WILLMAR -- The Willmar City Council voted 5-2 Monday night to table the question of convening the Charter Commission because Mayor Les Heitke and council member Doug Reese were absent.
The question of convening the commission was referred to the council's Labor Relations Committee from the July 7 council meeting. The committee voted July 16 to recommend that the Charter Commission be convened.
However, committee chairman Steve Gardner offered a motion to table be-cause He-itke and Reese were absent and because co-uncil members are certain to have questions from them as well as questions on a matter like this.
Also, Gardner said he has heard from other members that the council should potentially be considering the question at a work session.
The motion was seconded by council member Jim Dokken.
ADVERTISEMENT
Voting to table were Gardner, Dokken, Denis Anderson, Cindy Swenson and Rick Fagerlie.
Voting against were Ron Christianson and Bruce DeBlieck.
The idea of holding a work session to discuss the question of convening the commission and setting an agenda for the commission was raised during the July 17 meeting of the Community Development Committee.
At that meeting, Heitke said he was surprised by the Labor Committee's recommendation to convene the Charter Commission, and he said the council should first set an agenda of issues that the council wants the commission to study before the commission is convened. Because there's a potential for significant cost to the city, he said the commission would need some direction, he said.
DeBlieck, who is the committee chairman, said the discussion on what the council does with the Charter Commission hinges on the tabled Labor Relations Committee motion.
"We'll have that discussion when that motion comes off the table," said DeBlieck, who was elected presiding officer in the absence of Reese, who serves as mayor pro tem when Heitke is absent.
During the Community Development report, committee member Christianson offered a motion, which was approved, to remove a sentence in the minutes that stated it was the consensus of the committee and mayor to hold a work session.
"I suggested that maybe we hold a work session but there was no consensus," said Christianson. "The consensus to me was that we open the Charter Commission whether we have a work session or not."
ADVERTISEMENT
In other business, the council changed the minutes to reflect that all four Community Development members opposed Heitke's proposal to not televise the public forum. The minutes had said several members opposed the idea.
Heitke had suggested that the public forum be held 10 minutes before the official start of the meeting.
"I think it's a council decision and whether we make it tonight or the next meeting when the mayor is here, we need to make ourselves clear whether or not we want this thing televised or not televised, and keep it in its same place on the agenda or move to the beginning, but have it televised," he said. "I believe all of us are for televising it."
DeBlieck said he firmly believes the council should televise the forum. He called it an integral part of the meeting for the public to have input into what the council is doing and to address the council on various issues.
