League of Women Voters of Northfield

City Council meeting

7:00 p.m.

December 3, 2007

Jane McWilliams, Observer

All council members present

Staff:  Al Roder, City Administrator; Kathleen McBride; City Finance Director; Joel Walinski, Public Services Director; Maren Swanson, City  Attorney; Jennifer Nash; Deputy City Clerk

Doug Mead, a member of the Environmental Quality Commission, presented The Green Team Award  to the recycling teams from Greenvale School and from the Alliance Church. During the months of their service, the two teams collected 167 tons in the two sites and thus shared a check for over $1,000.00. The Greenvale award will be used for field trips, the Alliance for youth camp and summer missionary trip. Mead announced that St. Dominic School and Project Friendship are now working on the project.

Councilmen Davis and Denison and Administrator Roder reported on their trip to the National League of Cities in New Orleans where they attended conference sessions and toured the city and schools to assess the status of the city’s restoration after Katrina. Asked whether the city is salvageable, both councilmen said it depends on where you look:  downtown is ok, not so the 9^th ward.      

During the Open Mike, David Sudermann, representing some of the neighbors of Way Park, reported that  the neighbors are concerned about how the south end of the park is being used and requested that the city establish a policy forbidding use of motorized vehicles there. David Delong said he was concerned that the policy for assuring that agenda items be distributed to the council well in advance of the meeting needs to be “dusted off.”  He said he “hates it when the agenda says information on a topic is to be handed out at the meeting.”

A public hearing on the 2008 Budget and Tax Levy drew comments from former restaurant owner, A.K. Khyoum who said that city, state and federal government always “sends soft-spoken individuals” with their messages, but that he had felt misused and lied to by the state when his property was condemned in favor of the Highway 3 reconstruction. He said he loves the city and the residents, (he was in business for over 10 years here), but that the 21% increase on some other property he owns is not fair.

The council adopted the Stormwater Utility Fee Justification Report and directed staff to begin updating the code to reflect the modifications. The fees and rate structure have not  changed since 1990 and don’t support the enterprise fund.  The new fees are based on the runoff created in various types of property, with a ¼ acre residential lot as the base. Commercial property and college property are rated, based on the amount of impervious surface of each. In addition to increasing the revenue for this service, there is an incentive for adopting pervious structures, thus minimizing runoff and the need for storm sewer service.

At the beginning of the meeting, Attorney Swanson had asked that a resolution be added to the agenda. She wanted the council to direct her to draft and submit to the Minnesota Commissioner of Administration a request for an opinion regarding the tapes of the May 7, 2007 and June 26, 2007 closed meetings. At issue is whether any part of them should or should not be made available to the public under applicable Minnesota laws.

On November 19, the council voted to make the tapes available to the public. (The topic of the meeting was offers and counteroffers for the possible relocation of the municipal liquor store to a site at 600 Division Street and the Econofoods site on Division Street.) Following the vote, the owners of the 600 Division Street property objected, saying the tapes may include information protected by state law. Swanson’s letter said it was “asserted that there may be a confidentiality agreement or other legal reasons why the tapes should not be released to the public, in whole or in part.”

Councilman Cashman asked the Mayor to relinquish the chair to the Mayor Pro Tem as he believed the mayor to have a conflict of interest in the matter. Davis said that because the mayor had not mentioned the confidentiality agreement earlier, he should step down. The Mayor declined. Asked why, if the council had released the tapes, they needed to do this, Swanson responded that she had consulted several other attorneys and they recommended that the city do as David Lansing in a letter she received today had suggested, request an opinion from the commissioner as provided for in statute. The law affords an opportunity for governmental entities and others to request an opinion on disputed rights and obligations under the data practices act.

During the council’s discussion, Mayor Lansing was criticized by several council members for not bringing to their attention at the November 19 meeting that there was a confidentiality agreement. During the public input, David Delong, repeating his concern that no notice was given of this agenda item, and said the council should see the attorney’s letter before it is sent to the commissioner. Council Pokorney said this was a “constitutional crisis” since the action of the council was not being implemented. Still, he said he was prepared to vote for the resolution, even though it means “we’ll be in limbo a bit longer.” (The commissioner has 20 days to prepare a response, and may extend the deadline for one additional 30 day period, for good cause.)

While the opinion of the commissioner is not binding, it must be given deference in court, according to Swanson. Cashman noted that this provides the council a “safe harbor.” Councilman Nelson asked what would happen if the council doesn’t pass the resolution and Swanson responded that likely they’d get a letter from the Northfield News asserting that the city doesn’t have the right to withhold the tapes.

The resolution passed:  all, but Lansing, who abstained, voted in favor.