Minutes - Council - 01/24/2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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are full informing them of this policy. He expressed concern with the possibility of a commissioner being removed from a board due to this new policy. Councilmember Cook explained the thought behind this policy is that commissioners that are absent three out of six months will have a difficult time keeping abreast of what the commission is doing. Councilmember Strommen noted one of the boards being discussed was meeting twice per month, and that may need to be factored into this. Mayor Gamec inquired if new commission members are provided with this information. City Administrator Norman responded in the affirmative. Councilmember Cook stated there will be an orientation set up for all new commissioners, and this information will be distributed. He stated when this policy was put in place in 2003, a letter was sent out making the commissioners aware of the policy. When this policy was considered he spoke with the chairs and vice chairs of the commissions, and it was expressed that the policy should have some teeth to it with a course of action. The old policy was based on excused or unexcused absences, and involved a very gray area. Councilmember Olson stated she is very appreciative of the work of the board and commission members. On one hand she is reluctant to see people sanctioned for what basically is a volunteer position. However, on the other hand these boards and commissions do very important City work and there are a lot of qualified people who would volunteer for these positions if they were not being filled by people who are not showing up. She thinks the policy needs to be followed. Councilmember Elvig suggested the goals and objectives of the Council also be included in the board and commission orientations. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Cook, Pearson, Elvig, Olson, and Strommen. Voting No: None. Absent: Councilmember Jeffrey. Further discussion: Mayor Gamec inquired about the status of a Commission Update that was previously discussed. City Administrator Norman indicated an internal communications position may tie into communication with the public, which was discussed at length during the 2006 budget discussion. At this time every department is busy, and this type of communication will require dedicated staff time. This issue has been added to the organizational study discussion and may come up in the form of a recommendation. MAYOR, COUNCIL AND STAFF INPUT City Administrator Norman announced the City of Ramsey will likely be receiving a $3.5 million Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) grant for a 200 space addition to the City's parking ramp that is currently under construction. There will also be funding for two new leased buses that will have four trips in the moming and four trips in the afternoon of express service from Ramsey Town Center to downtown Minneapolis. Mr. Norman indicated the City of Anoka submitted a $4.5 million application. A CMAQ policy states that there cannot be two projects in a corridor funded during the same timeframe, and it has been determined the cities of Ramsey and Anoka are in the same corridor. As Anoka's grant application is four points behind Ramsey's application, Anoka is not recommended for funding. The City of Anoka has informally asked that the City of Ramsey join their efforts to argue that the cities are in two separate corridors; Anoka as a rail corridor and Ramsey as a bus corridor. The funding vote goes before the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), then to the Technical Advisory Board (TAB), and then to the full Metropolitan Council. Mr. Norman indicated he informed the City of Ramsey that he would discuss their informal request with the Ramsey City Council. City Council / January 24, 2006 Page 21 of 22