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HomeMy WebLinkAbout15.F.7. SPUC Resignation 15. F.7. CITY OF SHAKOPEE Memorandum TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Mark McNeill, City Administrator SUBJECT: 15.F.7. SPUC Resignation DATE: August 19,2003 INTRODUCTION: The Council is asked to consider two resignations from SPUC Commissioners. BACKGROUND: Earlier today, SPUC Commissioner Cole Van Horn submitted his resignation, stating that he is moving from Shakopee on August 29th. Normally, the City Code requires an incumbent who is moving outside of the city limits to resign; however, the Council does have an option as to whether to accept or reject the resignation. Mr. VanHorn would like to remain on the SPUC Commission until the end of his regular term, which would be March 31, 2004. This is similar to a request received from then-SPUC commissioner Dave Thompson earlier this year. The Council's decision at that time was to advertise for the vacancy, and that Mr. Thompson could remain in office until a suitable replacement could be found. The appointment of his replacement nearly coincided with the expiration of the Thompson term. In addition, following the SPUC meeting of August 18th, Brian Young submitted a resignation, which he asked to be effective September 1 st. Mr. Young was appointed earlier this year, but is unable to continue due to conflicting schedules. Therefore, Council should accept his resignation, effective September 1 st. Council should direct that advertisements be made for the Young vacancy. RECOMMENDATION: I recommend that the Council ACCEPT the resignation of Brian Young from SPUC effective September 1, 2003. I further recommend that the Council NOT ACCEPT the resignation of Cole VanHorn at this time. If it is the desire of the Council to allow Mr. VanHorn to serve out the remainder of his term, it could accept the resignation at the time that a replacement is designated as a result of the normal advertising and interviewing process next February. If the Council wants to proceed as soon as possible with finding a replacement, it should direct that an advertisement for both positions be made at this time, and that the resignation of Mr. VanHorn be accepted when a candidate has been recommended for appointment. ACTION REQUIRED: If the Council concurs, it should, by motion, accept with regret the resignation of Brian Young from the SPUC Commission, effective September 1,2003. It should not accept the resignation of Cole VanHorn from SPUC at this time. However, it should give staff direction as to whether Mr. Van Horn should remain in office until the normal end of his term on 3/31/04, or instead only until a replacement can be found. '\4J ~A1JJ Mark McNeill City Administrtor MM:th [ Tidbits@ J Of Scott County Publi~~ed by ~ole Marketing Group Provldmg creative promotional services. g - /9-03 4MY~~ /ItA~ A-/JJ:> GkNe}L~~)J2:.<s ) ~ ~/LL Be. //1t:1V/A.J~ F~t:>jAA. S:J+A)(Q/L[, g'-25'-CLs . f VJo,^L~ LIKL To ~?1.Lr-'LL ;117' C- 0 ..-.. ~ I ., /""-~^' ..,. AN j) s-~ !t.v(. () l-\. T /J1. cr Ta.~M TK f<.~ 's - 3 I-() L/ 0 A.J TH E u.}T/ L JTIES C//I1.""" lS'fjd,A.J ... f /..-JO,^-Lr> ALSo LIK~ To TH/!Nk ALL Or ~tJl( Fo~ 'I () u;t.. 5l:.l(.tJ)C-E 10 CJ~ CCJ.nt J"^-~JJ ITY A-J'J D Fe>1(. 4L-LcJVJI#~ /'Y'<L. TNt- fl~ J Ug L~b~ ~ (0 .s-$:.;(V~ 45" Wl:LL - >f NC-(~~L1 ./ tt d4-- 33628 143rd Lane · Montgomery, MN 56069-4307 Phone/Fax: (952) 652-1020 AUG-19-2003 11:09 SHAKOPEE PUBLIC UTILITIES 9524457767 P.02 . . To: Mark Miller 08/~/:: Lou Van Holt It is with much pause and deliberation that I write to you today to offer my resignation as a Shakopee Public Utility Commissioner. I have been contemplating this for awhile and I wanted to give it some time to see ifthere was any change of heart before I went forward with this decision. I am resigning due an increase in family activities which always comes first, and an increase in work load with my job at The City of Plymouth. My wife and myself are also in the beginning stages of starting our own business which can and does require a lot of effort and time commitment. I don't feel it is in the best interest of the citizens of Shakopee to have a commissioner at the meetings with less than 100% focus and attention which I am afraid has happened and will continue to happen with the projects I am working, either at work or with the family. I would like to thank you for the incredible opportunity of serving on the commission and for the opportunity to serve the people of Shakopee in this capacity. I will stay on the commission until Septembef'meeting and that will be my last meeting. &t1 Again thank you for the opportunity and best wishes to you in the future. TOTAL P.02 92.52 A Planning Commission composed of seven (7) members is hereby established. The Planning Commission members shall serve staggered four (4) year terms. The Planning Commission shall have such authority and perform such duties as prescribed by Minnesota Statutes and the City Code. Each member of the Planning Commission shall receive such compensation per Planning Commission meeting or hearing, as shall be fixed by the Council. (Ord. 1, April 1 , 1978; Ord. 406, March 2, 1995) SEC. 2.53. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND APPEALS. The Board of Adjustment and Appeals shall be the Planning Commission. (Ord. 31, October 25, 1979) SEC. 2.54. SHAKOPEE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION. The Shakopee Public Utilities Commission, heretofore established, continues, the Commission shall have the full, absolute, and exclusive control of, and power over, all City water plants and systems, and all light and power plants and systems. The Commission shall also have control of, and power over, such public buildings that by agreement between the Council and the Commission, are placed under the jurisdiction of the Commission. This control and power shall extend to all parts, buildings, attachments and appurtenances thereto; and to all apparatus, machinery, and material of every kind used in operating these plants and systems. The Commission is empowered to operate and control any other utilities subsequently acquired. Subd.1. Membership. In accordance with Chapter 226 of Minnesota Laws, 2002, the Commission shall consist of five (5) members appointed by the Council, and their compensation shall be set by the Council. No more than one (1) member shall be a member of the Council. Each member shall serve for a term of three (3) years, except that the first appointee to the fourth seat shall have an initial term expiring April 1, 2004 and the first appointee to the fifth seat shall have an initial term expiring on April 1, 2005, and until a successor is appointed and qualified. Commission members must reside within the corporate limits of the City at the time of their appointment to the Commission and if they move outside of the corporate limits during their term of office they shall tender their resignation to the Council who may accept or reject it. If the Council rejects the resignation, said Commissioner may complete the Commissioner's term of office. (Amended, Ord. 628, April 25, 2002) Subd. 2. Procedures~ The Commission shall adopt rules for its own proceedings which shall provide for, among other things, at least one (1) regular meeting by the Commission each month. It shall annually choose a President from among its own members. It shall appoint a Secretary who need not be a member of the Commission, for an indefinite term. The Secretary shall receive a salary fixed by the Commission. Subd. 3. Powers. The Commission shall have power to extend and to modify or rebuild any public utility and to do anything it deems necessary to its proper and efficient operation; and it may enter into necessary contracts for these purposes. Subd. 4. Emplovees. The Commission shall have power to employ all necessary help for the management and operation of the public utility, prescribe duties of officers and employees and fix their compensation. Subd. 5. Purchases. The Commission shall have power to buy all fuel and supplies, and it may purchase wholesale electric energy, steam heat, gas or water, as the case may be, for municipal distribution. page revised in 2002 86 Official Proceedings of the December 17,2002 Shakopee City Council Page -7- position on the Planning Commission and the Board of Adjustment and Appeals due to his relocation. loos/Lehman offered Resolution No. 5835, A Resolution Appointing Ryan Magin To The Shakopee Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment and Appeals, and moved its adoption. Motion carried 5-0. JooslLehman offered Resolution No. 5834, A Resolution Appointing Cole Van Horn To The Shakopee Public Utilities Commission, and moved its adoption. Motion carried 5-0. Mr. McNeill reported on the resignation submitted by David Thompson from the Shakopee Public Utilities Commission. Mr. McNeill reported that a SPUC member needed to reside within the City limits at the time of appointment but if the Commissioner moved outside the City limits before his term expired he had to submit his resignation. It was up to the Council whether that resignation was accepted or not. Mr. Thompson, member of SPUC, now resides outside the City of Shako pee. Mr. Thompson's term expires in March of2003; Mr. McNeill noted that Mr. Thompson has indicated a strong desire to finish out his term. LehmanlHelkamp moved to accept with regret the resignation of David Thompson from his position on the Shakopee Public Utilities Commission, effective March 31, 2003 or until a replacement is appointed to fill the unexpired term, whichever comes first. Cncl. Joos noted there are some key issues coming up on the SPUC and he felt Mr. Thompson's experience would be really appreciated by the other Commission members. Ms. Judith Cox, City Clerk, explained how the expiring positions on the various boards, commissions and committees where anticipated to take place. Mr. McNeill noted that the advertising to fill Mr. David Thompson's position on SPUC would be included with the advertising to fill other expiring positions on the various boards, commissions and committees for the City of Shakopee. Motion carried 5-0. Mr. McNeill reported on the City's response to the State's financial situation. Mr. McNeill stated that he was of the opinion that the State deficit was going to effect cities in some manner; he was not sure of the manner. Mr. McNeill noted there were some areas where the City of Shakopee felt they might loose some State money. Mr. McNeill noted where the City of Shakopee thought these areas might be i.e. LGA, Market Value Credit, and Fiscal Disparities. Mr. McNeill felt the City of Shakopee might loose about 6% of their budget through loss of some State funding. Mr. McNeill had a few ideas of where the budget might be trimmed and he wanted to get the Council's reaction. The areas where he felt the budget might be trimmed were: 1) a hiring freeze, 2) asking Department Heads to come up with ways to reduce their department budget's by 6% and 3) 2003 Non-Contract pay adjustment. He recommended that the City wait and see what Judy Cox From: Mark McNeill Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 20039:34 PM To: 'Lou VanHout' Cc: Judy Cox Subject: RE: Cole Van Horn At this point, all that we can do is wait to hear from Cole... -----Original Message----- From: Lou VanHout [mailto:lvanhout@shakopeeutilities.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 5:23 PM To: Mark McNeill Subject: RE: Cole Van Horn Mark - I believe Cole is going to write a letter to the Council, but I do not know when. r wouldn't be surprised if Cole wants to wait until his change of residence is a legal fact before sending his letter. And I don't know when that would occur. It is also my belief that Cole will compose that letter himself and make whatever requests he feels is appropriate. I believe (but don't know for certain) that Cole will (a) offer his resignation, and (b) ask to be allowed to finish out his appointed term. Let me take this opportunity to recap some of what was learned during Dave Thompson's experience. The Council can either accept his resignation, or not. If the council chooses to accept his resignation, then his term ends as soon as he is no longer a legal resident of the City. And, if Council chooses to not accept his resignation, according to state law the Commissioner simply finishes out the term. For Cole that would be about 6 months - March 31, 2004. Last time there was a wrinkle where the Council wanted to not accept Dave's resignation until they found a replacement, but maybe accept Dave's resignation after choosing a new commissioner. Luckily it never came to a test - Dave's resignation wasn't accepted by Council and he was allowed to finish his regular term of 3 months or so remaining. The newly appointed Commissioner took office upon the end of Dave's regular term. r think that's the way to go: accept the resignation or not. Conditional acceptance does not appear to be in the picture; and even with the best of intentions r feel it would muddle things. Exactly how long does the Council have to accept a resignation before is it deemed "not accepted"??? I have no idea. I would assume it would be that the Council should act within a "reasonable" amount of time. Lou -----Original Message----- From: Mark McNeill [mailto:MMcneill@ci.shakopee.mn.us] Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 2:41 PM To: Lou VanHout Subject: FW: Cole VanHorn 1 Do you have anything on this? > -----Original Message----- > From: Judy Cox > Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2003 12:26 PM > To: Mark McNeill > Subject: Cole VanHorn > > Mark: > > Do we have a resignation from Cole VanHorn and a request to remain on > SPUC, yet? > > Judy 2