Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/11/2011

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Councilmember Tossey inquired whether staff would be trained to transcribe, or if a secretarial service would be used. He suggested people sign in if they want to speak at meetings. City Clerk Thieling explained staff does proof the minutes, pulls staff direction from minutes, and adds resolution numbers. It does take time to do these things, but not as much time as transcribing the minutes. She noted there would be much less to proof with executive style minutes. City Administrator Ulrich indicated the transcription and executive style minutes option would save time and money. He suggested staff try it for a while, and if it does not meet the needs, they can go back to the previous style. Councilmember Elvig raised the issue that some people would want a copy of the written minutes. He asked how that would be handled. City Administrator Ulrich responded the minutes would be in print form to comply legally. If someone wanted more detail and they didn't have a computer, they could use one at the library or possibly the City Hall could make one available. City Attorney Goodrich explained if there is an appeal, the written minutes would serve in court reviews. When the Council adopts findings, those minutes need to be verbatim. Those records must be accurate and findings of facts must be transcribed and put into written form. Councilmember Wise pointed out the minute taker does not necessarily take verbatim minutes and comments can be reworded. Councilmember Strommen asked about the long -term file storage implications. Deputy City Administrator Nelson explained there would be concerns with QCTV for storage, as their storage is not mandated by State law. The City would need to check with them and consider how their retention schedule compares. City Attorney Goodrich noted there is no minimum time the State requires retention of records. The State does mandate that minutes must be preserved forever. Mayor Ramsey stated the City is only required to keep and publish executive style minutes so Ramsey's minutes are over and above the requirements. Consensus was reached to move to executive style minutes for the meetings that are video taped. 2) Proposed Lease & Fire Suppression System for City -Owned Property at 6701 Hwy. 10 Economic Development/Marketing Manager Backman reviewed the staff report. He noted the Met Council concurred with the City's proposal. They approved the lease, the project, using all of the revenues for improvement of the building, and the City does have to forward any monies City Council Work Session / October 11, 2011 Page2of6