result of RCV. He indicated that some advocates of RCV feel that it is beneficial to minority candidates and voters but that was not their experience. It was the consensus of the City Council that it does not wish to further pursue the method of a Ranked Voting Election for the St. Louis Park municipal elections. Councilmember Mavity stated that voter turnout for the City's primary elections is very low compared to the high cost of running the pnmary elections. She suggested having the Charter Commission look into this and come back to Council with a recommendation on whether to eliminate primary elections. The Council stated they may want to have more discussion on this before considering sending this to Charter Commission for review. 3. Gambling Premise Permit for Hopkins Raspberry Festival Association Ms. Deno presented the staff report. Councilmember Santa stated that the City is interested in helping Toby Keith's come off probationary status but did not feel that on-site gambling would help and could even be a distraction. Councilmember Sanger requested the City Attorney's opinion as to whether Council can deny the gambling premises permit application from Hopkins Raspberry Festival at this time. Mr. Knutson replied that Council has legal standing to deny the gambling premises permit application from Hopkins Raspberry Festival at this time. Councilmember Sanger stated she would like to deny the application at this time and to indicate to Toby Keith's that if and when they come into compliance with the City's liquor ordinance, the City is willing to entertain the gambling premises permit application at that time. She added that her rationale is that gambling and alcohol go together and the on-site gambling could contribute to a further disparity in not enough food sales for Toby Keith's. Study Session Minutes -3- Apnl 23, 2012 Mr. Knutson stated that the resolution denying issuance of a permit states that Toby Keith's can reapply after the establishment comes off probation. He added that the legal basis for turning down the premises permit does not come with a guarantee that the permit will be approved when Toby Keith's is no longer on probation. Councilmember Sanger asked if Council can require Toby Keith's to remain in compliance with City Code for a specified number of months before Council will entertain further applications for a premises permit for lawful gambling. Mr. Knutson stated that a condition can be added requiring Toby Keith's to remain in compliance for a specified number of months before reapplying for a premises permit. He noted that premises permits for lawful gambling are not annually renewed by the City and if Toby Keith's were to go back on probation, a condition of probation could be a requirement to get rid of gambling at Toby Keith's. Councilmember Ross stated she was not in favor of denying the premises permit. She indicated if Toby Keith's feels they can take this on, it is their responsibility and they are fully aware of the cost of doing business in the City. She added if Toby Keith's loses their liquor license it will take care of the gambling. It was the consensus of the City Council place this item on the agenda for May 7, 2012. 4. City Council Electronic Communications Ms. Deno presented the staff report. Mr. Knutson recited several provisions of the Open Meeting Law. He referenced a recent situation with the Metro Gang Task Force where the executive director asked task force members if it was okay to send out a press release and all task force members agreed the press release could be sent, resulting in a violation of the Open Meeting Law. He discussed serial communications using email as well as the implications of social media and urged Council to be cautious. Ms. Deno stated that one of the City's biggest potential concern could be emails going back and forth among Council and a concern that emails could result in a decision being made in violation of the Open Meeting Law. Mayor Jacobs reminded Council not to use"reply to all"when responding to emails. Mr. Harmening stated that he sends an end of week email to Council regarding ongoing issues and to provide Council with a heads-up on various issues. Mr. Knutson advised that it is alright to send this type of email as long as no decision is being made. Council discussed notice requirements and closed meetings. Mr. Harmening presented a policy adopted by the City of Woodbury regarding electronic communications and noted the City does not have a policy regarding electronic communications. Study Session Minutes -4- Apnl 23, 2012 It was the consensus of the City Council that it was not interested in formally adopting an electronic communications policy at this time. 5. Boards and Commissions Policies Ms. Deno presented the staff report. Councilmember Sanger suggested that the language be revised to state that the City Council will not appoint a board or commission member to serve concurrently on more than one board or commission. She stated since the Charter Commission is not appointed by Council they would not be subject to this. She also suggested that the definition of immediate family include a reference to stepparents and stepchildren and members of the same household. Councilmember Ross stated she would like to see an exception for youth appointments to allow youth members to serve on the same board as another family member. Councilmember Mavity stated that Council makes appointments to the Housing Authority and suggested that the Housing Authority be added to the list of boards and commissions governed by the rules and procedures. Councilmember Sanger suggested that the language indicate "such other boards and commissions that may be created or that the council appoints." Councilmember Ross requested that the list include CEAC. It was the consensus of the City Council to adopt a revised policy for boards and commissions, including the revisions suggested, and to approve the policy via consent agenda. 6. Environment/Sustainability Input Ms. Deno presented the staff report and proposed outline for establishing the environment/ sustainability task force. She explained the purpose of the task force, timeline for meeting, and guiding principles. Councilmember Sanger felt that five meetings may not be enough and the timeline may be too short. She suggested that the guiding principles provide more flexibility to allow more if necessary and to allow the task force to decide if they need more time to complete their work. Ms. Deno agreed to revise the timeline for completing the task force's work. Mr. Harmening suggested that the City advertise the task force formation and ask interested residents to complete an application and then Council can review the applications to make appointments to the task force. Councilmember Santa stated it will be important to have a balanced membership with representation from all areas of the City as well as certain geographic anomalies, e.g., residents living near Minnehaha Creek. Councilmember Mavity requested that the application form include applicants to list their top three to five environmental issues, ideas or areas of interest. Study Session Minutes -5- April 23, 2012 Councilmember Sanger suggested that the application form ask applicants to give an indication of what environmental areas they have been involved with in the past. Councilmember Mavity stated that Council has previously discussed having some kind of mechanism on the City's website to provide a forum for residents to provide input and share information on environmental issues. She indicated this information could be helpful to the task force in understanding what residents are interested in related to environmental issues. Council discussed this and thought it best of the task force wanted to do something like this, they could make such recommendation to Council. Councilmember Spano stated he does not want Council to shape the work of the task force too much and added it will be important to make sure the task force represents a broad spectrum of issues related to the environment. 7. Communications/Meeting Check-In Mr. Harmening advised that TCF Bank will be holding its annual meeting at the Marriott Hotel on Wednesday, April 25`h, with Jeb Bush as the keynote speaker and there may be some protests taking place during the annual meeting. He reminded Council of the Children First event on Wednesday morning at 7:15 a.m. and asked Council to let him know if they wish to attend the event. Mr. Harmening requested input from Council regarding a request received from the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program and whether the City wants to support the program. Councilmember Spano advised that he chairs the yellow ribbon steering committee at the City of St. Paul and stated that Beyond the Yellow Ribbon is a network of individuals and organizations dedicated to supporting the country's servicemembers and their families. He indicated this program spans a variety of areas and can be as big or as little as the City wants. He added that Minnetonka, Golden Valley, and Hopkins are looking at joining the program. He stated he would do whatever he could to facilitate the City's participation in the program. Councilmember Sanger stated a policy question for Council to consider is how the City decides which nonprofits to help. Mr. Harmening indicated that the City would be helping to facilitate a partnership in the community made up of a variety of groups, including the Rotary, Park Nicollet, etc. that works to support servicemembers living in the community. Councilmember Mavity stated that if no significant staff time or costs are required to be expended, she felt the City should move forward with participating in the Yellow Ribbon program. Councilmember Santa advised that she has supported and been involved in Yellow Ribbon efforts in her personal life and felt it was a worthwhile cause. It was the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to look into participation in the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon program if no significant City resources are required. Study Session Minutes -6- April 23, 2012 Councilmember Ross stated that Council has previously discussed the requirements of the City's liquor ordinance regarding food sales and asked if Council wants to have a further discussion regarding its liquor ordinance. She also asked if Council wants to have a further discussion regarding whether to adopt a policy that states establishments on probation cannot hold a premises permit for lawful gambling. Councilmember Hallfin stated he would like Council to have further discussion regarding the liquor ordinance. Ms. Deno indicated Council may be discussing taproom breweries in the near future and these issues could be discussed at that time. The meeting adjourned at 8:47 p.m. Written Reports provided and documented for recording purposes only: 8. Project Update — Trunk Highway 169 Proposed Visual Barrier and Access Closure Project 9. March 2012 Monthly Financial Report 10. First Quarter Investment Report (January—March, 2012) 11. Eliot School Site Design Guidelines anedev: opm• ,t Nancy Stroth, Oity Clerk Jeff/.cs ayor