Agenda - Council Work Session - 09/08/2008

Home

Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he feels Ramsey residents should have some preference and asked if the enrollment numbers given for Ramsey residents were actually from Ramsey or just from the 55303 zip code. . Mr. DeBruyn stated that the nUmbers given were for Ramsey residents. Councilmember Jeffrey stated that he is not comfortable with the wording of the resolution that the Council endorses the interpretation of the Statute, but does feel there should be a preference for Ramsey residents. . Councilmember Elvig stated that he was on the Council in 2002 and served as.the head ofRTC Task Force. He stated that he feels supporting this resolution puts the cart before the horse. He stated that in 2002, he was brought into conversations with PACT representatives that he assumed were directors of some sort. He stated that he wants to make it very clear that the City supports Ramsey Elementary School wholeheartedly and believes it is an excellent school. He stated that in response to comments made about volunteers, he feels there. are a lot of good people in the community that would volunteer at the school. He stated that his family did not choose to attend PACT school, but he applauds them for their tremendous success in building something from "scratch". He stated that people have stated that Ramsey recruited the PACT school but he views this very differently. He stated that PACT needed to get out of Anoka .and had looked at an old church property that was found to' be too expensive. He stated that then PACT looked to the RTC and asked if the City could help them make this option more affordable. Mr. Feges, who represented the RTC at the time, discussed ways of making the property more affordable. He stated that he had concerns about starting out the RTC with a non- taxable entity. He reviewed notes from a meeting with Mr. Bosacker in 2003 where he had. asked for help from the City in negotiating with developers. He stated that he asked what benefit Ramsey would receive by starting the RTC with a non-taxable entity and he was read Statute 124D that there would be preferential treatment for residents. He stated that the other benefits raised to him were that it is nice to have children in a downtown environment and having services for those families to use nearby. He stated that he would like to work this issue out and noted that PACT does not market itself in the City and thinks that would be a good start. He stated that he also does not support the wording of the resolution before the law makes an in~erpretation. Councilmember Look stated that he feels that PACT cannot choose to accept 2/3 of the law and reject the other 1/3. He stated that he is open to receiving phone calls on this issue and wants to make it clear that he is not trying to "pound" PACT school, because he likes them. He stated that the court case is scheduled for April 14, 2008. ~ Motion by. Councilmember Look, seconded by Councilmember Elvig, to table action on ---- V Consideration of a Resolution in Support of Ramsey Residents in Regarding PACT Charter School Enrollment Preference, until a legal decision comes back. Further Discussion: Councilmember Strommen stated that she was also on the Council when the PACT school was approved as part of the RTC. She stated that she also recalls discussion about whether or not it was as good idea to start out the RTC with a non-taxable entity. She stated that City Council / April 8, 2008 Page 13 of 20