This transcript has been formatted with speaker names based on the context provided and the flow of the meeting. **[00:00] Mayor Mary Supple:** Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'd like to call to order this regular city council meeting of April 8th, 2025. It is 7:00 p.m. If you're able, please rise and join us for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Next, we'll move on to the open forum. During the open forum, individuals may address the city council regarding any topic. To speak at open forum, comment cards are located near the entrance to the council chambers. Please complete the cards to any staff members. And it was pointed out that if we have the information on the card, you don't have to sign in on the sign-in sheet. So that'll save us some time. So if you filled out a card, you don't need to do that. Individuals will be called to speak by the—I'll call you up to speak. You'll approach the podium, state your name and address for the clerk's record, and limit your remarks to three minutes. City council wishes to listen during open forum and will not give an immediate response to comments. Council may direct staff to provide a future report on the topic or add to an upcoming opening meeting. So, I believe we have one person here in person and we also have somebody that wrote ahead of time. So, let's take the in-person comments first. So, we'll call up Kathleen Baliban. Thank you. **[00:02] Kathleen Baliban:** And first and foremost, thank you for not having to have to repeat it, you know. Anyways, my name is Kathleen Baliban. I live on 65th in Stevens and I'm here to discuss or comment on staff report number 47 which is pertaining to the city council procedures and decorum for the council. Now, this is the first time I've seen this and I did reach out to the city manager earlier as to not being able to find this anywhere under the city code and/or—excuse me, I do have a slate code and or charter. It's—but when I look at it, it is very very similar to city code, you know, our number 205, which is administration. And when I asked about this, excuse me, I was told that this was created in 2001 and the last revision was in 2017. And when I went back, it—you guys, not you, thank you—but the city council just said yes to it on a consensus calendar event. But really this—what this is is I'm really pleased to see this actually because this really speaks to what I have been searching for and looking at for a very long time. On the executive summary and so forth and so on in here what I'm asking you guys to do is exactly what I asked you to do a few weeks ago or a month ago and that is to look at your charter look at your code and put it together to see how we can govern ourselves even more efficiently and effectively. So, it is a beginning. And because I say it's a beginning, I do not wish that the staff shortens it. Okay, it says here they want you to authorize all of this that they've got on here without your input and even with your input in two weeks. This is not a two-week job. This is something that you really need to look at. And also when I went back and I asked the city manager how come I couldn't find it anywhere, she said, "Oh, because it's a resolution." Resolutions aren't part of city code. Now, it looks like it was city code to begin with and then we turned it into a resolution and then we were kind of picking at it as we went along. So, no more—this is not a resolution. Something like this, this should be code. Okay? So, I'm asking you to really look at it and then when they say, "Oh, the only way you can find it is to go back on to the city council meeting on 2017 on such and such a day." Well, it's no longer out there on the website, you know. So, I'm—to me this is code, not resolution. And I'm asking you to as earlier work with the city charter and um not be led. Okay. And I do mean this. I want you to create it. Not the staff. I want my elected officials to create how you want your council meetings to be run and how you want to be fed the information rather than being led. Please, please make changes now for the future council members, whether they be you or anybody else. This is hidden stuff that to me should be out as part of the ordinances and found by citizens and council members such as yourselves. Thank you very much and thank you for what you do for us. **[00:05] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else that's here present that wishes to speak? Okay, we did have some submitted comments. So, city clerk Friedrich is going to read those. **[00:05] City Clerk Michelle Friedrich:** Thank you, mayor. We received one comment via email from Blue Deluquante at 6728 Russell Avenue South. "I am addressing the city council in support of initiatives for more housing in Richfield to support a growing metro population. In recent weeks, our state legislation has been working on zoning policies that would permit the construction and development for more homes and the further development of walkable neighborhoods with accessible commercial and residential amenities. These policies have been introduced as part of a broader legislative agenda known as Yes to Homes, and they've arrived at a crucial time as we are short over 100,000 homes across the state of Minnesota and families are being priced out as home costs continue to rise. Unfortunately, the greatest opposition to these initiatives has come from suburban city representatives. I am a resident who moved to Richfield with my family in 2020 precisely because we were seeking a walkable community that has invested in shared public resources and access to the metro's public transit system. Minneapolis proper had become a struggle for us to afford during a financially vulnerable time. And Richfield has proven to be a welcoming home base without us needing to leave our jobs, networks, and communities behind. Richfield must lead the way in supporting these yes to homes bills and continuing to make the city a welcoming place for new residents. Thank you for your time. Blue Deluquante." **[00:07] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Is there—are there any other comments that were submitted? And we'll ask one last time if there's anyone in the audience that wishes to submit any. Then we will close. Item on our agenda is approval of the minutes of the city council work session meeting from March 25th, 2025, the city council regular meeting from March 25th, 2025, and the clerical date revision of the minutes of the city council regular meeting from March 11th, 2025. **[00:07] Council Member Walter Burk:** I was going to make one one amendment. Oh, okay. Go ahead. So, the city council meeting 3/11/2025, bottom of page three, my name is spelled with an E. Should not have any typographical error. Maybe it was because it was someone trying to make me Irish on a month that it would be appropriate to be Irish, but unfortunately I'm not Irish. There's no "e" at the end of my name. So, okay. **[00:08] Mayor Mary Supple:** So without objection, that would be two clerical errors to be fixed in those meeting minutes rather. **[00:08] City Clerk Michelle Friedrich:** I can make those clerical minutes. Thank you. **[00:08] Mayor Mary Supple:** All right. So is there a motion to accept those minutes with the two corrections? **[00:08] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** So moved. **[00:08] Council Member Sharon Christensen:** Second. **[00:08] Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded to approve all of those minutes and make the two corrections. Is there any discussion? All in favor, please say I. **[00:08] Council Members:** I. **[00:08] Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed. And we've approved those minutes. Next, we have three proclamations. And so, I'm going to be calling them up one at a time and go through the procedure. So, our first presentation or proclamation is for Earth Day. And I'm going to call up Rachel Lynholm who's from the staff. And are you wanting to speak to it after we read it? **[00:09] Rachel Lynholm:** I can say three words. **[00:09] Mayor Mary Supple:** All right. Awesome. Thank you. Whereas Earth Day will be celebrated nationwide on Tuesday, April 22nd to increase awareness about the need to care for the environment. And whereas in 2022, Minnesota's climate action framework sets state targets to reduce emissions 50% by 2030 from 2005 levels and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. And whereas Richfield has written and passed a climate action plan with goals and actions that work to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen the city's overall commitment to improving the health of our environment. And whereas in the past year, among numerous other actions, the city has conducted an electric vehicle fleet analysis study, applied for and was awarded several federal sustainability grants, hired a solid waste specialist, retrofitted LED lighting in several municipal buildings, and whereas staff have been sharing information with residents about a variety of environmental initiatives, including energy efficiency and electrification, waste reduction and reuse, alternative landscaping, tree planting and maintenance, and more. And whereas the community of Richfield is encouraged to participate in citywide litter cleanup efforts to demonstrate good stewardship of our green spaces and natural resources. And whereas Earth Day will be celebrated by the city of Richfield through planned cleanup events as well as an Earth Day resource fair at the community center on April 26th. Now therefore, I, Mary Supple, mayor of the city of Richfield on behalf of the Richfield City Council do proclaim that the city of Richfield observes Earth Day as a way of promoting environmental stewardship and related community events. Thank you. and you have the floor. **[00:11] Rachel Lynholm:** Thank you, mayor. Thank you, council. So we're bringing back our annual Earth Day proclamation and also recognizing that we do have a variety of planned events this month, including our annual staff, council, and commissioner cleanup on Tuesday, April 22nd. And then another—as Mayor Supple mentioned—another event at the community center on April 26th from 1:00 to 4:00. There'll be a vendor resource fair with free giveaways, family activities. The Richfield Baking Club is having a coffee and bake sale. All sorts of fun things. So we encourage everybody to come out to that. And then the Sustainability Commission, led by youth commissioner Helen Burke, will actually be hosting another litter cleanup on Sunday the 27th. So lots of activities, lots of ways to get involved. And just wanted to thank you all for your support. Obviously, there was a lot of items listed in that proclamation that we've been working on and continue to work on and your support has made all of that happen actually. So, thank you. And we hope to see you at Earth Day events this year. **[00:12] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Thank you so much. Did anybody on the council want to add anything? She wants a picture. and thank you so much for all your efforts. It's been interesting. We've been going around and speaking to different classes and the youth of the cities totally support these efforts. That seems to be the questions that come up in all the different classes and they're different questions in each class. So, it's kind of an organic thing that has come up. So, thank you for all that you're doing and to the sustainability commission for all they're doing. Next, we have a proclamation on Arab-American Heritage Month. And I'm going to invite the human rights commissioner, Michael Zazera, up to accept the proclamation. Whereas Arab-American Heritage Month celebrates the beautiful intellectual and cultural heritage of Arab-Americans and all their achievements and contributions to Richfield, Minnesota, the United States, and the world. And whereas Arab-American Heritage Month began as an initiative in 2017 with only a few states and cities, it is now being recognized on a national level beginning in April of 2021 as President Biden became the first US president to proclaim Arab-American Heritage Month. And whereas 3.5 million Arab-Americans have contributed to many facets of American society including arts, business, economics, education, and social services. And whereas we celebrate the accomplishments of such distinguished Arab-Americans as journalist and speaker Nor Tagouri and Representative Rashida Tlaib from Michigan. And whereas Arab-Americans have faced and continue to face discrimination, racial profiling, and violence both domestically and abroad. And whereas the city of Richfield is proud of the people, community, and business of Arab-Americans and is looking forward to the continuing success of Arab-Americans in our community. Whereas the city, the Richfield Human Rights Commission supported a proclamation celebrating Arab-American Heritage Month at its April 1st meeting. Now therefore, I, Mary Supple, mayor of Richfield, on behalf of the Richfield City Council, do hereby proclaim the month of April 2025 as Arab-American Heritage Month in the city of Richfield and call on the people of Richfield to observe this month with appropriate programs, activities, and ceremonies, and continue to honor the contributions of Arab-Americans throughout the year. There you go. Thank you very much. Congratulations. And if you'd like to say a few words. **[00:15] Michael Zazera:** Hello. Thank you, mayor, and thank you, city council members. I would just say that I would encourage our city and community members to consider our Arab-American neighbors. Arab-Americans are integral to our society and contribute to our rich culture. Throughout my life, I have witnessed inflammatory rhetoric directed at Arab-Americans. And I have found that this rhetoric is often rooted in ignorance, misunderstanding, and fear. I believe this rhetoric holds us back as a country. If we are to get past this root, ignorance, misunderstanding, and fear, we must build relations with Arab-Americans in our community and listen to them so that we might learn and grow. Thank you again. **[00:16] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you very much. Did anyone on the council wish to add anything? **[00:16] Council Member Walter Burk:** Please thank the Human Rights Commission for that proclamation and for what you just said. It's a good reminder that we need to pay attention to all our neighbors wherever their heritage is from. So, thank you. **[00:16] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Thank you. Did you need a picture as well? Thank you. And for our third proclamation, I'm going to call up Pixie Pixler from the Advisory Board of Health to receive it. Whereas the week of April 7th to the 13th, 2025 is National Public Health Week in the United States and the themes are climate action, health equity, public health advocacy, and strengthening the public health workforce. And whereas the city of Richfield's community health board was established in 1977, offering public health services to residents now for 48 years through a collaborative partnership with Bloomington Public Health. And whereas since 1995, the American Public Health Association through its sponsorship of National Public Health Week has educated the public, policy makers, and public health professionals about issues important to improving the public's health. And whereas Americans live an average of 35 years longer today than they did 150 years ago when the American Public Health Association was founded. And whereas preventing diseases before they start is critical to helping people live longer, healthier lives while managing health-related costs. And whereas climate change impacts both physical and mental health through rising temperatures, poor air quality, extreme weather events, and disrupted ecosystems. And whereas being an advocate for public health has created laws that require the use of seat belts, vaccines that prevent illness, food labels that tell us what we're eating, and laws that keep smoke out of public places. And whereas addressing the root causes of health inequities can reduce preventable diseases and improve overall well-being. And whereas the strong and resilient public health workforce is key to keeping communities healthy and addressing the community's most urgent health challenges. Now therefore, I, Mary Supple, Mayor of Richfield, on behalf of the Richfield City Council, do hereby proclaim April 7th through the 13th, 2025 as Public Health Week in the city of Richfield and call upon the people of Richfield to observe this week by advocating for public health initiatives. Be aware of local climate education efforts. Engage in equity conversations with friends, families, and civic leaders, and support a strong and diverse public health workforce. Proclaimed this 8th day of April 2025. And then you—go ahead. **[00:19] Pixie Pixler:** I just like to say thank you for the Richfield Advisory Board of Health. It's been a very interesting experience being involved in that and your support is very important. Thank you. **[00:19] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. And I think they want a picture of us as well. Thank you. And did anyone on the council wish to speak? **[00:19] Council Member Walter Burk:** Again, it's nice to have a reminder of the importance of things like public health and that government can do good things with public health, and especially when I see other parts of the country and what they're struggling with. It's nice to have very strong and vigorous public health here in Minnesota and especially in Richfield. So, thank you. **[00:20] Mayor Mary Supple:** And thank you to everyone who received the proclamations and for the groups that put them together. Next, we'll move on to approval of the agenda. **[00:20] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I move approval of the agenda. **[00:20] Council Member Walter Burk:** Second. **[00:20] Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded to approve the agenda. Is there any discussion? All right. All in favor, please say I. **[00:20] Council Members:** I. **[00:20] Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed. And we have approved the agenda. Next, we'll turn to the consent calendar, and I'll turn it over to City Manager Rodriguez. **[00:21] City Manager Katie Rodriguez:** Thank you, Mayor. The consent calendar contains several separate items which are acted upon by the city council in one motion. Once the consent calendar has been approved, the individual items and recommended actions have also been approved. No further council action on these items is necessary. On tonight's consent calendar, item A, consider approval of the bid tabulation and authorize the mayor and city manager to execute a contract with Boulder Creek, Inc. for lift station 7 replacement project in the amount of $194,964 and authorize the city manager to approve contract changes up to $175,000 without further city council consideration. Item B, consider the appointment of a youth member to the Human Rights Commission. Item C, consider approval of the city of Richfield to enter into an agreement with independent school district number 280 to administer the 2025 and 2027 school board elections. Item D, consider a resolution designating Fidelity Investments as an official depository for the city of Richfield in 2025 for the purpose of receiving a bequest in the amount of $70,000 for Woodlake Nature Center. And I submit these items for your consideration as part of the consent calendar. **[00:22] Mayor Mary Supple:** Is there a motion to approve the consent calendar? **[00:22] Council Member Walter Burk:** So moved. **[00:22] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Second. **[00:22] Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? I would like to welcome our new youth commissioner for human rights commission. It's always very exciting when we get youth commissioners and so I'm looking forward to meeting this young gentleman and I want to put a pitch out there if there's anybody else that's interested. We do have some commissions with vacancies. So, thank you to Mr. Wilson for volunteering for this. And I also want to thank whoever the mystery donor was that donated money towards Woodlake Nature Center. That was very kind of that anonymous donor to help us out. Any other comments or questions? Okay. All in favor of approving the consent agenda, please say I. **[00:23] Council Members:** I. **[00:23] Mayor Mary Supple:** All opposed. And we've approved the consent calendar. Next, we will move on to the city manager report. City Manager Rodriguez. **[00:23] City Manager Katie Rodriguez:** Yes. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to thank Mayor Supple, also the school district policy makers and their staff, and especially Clerk Friedrich for all their work in finding a path forward so that the school district can switch to even-year elections. It will be a more cost-effective and efficient process for everyone, including taxpayers. So, thank you to all for the good work. And that's all for tonight. **[00:24] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. And I'll echo those thanks to the school district and all the staff from the city that worked on this and came up with the language to move forward. Next, we'll move on to a council discussion of the review of council meeting agenda order and process. So, as part of the ongoing software upgrade to prepare and manage city council agendas, it's an opportune time to review the city council meeting order of business and processes. Staff have been reviewing a document that governs city council meeting procedures, including agenda order, and are seeking input before presenting for approval at the April 22nd, 2025 meeting. The council last updated the Richfield City Council rules of procedures and decorum on February 14th, 2017. We must develop meeting agenda templates for the new agenda management software and are proposing options for the council to consider. Two sample agendas are attached as exhibits that reflect the new format using the Civic Plus Select software. Exhibit 1 agenda is the current order of business and exhibit 2 agenda is a proposed option for council to consider. The exhibit 2 agenda includes the following updates: it shifts the approval of agenda to item three after the pledge of allegiance; it changes the presentations item to presentations and proclamations; it moves the approval of the minutes to the consent calendar items; and it moves approval of claims and payroll or disbursements to the consent calendar items. "Hats off to hometown hits" includes other council discussions such as we're doing right now. Council authority remains to pull any consent calendar item for further discussion, and any consent calendar item pulled would be decided as a regular agenda item including council discussion and a vote on the item. Please note that the current rules of procedure and decorum will need to be updated to reflect current practices. We are seeking council input on these inconsistencies and other possible changes. One of the things is should we continue allowing open forum comments on agenda items that are on the agenda? So that's something we've opened up since the last time the policy was revisited. Should we limit the open form time to 15 minutes unless extended by a majority vote of the city council? That's also something we opened up. Should we continue using first names at work sessions? And we've switched to that policy as well, and we need to formalize whether or not we want to continue that. Should we require unanimous approval to allow a council member to abstain from a vote unless the member is required by law to abstain? And finally, to continue a limited member discussion—to continue to limit member discussion to two comments on any question or for no more than five minutes each time if requested by other council members or the mayor. So, those are the things that came up that we should discuss. There are also if there are other things that council members would like to bring up. This is wide open. So, we're looking for input here. Before we open up the discussion, since we're not going to actually vote on this, it's just a discussion, I was wondering if staff wanted to add anything. **[00:27] City Manager Katie Rodriguez:** Yes. Thank you, mayor. So, thank you for making time during the council meeting. I believe our work session agenda has been more full than our council meetings and so we're just looking for guidance tonight and then we would be bringing it back to you hopefully in two weeks. And I am going to invite Clerk Friedrich and Attorney Tietjen as we discuss, because they have been working on it with us and we're eager for your feedback on these items that I've highlighted and then anything else that you have questions or concerns about. Thank you. **[00:28] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. So as the first part of the discussion, I was going to ask to draw everyone's attention to the proposed agenda, exhibit 2, and see if there's any—can—if what people think about moving the approval of the agenda either to item 2 or item 3. **[00:28] Council Member Walter Burk:** To me, it seems appropriate that the first thing that should be done after call to order is pledge of allegiance. It seems that it's appropriate to, you know, state our allegiance to everything that we do pledge our allegiance to in that before any business is done. So, seems to me right after the call of order, pledge allegiance should be second. **[00:29] Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay. So, you would like that moved up to item number two and then the approval of the agenda would be item three. **[00:29] Council Member Walter Burk:** Yes. **[00:29] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I don't feel strongly about pledge of allegiance versus approval of the agenda, but I am very glad to see approval of the agenda first. It seems like maybe this isn't a concern anymore, but I saw a concern over email about arguably having the approval of the agenda after open forum, but I think given the fact that we have the ability to pull things from the consent calendar at that time, I prefer to keep approval of the agenda as early as possible. And I'm delighted that we're doing this because it's been bugging me my whole time on council. **[00:30] Council Member Rori A. Coleman-Woods:** No, I agree that the pledge of allegiance should come before the approval of the agenda as well. **[00:30] Council Member Sharon Christensen:** I agree with having that also with the pledge of allegiance before the agenda. **[00:30] Mayor Mary Supple:** And I would concur with the rest of you that if we do the call of order, then the pledge of allegiance, then the approval of the agenda. Is there any problem with doing proclamations and presentations? I'm not hearing anybody. All right. So then the next item that's appreciably different: What do people think about putting the council minutes and the disbursements and claims as part of the consent agenda? **[00:31] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I guess I have slightly mixed feelings about putting minutes there just because it does seem like there are often corrections on there. If that's not going to in staff's opinion hold up the process, that would be fine. Or maybe if that would encourage us to make sure we get our stuff in in advance to get those minor corrections resolved. I do think claims belongs there—other than the symbolic fun of sort of virtually signing the paychecks. It makes more sense under consent. **[00:31] Mayor Mary Supple:** I would like to clarify if we put those there and there is something we want to amend on the minutes or something, we could then pull it off of the consent calendar, make the amendments and approve it afterwards. Is that correct? **[00:31] City Clerk Michelle Friedrich:** That's correct. You could place it into the consideration for items that you pull from the consent calendar. You can also just make a motion when you review and say we'd like to make a clerical correction to the minutes as we did tonight as part of that approval process. **[00:32] Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay. Thoughts on that? **[00:32] Council Member Walter Burk:** To be quite honest, I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes. I think we all know that we can pull something out of the consent calendar. I think there is some importance in reviewing the minutes and making sure that it's right. And we've certainly had citizens concerned about the use of the consent calendar and so maybe for that sake to show the importance of reviewing of minutes that we pull it out of the consent calendar to show that the council is taking it seriously and that it's a matter of importance. I think in practical terms it doesn't really make much of a difference. **[00:33] Council Member Rori A. Coleman-Woods:** I agree with Council Member Burke that you can take anything off the consent calendar at that point, but just to include it with it would be good. **[00:33] Mayor Mary Supple:** So, if we do that, then it would be looking at call to order, pledge of allegiance, approval of the agenda, open forum, and then we would do minutes. Is that what you're saying? **[00:33] Council Member Walter Burk:** I would prefer to do it right after agenda just because they're kind of a similar structure. It's usually fairly routine. **[00:33] Mayor Mary Supple:** So, do approval of the agenda, do the minutes, and then go to open forum. That'd be my preference. **[00:33] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** It appears that there's consensus to get the business side of it done first and then I would agree basic business side. **[00:34] Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay. So then I would go to open form proclamations and presentations and then consent calendar and everybody's okay with disbursements and claims being part of that. **[00:34] Council Member Walter Burk:** Yes. **[00:34] Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay. And then moving down, are we okay with the name change to "council discussion and hats off to hometown hits" so we could have discussion as we are now? **[00:34] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Yes. **[00:34] Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay. And then are people okay—I did a test run on the open forum verbiage for what we say ahead of time. Are people okay with what we did tonight? **[00:34] Council Member Walter Burk:** Yes. **[00:35] Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay. So does that answer the questions on the agenda portion of this discussion? Okay. So that would then bring us back to the document that we have about the rules of procedure and decorum. So first of all, is there anything in here that we would like to discuss or talk about—for instance, open forum. Do you want to continue having the change where it's wide open because on the original document here it says that you can only discuss things that aren't on the agenda and we've opened it up to allow discussion of everything. **[00:35] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Can I first clarify from the city attorney? I thought we couldn't like regulate what people are allowed to say in the open forum. Can we say people cannot speak because they're talking about something on the agenda? **[00:35] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Mayor and council member, I think that's really more just about you're not really regulating the content so to speak, but when they could speak to it. So it's really in my opinion more about process than it is about regulating content of speech. **[00:36] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** So there's not a concern either direction on what we would decide on that. **[00:36] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Right. I think it's within the council's discretion to decide how to work the—how to set up the agenda as to when they're allowing people to speak. But just to be clear, certain items they would not be able to speak on at all then if we did not allow this—like most items that are not public hearings. Right. I still don't think it's a concern because you're—I think it's okay. **[00:36] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I guess I would just say the only thing I don't like about it is I worry that some of our items that like the planning commission conducts public hearings for, people don't attend those figuring, "Oh, I can just give the council—and they're the final decision makers." And I do want people to take that seriously, but I also haven't seen people really abuse this. And I think it's a little bit—it puts us in an awkward situation of being like, "Oh, excuse me. Stop. You can't talk about that. That's on the agenda." So, I prefer to leave it the way we're doing it. Although I'm open to revisiting this if we had a situation in which every public hearing became a 2x public hearing with the council. **[00:37] Mayor Mary Supple:** And I believe our practice has been to remind people: if you're here to speak for the public hearing, wait and speak till then, and people have honored that. We haven't had anybody abuse that in the past. So but you know sometimes there are other things that aren't public hearings that people really want to weigh in on and I would agree that it's good to hear them. Other comments, questions? **[00:37] Council Member Walter Burk:** Maybe it could increase the attendance at the city council meetings if we put them at the end. The open forum. **[00:38] Mayor Mary Supple:** Well, it—and if you read through this document, it's like after 15 minutes, you say, "Wait, you have to talk again at the end." And they do formally move it to the end. So, that's actually our next topic. Do you think it's okay to just let everybody speak at the beginning? **[00:38] Council Member Walter Burk:** I do—I think again in the short amount of time I've been here I haven't seen an abuse of the opportunity for the public to make their voices heard here and we should encourage that as much as possible regardless of what they want to talk about. I mean they may bring things to our attention that we may not even be aware of and they may think this is the only forum to do that. We shouldn't deprive them of that opportunity. **[00:38] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I guess I do wonder if it's helpful to have some—I think 15 minutes is probably unnecessarily short, but if there should be some upper limit at which we would by default suspend till the end. Because I don't want a situation in which we have two hours of open forum and we have nothing to point to to say we need to cut this off. I don't know. Is it improper for the mayor to just kind of at her own discretion cut it off without a time limit or—I guess that's a question for Attorney Tietjen. **[00:39] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Mayor and council member, I think that's really just a council decision. It's your meeting. I think that you have the ability to decide how you want to run it. So there really isn't any rule or law about that particular question. And I think it's really just more about if you as a council want to decide or approve it as a motion or just give that power to the mayor to say, you know, we're going to cut it off after a certain period of time. I think that's really up to the council. **[00:40] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I guess my preference would be to leave the provision but change it to 30 minutes. So it'd be a really kind of extreme case and we just have something to point to that's defensible, right? **[00:40] Council Member Walter Burk:** I would agree with that as long as the council have the opportunity to extend it if necessary. **[00:40] Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay. So what we're saying is switch it to 30 and if we decide we need to let it go longer at the beginning, we could let people continue speaking if they wanted to because I can only think of like maybe three times where it's gone past 30 minutes and that's been in six years. So, it's not like it's happening very often. So then it would say that after 30 minutes we would suspend it until the end of the agenda. Does that mean then we have to add another spot down in the agenda for open forum if it continues on the agenda software? **[00:41] City Clerk Michelle Friedrich:** I don't think you need to do that because you're using your discretion to amend the agenda and add it to the end. So I don't think you need to do that. **[00:41] Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay. There was a section in here about open forum that talks about if there's a whole bunch of people wanting to talk on the same topic that they find somebody to be their spokesman. And I know that happens at the planning commission. I've seen that happen. I haven't seen it happening here. So are people okay with having that as a possible recommendation if we think there's going to be a lot? I'm looking for the language... subdivision 7. **[00:42] Council Member Rori A. Coleman-Woods:** I think it's worth having spokesperson of multiple people who want to speak to narrow down to so that one person can get their point across instead of having to be redundant or repetitive. **[00:42] Council Member Walter Burk:** I think the language is a little vague because it says it "shall be proper" for the presiding officer to request. Would be nice if it said that the presiding officer "may require" or "may request"—showing that the council has discretion because the language here it—it's a little vague whether the presiding officer is required to have them pick a representative or if it's discretionary. So it would be nice if it was discretionary and make it clear that it's discretionary. **[00:42] Mayor Mary Supple:** I can't figure out what page... oh, middle of page 7, subdivision 7. So you're saying that it "may be" okay instead of "shall be proper." **[00:43] Council Member Walter Burk:** Instead of saying it "shall be proper" for the presiding officer to request, it maybe would be better for it to say the presiding officer "may request" that a spokesman be chosen to give the presiding officer discretion instead of requiring them to do it. So, like if that would be a case if we had a stack of 20 open forum comments and they were all on the same topic to say, "Hey, can you please help us out here and pick three spokespeople?" But the nice thing is that the presiding officer wouldn't be required to do that. I mean, they may want to—we may want to hear all 20 people. **[00:43] Mayor Mary Supple:** I'm fine with that. What do people think? **[00:43] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Yeah, I agree. **[00:43] Council Member Sharon Christensen:** I agree. **[00:43] Council Member Walter Burk:** There was one other—I don't know why I'm so fixated on the pledge of allegiance today, but page 3, section 5, subdivision 3, the order of business. It would be nice if pledge of allegiance is mentioned in there as we've already discussed. **[00:44] City Clerk Michelle Friedrich:** We've already noted that it needs to be added there. It's in the template, but it was missed there. Thank you very much, Council Member. **[00:44] Mayor Mary Supple:** And so, can I assume that this will be updated to fit with our whatever agenda we approve? All right. So for work sessions, are people okay with continuing to use first names? Because in here it says we will use the formal at all times. And I agree it should be formal at the council meetings. So what do people think about work sessions? **[00:44] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I will say I've been doing that for like three years now. It does seem a little bit awkward to change our—especially when we do the group work sessions with the other commissions and they're not accustomed to that. That seems a little bit weird. Staff also—I mean not so much the city manager—but other staff seem to be sort of uncomfortable sometimes addressing us by first names. I think I'd be fine with the normal procedure going back to last names, but understanding that like if I call the City Manager Katie, it's not meant with any disrespect. But it does seem almost more awkward to try to do the first—even several times today, we refer to ourselves as Council Member so-and-so. **[00:45] Council Member Walter Burk:** As long as we're consistent with it. I mean, some people do the first name, some people do the full name. As long as there's some consistency to it, that would be good. **[00:45] Mayor Mary Supple:** And I will admit that I was used to doing last names, and so I still haven't gotten rid of the habit and switched over. So, I'm probably one of the inconsistent people. **[00:45] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Mine's super long, so I just— **[00:45] Council Member Walter Burk:** Same here. **[00:45] Council Member Rori A. Coleman-Woods:** This is unfair of Council Member Coleman Woods and Council Member Hayford to expect last name addressing—hyphenated last names! **[00:45] Mayor Mary Supple:** I'm okay with continuing to use last names. I'm okay with the consistency. **[00:46] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Okay. So, switch it over to—so to be consistent with the policy to use last names and stop trying to be informal at the work sessions. But if I could just give one clarification, we did have a thing around the same time when we switched to last names where we were addressing staff by their full title even if it was a very long title. And I would just express that I hope we don't go back to doing that. So for instance instead of saying "Community Development Director Poehlman" you just say "Director Poehlman" and particularly we've done like "Sustainability Coordinator so-and-so"—that's just not a common title. I think Director, Manager—anyway I don't need to micromanage this but I guess I would say again it is not meant with disrespect to not use somebody's full title but to perhaps use Mr. or Ms. if the title is rather unnatural to say orally. **[00:47] Council Member Walter Burk:** No, I think yeah, I don't want to curtail people's accomplishments and their staff titles, but we can keep it somewhat shorter, right? **[00:47] Mayor Mary Supple:** And I think some of the titles have been shortened up a little for a while there. There were a couple that were like five words long that got—but I think that's been changed already. On our list also here talks about that it would require unanimous approval to allow a council member to abstain from a vote unless the member is required by law to abstain. And I'm going to ask City Attorney Tietjen: Can you speak to that a little bit of why that might possibly be there? **[00:48] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Mayor Supple, actually City Clerk discovered in the city code that this is actually a requirement in city code. So, if the council wanted to change that, we would have to go through an ordinance process to remove that. And then we could incorporate, if you did want to change it, we could incorporate a different requirement into these new rules. **[00:48] Council Member Walter Burk:** So my only concern is where it says "unless the member is required by law to abstain." So is it the burden of the member to cite the rule of law or the law that requires them to abstain? I mean they may or may not know what the law is, but they may say, "You know what, I just feel this is a conflict of interest for example." And so I mean how does that happen? **[00:49] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Right. And so, Council Member Burk, I think as a practical matter, if there's a conflict of interest, you're likely going to reach out to the city manager who's going to talk to me. And there may be situations where there's a contractual conflict of interest or some financial interest that would require a council member to abstain. So, I think it will be pretty clear ahead of time if that's the case and we can advise the council member of that. **[00:49] Council Member Walter Burk:** Well, that's assuming that council member has the forethought to talk to the city manager about these things and I've already demonstrated I'm not the best at that. So, my concern is if I, for example, if I come to a meeting or a session and then realize there's a conflict of interest of some kind—and but if the rest of the council members unanimously say, "No, you're going to have to vote"—well... **[00:50] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** We would have to analyze that at the time. And if I felt that there was a legal conflict of interest requiring you to abstain from voting, then the council would not have to approve that. But I think it would just have to be done on a case-by-case basis. **[00:50] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Yeah, it was news to me that we have this provision and I haven't seen any of us or any previous folks I've served with kind of abuse this, but I have seen this in other cities where there are certain people that will abstain just as a matter of habit—like to make a point—and I do want us to discourage that even though it hasn't been an issue with our group. This is kind of an aside and I don't know if our current rules restrict this but I think it's particularly inappropriate when people participate in discussion and then abstain from the vote. And if we don't restrict that, I would like us to—that if you're going to abstain, you need to be completely out of the discussion and not commenting and influencing that item at all. So anyway, I am okay with the current standard. I certainly understand Council Member Burk's consideration, but I think the fact that either the city attorney could excuse them or the council could excuse them does enough to encourage people to vote appropriately, but still gives them reasonable exemptions. **[00:51] Mayor Mary Supple:** We also have a section here that says if a council member or the mayor requests, we can limit member discussion to two comments on any question or for no more than five minutes each time. So, that's at the discretion of one of us making the request. And as you were saying, Council Member Hayford Oleary, I haven't seen anyone here abusing that. I have in the past meetings where people do go on and on and on just to belabor a point and it's—I don't think it's like everybody's fixed in their positions so it doesn't really help move anything forward. So a lot of times people then "call the question" etc., etc. So it's another question of whether we want to have this in the rules or not but it does say "if requested." **[00:52] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** So could I just clarify the procedure particularly of other council members asking it? So like if I just—is it like automatic or do we need like a vote on it? Like if I just disagree with Council Member Coleman Woods, can I just personally be like "No, you're cut off" or is it like—I want us to make a motion and then we'll vote on if we're going to have a discussion because I guess I don't think each of us other than the presiding officer should have the power to just unilaterally cut off discussion like that. I know in other meetings, I don't know if it's how it works with Sturgis, but like in Robert's rules, if you've been going on for like 45 minutes and you're kind of just circling around the same question, someone can call the question and then you vote on whether or not to end debate and then you end it. But I don't know if that's different with Sturgis. And I also have the question of can this be done right in the middle or does it have to limit the debate before the debate starts? **[00:53] Council Member Walter Burk:** I've seen that at other non-governmental things too where to save time they say, "You know, we've been in session for five hours. We're running out of time. So, we're going to limit debate" and they'll do it before they start the new topic. First and second gentleman, that sort of thing. Sorry. **[00:54] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Mayor, you know, it might be helpful to go back, review Sturgis and see how that would play in with what these rules currently say and then we can bring back something to the council on that point. Because I do think there are procedural ways just under the Sturgis rules to end debate, limit debate—you know, "call the question." There are available motions just under the rules of procedure to accomplish I think what this is attempting to accomplish. **[00:54] Mayor Mary Supple:** Yeah. Like I said, in recent years, I don't know of anybody that's abused the debate process. **[00:54] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Right. And I can't recall anybody ever making such a motion. So, but those kinds of motions would be available, whether you have it in this document or not. You've adopted Sturgis and those procedural rules are available to you. **[00:55] Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay. So, looking at this document, we've discussed a lot of the things that might be possibly changed. It does have sections in here about emergency and special meetings and all of that. We asked about—and for the viewing public—what this current document agrees with what our city charter does and our rules, so there's not a conflict there. Is there anything else that anyone wants to talk about in any of these subdivisions? **[00:55] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Mayor, can I just clarify? I'd raise that additional item about abstentions: if that is addressed currently or if we'd like to address that—that a member who plans to abstain from a vote would not participate in the discussion for that item. Is that something that is allowed now? Could I—or sorry, if I had a reason to abstain by law or if council had granted me permission to abstain because I want to, could I still participate in the discussion on that item? **[00:56] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** If a council member is required by law to abstain then they're required to abstain from all discussion and any voting. If it's a situation where a council member wants to abstain for some other reason where they're not required by law to abstain, I think the council could—I think it would be within the council's discretion to have a rule that would say that council member cannot participate in the discussion. I think that would be permissible. **[00:57] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Okay. So, I would prefer to add a rule like that. I think that would also just be clear about what the trade-offs are if you are choosing to sort of request a discretionary abstention from the whole council that you are giving up your ability to speak to that item and you're off the hook on casting a vote on it. I think it just becomes a clearer standard and then people aren't influencing things that they don't intend to take an official position on. **[00:57] Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, other comments on that? **[00:57] Council Member Walter Burk:** So just for clarity and I understand what you're saying—I think I understand what you're saying. But so if someone during the course of the discussion after hearing the discussion then decides to abstain, how would that operate? Or would they have to abstain before the discussion and they only get to abstain before a discussion? **[00:58] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I guess my opinion would be that that's a unique case in which it's probably not that—like a good comment—but if it were, I think I don't think we would strictly enforce that. I don't know if we need to write in that kind of exception but understanding that people will generally know in advance. Yeah, if there's a rare situation in which the discussion reveals the conflict, yeah, that's different. **[00:58] Mayor Mary Supple:** All right any other discussion on that? I have a—otherwise I have a question on section 5 subdivision 7. We just had the commission trainings and we were talking about that you have to give public notice and so, in subdivision 7, page 46 of the agenda packet, it talks about that you can consider an item not appearing on the agenda as normal business if a council member does not raise an objection. And then it says you can't consider any action item that requires a public notice or hearing. So, what would be an example of something that doesn't require a public notice or a hearing that you might just add to an agenda at the last minute? And you don't need to answer this right now, but I was trying to think—does that happen very often? **[00:59] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** I can maybe respond to that. First of all, this is one section I think we will need to amend because really what this is saying is you're amending the agenda, right? You are wanting to consider items that aren't on the agenda. So, I think it's just a motion to amend the agenda. But one example of something you mentioned might be just if there's a council discussion item that the council wants to add to an agenda that doesn't require a public hearing. It doesn't require a separate public notice, but it would just be an addition or an amendment to the agenda. I think that's what that subdivision is addressing. **[01:00] City Manager Katie Rodriguez:** A possible example could be if one of our council members had reviewed a current bill and decided it was imperative that it was discussed at the council meeting and it just came out the day of the council meeting. That would be an example of something you could add under council discussion. There wouldn't be any action, but it would be basically to say, "Hey, we should be aware that this is happening." **[01:00] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** Mayor. So, just—it does seem like the way it's written now that you would just kind of unilaterally just start talking about it and I would prefer that we use the amending process at the beginning of the meeting to set those items. So, I think that's okay. **[01:00] Mayor Mary Supple:** Could that also—like if something came up during open forum, you could add it later too? **[01:01] City Manager Katie Rodriguez:** Mayor, can I clarify your question because we've been really consistent that open forum is just a time for people to address the council and we will not take action on it that same night. So, are you suggesting that we would move away from that? **[01:01] Mayor Mary Supple:** No, I was just trying to think of when it could possibly—that there could be a time where something would come up after we'd approved the agenda. I was brainstorming to be honest. **[01:01] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** As I'm understanding the question is whether once the approval of the agenda is done, can you then later on in the meeting amend the agenda again? I think that's what the question is, right? I'm lost now. But I think regardless, we don't like the way it's currently written. It seems like you can just change it in the middle of things. **[01:02] Mayor Mary Supple:** Okay. And then one other question. In section 8 under enforcement, it refers to a "sergeant-at-arms"—who's the sergeant-at-arms? **[01:02] City Manager Katie Rodriguez:** Yes. Thank you. I think there have—this was predates me—but I think there were times when they brought in someone from public safety just to stand in the back of the room because it was a contentious issue. However, Attorney Tietjen is reviewing both the decorum section and the enforcement section because there have been updates—legal updates and case law—as I understand it. So, we may have further changes to bring back to you and we'll summarize that in the staff report. Did I summarize that correctly? **[01:03] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** Yes, that is correct. We will be reviewing that more closely so that we're in line with current law. **[01:03] Council Member Walter Burk:** So then this is something that we will not be voting on April 22nd, but we need more time to discuss this further? **[01:03] Mayor Mary Supple:** Well, we may need more time. Yes. I know that council's eager to get this approved and I know staff is too, but I think that we should take the time that we need to to get it updated properly and that might mean pushing it to another meeting. **[01:03] Council Member Walter Burk:** April 22nd would be—because doesn't this go right into the charter as well after it's been revised? **[01:03] City Attorney Mary Tietjen:** No, this is really more like a policy. This will be adopted via resolution of the city council. **[01:04] Mayor Mary Supple:** Mayor. **[01:04] City Manager Katie Rodriguez:** Yes. The time-sensitive part of this is that order of business. So I feel like we got pretty good feedback on that because we're putting together the templates for the agenda management. So we will proceed on that and then if we—sounds like we do need more time for this procedures and decorum document and so we—but we will bring it back to you to pass at a future meeting. **[01:04] Mayor Mary Supple:** So we could split it apart and vote on the agenda format and do the decorum at a later date if we need to. **[01:04] City Manager Katie Rodriguez:** We can do that if we need to. We may not even need to do that because the go-live date with the new agenda management software isn't until May—June. So I think we have some time but we got good feedback on it for the templates. **[01:05] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Are there any other discussions of items on the decorum and procedures manual? All right, then we will move on to the hats off to Hometown Hits. So, Council Member Coleman Woods, did you have anything to add? **[01:05] Council Member Rori A. Coleman-Woods:** I do not. **[01:05] Mayor Mary Supple:** Council member Christensen. **[01:05] Council Member Sharon Christensen:** Yes, we had the opportunity last week to take a tour of the new revised improved Augsburg Library and which actually is opening to the public on Monday, April 21st with a public ceremony so to speak on May 3rd. But the library is great. It's well needed. Hennepin County has put a lot of thought process into it and it should be very useful to the public. I know a lot of people in the community have been asking about it when it's going to be open since the Southdale library is closed for major renovation. This will improve usage and affordability for people who would really have access to this. **[01:06] Mayor Mary Supple:** All right, Council Member Hayford Oleary. **[01:06] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** I will just say I also really appreciated being able to see that library tour and it's great to see the progress and also to say I'm enjoying the start of street sweeping season. So, if you have an opportunity to park off the street, this is a great time to use your driveway and keep the streets clear so they can get fully swept. **[01:06] Mayor Mary Supple:** All right. Council Member Burk. **[01:06] Council Member Walter Burk:** I will second the street cleaning. They cleaned my street today or yesterday and I greatly appreciate all the hard work. So, but I want to thank the mayor for reminding me that the Human Rights Commission is seeking nominations for the Gene and Mary Jacobson Outstanding Citizen Award. And so, I'm encouraging the public to make those nominations. You can go to the city website and submit names for the Outstanding Citizen Award. And please do that. Thank you. **[01:07] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Earlier today, Recreation Services Director Huemiller and I had the pleasure of speaking at three classes at Richfield Dual Language School. And the fourth graders had really, really good questions. And so I just want to do a hats off to the fourth graders at Richfield Dual Language School for their excellent questions. I also would like to do some shameless plug for the Richfield Foundation's fundraiser. They do a "toast to Richfield" and it's going to be Thursday, May 1st from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Woodlake Health and Office Center Rotunda. And you can buy tickets by going to www.richfieldfoundationmn.org and they do excellent work in the community and fund some really great things and this is their major fundraiser. So please consider attending that. And then finally, we also have applications open for the charter commission. So the charter commission is responsible for the continuing study of the Richfield Charter and Government. It has 15 regular members who serve four-year terms. And if you're on the charter commission, you can be on other commissions as well. This is the one other commission that you can be on. If you're on charter commission, you could be on any other commission normally. Like if you're on community services, you can't be on human rights, but if you're on the charter commission, you can be on other commissions. So, it's open to everyone, including current commissioners. And if you're interested in applying for that, you can go to the city of Richfield website and go under city government, then look at commissions and boards and then go to charter commission and there's an application that you fill out and the applications are open until April 24th. And I didn't write this down, but if memory serves me correctly, there's like six people whose terms are coming to an end. Six—thank you—six people whose terms are coming to an end and so they may want to reapply. Other people may want to apply and then the Hennepin County Chief Judge I believe is the person that makes the decision on who gets to be on the charter commission. So it's a very important commission and I encourage people to apply for that. Is there any other business to come before us? **[01:09] Council Member Walter Burk:** I will second the applications for the charter city commission. I have served on that commission for several years and it is an important part of our community here and you will have the pleasure of serving alongside me. So that was it. That's my shameless plug. **[01:10] Mayor Mary Supple:** Thank you. Anything else that anyone would like to add? All right. Then it is in order to have a motion to adjourn the meeting. **[01:10] Council Member Sean Hayford Oleary:** So moved. **[01:10] Council Member Rori A. Coleman-Woods:** Second. **[01:10] Mayor Mary Supple:** It's been moved and seconded to adjourn the meeting. All in favor, please say I. **[01:10] Council Members:** I. **[01:10] Mayor Mary Supple:** All oppose. We stand adjourned. Thank you.