9.c) City Council Vacancy Meeting Date: 9/21/2010
Agenda Item: ��
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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
� � � �
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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