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01-19-07 Worksession-2 ~ CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Richfield, Minnesota Special Worksession January 23, 2007 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Goettel at 5:31 p.m. I ROLL CALL Members Present: Debbie Goettel, Mayor; Bill Kilian; Fred Wroge; Susan Rosenberg; and Sue Sandahl. Staff Present: Steven Devich, City Manager; Mike Eastling, Public Works Director; Bruce Palmborg, Community Development Director; Cheryl Krumholz, Recording Secretary; and Corrine Thomson, City Attorney. Item # I DISCUSSION REGARDING CITY COUNCIL PROCEDURES Mayor Goettel stated she requested tonight's Worksession to seek City Council feedback on procedural matters. Mayor Goettel requested discussion on the Regular City Council meeting start time moving from 6:30 p.m. back to 7:00 p.m. to allow more Worksession discussion time prior to meetings. Council Member Sandahl stated part of the reason the start time was moved to 6:30 p.m. was so City staff was not working so late. In the past, the Worksessions were on the first Monday of each month but then it moved to Tuesday prior to a Regular meeting. Mayor Goettel said a 5:00 p.m. start for a meeting is difficult for her due to her work schedule and commute. Council Member Wroge said he'd rather be finished earlier than later and liked the 6:30 p.m. start. He added the need for so many Worksessions should be limited. He suggested two Worksession items at 5:30 p.m. and one item after the Regular meeting, or have the Worksession items within the City Council meeting. Council Member Wroge added that a Worksession not be held on the same night an issue comes before the City Council for action at the Regular meeting because he would like time to analyze the information. City Manager Devich said staff tries to have a Worksession discussion occur on an item at least one meeting prior to the City Council taking action. However, timing sometimes does not make that possible. Council Member Kilian said he likes to get home earlier and that 6:30 p.m. works for him but he would be flexible. He said starting the Worksession at 5:30 p.m. was acceptable to him. Special Worksession Minutes -2- January 23, 2007 Council Member Sandahl stated she'd like the Worksessiol') to start no earlier than 5:30 p.m. Staff could determine the time needed based upon the item. She said starting the Regular City Council meeting at 7:00 p.m. was fine with her and that it could be Ire-addressed in six months. Council Member Sandahl also asked about meals being prcwided for the Worksessions. City Manager Devich explained past practice has been the~e were no meals provided unless the meeting started at 5:00 p.m. However, there are some excePtiions depending upon the agenda. Mayor Goettel stated if the agenda is too full, there needs tb be a balance of time. The City Council agreed the Regular City Council meeting, should begin at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Goettel requested discussion on switching the readirg of Staff Reports from the City Council to City staff because the presentation will be faster. I Council Member Sandahl said she thought it was a good s~ggestion by the former City Manager to have the City Council read the Staff Reports. She's r~ceived complaints that when staff reads the reports, it is staff making the decision. She said if she presents a report, she is sure to understand it. I Council Member Wroge said he was in favor of the responsible staff person who wrote the report presenting it, also. There is the concern the public perceiv~s the City Council is rubber stamping staffs' recommendation. He said he is not trying to impress the residents to get around this perception. Critical discussions are needed before voting. He added it is hard to present a Staff Report if you do not believe in or support the item. I Council Member Rosenberg said she liked reading Staff R~ports. She is not trying to impress the residents but believes there is more credibility and ownership. It is the City Council's meeting not the staffs' meeting. Council Member Kilian agreed the City Council, not staff, should read the Staff Reports. Each City Council Member has their own take on an item and he said he does a better job on the items he presents. He goes through the report with staff to discuss objecticms and questions. He relies on other people to do their job of presenting the residents' point of vi~w. Staff is looking out for residents but the City Council is directly responsible. He added he is comfoliable telling the Mayor if he does not want an assignment because making a presentation should be viewed as voluntary. I I Council Member Sandahl agreed that jf a City Council Merhber is really opposed to an item, they should not be asked to make that presentation. I Council Member Wroge questioned if the City Council pre~ents Staff Reports, why the HRA Commissioners do not present theirs but rather staff does. This is inconsistent if the reason is to impress residents that it's not rubber-stamping. I City Manager Devich explained when it was originally switdhed to the City Council presenting Staff Reports, he was not sure if the former City Manager also aPEroached the HRA. He was not aware of this being brought forward to the HRA Chair. There are differences in the City Council and HRA and he discussed the televising of HRA meetings. I Council Member Wroge said that if presenting reports is good enough for the City Council, it should be good enough for the HRA, especially if it's now televise~. Mayor Goettel said it appears the majority of the City COU~Cil wish to continue presenting the Staff Reports with no changes. She added this could be re-addrEissed at a later date. She requested the City Council let her know if they have a conflict with presentin9 when she is making report assignments. I Council Member Kilian stated the City Council considers al variety of issues and the HRA more specific, different issues. The HRA is its own entity and the City ~ouncil has no authority except making the commissioner appointments. If the HRA wanted to p~esent the reports, they could. Special Worksession Minutes -3- January 23,2007 City Manager Devich added that if the City Council wants more in-depth information on any Staff Report, they should feel free to contact him. Council Member Sandahl requested the Mayor assign the Staff Reports earlier rather than later. Mayor Goettel asked if e-mail notification was acceptable. The City Council requested the Mayor assign Staff Reports via e-mail notification the Friday prior to a City Council meeting. Mayor Goettel requested discussion regarding the use of e-mail for checking availability for scheduling meeting dates. Council Member Wroge said he may be making a change so e-mailing him may not work. He requested that this may need to be revisited. Mayor Goettel requested discussion regarding the distinction of what constitutes City Council guidance/direction or City Council approval at Worksessions. City Attorney Thomson explained that no formal is taken by the City Council at a Worksession, but rather the City Council provides direction, feedback and discussion so staff is aware of how to proceed for formal action. The City ordinance states the City Council can take no formal action at a Worksession. City.Manager Devich stated an example would be tonight's discussion regarding changing the start time of Regular City Council meetings. Staff was provided with direction to begin the process of changing the ordinance and presenting it to the City Council for consideration for first reading. The meeting start time does not change until the ordinance process has been completed. City Attorney Thomson added that if the City Council wished to make the change sooner, the meeting would require a special meeting notice until the ordinance was effective which would probably be April. She said she saw no problem with the City Council discussions tonight; there was no violation of the open meeting law and the ordinance regulates meeting times. Council Member Wroge stated that as long as no formal vote is taken, decisions can be made. Council Member Kilian said this also allows time to change your mind before the formal vote. City Attorney Thomson continued that Worksessions are less formal and have more open discussions. There is no hiding of issues at Worksessions. The ordinance is set by the City Council so could be changed to have the Worksession become a Special City Council meeting so action can be taken. Discussions occur at Worksessions before an item is ready for City Council action. City Manager Devich said there is rarely an opportunity to have all five City Council Members together to have an informal, free-flowing discussion. This also avoids having an item discussed for the first time at a Regular City Council meeting. Worksession dialogue is helpful to see how staff should pursue issues. He said this is valuable to staff, and hopefully, also to the City Council. Council Member Rosenberg stated some people do not want to be on camera when speaking to the City Council and also want a free-flowing discussion. Mayor Goettel requested discussion regarding the open meeting law, including where to draw the line and what is an official City Council meeting. City Attorney Thomson summarized the law as to what is a "meeting" for purposes of the open meeting law. Anytime there is a scheduled meeting, it is a meeting but a quorum must be present. Chance or social gatherings are not open meeting law violation but, when it happens, City Council business cannot be discussed. City Attorney Thomson cautioned the City Council to not sit together at events because it can be perceived as discussing business and to not talk to each other about business. If there is a Special Worksession Minutes -4- January 23,2007 question of a quorum of the City Councilor committee of the City 'ouncil meeting, a meeting notice is required. Staff will need to be notified to prepare and post such a meeting. Mayor Goettel asked about the recent Remodeling Fair anJ upcoming Richfield Chamber of Commerce meeting as it relates to her State of the City address arld other City Council Members being present. The City Attorney explained when a quorum is present, the City Council should error on the side of not engaging in discussion or not have a quorum present. She discussed how the courts view the open meeting law, including facts, circumstances and intent-b~sed actions outside of public view. She stressed using caution when lobbying other City Council Members on issues. She recommended a conservative approach because it is such a gray area. Council Member Sandahl said her rule of thumb is to talk td only one other City Council Member regarding business. I Mayor Goettel requested discussion regarding televising th~ public portion (Open Forum) of the City Council meetings. I City Manager Devich reviewed the data gathered by the City Clerk from 26 metro cities on this matter. The majority do televise the Open Forum but with some limitations. Mayor Goettel said a lot of residents have approached her ~bout televising this portion. City Manager Devich stated currently Richfield does not tel~vise the Open Forum. It is to be limited to three minutes per speaker with a total of 15 minutes prior to and 15 minutes at the end of the meeting. I Mayor Goettel said she had no problem with televising and sometimes there is controversy but that's why the City Council Members are here. Council Member Rosenberg stated she would be agreeable to televising on a restricted basis and if the speaker addresses the City Council not the audience onl the camera. She added there should be no theatrics or dramatical actions by the speaker, as in the past, when the open forum was televised. I Mayor Goettel said residents want to know and hear what ~ther residents are concerned about and be more well informed. I Council Member Rosenberg said when the open forum telJvising ended, so did most of the I speakers. ! I Council Member Wroge said he didn't know why televisinglwas stopped but maybe it was related to the Best Buy issue, which is now finished, but it is time ~o move on. Richfield residents have asked him for two years to put the open forum back on television because they want to. know what is said and he has favored it since being on the City COUnCil.jl He suggested making a decision on this now. The City Council works for the residents. The Open Forum will not always be a negative. I Council Member Rosenberg said there has never been a time restriction in addressing the City Council. If the City Council wanted to try televising again, she said she was willing to do so on a restricted basis. I Council Member Sandahl stated the City Council allows s~eakers even when an item is not a public hearing so the City has provided plenty of opportunities for ~he public to speak to the City Council. She continued that as soon as the televising stopped, people disappeared which made it obvious they wanted to be on television and not address the City ~ouncil. She agreed that some people are intimidated by the televising. If the matter is a City Council issue, it will be televised as part of the agenda... I I . Council Member Sandahl said she is not in favor of televis,ng because the meetings are so open anyway. I Special Worksession Minutes -5- January 23,2007 Council Member Kilian suggested there be more discussion to determine what is trying to be accomplished - being on television or being heard. There may be another venue for the public to get on television. Mayor Goettel said due to time constraints, further discussion is unable to continue tonight. I ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned by unanimous consent at 6:25 p.m. Date Approved: February l3. 2007 C~h~~ Recording Secretary L