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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006/05/22 - ADMIN - Minutes - Charter Commission - RegularMINUTES CHARTER COMMISSION MEETING ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA May 22, 2006 City Hall Westwood Room 1. Call to Order Chair Carper called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. 2. Roll Call & Attendance Members Present: Lynne Carper, Steve Fillbrandt, Marilyn Hoeft, Jim de Lambert, Brian Fiderlein, Linda Jennings, Janice Loftus, John Orenstein, and Tessia Gardner Others Present: Marcia Honold, Management Assistant/Charter Commission Liaison; Nancy Stroth, City Clerk; and for the first part of the meeting, Roger Knutson, counsel for the City. Requests for excused absences: William Wernz New Commissioner Tessia Gardner was welcomed. Commission members introduced themselves. 3. Approval of Minutes- March 22, 2006 Jan Loftus moved, and Steve Fillbrandt seconded approval of minutes of the March 22, 2006 meeting. The motion passed 9-0. 4. Follow-up IRV Discussion with Attorney Knutson Charter Commission members continued discussion of Instant Run-off Voting (IRV) following their joint meeting with City Council and the presentation by Tony Solgard from Fair Vote Minnesota. Noting that IRV may be more fair, Nancy Stroth said there are several issues with IRV that need to be considered, including the need for new voting equipment (which requires approval from the Secretary of State), costs involved, voter education, and being different from the rest of the Hennepin County and the rest of the state. She noted that elimination of primaries could save money and that other communities haven’t had problems with not having primaries. A sheet listing metro communities that (1) have and (2) do not have primaries was distributed; about twice as many cities do not have primaries, compared to the number of cities that do have primaries. Commission members discussed two possible changes to the Charter: having a primary only when there are four or more candidates (currently there is a primary when there are three or more candidates) and requiring more than 15 signatures to run for office. Roger Knutson provided a ballpark estimate of $50,000 if IRV was offered and a citizen or group challenged IRV’s legality. He will provide a more in-depth opinion about the cost of a legal challenge. 5. Old Business Commission member discussed the Charter Commission By-laws. The following changes were suggested: 2. Quorum to transact business shall constitute eight (8) members. (delete ‘of’) 5. A majority of the members present at any meeting shall be competent to decide any matter except a resolution to amend the City Charter. A motion to amend the City Charter must carry a vote of not less than a majority of the commission members. If the motion to amend receives a vote of a majority of those present, but less than a majority of the commission members, it shall be carried over and reconsidered at the next meeting. 9. Annual Election of Officers (addition of this heading) a. The commission shall elect its own officers, consisting of a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary d. If a majority vote is not received by an individual on the first vote (a secret ballot may be requested by any commission member), a second vote between the two candidates who receive the highest number of votes shall be conducted. 13. Except as otherwise stated in these rules, The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure shall prevail. (addition of ‘stated’) Marcia will work with the City Attorney to review and revise, if necessary, section 5 so the meaning is perfectly clear. Therefore, final approval of the by-laws was tabled. 6. New Business a. Work Plan for 2006 Marcia discussed developing a work plan on the IRV election question, noting that there would be considerable research and the resulting recommendations may involve a Charter change, public hearing or possibly legislation. She said the City uses a process that takes a broader view, asking “Is there a problem?” and “What is it?” Lynne suggested a timeline: subcommittees will meet and present recommendations at the September Charter Commission meeting, additional work likely will be necessary at the November meeting, and work will be concluded at the January meeting. It was decided it would not be practical to implement any recommended changes for the 2007 election. b. IRV Discussion and Recap Each commissioner presented his or her view on IRV. Generally, it is believed that there is not a problem – that is, in recent SLP elections, successful candidates have received a majority vote. Several commissioners expressed interest in revising the Charter to eliminate the primary unless there are four (or possibly a higher number) of candidates and to require more than 15 signatures on the candidate petition form. Several commissioners said more information and study is required. Commissioners expressed the importance of following through with the IRV study per the City Council’s request. Two subcommittees were created: Modifying the Existing Charter John Orenstein, Chair; Brian Fiderlein; Jan Loftus; Tessia Gardner Studying the Costs, Issues, Advantages/Disadvantages of IRV Lynne Carper, Chair; Steve Fillbrandt; Jim de Lambert; Tessia Gardner c. Vision St. Louis Park Action Teams Marcia asked commissioners to consider participating on one of the eight action teams that have been created as part of the Vision St. Louis Park initiative. 7. Future Meeting The next Charter Commission meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 13 beginning at 7 p.m. 8. Communications Information was corrected and updated on the attendance sheet. Marcia will send out a release form so Commission members can share e-mail address, phone number and other private data with other Commissioners/City staff if they wish. Marcia said it appears that the just-passed eminent domain legislation will not require a change to the Charter. 9. Adjournment Jan Loftus moved, John Orenstein seconded that the meeting be adjourned. The motion passed 9-0. Meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m.