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9.c) City Council Vacancy Meeting Date: 9/21/2010 Agenda Item: �� � City Council Agenda Report City of Scandia 14727 209`h St. North Scandia, MN 55073 (651) 433-2274 Action Requested: Adopt a resolution accepting the resignation of John Lindell and declaring a vacancy on the City Council, and determine the process for filling the vacancy. Deadline/ Timeline: The vacancy should be filled as soon as possible. Background: • Council member Lindell submitted his resignation via an e-mail received 9/13/10, stating that that the resignation was effective immediately. His term runs through 2012. • Minnesota Statutes 4.12.02 Subd. 2a. governs vacancies in a statutory city's Council,providing that: "a vacancy in an office shall be filled by council appointment until an election is held as provided in this subdivision. In case of a tie vote in the council, the mayor shall make the appointment. If the vacancy occurs before the first day to file affidavits of candidacy for the n�xt regular city election and more than two years remain in the unexpired term, a special election shall be held at or before the next regular city election and the appointed person shall serve until the qualification of a successor elected at a special election to fill the unexpired portion of the term. If the vacancy occurs on or after the first day to file affidavits of candidacy for the regular city election or when less than two years remain in the unexpired term, there need not be a special election to fill the vacancy and the appointed person shall serve until the qualification of a successor. The council must specify by ordinance under what circumstances it will hold a special election to fill a vacancy other than a special election held at the same time as the regular city election." • The Council has two options for filling the vacancy: holding a special election, or appointing someone to fill the balance of the term. • Because of the timing of the resignation and the upcoming municipal election, it is not possible to hold a special election in November. If the Council determined that a special election should be held on a later date, it would first need to adopt an ordinance as required by the statute. • The process for holding a special election would be similar to a regular election, with a period for filing and a period for submitting absentee ballots prior to Election Day. This would take several months, with the earliest possible date for an election falling in January or February. All costs would be paid by the city. Because of recent changes in election procedures,particularly for handling absentee voting, it is difficult to estimate the cost of a special election Page 1 of 2 09/17/10 but it would be more costly than either of the Primary or General elections in 2010. The City would need to contract with Washington County Elections Staff to administer part of the process (particularly absentee voting, which the city does not have the equipment or training to perform.) For"regular" elections the County pays for printing ballots and all the costs for their portion of this process, including absentee voting, which the city would pay for in a special election. • If the Council decides to appoint someone to fill the vacancy, it can determine what process (if any) to conduct prior to making the appointment. Some cities hold an application and interview process, similar to the selection process for Planning Commission and other committee appointments. Recommendation: I recommend that the Council adopt the resolution accepting the resignation and declaring a vacancy on the Council. If the Council determines that a special election should be held to fill the vacancy, the next step would be to direct the City Attorney to prepare the required ordinance for consideration at a future meeting. If the Council decides to proceed with filling the vacancy by appointment, I suggest the following process and schedule for filling the vacancy: Advertise for applicants: September 22(web site), September 30(local newspapers),October 1 (city newsletter) Deadline for applications: October 15 Interviews: Week of October 25 Appointment: At a scheduled meeting in November (November 3,November 9 or November 16)or at a special meeting to be determined An application form,based on the city's application form for board and commission membership,has been prepared for the Council's review. Attachments/ • Email from John Lindell dated Monday, September 13 Materials provided: . Draft Resolution No. 09-21-10-03 • Draft Application for Appointment to City Council Contact(s): Prepared by: Anne Hurlburt, Administrator (city council vacancy) Page 2 of 2 09/17/10 Anne Hurlburt From: Lindell, John [John.Lindell@state.mn.us] Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 12:43 PM To: Anne Hurlburt Subject: RE: Facebook Page for the City of Scandia Anne,I will be resigning my position on the Scandia council effective immediately. Let me know if you need a letter or anything else. jl From: Anne Hurlburt [mailto:a.hurlburt@ci.scandia.mn.us] Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 4:00 PM To: 'Connie Amos'; 'Dennis Seefeldt'; Lindell, John; 'Pete Crum'; 'Pete Crum' Cc: Jim Finnegan; 'Hornby, Paul T; 'Sherri A. Buss'; 'Dave Hebert'; Brenda Eklund; Colleen Firkus; Donna Thordson; Mike Egelkraut; Steve Thorp Subject: Facebook Page for the City of Scandia Scandia is now on Facebook! On my"to do" list for awhile has been setting up an official Facebook page for the city. And today we finally have a page. Many cities are now using Facebook in conjunction with their web pages to get information to citizens, particularly the younger generation. Many people who use Facebook prefer it to checking a web page,to get the latest information from their friends and information from businesses or other organizations. New content shows up on their Facebook page whenever it's posted by the page owner—so no action is needed on their part to check for new information. And lots of folks use it on their mobile devices, adding more convenience. Facebook will never replace our website, which allows access to a lot of information and documents, but it will complement it and probably drive more traffic to the website. There is a link from our website,on the home page,to the Facebook page. To avoid this causing a lot of extra work or duplicating the effort we already put into the website, newsletter and press releases, I'm going to start with posting all news items that go on the website to the Facebook page. I have it set up NOT to allow comments or discussion, so we won't have to constantly monitor it or be concerned with the appropriateness of posts by visitors. If you have a Facebook account, enter"City of Scandia, Minnesota" into the search box. That should take you to the page. From there,you can "LIKE"the page and future postings will appear on your News Feed. Try it out! Let me know if you have any questions. Anne ------------------------------------ Anne Hurlburt,Administrator City of Scandia 14727 209th St N. Scandia, Minnesota 55073 651433-2274 1 CITY OF SCANDIA RESOLUTION NO. 09-21-10-03 ACCEPTING THE RESIGNATION OF JOHN LINDELL AND DELARING A VACANCY ON THE CITY COUNCIL WHEREAS, John Lindell was elected to the Scandia City Council in 2008 to a four-year term from 2009 through 2012; and WHEREAS, on September 13, 2010 Mr. Lindell submitted his resignation from the City Council, to be effective immediately; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SCANDIA,WASHINGTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA,that: 1. the resignation of John Lindell from the Scandia City Council is hereby received and accepted; 2. the Council declares that a vacancy exists on the City Council; and 3. the Council will proceed to fill the vacancy as required by Minnesota Statutes 412.02. Adopted by the Scandia City Council this 21 S'day of September, 2010. Dennis D. Seefeldt, Mayor ATTEST: Administrator/Clerk � � � � �' �. ,�. � SCANDIA Application for Appointment City Council Vacancy �,� Name: Home Phone: Home Address: ZIP E-Mail Address: How long have you been a resident of Scandia? Are you eligible to vote in the State of Minnesota(yes or no?) Are you over 21 years of age(yes or no?) Property owned in Scandia (other than residence): Emnlovment Present Employer Worked There Since(mo/yr) Work Phone Position Title Commission/Committee Experience Commission/Committee Dates Served Educational Back�round Highest Level Achieved (degee/major) Other Experience List any governmental, service organizations, or professional activities which you have been or currently are involved in: In what volunteer activities have you participated? What was your role? What else would you like the Ctiy Council to know about you? In accordance with M.S. 13.04 Subd. 2 we must inform you of your rights as a subject of govemment data. The information you give us about yourself is needed to identify you and assist in determining your suitability for the positions(s)for which you are applying. You are not required to furnish any of the requested date other than your name,residence address and certification of your eligibility to vote and age. However,failure to furnish any of the other requested information may adversely affect the Council's ability to evaluate your suitability for the position.The infonnation that we collect about you is classified as either Public or Private. Public means that it is available to anyone who asks to see it. Private means that the information is available only to the person the information is about and to the staff who must use it in the normal course of conducting City business and as otherwise provided for by law. As the person executing this application,I acknowledge that an investigation may be conducted for use in determining my qualifications. I hereby expressly authorize release of any and all information which any organization,company or person may have,including information of a confidential or privileged nature. I hereby release the City and any organization, company or person furnishing information to the City,as expressly authorized above,from any liability for damage which may result from furnishing the information requested. Signature: Date: Return completed application to: City of Scandia 14727 209th St. N. Scandia, MN 55073 Phone: 651 433-2274 Fax: 651 433-5112 E-mail: mail@ci.scandia.mn.us Application Deadline: Friday, October 15, 2010 Tentative Interview Date: Tuesday, October 26, 2010 City Council Appointment: November, 2010