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Ramsey City Council <br />November 9, 1995 <br />Page Two <br /> <br />Mr. Hetland leads by exampte. He has never missed a meeting, he is always on time, <br />and he is courteous to the Commission'and citizens of Ramsey. His outspokenness <br />lends to educate people's understanding of our goals and plans for future growth. At <br />times his assertiveness is exactly what is required. It has often been left to Chairman <br />Hetland to communicate the unpleasant aspects of our Commission's decisions and, at <br />those times, he has always handled himself with great care and with a thorough <br />understanding of the issue. Our recommendation for his reappointment was <br />unanimous and we stand by our recommendation. Please reconsider his appointment <br />for another term. <br /> <br />Regarding our recommendation of Steve Ostrum, we want the Council to understand <br />that a great deal of discussion took place. We also want it made absolutely clear to the <br />City Council that under no circumstances was our selection based on gender bias as <br />was alluded to by Councilmember Zimmerman. We are deeply offended by his <br />suggestion. His comment not only disparaged our Commission, but also is a poor <br />reflection on the City of Ramsey. It is our hope that Councilmember Zimmerman <br />recognizes his mistake and is prepared to apologize to our Commission in the same <br />televised forum as the comment was made. <br /> <br />It is our belief that the City Council did not disapprove of our selection of Steve Ostrum, <br />but rather would appreciate having a better understanding of why someone from RYAA <br />was not selected. <br /> <br />As Councilmember Beyer pointed out, at our joint meeting, we were presented with the <br />possibility that someone from RYAA was interested in applying for the vacancy and we <br />were asked if that would be a possible option for our open vacancy -- we agreed that <br />they would indeed be welcome to enter into the process. We knew that City Council <br />liked the idea of RYAA involvement, and considered that during our deliberations. <br />However, we also understood that the City Council did not have the opportunity to meet <br />and carefully consider all three candidates personally, as we did. We hope you <br />understand that our selection process was not politically motivated or intended to "send <br />a message" to anyone. It was a straight forward decision that we believe best serves <br />the interests of the citizens of Ramsey and we stand by our choice. <br /> <br />It should also be noted that Chairman Hetland abstained from voicing his role-call vote <br />because the Commissioners already had a majority in favor of Mr. Ostrum. Also, before <br />handing down our selection, Chairman Hetland expressed to the candidates that it was <br />a tough decision. He also asked that the candidates who were not selected to please <br /> <br /> <br />