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Regular City Council Meeting <br />Monday, August 8, 2016 <br />Page 25 <br />Councilmember Willmus stated he had no issue whether a NA was referred to as <br />"affiliated" ar"registered." Regarding boundaries, Councilmember Willmus <br />asked Mayor Roe if he saw any need for oversight or how to provide a realistic <br />guideline to avoid a boundary that may encompass the entire city or a good por- <br />tion of it, or even possibly extend beyond the city. <br />Mayor Roe recognized it may involve some guidelines, but he didn't think it neo- <br />essarily should be based on so many members per acre, and acknowledge that <br />people may identify in different ways and accept that. Mayor Roe suggested in- <br />cluding instructive language discouraging conflicts related to boundaries, but oth- <br />erwise didn't see any issues. <br />Regarding the statement that this NA idea had not been brought forward by the <br />public, Mayor Roe clarified that it definitely had been, and if not from the CEC, it <br />had been members of the public that got them thinking about it; and noted for- <br />mation of several other NAs over the last few years. <br />City Manager Trudgeon agreed with Mayor Roe, that prior to the creation of the <br />CEC, the Civic Engagement Task Force provided a recommendation to foster <br />NAs and brought that forward to the City Council, and subsequently turned it over <br />to the CEC with the goal of fostering more civic and community engagement. <br />Mr. Trudgeon noted this phase of the process was simply fleshing out the details. <br />Specific to boundaries, City Manager Trudgeon agreed it was a challenging issue, <br />and noted the City Council's discussion tonight mimicked those held by the CEC <br />and its subcommittee. Referencing the City of St. Louis Park's model with the <br />city pre-determining boundaries by map divisions, Mr. Trudgeon noted that had <br />become clear very quickly that it was not something the city was interested in do- <br />ing. Mr. Trudgeon suggested allowing those boundaries to be self-determined by <br />the NA, and spoke in support of a soft approval versus hard approval of their by- <br />laws. While the City Council may consider those boundaries, if requested to do <br />so, Mr. Trudgeon those boundaries may fall naturally. With the bylaws, Mr. <br />Trudgeon reported that the CEC felt it was important to have things set up proper- <br />ly for the NA to function and be successful, with the intent for rules of govern- <br />ance and the strong feeling that an annual meeting was required and open to the <br />public. While this language in Attachment B may be too harsh, Mr. Trudgeon <br />referenced and suggested the St. Louis Park "tool kit" and sample bylaws and <br />checklist for minimum criteria as a best practice to follow and the minimum sub- <br />mission to the city to be "registered.' <br />Mayor Roe agreed with that point, at a minimum to provide bylaws for a NA, but <br />not for City Council approval, and only as an administrative function for staff to <br />accept that registration and provide that registration on the city's website. Mayor <br />Roe opined that City Council Approval represented a whole level of politics, es- <br />