Minutes - Council - 09/11/2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Hendriksen agreed that the question needs to clearly state that they would be reducing the requirements to adopt a comprehensive plan. Motion by Mayor Gamec, seconded by Councilmember Kurak, to adopt Resolution #01-09-331, establishing November 6, 2001, as the special election date on various proposed Charter amendments and which resolution also fixes the ballot form as to each election question. Further discussion: Councilmember Hendriksen inquired if the Mayor did not want to present the question in a way that would be easily understood by the voters. Mayor Gamec replied that he was comfortable with the Charter Commission recommendation since they gave the issue significant thought. Alena Hunter, 14628 Helium Street NW, Ramsey, noted that with the 2002 election there will be seven members on the Council so to state that the requirement would change from four votes to three votes would not be accurate. Councilmember Zimmerman replied that a comprehensive plan is very significant and should require more than three out of five votes. Councilmember Hendriksen stated that it should be clearly stated that they would be reducing the requirement from a 4/5ths vote to a simple majority vote. Councilmember Anderson inquired as to who drafted the questions. City Attorney Goodrich replied that he had. Councilmember Anderson inquired if they could state that they would be changing the requirement to a simple majority and it currently requires a super majority. Mr. Kieffer stated that he found it real interesting that when there was an advisory question in 2000 the wording of the question was not an issue. Councilmember Hendriksen replied that the question does not state what the current requirement is and what they would be changing to. Mr. Kieffer replied that neither did the advisory question in 2000,which had to do with turning over the majority of the Council every two years. Motion by Councilmember Hendriksen, seconded by Councilmember Zimmerman to amend Charter Amendment question #3 to clearly state that they would be reducing the requirement to a majority vote of all its members as opposed to a 2/3rds vote of all its members. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Councilmembers Hendriksen, Zimmerman, and Anderson. Voting No: Mayor Gamec, and Councilmember Kurak. Original Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Kurak, Anderson, Hendriksen, and Zimmerman. Voting No: None. Case #9: Consider Advisory Election Question for November 6, 2001 Special Election City Administrator Norman stated that during the September 6, 2001 meeting of the Charter Commission, the Commission recommended the City Council include an advisory election question on the November 6, 2001 ballot. The question being recommended to the City Council involves the 2000 advisory question, which posed a preference request for a majority City Council turnover every two years. The advisory question was rewritten to include language reducing the Mayor's term from four years back to two years prior to its recommendation to the City Council/September 11, 2001 Page 16 of 23