Agenda - Council - 02/23/2021 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Howell Request to Correct Minutes (on 2/23 City Council Meeting for Approval) 1/26 City Council Work Session • Page 3 - Requested Additions in BOLD. o Councilmember Howell commented that she has an opposing view. She noted that she has seen people lose 50 percent of their business and some on the verge of suicide. She stated that those voices need to be heard and the job of representatives is to be the voice of the community. She stated that people are being crushed by the decisions. She noted that some people are losing their businesses because they have been forced to be closed like one small business owner. In one year she (the business owner) receives the number of customers that casinos receive in one day, yet casinos are allowed to be open by the Governor even though he has the authority to close them. She stated that it is awful to see people lose what they have worked for and she does not see this as a political issue but more an issue of people hurting. She stated that the top levels of government have made this political, but it is not. This is an issue of people hurting. • Page 7 - Requested Additions in BOLD. • MAYOR / COUNCIL / STAFF INPUT Councilmember Howell commented that her job as a Councilmember is to represent the residents and in order to do that, she needs to have accurate information in a timely manner. She stated that she requested information on Ordinance #21-04 15 days ago and still does not have that information. She commented that if the Council is intended to vote, the Council needs to have that information available to them. She stated that she requested financial information on January 13th and received that on January 21st. She stated that she was told by City Administrator Ulrich that it would take the Finance Director one day to gather that information but was told by Finance Director Lund that it took 30 minutes. She commented that the previous night at the EPB meeting she was cut off by the camera almost the entire length of the meeting. She stated that she was only given 1 main commission appointment while all other council members were given far more. She stated that staff allocated an appointment for her with no voting power unlike the other council member' appointments. She stated that after attending various commission meetings she recognizes the power does not sit on the EPB and believes this was the intention behind the original allocation of appointments. She commented that she finds this behavior unacceptable and feels that she is being hazed as a new member of the Council. She stated that she has asked for three things since she joined the Council and is unsure why those things cannot be provided. She stated that she is disappointed by the actions of staff. City Administrator Ulrich stated that he treats all requests by the Council the same, noting that there is no interest in not responding to requests. He stated that he follows the capacity of staff. City Council Work Session / January 26, 2021 Page 8 of 8 He noted that while some financial things can be done with a push of a button, other things require a day of gathering data, therefore there is perhaps a difference in interpretation. He stated that a lot of information is being made available related to water conservation, noting that will come forward to the Council. He stated that staff is working on the underlying statutory language related to the model ordinance. He stated that they have reached out the League of Minnesota Cities but do not feel an adequate answer has yet to be provided. He appreciated the input and noted that staff does the best job they can and will continue to do so. He noted that many of the