Minutes - Council Work Session - 02/23/2021

Home

Councilmember Musgrove stated that if the City creates an ordinance and the Governor issues an Executive Order, the ordinance would then be null as the City would need to follow the Order. She stated that the City does a great job with water conservation and has a concern that the ordinance would be for none. She agreed if something must be done, it should be to the minimum. Acting Mayor Riley commented that enforcement would fall to the City as it did during the pandemic and noted that the City chose to use the tool of education rather than penalty. Councilmember Elect Heineman asked if the City simply has to reference the ordinance it already has and also reference the State Statute. City Engineer Westby replied that the City has City Code Chapter 58 that addresses water use and lists restrictions within that. He stated that the proposed ordinance would add another section that would address the critical water deficiency regulation and references the State Statute. Councilmember Elect Heineman stated that he agrees that if there were an actual drought, the City would not want to sit idly. He referenced the earlier mention of the pandemic and noted that what was not predicted in that situation is the overreach of the Governor and the different determinations of which businesses were essential. He noted that the science behind those determinations has not been proven and believed that the City should research how it would impact the City if is chose not to comply. City Engineer Westby noted that most cities are adopting the model ordinance which references the State Statute. He stated that at the very end of subdivision one, there is a statement that explains that the rules would be adopted if a water deficiency is declared. He stated that if a community set its own parameters it would still need to comply with the rules issued in a deficiency situation. Councilmember Howell stated that there has been so much abuse of Executive Orders by the Governor and would have difficulty just blindly complying with open ended statements. She stated that she would want baseline compliance if something must be done. Acting Mayor Riley confirmed the consensus of the Council to direct staff to draft something that meets the bare minimums. Councilmember Elect Heineman stated that he would want a statement added that states up to the discretion of the Ramsey City Council. Councilmember Musgrove asked why the City Clerk would be the administrator and not someone from public works staff. City Engineer Westby stated that the ordinance defines a position to handle certain duties, noting that the City Clerk typically handles rates and charges along with the Finance Director but noted that staff could look at different assignments. Councilmember Woestehoff commented that most cities in Minnesota are statutory cities rather than charter cities and use a City Clerk. He stated that the ordinance could reference the City City Council Work Session / February 23, 2021 Page 5 of 7