Agenda - Council - 04/14/2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Heinrich stated that she can see the value in changing the language to only allow Ramsey residents, as the City's population has grown since the language was written. She stated that while the City holds the discretion to not appoint people from outside the city, the language should align with the practice. Councilmember Riley stated that he has a strong preference that the City only appoint Ramsey residents and only consider non-residents when the position cannot be filled by a resident. He stated that he did not feel that the language in the Charter would necessarily need to be changed. He stated that he does feel that the EDA benefits from allowing non-residents, as sometimes those people are Ramsey business owners, or the group sometimes is looking for a person with a certain skill set. Councilmember Specht commented that with the growing population he would agree that the language should be changed to Ramsey residents. Councilmember Musgrove asked if the Charter could review the ability for the EDA to select non-residents. City Administrator Ulrich stated that the Council can provide direction for the Charter Commission to review the language and determine what would be best. Councilmember Musgrove stated that she would be in favor of having the Charter Commission review the language, allowing only Ramsey residents with the exception of the EDA. Administrative Services Director Lasher explained that a Charter amendment would require a vote of 7-0 from the Council for approval. Mayor LeTourneau stated that the policy has been in place and has never been an issue in the past. He explained that to some degree this would be attempting to fix something that has not been an issue and expending time and resources to do so. He stated that the language change would also preclude a Ramsey business owner, that is not a resident, from being a member of the EDA or perhaps other Board or Commission that could benefit from a certain skill set. He stated that he would not want to give up that flexibility when it has not been an issue. City Administrator Ulrich stated that recently there was an EDA member that was appointed when he was a resident but then moved out of Ramsey. He noted that language could be added that states that if someone moves out of the City once appointed, they would need to reapply. Mayor LeTourneau asked how many times that has happened in the last 20 years, noting that probably only happened one time as most residents would choose to resign from that position when they move out of the city. Councilmember Menth stated that he agrees that this would be fixing something that is not broken as it seems to be working quite nicely as it is. He stated that he has no objection to leaving the language as it is. City Council Work Session / March 16, 2020 Page 4 of 12