05-15-23-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 15, 2023 11 Mayor Grant noted it wasn't voted down, it was voted meaningless because of when it would be scheduled. He felt they were having this discussion because someone lost an election. Any councilmember should be able to put an item on an agenda. A couple of emails from Councilmember Fabel weren't well written and on one occasion the City Administrator was confused about which agenda it should be on. Mayor Grant stated he himself was confused about what agenda it should be on but both items were ultimately included on the agenda. He felt the councilmembers should be able to put an item on the agenda whether the rest of the Council is fully on board or not. As a council they should be discussed and accepted or rejected. They were elected to represent the people, not to thwart other councilmembers on a 3-2 vote. There will be things on agendas they may not be in favor of but they shouldn't be trying to thwart the will of the council, other councilmembers or the mayor. Councilmember Monson said she would like to see a more formal process. She liked the idea of items going to the city administrator the Tuesday before, and to make sure the item is an actionable item. She thought the TCAAP open house would have been a perfect discussion for a work session. No one was thwarting anybody, there was a different council and three have a different preference on how to set an agenda. She thought it was not uncommon to have a deadline for an item so staff didn't have to scramble at the end. Councilmember Rousseau felt they need to move forward past negative comments like "thwarting" or about somebody losing an election. Mayor Grant agreed that a deadline is a good idea. His comment involving thwarting was based on Councilmember Fabel's comment that items should go on the agenda based upon a council majority. Councilmember Fabel stated that what he said was an additional item the day of the meeting should require the majority of the council at the meeting. Mayor Grant said that the practice of pulling consent items to discussion items is recognized because someone may have a reason to pull it. Councilmember Holden asked why pulling off consent should be any different, if they have questions they have ample time to follow up with staff. She would like a definition for "actionable". For example, being in favor or not of an open house was actionable to her. Councilmember Fabel said actionable is something that would require a vote to make a decision. Discussion items are what they do at work sessions. Councilmember Holden said so if they want an open house for TCAAP, the answer would be yes or no and is actionable. Councilmember Fabel replied it could be, if there was a certain date you wanted an open house on it would be actionable. Councilmember Holden said then the game is if you're willing to do it that day or not and it gets voted down.