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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.16.22 Work Session Minutes City of Farmington City Council Work Session Minutes May 16, 2022 1. Call to Order Mayor Hoyt called the work session to order at 5:00 p.m. Present: Hoyt, Bernhjelm (arrived 5:50 p.m.), Lien, Wilson Absent: Porter Also Present: Lynn Gorski,City Administrator, Gary Rutherford, Police Chief; Kellee Omlid, Parks and Recreation Director;Cynthia Muller,Administrative Assistant Audience: Kara Hildreth, Reporter;three residents 2. Approve Agenda MOTION by Wilson, second by Lien to approve the agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. Discussion Items a. Juneteenth Proclamation Community members have requested Council approve a Juneteenth proclamation. One resident felt it was important for white people to speak up for non-white people. Council has received a proposed version of a proclamation. Councilmember Bernhjelm had emailed her comments stating she is in favor of a proclamation. It is recognized as a federal holiday and she agreed with editing the proposed version. Councilmember Wilson suggested having a community type proclamation and broader. May is law enforcement month. It is important to recognize things that impact our community. Last year was a missed opportunity, but the timing was off. He would support a proclamation and the direction from Councilmember Bernhjelm to edit the proposed version. Having a proclamation makes sense. Councilmember Lien stated there is a lot of importance on wordsmithing. We don't want to take the important points out. We need to find a good middle ground. We should acknowledge it at some point. We have to be open to editing it. He discussed how this was handled at the company he works for. Perhaps we can tie the proclamation into a community engagement goal. Mayor Hoyt stated last year at the end of the meeting he stated to do something that encompasses all and do all at once or do nothing. The statement in its current state has no action behind it. If we don't do something behind it, are we hurting those it is meant for? He is 100% in favor of doing something all inclusive. If we proclaim this day, be ready to do them all. If we are welcoming to all, do something that encompasses everyone. It's not about Juneteenth. Have a cultural diverse group plan it. A resident explained what they do at her work. Proclaim Juneteenth now and look at a celebration alter. Inaction is also action. Another resident stated at her work they select a day for someone to speak on their heritage. Council Work Session Minutes May 16,2022 Page 2 Mayor Hoyt did not want to experiment with a proclamation with nothing behind it. Council has not heard from any black residents about Juneteenth. A resident replied that last July several people came to a council meeting and spoke on not having a proclamation. Do something that is culturally diverse for the entire community. Councilmember Lien stated inaction is action. Something needs to be done. We are three white guys; the point is to find someone from that racial group to say something. It's the only one that's a federal holiday. So you can put a stop to the slippery slope. Find someone in the black community to prepare the proclamation. Mayor Hoyt asked the audience if someone wants to organize an event at Dew Days? If we proclaim it, we should do something in the community. Councilmember Wilson stated we don't need action behind the proclamation because the proclamation is action. He doesn't see a slippery slope because it is a federal holiday. The best ideas for community engagement come from people who want to be engaged. We do need to acknowledge it. Councilmember Lien added if we do nothing, the action will never come. Mayor Hoyt stated again we need the community to step up to plan an event. A resident commented that making a proclamation shows we're listening to the non-white community. Mayor Hoyt suggested we do a diversity month and include all of the special dates. We'll make the proclamation and hope there is something behind it. He asked staff to set up a diversity inclusion committee and to contact Ron Williams, with the school district,to put a proclamation together. 4. City Administrator Update Park Referendum -Administrator Gorski and Director Omlid met with HKGi on the park referendum. Staff has master plans of different parks, but they are not updated. HKGi is going through each park and making a list of what needs to be replaced. The biggest thing to get a handle on is trails. This information will lay out updates for future years. Staff should receive the information from HKGi tonight. It's a living document so we need to keep it updated. We will look at what has and hasn't been done and when to replace certain items. Councilmember Wilson asked if we should look at trails and trail funding differently. Such as get a dedicated funding source, but not a tax. He asked staff to find out what other communities do. Mayor Hoyt asked if we will still put out a referendum this fall. Director Omlid said no to a referendum, because we want to get this done right. Administrator Gorski added we Council Work Session Minutes May 16,2022 Page 3 want a good product and be able to move forward. Director Omlid noted in 2023 we can issue GO bonds with the streets project and we'd be ready. Councilmember Bernhjelm was concerned about not figuring out the ice arena situation. Councilmember Wilson suggested we should identify a piece of land centrally located and get a couple business partners to move forward with that. Director Omlid noted an ice arena alone won't pass. We need something for the entire community. Staff Appointment—Administrator Gorski stated Julie Flaten will be the new Assistant City Administrator/ HR Director and is excited to start. 5. Adjourn MOTION by Lien, second by Bernhjelm to adjourn at 6:05 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia -MuCCer Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant