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RELEVANT LINKS: Lac Qui Parle-Yellow Bank Watershed Dist. v. Wollschlager, No. C6-96- 1023 (Minn. Ct. App. Nov. 12, 1996) (unpublished decision). Quast v. Knutson, 276 Minn. 340, 150 N.W.2d 199 (Minn. 1967). But the Minnesota Supreme Court has held that an attempted school district consolidation was fatally defective when the initiating resolution was adopted at a meeting that was not open to the public. III. Meeting procedures A. Citizen involvement Minn. Stat. § 13D.01, subd. 6. 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. Citizens must be able to hear the discussion at a meeting, and must be able to determine who votes for or against a motion. One copy of the agenda and of all materials made available to the council must be made available to the audience unless doing so would violate the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. Minn. Stat. § 412.191, subd. 2. Although anyone can attend council meetings, citizens cannot speak or otherwise participate in any discussions unless the mayor or the presiding officer recognizes them for this purpose. The decision to recognize speakers is usually up to the mayor or presiding officer, but the council can overrule this decision. The council can, through a motion, decide to hear one or more speakers from the audience. Participation in council meetings can be intimidating for the average citizen. Councils should make sure citizens are invited to participate when appropriate and listened to with courtesy. Individual councilmembers should not argue with citizens. Citizens attend council meetings to give information for the council to consider. Discussions or debates between individual councilmembers and citizens during council meetings is inappropriate and may reflect badly on the decision-making process. B. Recording and broadcast of meetings A.G. Op. 63a-5 (Dec. 4, 1972). The public may make an audio or videotape of an open meeting if doing so does not have a significantly adverse impact on the order of the meeting. The city council may not prohibit dissemination or broadcast of the tape. Minn. Stat. § 13.03, subd. 1. Minn. Stat. § 13.02, subd. 7. Cities may also choose to record council meetings. The recording is a government record that must be kept in compliance with the city’s record- retention policy. It must also be made available to the public if it contains public data. League of Minnesota Cities Handbook for Minnesota Cities 10/14/2013 Meetings, Motions, Resolutions, and Ordinances Chapter 7 | Page 22