HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-02-11 Charter Commission MinutesCORCORAN CHARTER COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
FEBRUARY 11 , 2010
6:00 P.M.
1. Call to Order. Charter Commission Meeting was called to order by Chair George Gmach at
6:06 p.m. Present were Commissioners:
• George Gmach, Chair
• Ken Guenthner
• Dorthy Theis
• Brian Lother, Secretary
• Tom Cossette
• Ken Kluck
• John Hausladen (arrived at 6:15 pm)
• Jim Tilbury
• Also present was City Administrator Daniel J. Donahue
2. Agenda. Motion by Theis and seconded by Kluck to approve the agenda as presented. All
voted in favor.
3. Approval of Minutes. Motion by Guenthner and seconded by Cossette to approve 12 -10 -09
minutes as presented. All voted in favor. (Note: a day following the 2 -11 -10 meeting, Chair
Gmach notified me of an error in the 12 -10 -09 minutes that was not caught when the minutes
were approved on 2- 11 -10. The header to the minutes and the meeting starting time were off by
one hour. I have corrected the heading to reflect a proposed start time of 6:00 PM (instead of 7:00
PM) and an actual start time of the meeting at 6:07 PM (instead of 7:06 PM).
4. Open Forum. No one appeared at Open Forum
5. Old Business
a. Clarification of appointments and number of terms.
b. Review of proposed changes to Charter originally presented to the city council on 04-
27 -2006. The Commission reviewed the document that was before the city council on
4 -27 -2006 that proposed non - substantive changes to the City Charter. Chair Gmach
pointed out that the agenda had this document titled "Names and Boundaries" which
is not correct as that refers to the first chapter of the document. Chair Gmach asked
for sections of the Charter on which the commissioners had questions. The following
are sections of the charter that were discussed:
i. 7.05b Charter Amendment. Question arose as to the meaning of the sentence
"...petition shall be signed by a number of registered voters equal to two
percent of the total votes cast in the last general election..." What is the
definition of total votes and which election contest shall prevail since there
are undercounts in many of the different races.
ii. 7.03 Charter Amendment. Chair pointed out that past problems with the form
of the petitions submitted were later found to be invalid. Suggestions were
Corcoran Charter Commission Minutes
February 11, 2010
made that perhaps anyone wishing to pursue the petition process should first
come to the Charter Commission or the City Clerk for the correct forms.
iii. 7.04 Charter Amendment. It was pointed out that the language in this section
is pulled straight out of state law. The state law provides that 51 % of the votes
in favor of the proposition are needed for its passage and adoption. The intent
of state law should be that a "majority" (not 51 %) of the votes cast would be
needed for the proposition's passage and adoption.
iv. 5.03 Recall. Suggestion made to move the word "next" from immediately
after "City Council" to immediately before "City Council ". An alternative
suggestion was made to change the entire provision to read "The results of the
election shall be certified at the first City Council meeting following the
election and shall be certified immediately upon such certification."
Questions arose as to what state law says about the interval of time between
the election and the first city council meeting. The city attorney will look into
this.
Motion: Hausladen moved that the proposed City Charter amendments in the 04 -27 -2006
document along with the suggestions and concerns of the commissioners be reviewed by the
City Attorney and an opinion rendered on what if any substantive changes would be made to
the City Charter if the proposals were to be adopted. Seconded by Cossette. All voted in
favor.
6. New Business
a. Terms expiring this year and process for seeking re- appointment. Commissioners
discussed the process of appointments to the Charter Commission. The terms of four
current members are up on June 10, 2010. It was determined that all Charter
Commissioners are appointed by the judge of District Court. Prospective candidates
for appointment are to write a letter to the judge requesting appointment. The City
Administrator was asked to develop a sample letter that residents can use if they are
interested in seeking appointment. The administrator was also asked to put in a notice
in the official newspaper announcing the four openings.
7. Information. The chair stated that he would consider a date for the next meeting in the near
future and after the city attorney has had time to review the proposed amendments.
8. Adjourn. Motion by Theis and seconded by Muck to adjourn. All voted in favor. Adjourned
at 6:58 PM.
Corcoran Charter Commission Minutes
February 11, 2010