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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – APRIL 18, 2016 13 Mayor Grant stated the City of Victoria was recently sued pertaining to the Open Meeting Law. He said the Plaintiff prevailed in that lawsuit and the City’s Councilmembers were fined. He reiterated the importance of adhering to the Open Meeting Law. A discussion ensued regarding Open Meeting Law. 2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND STAFF UPDATES Mayor Grant requested that if a Councilmember would like to propose an item for the agenda, they forward their request directly to him instead of making their request during Council Comments. He also indicated that if City staff wants to propose an item for the agenda, they should present it directly to the City Administrator. Councilmember Holmes asked how Mayor Grant would prefer to receive notification of agenda item requests. Mayor Grant stated he would prefer to receive the requests via email. Councilmember Wicklund asked for clarification as to whether this would apply to both work session and regular City Council meetings. Mayor Grant stated this would apply to any meeting. Acting Public Works Director Anderson said that during Council comments, if a Councilmember talks about a problem or solution and a discussion ensues between the Councilmembers, it can be difficult for staff to determine if any follow-up or action is required by staff. Councilmember Holden stated she does not think staff should be receiving direction as a result of Council comments. Mayor Grant gave an example about a recent meeting in which rental licensing was discussed (versus rental registration) and staff questioned whether they should be pursuing rental licensing. He then said that instead of having a discussion about rental licensing, the item should have been placed on a work session agenda for formal discussion. He noted that at times, comments have become more than just straightforward comments. Acting Public Works Director Anderson indicated that at the staff meeting that occurs on Tuesdays following Council meetings, time is generally spent trying to discern which Council comment requires an action and how staff should respond. The Council agreed to “self-police” and be more clear and concise with their comments. Councilmember Holmes stated that she would like to see staff use out of office replies for emails and also change their phone messages when they are out of the office for whatever reason. She asked if this was a policy.