Agenda - Council Work Session - 09/08/2008

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she does not remember enrollment policy questions. She stated that she did.not want to rely on her memory of :conversations, so she looked through past minutes and could not find any reference to this discussion. She stated that she would not support the resolution as it is written. She stated that she has based hex: tenure on the Council on giving a voice to Ramsey residents . and she believes that this resolution divides the community by asking the Council to take sides between 2 Councilmembers and a school located in the community. She stated she does not feel it is the role of the Council to interpret the law and believes that there are other ways to achieve . supporting Ramsey residents. She stated that she feels the City should have been brought into the discussions in January or March, in an attempt to reach an amicable resolution. She stated that if the goal is to. support Ramsey residents and provide a variety of educational opportunities, she feels the City should look more broadly and see what it can do to proactively foster premier education in the north metro. She stated that she does not think this resolution does that. Mayor Gamec stated that he also does not support this resolution. He stated that. he remembers discussions about what benefit there would be to bringing PACT to toWn. He stated that he feels very strongly that Ramsey is not just ''us'', but a whole community. He stated that the community needs to help each other and noted that we are not going to say we have a Coborn's, but you people from Coon Rapids had better not shop there. He stated. that he supports the idea of waiting to see what the legal action is before the Council takes any action. He stated that the hours that parents volunteer at the school are unbelievable. Councilmember Elvig stated that he would like the people of PACT to know that the City has. been very supportive of PACT, but not every discussion is public record. He stated that there were also discussions about whether the school would succeed or not. He stated that at the time, the school was asked to construct something that would be easier to tum around and sell if the school didn't succeed, which did happen. He stated that there are conversations that happened behind the scenes. He stated that the City helped the school achieve the bond they desired and also came up with a way for the school to have a park. He stated .that the City stepped into the struggle with the bank and persuaded them to release the park and even did some improvements to the park, which benefits . the school. He stated that he would like the City to work.together with the school to make sure it benefits the residents. City Attorney Goodrich suggested a language change to the motion made by Councilmember Look. --p Councilmember Look accepted a friendly amendment to his motion to table any action on the proposed resolution until a district court has issued an opinion on the pending PACT charter lawsuit. Councilmember Elvig seconded the friendly amendment. Further Discussion: Councilmember Strommen stated that she plans to vote against this re~olution. Councilmember Dehen stated that he does not care if the Council supports the resolution or not because it has no effect on the lawsuit. He stated that he does feel the resolution shows support to the community. Amended motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec and Councilmembers Look, Elvig, Dehen and Jeffrey. Voting No: Councilmember Strommen. Absent: Councilmember Olson. Mayor Gamec recessed the Council meeting at 9:04 p.m. and reconvened at 9:14 p.m. City Council! April 8, 2008 Page 14 of 20