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City Council Minutes Page 9 <br />February 16, 2021 <br />----------------------------- <br />Councilmember Westgaard noted it’s nice to have some continuity because it takes <br />time to learn everything. <br /> <br />Councilmember Christianson stated term limit are a good idea. It’s clear and concise <br />and you still have continuity, and are getting new people in. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz stated he is not in favor of term limits and the process should stay as it <br />is if Council is not happy with the proposed changes. <br /> <br />Councilmember Westgaard stated he is not opposed to the current process but <br />would like to do the interviews at a separate meeting from the appointments. <br /> <br />Council concurred on the separate meetings for interviews and appointments. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wagner suggested turning this back to the commissions and asking <br />their opinions about how they feel the appointment process has been, as a volunteer, <br />do you think they should have unending time as a member and would it be helpful to <br />have turnover on the commissions. <br /> <br />Council directed staff to get feedback from the advisory boards and report back to <br />Council. <br /> <br />9.6 Street Impact Fee Legislation <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz presented the staff report. He asked Councilmember Christianson to <br />discuss his recent testimony at the legislature. <br /> <br />Councilmember Christensen stated he contacted staff to ask about process for <br />tracking legislation. He stated his Council packets only show League of Minnesota <br />Cities (LMC) point of view and no other viewpoints. He stated he was going to have <br />someone present another viewpoint at tonight’s meeting, but they were not able to <br />make it. He stated the language for this legislation is vague and as he dug into it, he <br />was not in support. He expressed concern with future unknown impacts of this fee. <br />He had an opportunity to express his views to the legislature and utilized it. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz stated Council prides itself on being open and transparent. He stated <br />the Council voted 5-0 to support LMC’s position by adopting a resolution to support <br />infrastructure accountability and he felt Councilmember Christianson should have <br />informed Council he would be testifying in opposition. <br /> <br />Councilmember Christianson stated he disclosed he was a Councilmember for Elk <br />River but was speaking on his own behalf and not as a representative of Council. <br />He stated there is a short timeframe to review packet material and they are only <br />provided one viewpoint. He questioned how Council can make an informed decision <br />when they don’t see other viewpoints of an argument. He stated he took it upon <br />himself to do extra research as more information became available. <br /> <br /> <br />