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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.21.02 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR October 21, 2002 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ristow at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Ristow led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Audience: Ristow, Cordes, Soderberg, Strachan, Verch None Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; Ed Shukle, City Administrator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Kevin Carroll, Community Development Director; Dan Siebenaler, Police Chief; Jim Bell, Parks and Recreation Director; Lee Mann, Director of Public Works/City Engineer; Karen Finstuen, Administrative Services Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Lee Smick, Planning Coordinator; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Earl and Judy Teporten, Mike Richardson, David Pritzlaff, Mike Heinzerling, Chaz Johnson, Michelle Roberts, Marion Iossi, Dan Johnson, Jim and Joanne Payne, Amy Schulz, Christy Fogarty, Cheryl Retterath, Deb Nevala 4. APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember Verch pulled 7a) Council Minutes 10/7/02 Regular so he could abstain from voting as he was absent from that meeting. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Cordes to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Proclaim Earl Wetzel Day MOTION by Cordes, second by Verch proclaiming November 2, 2002 as Earl Wetzel Day. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Introduce New Employee - Maintenance Ms. Marion Iossi was introduced as the new part-time Maintenance Facility Receptionist. c) Introduce New Employee - Police Officer Andrew Bellows was administered the Oath of Office by City Administrator Shukle. Council Minutes (Regular) October 21, 2002 Page 2 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Ms. Joanne Payne, 20192 Akin Road, stated after watching the last Council Meeting, she found it ironic Councilmember Cordes did not want to spend taxpayer money for a special election for Councilmember Strachan's seat, but she has no problem using taxpayer money to oust our current Administrator. Ms. Payne stated the Mayor says he cannot comment on the Administrator because of privacy issues, but two Councilmembers know nothing about it. Addressing Mayor Ristow, she asked, are you keeping secrets from Councilmembers, or are you using your own personal agenda to ruin a man's reputation? As for you Mayor, your motives are blatantly obvious. You don't want the will of the voters taken into account until you know if your candidate is voted in. Your disregard for your own staff and legal counsel regarding the moratorium, leaves the city in a bad position. The precedents you set by allowing one landowner out ofthe moratorium leaves Farmington open to lawsuits and hampers future moratoriums. In the United States we are founded on something you must not be familiar with, it's called democracy. The will of the voter speaks, are you listening, or is Farmington under a dictatorship? Your actions are being watched. Mr. David Pritzlaff, 20255 Akin Road, gave his e-mail address because he would be asking the citizens for support in a letter. He wanted to discuss the Akin Road project and the developments and safety of the project. He had some further issues that he did not address during the neighborhood meeting. Mr. Pritzlaff stated if Akin Road would have stayed a county road, those two new projects would not have been allowed. Even the county thought there was too much traffic on that road. The citizens would like to know whose intention it was to turn the road back to the city and allow the developments, as the county would not allow the developments. Mr. Pritzlaff then addressed the election process. Reading the newspaper, makes him believe the Mayor wants to run a corrupt organization. It seems to him and people he has talked to that the right thing to do, if Councilmember Strachan is elected as State Representative, would be to let the third highest vote getter take the seat. Instead of saying let's wait until the election to see ifthat person would be ok, and if not, we're going to appoint someone. Council needs to make the decision before the election. It's like doing business. Mr. Pritzlaff stated ifhe gave an estimate for work on your house and said let's see what the final price tag is when we're done, you wouldn't like that. The citizens don't like this either. One way or another, Council should make their decision before the election. If you're going to appoint someone, make that decision, but I think the citizens would say it should be the third highest vote getter. Mr. Pritzlaffstated he attended the last Council Meeting, but left halfway through and watched the rest ofthe meeting at home. Towards the end ofthe meeting, he was embarrassed to be a citizen of Farmington, mainly because of the conduct ofthe Mayor towards Councilmember Soderberg. It was unbelievable how one person could criticize the other Councilmember. It looked so bad on TV, it was not funny. Mr. Pritzlaff stated he did not know ifthe Mayor was out to get Administrator Shukle, Councilmember Soderberg, or who was next on his list. Mr. Pritzlaffthen restated his home address and Council Minutes (Regular) October 21, 2002 Page 3 e-mail address, asking residents to write him letters by mail or e-mail in support. He then asked for the resignation of Mayor Ristow. Mr. Pritzlaffstated it would be appropriate if the Mayor resigned and let the City go forward. Mr. Earl Teporten, 521 Oak Street, stated he has the honor to be one of the candidates for City Council. All the candidates have been doing a lot of leg work talking to a lot of people. In that process you learn what people's concerns are. One of the major concerns is the way the city is being run. They are very embarrassed and are asking what is going on with our town. Mr. Teporten stated he has talked with staff and a lot of city employees, and there is tremendous support for Administrator Shukle. Everyone he talks to is thrilled with the job he is doing. Mr. Teporten thanked Administrator Shukle for the wonderful job he is doing and the way he conducts his business. He allows his people to manage their business as long as they do a good job. He then thanked Joanne Payne for her comments. Mr. Teporten stated the city is at a point where one person said our city is being run like Hazzard County, and that is hurtful. Weare becoming a laughing stock. We need to change that, and hoped the upcoming election would help that. We need to tone down the rhetoric and start running our city as the professional unit that it should be and that it can be. Ms. Amy Schulz, 19137 Evening Star Way, stated she has lived in Farmington for four years, and has gotten to know Farmington. She has followed the Council Meetings on TV and followed the agendas, and read the newspaper. Until now she has supported the Council and felt the people holding the seats now and prior, had been doing a wonderful job. Right now, she does not feel comfortable with what is happening. She wants to see the residents of Farmington are able to choose who would fill Councilmember Strachan's seat. She realizes there is not a resignation on the table now, but does not feel it would be inappropriate to have a procedure in place, assuming that were to happen. It would not take Council much time to say we agree or don't agree. She feels a discussion is very important. She is thankful there are people here talking about this. There are four of us here who have said this, how many are there at home, that can't come in or don't want to address the issue? She would like to see this discussed in the near future. a) Mr. Dan Johnson Mr. Johnson, 5225 Upper 183rd Street, stated he received a response from staff regarding the issues on his neighbor's grass and cats, and wanted to know if a decision had been reached. Staff stated they researched Rosemount's ordinance regarding grass height, and they are in the process of revising their current ordinance to 6". Apple V alley enforces a 10" height for residential, and Lakeville enforces 10". To change this would require an ordinance change, and that is something the Council would need to consider. Farmington's current ordinance reads 12". Mr. Johnson would like to see it lowered to 8". He stated his neighbors just don't care. He would like to see it changed and enforced. He has a terrible weed problem because of his neighbor's lawn. It brings his property value down. He has also noticed the number of homes for sale that surround unkempt houses. There is a moral obligation to surrounding neighbors and would like to see this enforced. Mayor Ristow suggested this be studied throughout the winter Council Minutes (Regular) October 21,2002 Page 4 months, as further studies would need to be done. Councilmember Strachan stated one issue is enforcement and how much staff time and resources we want to devote to it. These are enforced by complaint. We do not have someone going around checking grass height. Regarding people who have prairie restorations or wild flowers, is that acceptable? I think it should be. Mayor Ristow then asked if Council wanted to schedule any meetings to address this? Staff will schedule a Council workshop and bring some background information. Mr. Johnson stated his main issue is with the cats. Police Chief Siebenaler provided Mr. Johnson and Council with results of some studies he had conducted. Mayor Ristow stated the issue is enforcement and how much money it will take. Councilmember Strachan asked if Council wants to discuss a citywide policy that may impact the whole city, staff time, and tax money. Mr. Johnson has two very specific issues. One is a neighbor who doesn't care enough to keep their cats in, and you have a son who has a very severe allergy to cats. The Police Chief alluded to the fact that you could place a live trap on your property. It is an individual problem. Councilmember Strachan then asked Attorney Poehler if Mr. Johnson had the cat impounded, and there are fees involved, could he go to small claims court to recover the fees? Attorney Poehler replied he could, because it is a private case oftrespass. Mr. Johnson stated he left the last meeting with the impression Council felt it would cost too much money to enforce an ordinance citywide, when it is a citywide problem that is only going to grow. You are on the Council with the moral obligation to provide the best possible neighborhoods for the people of Farmington. The best interest always has to be the people of Farmington, not the city. He felt Council is losing sight of that. It is Council's civic and moral obligation to do that, and it is not being met. You are trying to put a band-aid on the problem to fix my problem. If there were a problem with raccoons, the city would act pretty quickly. Why is this any different? People watching on TV should be taking offense to this. Somewhere on your campaign trail you said, I'll work for you, and do what's best for you. That's what I'm asking now. b) Mr. David Pritzlaff Mr. Pritzlaff, 20255 Akin Road, received a response from staff regarding speed and patrol activity on Akin Road. Regarding the presence of patrol cars, Akin Road is one of three north-south corridors used by officers in regular patrol. As a result Akin Road is patrolled more frequently than most streets or roadways in the city. When the road was closed for the culvert project, there was patrol. After it opened, there was a lack of patrol on the road. Mr. Pritzlaffhad suggested the patrol cars park in his driveway behind some spruce trees. Staff's response was that this is viewed as trickery, and should be avoided whenever possible. Mr. Pritzlaff stated if someone is speeding on the road day in and day out, maybe trickery needs to be used. He suggested putting an article in the paper stating this is not being done to generate revenue, but to improve the safety on the road. Council Minutes (Regular) October 21, 2002 Page 5 Regarding the striping, Mr. Pritzlaff still feels passing on the right is being promoted. Drivers don't abide by the yellow line, so why should they abide by the white line? He feels more patrol is needed. Staffs response was that people will drive at a comfortable speed, regardless of what is posted. We have a Council where no one can talk and answer questions freely. When people come in, they are coming for their community and their neighborhood. He feels it is highly inappropriate to not talk about the issues in front of the people. Mr. Pritzlaffthen read comments from the Akin Road neighborhood meeting. These comments included concerns regarding speed and patrol activity, striping promotes passing, neighbors are not copied on correspondence, no speed zones in school areas, safety study, mail delivery, speed study, number of fatalities, speed display signs. Mr. Pritzlaffthen thanked City Engineer Mann and Police Chief Siebenaler for their responses. He also had some questions for the Council, which they must feel they are exempt from getting back to him. He did not receive a response from Council regarding why they are trying to get rid of Administrator Shukle. Staff responded, why does Council think they are exempt from getting back to me? Maybe Council could answer that so the viewing audience would know. Councilmember Strachan stated regarding the road itself, in terms of the appeal of the speed limit to the state, and trying to get the speed limit down, which we have continually tried to do, that is why we had the hearing to justify getting a speed limit that could be lower. Staff responded the neighborhood meeting was held so residents could relay their concerns to the state officials. The comments from the meeting were mailed to several hundred residents along Akin Road. MnDOT is in the process of conducting their study. When it is complete, a final report will include addressing all of the comments that were made. Mayor Ristow stated all ofthe people that came to the meeting received a response. That is our policy since 1995 of receiving citizen comments and responding back. Council would have to change the policy ifthey wanted to do something different. Ms. Joanne Payne, 20192 Akin Road, stated she had a couple comments to make on some of the issues that were just discussed. When she was at the neighborhood meeting, and MnDOT was there, they also made a comment. . . .Mayor Ristow stated we are not going to debate that tonight. Ms. Payne stated and I am not going to. Mayor Ristow stated citizen comments are over. Ms. Payne stated this is a citizen comment. Mayor Ristow stated could you take your seat please? Ms. Payne replied no. Mayor Ristow stated these are special comments on the agenda that we responded back to. Ms. Payne stated so I cannot speak on behalf of an issue that was already brought up? You want me to wait until the next meeting? Mayor Ristow stated right; Mr. Pritzlaff is the one who brought this item up. Ms. Payne replied that's fine; I'll wait until the next meeting. Council Minutes (Regular) October 21, 2002 Page 6 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Soderberg, second by Cordes approving 7a) Council Minutes 10/7/02 Regular. Voting for: Ristow, Cordes, Soderberg, Strachan. Abstain: Verch. MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Strachan, second by Soderberg to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: b) Set November 6,2002 Special Meeting - Accept Results of Election - Administration c) Set November 4, 2002 Public Hearing - Various Licenses and Permits - Administration d) Received Information School and Conference - Parks and Recreation e) Approved Agreement Amendment - NRG Yard Waste Facility - Parks and Recreation t) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Approve Wine License Requests - Administration Two new businesses, the Ugly Mug, Inc., 18450 Pilot Knob Road and Ted's Pizza, Inc., 18500 Pilot Knob Road, have submitted first time applications for an On-Sale Wine License. They have also submitted a first time application for a 3.2 Malt Liquor On-Sale License that authorizes them to sell Intoxicating Malt Liquors at on-sale without an additional license. The appropriate forms, fees and insurance information have been submitted. The licenses will expire December 31,2002. Ms. Deb Nevala, owner ofthe Ugly Mug, stated they are glad to be here and will be opening the third week in November. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Strachan to close the Public Hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Cordes approving On-Sale Wine Licenses and On-Sale Intoxicating Malt Liquor licenses for The Ugly Mug, 18450 Pilot Knob Road and Ted's Pizza, 18500 Pilot Knob Road effective until December 31,2002. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Adopt Resolution - 2002 Seal Coat Assessment - Engineering The total project cost is $72,602.47. Staffhas calculated the proposed assessment amount for the project to be $52.55 per buildable lot. The total amount to be assessed is $35,732.78. The city's portion ofthe project costs is $35,732.78 and will be funded through the Road and Bridge fund. The assessments can be paid to the city within the next 30 days. After that time, the assessments will be levied to the 2003 property taxes only. MOTION by Cordes, second by Verch to close the Public Hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Strachan, second by Verch adopting RESOLUTION R94-02 adopting the assessment roll for the 2002 Seal Coat project. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT Council Minutes (Regular) October 21, 2002 Page 7 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Customer Service Response Report - Administration In an effort to meet and understand our citizen's needs and concerns, the City has adopted a customer service satisfaction program. Responses are typically anonymous ensuring that citizens with negative experiences are just as likely to respond as those with positive service experiences. Staff presented the report for April, May, and June 2002. There were 94 service requests, 56 of the surveys were returned. Staff received a 92% prompt response rating, 82% were personally satisfied with the service, and 98% found staff to be courteous and helpful. b) Quarterly Building Permit Report - Community Development Staff presented a report for the third quarter of 2002. The City issued new residential building permits for 70 single-family homes and 57 owner-occupied townhouse units for a total of 127 new housing units. Through the third quarter of this year the City has issued 215 single-family permits and 197 owner-occupied housing units for a total of 412 new housing permits. The average building valuation of the single-family homes through the third quarter of 2002 was $160,186, up from $152,336 through the same period last year. The average building valuation of the townhome units was $115,603, up from $109,260 during the same period in 200 I. c) September 2002 Financial Report - Finance Staff presented the financial report as of September 30, 2002. Revenues are on par with where they should be. Expenditures in the general fund are running a little over the 75% mark due to capital outlay items. Councilmember Cordes noticed liquor sales are down $1 million in revenues. Staff responded liquor revenues are fairly flat this year. Staffhad budgeted for a significant increase based on the last five years. This year with the economic downtown, and more competition, revenues have been flat. This will not significantly affect the profit margin, but there will be less revenues. Councilmember Soderberg noticed storm water shows a significant surplus, what generated that? Staff replied, a couple years ago the city was in litigation with a developer. The expense for repairs was expensed out of that fund. When the developer settled the lawsuit, he repaid all of the dollars that were involved in the lawsuit. The revenues went back into that fund. Councilmember Soderberg also noticed the park improvement fund and park maintenance fund are well over 75%. Staff replied park maintenance is significantly over 75%. However, the forestry line item is significantly below. Within the department there are certain employees whose time is budgeted. During the course of the year, this reflects how their actual time is spent. The park improvement fund expenditures were for costs for the trail system. Council Minutes (Regular) October 21, 2002 Page 8 d) 3. Adopt Resolution - Middle Creek 5th Addition Development Contract _ Engineering The Development Contract for Middle Creek 5th Addition (previously the Wilson property) was present to Council for approval. Conditions of approval are: 1. The Developer enter into this Agreement. 2. The Developer provide the necessary security in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. The Developer record the plat with the County Recorder within 6 months after City Council approval of the final plat. MOTION by Strachan, second by Verch adopting RESOLUTION R95-02 approving the execution of the Middle Creek 5th Addition Development Contract and authorize its signing contingent upon the above conditions and approval by the Engineering Division. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. e) Adopt Ordinance - Erosion Control- Community Development The city proposes to amend Section 11-4-5(J) and (K) of the City Code - Erosion Control and Turf Establishment. The city no longer requires that sod be in place before a final Certificate of Occupancy is issued. The city no longer issues Temporary Certificates of Occupancy for issues concerning sod installation. Staff is also omitting the requirement that sod be installed on or before July I, due to the difficulty in meeting the deadline. Staff is now requiring the builder install sod 45 days after the as-built is approved. MOTION by Soderberg, second by Verch adopting ORDINANCE 002-481 approving the amendments to Sections 11-4-5 (J) and (K) ofthe Farmington City Code, making revisions to turf establishment requirements. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Mr. David Pritzlaff, 20255 Akin Road, stated ifthere was a financial hardship and it was turned over to the City Attorney, there would be a monetary fine. It would be more of a hardship for the owner. Could the builder hold back so much money in surety, so sod could be placed in 45 days? Staff stated the surety requirement is already in place. t) Adopt Ordinance - Amending Demolition Permit Requirements - Community Development On May 6, 2002, the City Council added a new Chapter 6 to Title 4 ofthe City Code, to clarify procedures and requirements regarding the issuance of demolition permits. The changes include: 1. The Fire Marshal has indicated that the Uniform Fire Code includes provisions and requirements regarding certain aspects of demolition projects, particularly with regard to asbestos removal and fire safety measures that should be taken during certain types of demolitions. 2. The current version includes an indication that the City's demolition permit ordinance does not apply to "a private shed, garage or freestanding accessory building." Demolition permit applicants must comply with both Council Minutes (Regular) October 21, 2002 Page 9 the City Code and the MSBC. Staff proposed that Section 4-6-2 be revised to simply indicate that no permit will be required for "structures specifically exempt from permit by the MSBC." 3. Staff proposed that Part C(4) of Section 4-6-3 be revised to include references to the MPCA and the MN Department of Health. 4. Staff proposed that Part C(8) of Section 4-6-3 be revised to indicate that the City's Building Official will be responsible for making decisions regarding fencing and related site control matters. Councilmember Strachan stated ifthe applicant disagrees with the decision, who do they appeal that decision to? Staff replied if time constraints are not an issue, it would be taken to the weekly Development Review Committee, which consists of representatives from each department. If their decision is not satisfactory to the applicant, they could appear at a Council meeting. Mayor Ristow asked if there is a required height? Councilmember Strachan asked if standard sizes are taken into account? Staff stated heights would be based on common sense, considering the structure, and surrounding area. Councilmember Cordes stated she does not have a problem designating one specific staff member to do this. She would like to see the guidelines before she approves this portion of the ordinance. Staff stated they are working on them. There have been four demolitions in the last six months. There are a lot of different factors to consider - the height of the structure, adjacent sidewalks and homes, the length of the demolition process. Some can be done in a day, some take much longer. There are a variety of risks to the public. Staff stated the key word is guidelines, we do not intend to adopt any rules that will be set in stone. We do not want to say for every project lasting more than two days you have to have a 6- foot fence. Councilmember Cordes stated that is where she is coming from. She doesn't want a requirement that if the building is such and such a height and the hole in the ground is so deep, we are going to require an 8- foot chain link fence. You will be looking at the different conditions of the actual demolition. Staff replied we just had a demolition of one of the larger structures in Farmington and did not require a chain link fence. It is unlikely in the foreseeable future we would require that type of fence for anything. The guidelines would provide guidance to the Building Official. Once the guidelines are adopted, they will be given to Council for comment. Councilmember Cordes stated any guidelines we establish would be too restrictive because they do not have requirements, just recommendations, correct? Staff stated if OSHA says that cities have to take appropriate precautions for the safety of the public, the fact that we have guidelines that suggested what we should do, does not mean we are exceeding OSHA, we are trying to carry out OSHA. Mayor Ristow stated the construction outfitter has to meet certain criteria to hold a license. Staff stated there are certain licensing requirements for certain businesses. Councilmember Soderberg heard the state is in the process of moving from the State Building Code to the Uniform Building Code. How will that affect this? Staff replied they are looking at a number of changes that will go into effect Council Minutes (Regular) October 21, 2002 Page 10 January I. Staff is not aware of any proposed changes that would require the City to redo any of this. Councilmember Cordes asked because the applicant would have quite a bit of information to gather, phone numbers and contacts would all be given to him on the application. Such as who he would call at the MPCA, etc. Staff stated that has been done in the last two instances for applications for demolitions. Mayor Ristow stated the bottom line is there is no appeal process. Staff stated no more appeal process than there is with any other staff decision. People have the option of contacting Councilmembers, or coming to the Council meeting. Councilmember Strachan stated in the Uniform Fire Code, it refers to a lot of decisions made by the Fire Chief. Would that ever be contrary to what the Building Official would decide? Staff stated that would be unlikely. Most ofthe Fire Chiefs duties have to do with things related to fire protection. Councilmember Strachan asked if they are done by the Fire Chief or Fire Marshal? Staff stated in most cases the Fire Marshal. The Fire Marshal has authority delegated to him by the Fire Chief and the City. MOTION by Strachan, second by Verch adopting ORDINANCE 002-482 revising Sections 4-6-1, 4-6-2 and 4-6-3 of the Farmington Zoning Code regarding demolition permits. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. g) Charter Communications - Administration Staff received a letter from Charter indicating they have established Channel 14 as their information channel. h) New 2003 Policy Adoption Process and Proposed 2003 Cities Policies- Administration The League ofMN Cities sent proposed 2003 policies to cities for comment by November 15, 2002. A conference will be held January 15 to discuss the recommendations. Council should respond individually to Administrator Shukle. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE a) Labor/Management Committee Report - Administration As Council requested, staff gathered information regarding labor/management committees. This information is directly from the Bureau of Mediation Services. The city has had successful labor/management committees in the past. Staffhas contacted the AFSCME business agent and they are excited to start a labor/management committee pending Council approval. There is training on how the committee should be set up, bylaws, etc. Staff has to make a joint voluntary request with both parties and then the Bureau will come down to conduct a training session. Councilmember Strachan stated he likes the fact it will not just become another meeting. It sticks to the issue and tries to resolve Council Minutes (Regular) October 21, 2002 Page II them before they become grievances. Either party can end the process at any time. Labor/management committees are separate from the negotiation process. Council approved moving forward with the process. Councilmember Strachan: Stated he has known Andy Bellows since he was 8 years old. Farmington is lucky to have him as a Police Officer. Councilmember Soderberg: Stated he is still of the opinion, especially given the wide public support, that it would be a good idea to establish a mechanism for filling Councilmember Strachan's seat prior to the election so voters know what to expect. There are some problems with it, and he would have hoped there would have been some discussion so the City Attorney would have addressed some of those problems. One in particular is the incumbents having some indication in possibly their replacement, which is easily answered by excluding the incumbents from the replacement process, which would be something that would be suggested. However, time is short and it needs some discussion this evening. I still support and think that would be a proper move for this Council to do. Mayor Ristow stated he wouldn't disagree, but as was indicated at the last meeting, it is up to the upcoming Councilmembers to establish the procedure. If Mr. Strachan's seat is vacated then we'll have to deal with it. City Attorney Jamnik was going to address it. Attorney Poehler stated she did have some discussions with him on the issue raised by Councilmember Soderberg that there would be some concerns about incumbents voting on that type of policy. The incumbents would have to excuse themselves from that particular vote. Councilmember Soderberg stated he would exempt himself from the appointment process altogether. The third seat appointment process is not for an incumbent. We have a wide field - seven qualified candidates. Never in our history have we had so many candidates. There are nine candidates, two are incumbents. If those two incumbents are excluded from the appointment process, in other words not elected by the citizens in the top two spots, as far as I'm concerned, they're out. It takes the politics out of the appointment process. Given the criticisms it defers to the judgement of the voters for who they would like to see in that third seat, and they would know that well in advance. I'm not trying to change the election process. I'm trying to establish a mechanism should Mr. Strachan be successful in his run, and I fully anticipate that to be the case. Mayor Ristow stated if that happens, he doesn't see where you or Councilmember Verch, or the new members would have a problem with that either. Councilmember Cordes stated in all fairness that if there were Council seats up, with Mr. Strachan succeeding in his bid for State Representative, I think the citizens should have voted for three members. And if that were the case, Mr. Strachan should have resigned his seat in June so we could have had three seats open. I never said that I would not appoint that third person, but until I receive a letter of resignation from Mr. Strachan, we have two seats open. And even ifhe wins, it does not necessarily mean he would have to resign his seat on the Council. Councilmember Soderberg stated he does have to resign his seat. You cannot hold a higher office and this office as well. Attorney Poehler confirmed this. Councilmember Soderberg stated it would not make sense for Councilmember Strachan to do so until he sees the results of the election. I am only trying to point to an eventuality that may exist strictly because of the criticism and accusations that have been made. Councilmember Cordes stated we have to remember Council Minutes (Regular) October 21,2002 Page 12 those are accusations. I have said to many people I do not have a hidden agenda when it comes to this election. I have not even considered appointing anybody at this time. I am waiting to see what the election holds. I am not saying I'm against appointing that third person, but I would like to wait and discuss how we proceed after the election. For you to indicate that you would not take that third seat appointment, why wouldn't you? If you were the third highest vote getter, ifthat was a policy we followed, why wouldn't you take it? Councilmember Soderberg stated because we have an election process. Councilmember Cordes stated we are circumventing the process right now. Councilmember Soderberg replied that is why I wanted the attorney to do some research and identify those problems so they can be addressed. Mayor Ristow stated Attorney J amnik indicated to him he did have some answers and I thought he was going to be here tonight to address them. He said there were certain points at this time that would not be appropriate to discuss. Councilmember Soderberg stated he is trying to smooth the waters. Councilmember Cordes stated we have sat up here for six years and taken a lot of criticism. A little bit more is not going to hurt. Mayor Ristow stated it's part of the job. City Administrator Shukle: The budget and pavement management workshop will be held Wednesday, October 23 at 5:30 p.m. Finance Director Roland: Council received replacement pages for the budget they received in August. Mayor Ristow: He was invited to the Middle School for FF A Ag Day. It was good to see the kids interested in agriculture. Mr. David Pritzlaff, 20255 Akin Road, asked Council regarding his questions from the last meeting and from tonight's meeting, he would like to have a response at the next meeting. He received a response from staff and would also like to receive a response from Council. Can I find out tonight if I can expect a response, or if you are exempt from responding? Mayor Ristow replied do you want us to inform you in writing. Mr. Pritzlaff replied yes, a written memo just like staff does. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Cordes, second by Strachan to adjourn at 8:48 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, L~#~c.//77J~~ c;7' Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant