Jane McWilliams, LWV Observer
All members were present with the exception of Noah Cashman.
This 4 ½ hour marathon meeting began with the ceremonial swearing in of newly appointed Chief of Police, Mark Taylor, and ended with the postponement of an item added to the agenda at the beginning of the meeting. The item which provoked the longest discussion was the second reading of the outdoor dining ordinance.
The postponed item was a request from Finance Director Kathleen McBride to approve payment of an invoice from the law firm Levander, Gillen and Miller. Mayor Lansing had approached Tim Morisette, the city’s prosecutor, alleging data practices violations. Morisette immediately referred the matter to the Levander firm to avoid a conflict of interest. The invoice was for $1,089.00, although an additional charge of about $2,500.00 is anticipated. Councilman Pokorney expressed concern that tonight was the first the council had seen the request. Councilman Davis told the Mayor that the charter requires that he define irregularities and come to the council and report on them, that he had gone out and incurred legal expense on his own. Councilman Denison asked whether the mayor was asking the questions as a citizen, rather than as mayor, and if the former were the case, it should be billed to him. McBride expressed concern about the control of the city budget if just anyone can contact the city prosecutor and allege criminal conduct. Councilman Pokorney agreed. When Councilman Vohs said there wasn’t enough time to think about this, at the suggestion of Roder, the council postponed the decision to the June 2 meeting. As mentioned earlier, this item was last on the agenda, and was taken up at about 11:00.
Community Development Director Brian O’Connell introduced the second reading of the outdoor dining ordinance and explained that as requested, it had been revised to make it clear that only public land was affected. The purpose of the measure is to allow temporary expansion of the premises to temporarily include limited outdoor areas on city owned land or city public right of way. Speaking for the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation, which he said has been working on this for 2 years, Ross Currier said they had no intention to put a new level of requirements on businesses which don’t serve alcohol. Because of the fees and requirements, there is the potential for wiping out sidewalk service of those firms. Victor Summa noted that the requirement that businesses secure permission to serve from the Jesse James Days Committee during the annual celebration was “unconscionable.” The council had a number of other questions and made comments. However, because of concern that major changes might be going beyond the second reading, the council approved the ordinance with only two revisions, one of which sets the hours from 6 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (formerly from 8 a.m.) to accommodate coffee shops and other businesses during fair weather. The requirement that businesses not selling alcoholic beverages must apply for permit as well still stands. The permits in all cases are for one year. While no one was completely satisfied with the ordinance, as Denison said, “The ordinance isn’t perfect, but if we don’t approve it, it won’t be useful for this summer.” (The ordinance may be found on the city’s web site, http://www.ci.northfield.mn.us/ : From the City Hall menu, select City Leadership, click on City Council, and choose "Regular City Council Meeting" for 5/19/2008 at the bottom of that page, open the "Packet" PDF and find the ordinance on pp. 31 and following.)
Kathy Feldbrugge, Executive Director of the Northfield Area Chamber of Commerce reviewed the history of the Chamber’s Convention and Visitors Bureau and distributed copies of the agreement with the city. By law, the city levies a 3% tax on lodging which is to be used to promote the city as a destination for conventions and tourists. Since 1987, the Chamber’s Bureau has served to carry out these objectives. Two members of the nine member board are appointed by the Mayor and City Council to serve one term. Feldbrugge recommended that the council give the Bureau its verbal support, that the Finance Director review the agreement and that everyone invite their friends to Northfield. Pokorney asked why the Bureau maintained such a large surplus (around $175,000) with a budget of $90,000. Feldbrugge said the money is necessary for cash flow, and for the possibility of expanding the staff. During public comments, Griff Wigley said he had been curious about the CVB and how it works and discovered a lack of transparency. There is no mention of the advisor board on the Chamber’s web site and it is hard for a citizen to learn how it operates. He wondered whether another non-profit could take over the CVB and asked the council to be in closer contact to assure transparency.
The council received a memo from John A Brookins, Building Official, concerning the recent Minnesota Supreme Court decision overturning a Morris, Minnesota, ordinance imposing new construction codes on existing buildings being used for rental property. He said the newly adopted Northfield rental code will be reviewed page-by-page “to determine which sections will be removed from the document” in light of the court’s decision. As soon as possible, the staff will present the council with any necessary changes.
In an update on the progress of the revision of the city’s comprehensive plan, O’Connell noted that with the exception of Chapter 4 on land use, the plan is almost complete. The all-important development regulations may not be ready until well into the fall. It has yet to be decided whether additional public scrutiny will be needed. O’Connell reminded the council that the many city advisory groups had all participated in working on the plan.
(The draft plan may be found on the city’s web site, http://www.ci.northfield.mn.us/ : Pull down the menu under City Hall, select Boards and Commissions and then Planning Commission- Zoning Board of Appeals, and open the May 6 meeting minutes.)
Other business included approval of bids for construction of the Mill Towns Trail Bridge, and appointment of members to the Mayor’s Youth Council and the Arts and Culture Commission.
Comments
Many thanks to Jane McWilliams, whom I just met yesterday for her efforts and clear writings as observer for the LWV.
There continue to be unexplained irregularities, of a "political" nature; the bringing of this bill for legal services instigated by the Mayor is just another in a long list.
If every legal bill that has come to the finance director for payment, and the council for approval of the disbursement, then we would have seen dozens, and dozens, of legal bills as separate agenda items.
The issue of the Mayor taking action on his own is also a political red herring, in this case, I believe. Elected officials do not lose their rights as citizens. If an elected official has reason to believe that information has been withheld from him/her, there is the right to pursue that issue.
I could name other very recent incidents of a council member asking for an action, not voted on by the entire council, but resulting in action, and those have not been questioned by the group. It appears to me to be Who acts on their own, and why.
What I continue to find extremely unsettling is the ongoing power struggle over Board and Commission appointments. Why is it that this council cannot let the Mayor do what the Charter gives him the right to do? The outcome of what C. Davis has been asking for would be a public discussion of every appointee and their qualifications, and the Mayor's reasoning for picking that person. Why is this such a problem now, with this council?
Thanks again to Jane, who has also been attending some of the Planning Commission meetings as an observer.