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<br />City of Arden Hills <br />Economic Development Commission April 1, 2015 <br /> <br />Page 1 of 1 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />DATE: April 1, 2015 EDC Agenda Item 4.B <br /> <br />TO: Economic Development Commission Chair and Commissioners <br /> <br />FROM: Jill Hutmacher, Community Development Director <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Open Meeting Law <br /> <br /> <br />Requested Action <br /> <br />Given that the EDC has some new Commissioners, it is appropriate to review the Minnesota <br />open meeting law and its applicability to meetings and communication among EDC <br />Commissioners. <br /> <br />Discussion <br /> <br />The State of Minnesota has an open meeting law which requires that meetings of public bodies <br />must generally be open to the public. Under the Minnesota open meeting law, all City Council <br />meetings and executive sessions must be open to the public with only a few exceptions. The <br />open meeting law also requires meetings of any committee, subcommittee, board, department, or <br />commission of a public body to be open to the public. For example, the governing bodies of <br />local public pension plans, housing and redevelopment authorities, economic development <br />authorities, and City-created corporations are subject to the open meeting law. <br /> <br />The League of Minnesota Cities has published a handbook for Minnesota cities. The section on <br />the open meeting law is attached. Some of the key points to remember in terms of conducting <br />EDC business are: <br /> Avoid discussions involving a quorum or more of EDC members either personally or <br />electronically (phone, emails, etc.). This includes serial discussions where one EDC <br />member talks (or sends an email) to another and so forth. <br /> Avoid non-meeting discussions with applicants for subsidies, transactions, or land use <br />approvals. <br /> Meet only after providing the required public notice of special meetings. <br />