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City of Gem Lake City Council Meeting minutes, July 18, 2017 Page 1 <br /> <br />City of Gem Lake <br /> City Council Meeting – July 18, 2017 <br />Meeting Minutes <br /> <br />Mayor Uzpen called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Councilmembers Artig-Swomley, Kuny and <br />Lindner were present. Others in attendance: Ben Johnson, Planning Commission Chair, Justin Gese, <br />City Engineer. Citizens: sign in sheet not available. <br /> <br />July 18, 2017, Agenda <br />A motion was made by Councilmember Artig-Swomley, seconded by Councilmember Lindner to approve <br />the agenda for July 18, 2017, motion passed. Agenda approved. <br /> <br />Minutes <br />Councilmember Artig-Swomley made a motion, seconded by Councilmember Lindner to approve the <br />minutes for June 20, 2017, motion passed. Minutes approved. <br /> <br />Committee Reports <br />Ben Johnson, Planning Commission chair stated there was no quorum present for the July 5, 2017, <br />Planning Commission meeting. <br /> <br />Old Business <br />Newsletter ideas –Profile on new planning commission member Leonard Cacioppo, Dan Marier <br />retirement from Planning Commission, data on recycling, buffers in city zones and how they came to be, <br />VLAWMO buffers, information soliciting volunteers for the planning commission and city council. Next <br />edition will be for August/September. <br /> <br />New Business <br />Councilmember Artig-Swomley on Leadership <br />Councilmember Artig-Swomley gave an overview concerning leadership going forward for the City of <br />Gem Lake. The past council meeting was particularly difficult on the council, with several members <br />wishing to resign and two councilmembers received threatening letters. Of the 47 calls she received, <br />only one person wanted to serve in a leadership capacity for the city. Thank you, Len Cacioppo for <br />volunteering to be on the planning commission. How did the council find themselves in this situation? <br />Rumors were started and spread to citizens even before information was received on the proposal. <br />Some of the rumors heard, “this is Mayor Bob’s park, the field isn’t really wet, the buffer was created for <br />the Mayor, Justin Short is in on this.” This became very personal and if that was the goal, mission <br />accomplished. What could we have done about this? Some citizens’ who attended the planning <br />commission or city council meeting hadn’t been to one meeting in 10 years, whereas the council has <br />meet over 400 times in that 10 year period. What was attempted to communicate to the citizens via the <br />planning commission and the City Council was that if the city purchased the land, the city would be able <br />to control the density of this property. The city had at the time three developers and still has three <br />developers interesting in developing the land. Citizens need to keep in mind whatever happens with the <br />land on County Road E will affect large land tracts in the City of Gem Lake, the Hoeschler’s and Kunin’s <br />property, the golf course. Citizens also are reminded that the City has to answer to the Met Council for <br />growth and development in the city. Another item that came up was the buffer on the land, where did