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6.a) PRC Bylaws and Procedural Guidelines Update � � � i ,—• ��. �� J� , .� .+�. �. � �_ SCANDIA Staff Renort Date of Meeting: December 3, 2012 To: Parks and Recreation Committee From: Kristina Handt, City Administrator Re: PRC Bylaws and Procedural Guidelines Agenda Item#: 6.a) Background: Staff would like to provide some background information from the League of MN Cities to help in the discussion of establishing procedural guidelines for the Parks and Recreation Committee that will lead to more productive, clear and efficient meetings. Open Meetings Law: From the LMC Handbook, Chap 7 The open meeting law requires that meetings of public bodies must generally be open to the public. It serves three vital purposes: • Prohibits actions from being taken at a secret meeting where the interested public cannot be fully informed of the decisions of public bodies or detect improper influences. • Ensures the public's right to be informed. • Gives the public an opportunity to present its views. Under the Minnesota open meeting law, all city council meetings and executive sessions must be open to the public with only a few exceptions. The open meeting law also requires meetings of any committee, subcommittee,board, department,or commission of a public body to be open to the public.The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that meetings are gatherings of a quorum or more members of the governing body,or a quorum of a committee, subcommittee,board, department, or commission thereof, at which members discuss, decide, or receive information as a group on issues relating to the official business of that governing body. Meeting Procedures: From the LMC handbook, Chap 7 Any person may observe council meetings. In fact,the council should encourage citizen attendance to help raise awareness of the city's problems and help create support for programs suggested by the council. While the LMC Handbook is written for council meetings, this can also be applied to committee meetin�s. Rules of Procedure: From the LMC Handbook, Chap 7 The city council has the power to regulate its own procedure. While many councils operate without written rules or regulations,written rules facilitate the conduct of city business and reduce the risk of mishandling important matters. The bylaws should establish an order of business and a process for placing items on an agenda. The PRC most recentl�pdated their bylaws in June 2012. A copy is included in vour packet and will serve as the baseline in the discussion of developing new policies/procedures for how meetings are conducted. LMC Tips for Managing Meetings:LMC Handbook, Chap 7 Council bylaws may set a closing date for placing items on the agenda. For example,the clerk must receive all requests to include items on the agenda five days before the meeting. This is especially important if councilmembers need to review written material before the meeting. The council might make an exception in special situations. The council should set a definite time for adjourmnent and observe this rule. At some time during the meeting, often at the beginning, many city councils establish a specific time when citizens can present concerns to the council. In such an open forum,the mayor or presiding officer should provide a limited time for each person who wishes to speak. No action should be taken on any of the issues raised. Rather, if appropriate,the issues should be placed on the agenda of a future council meeting. Parliamentary Procedure:LMC Handbook, Chap 7 Parliamentary procedure is a system of rules that aid in transacting business. The rules are designed to preserve order,expedite business, and protect the rights of those involved in making decisions. The mayor, as presiding officer, is responsible for guarding against abuse of the procedures. The effective use of parliamentary procedures is the joint responsibility of the mayor and all councilmembers. Parliamentary rules can be very simple ar very complex. The complexity of rules should vary in direct ratio to the size of the group. As the number of people in the group increases,the complexity of the rules should increase. Accordingly,the rules for city councils should be simple. Any attempt to introduce a high degree of formality into the proceedings of a city council will probably reduce its ability to operate effectively. The rules of parliamentary procedure apply to council proceedings only if the council formally adopts such rules in its bylaws. The Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised is designed for meetings of large bodies. Rather than adopt these rules as a formal procedure to always follow,a council can agree to informally follow the rules while conducting meetings. An informal application of the rules,together with the common sense of councilmembers, may be the only guidelines many councils need in order to conduct their business in an orderly manner. If a controversial discussion is about to occur,the mayor or a councilmember could move to adopt more formal rules for that particular discussion. Issue: Should the PRC Bylaws be updated to include more procedural guidelines, i.e. how the agenda is established,timeline requirements, etc? OR should a separate document be adopted that establishes procedural guidelines? Proposal Details: Pve include a new proposed Section 6 to the PRC bylaws that addresses the order of business, agenda and agenda materials. This section is taken from the City Council bylaws although the specific order of business was based off of previous PRC agendas. Options: In addition to establishing the order of business and deadlines for the agenda, the PRC should discuss if written policies on the following are needed: 1. Formal adoption of Robert's Rules of Order in the bylaws 2. Requirement that all agenda items be accompanied by a staff report and/or supplemental material to be distributed ahead of the meeting date to PRC members. 3. Specify that no action is taken on committee or chair reports. They are for informational purposes only. Any item requiring action, even if only advisory, should be a separate agenda item. 4. Require any project involving city expenditures to have bids gathered by staff before a recommendation is made to the City Council. City of Scandia Parks & Recreation Committee Bylaws Approved by the City Council June 19, 2012 Section 1. Name. The name of this Committee is the Scandia Parks and Recreation Committee, hereinafter called the SPRC. Section 2. Purpose. The purpose of the SPRC is to advise the Scandia City Council on all matters relating to a park and recreation program in the city, as described in Attachment A, Duties and Functions of the Scandia Park and Recreation Committee, approved by the City Council on February 20, 2007 and as may be amended by the Council from time to time. Section 3. Membership. The SPRC is made up of Scandia residents appointed by the City Council according to the requireinents of Section 8 of Ordinance No. 125. Section 4. Officers and Duties. The SPRC shall have a chair and vice-chair. The term of office shall be one year. Election of officers will be held at the first meeting of February of each year. Appointment of the chair and vice chair is subject to approval by the City Council. The duties of the officers and members are as follows: A. Chair 1. The chair shall organize, convene and chair all meetings of the SPRC. 2. The chair will set and prepare the agendas for meetings. 3. The chair will lead the development of a committee work plan, implementation of the long-range plan and list of annual priorities for approval by the Committee and by the City Council. 4. With the consent of the members and subject to approval by the City Council, the chair may create subcommittees and appoint SPRC members to those subcommittees. 5. The chair shall act as liaison between the City Council and the SPRC, reporting to the Council on activities as needed (quarterly,bimonthly etc.). 6. The chair shall coordinate the need for staff support of the SPRC with the City Admini strator. 7. The chair shall represent the Committee as needed in dealings with outside agencies and organizations on matters pertaining to Park and Recreation activities. B. Vice-Chair 1. The vice-chair shall act as an aide to the chair in fulfilling his/her duties as chair. 2. In the absence of the chair, the vice-chair shall assume the duties of the chair. C. General Membership Responsibilities. All SPRC Members are responsible to: 1. Attend and participate in regular and special meetings in order to carry out the mission and duties of the committee; 2. Express oneself, clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing, with tact, diplomacy and good judginent; 3. Establish and maintain effective public relations when representing the Committee; 4. Have an understanding that they represent all Scandia residents and inake recommendations on their behalf, to the best of their ability; and 5. Participate in any subcommittees to which they may be appointed. 6. If a member fails to attend meetings, fails to fulfill their responsibilities, or violates these bylaws, the SPRC may recommend that the City Council replace the member. Section 5. Meetings. A. Regular Meetings. Regular meetings will be held on the first Monday of each calendar month at 7:00 p.m. Any regular meeting falling upon a holiday shall be held on the next following Monday at the same time and place, unless otherwise determined by a majority vote of the SPRC. Meetings shall be held at the Scandia Community Center, 14727 209tn Street North, unless notice of the alternate location is given to the members and the public at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. B. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Committee may be called at any time by the chair or the vice-chair, in the chair's absence with 72 hours advance notice to the public and to members. C. Quorum/ Voting. A majority of the number of officially appointed members shall constitute a quorum. A majority of the entire membership shall decide all issues. Conduct of ineetings shall be based on Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 10`h Edition. D. Public meetings. Except as otherwise provided in the open meeting law, all SPRC meetings, including special or sub-committee meetings, shall be open to the public. Public notice of ineetings shall be given by posting committee agendas at the Community Center at least 72 hours priar to the meeting. E. Minutes of ineetings. Minutes of each SPRC meeting shall be prepared by the City Clerk or his/her designee and delivered to each member of the SPRC within 14 days of each meeting. At the next regular meeting following such delivery, Chair shall call for any additions or corrections. If there is no objection to a proposed addition or correction, it may be made without a vote of the SPRC. If there is an objection, the SPRC shall vote upon the addition or corrections. If there are no additions or corrections, the minutes shall stand approved. Section 6. (�rder of Business. A. . Order established. Each regular meeting of the SPRC shall convene at the tiine and place appointed. SPRC business shall be conducted in the followin�order: 1. Call to Order 2. Public Foruin 3. A�prove A eg nda 4. Approve Minutes 5. Committee Reports 6. Old Business 7. New Business 8.Items for next a e� nda 9. Adjournment. B. Var�g order. The order of business may be varied bv the presiding officer. C. Agenda. The clerk shall prepare an a�enda of business for each regular SPRC meeting and file a co_pv in the office of the clerk not later than five calendar davs before the meetin .� The a�enda shall be prepared in accordance with the order of business and copies shall be delivered to each SPRC member and posted at the communitvi center as far in advance of the meetin�as time for preparation will permit. No item of business shall be considered unless it appears on the a�nda far the meetin o�pproved for addition to the a�enda by a majoritv vote of the SPRC members present. D. A�enda materials. The clerk shall see that at least one cop ��of printed materials relating to a�enda items is available to the public in the meetin�room while the SPRC considers their subject matter. The a�enda items shall not be considered unless this provision is complied with. This section does not a�ply to materials that are classified as other than public under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act or materials from closed meetin�s. Section 7. Amendments. These bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the SPRC by a majority vote of the membership, provided that notice of the amendment has been given to all members in writing one regular meeting prior to the meeting at which the amendment will be voted. These bylaws and amendments thereto are subject to approval by the City Council.