HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999 [11] Nov 10
City of St. Joseplt
Special Working Meeting
11110/99,4:00 PM
J>age 3653
November 10, 1999
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1. Call to Order. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council and the City of St.
Joseph met on Thursday, November 10,1999 at 4:00 PM in theSt. Joseph City Hall.
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Members Present: MayorKenri1!th J:'AiemenzfC'oi,M)ci1m:eJþ>ber,60ry Ehlert, Council
member Bob Loso, Council nîembe~ Mðiy'Niedénfùer and ~u\1,cil member Ken Twit, and
Clerk-Administrator Cari Schmiât¡+;·',"~' ',' I,'
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2. Personnel Manual- Schmidt stated that as most of the Council was already aware, the City
Employees have filed a petition with AFSCME requesting union status: 'As<\ result ofthe
petition, the'bureauof'mediatiol'tservices has isstJed'a maintenance of ståtus quo order in
regards to 'à:lrjJeì'SOI'iiiel'issues!¡, Schmidt stated that she would keep the Council informed as
she recewes'Ii1ð1-è'1hformation on the status. ' '
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3. Police ChiefRecruitlllent - Schmidt stated that the closing date forthe position is '
November 15, but that the applications will not be reviewed for a few dáysafterward, as post
marked applications will be accepted. The purpose ofthis discussion is todiscuss whether
the Cduncil wants to conduct the interviews themselves or have a panel of interviewers
includilÌg'C(Jmmunity members. ". "~ti.',
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Niedenfuer req¡¡e$¡eâ·t~åÙtie 'êounÇilshoWd consider involving the Colleges in the hiring
process: perhaps"nÖt on the hiririgþanel butinll consoltati()MI)~hiJ~p~jAI!hough this may be
a toucl1Y issue, the Colleges and tfìeCity'are workili!ítogether to try to šfartll new
rel~ti'onship. Ehlëit ágreed~tating.t~at the SCh'oOI~ Sh'ou!ç!~~$ inv'o,~~~.,sR~ehow.:.¡,
Twit stated that he W'ould like to see the City Council ch'o'ose the candkJate. Ttrè~lIeges
haven't asked f'or the City's opinion in anY'one that they've hired. Twit w'ouldþe in favor,
h'owever, of having an outside individual from the law enf'orcement ·c6rti;¡¡8MÍ9liiê1~·with.the
interviews. ' ,
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Schmidt stated that she could-contact another community to see if they would be willing t'o
come and help with the search. A community like Nortflfield would be able to relate to a I'ot of
similar issues, e.g. the studentlresident relationships. '. . ",
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Schmidt stated that a former Police officer, R'ob Schwegel, expressed intèrest tôsóme 'ofthe
officers in helping with the hiring ofthe P'osition. Loso stated that there may be a questi'on
from S'ome of the residents if we use Rob. There were some contr'oversial items that
happened in the City when this individual was employed by the City. L'oSO stated that
someone from the law enforcement community should be inv'olved. It is his opini'on
that the Council should cho'ose the top three candidates and then get input from community
members.
Twit suggested that Bill Lorenz might be a g'o'od individual to participate in the interview
process. He could provide a hist'orical perspective 'of the City and the Police Department. He
als'o suggested that S'ome'one from the Sheriff's department, like Jim K'ostreba could be a
great asset in the search.
Twit suggested that we use the same process that we did f'or the Administrat'or search. We
could have a luncheon where the community could have some interacti'on with the
candidates. Schmidt suggested that the C'ouncil then als'o have some sort 'of follow up with
the community members there to get their feedback on the candidates. Niedenfuer agreed
with this idea and said that was something missing from the process in the administrator
search. She talked to the community members individually, but an 'organized mel!lihg might
be helpful.
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J>age 3654
,NoveD1ber 10, 1999
Schmidt stated that if the Council was in agreement then, that she would compile the
applications for the Council to review. She would also get a list together of possible
individuals from the law enforcement community that could help with the search. She would
also get a list of prices from companies or individuals that could potentially do the background
investigation of the employees. The Council agreed.
4. Miscellaneous and Announcement Items - Niedenfuer announced that there is a seminar
in Brainerd on December 9 on E-commerce entitled "Unlocking the door to Electronic
Commerce.' She asked that Schmidt distribute the brochure at the Chamber meeting on
Tuesday and indicated that someone from City staff should attend. E-commerce is becoming
a great way to revitalize downtown areas in small towns.
Twit asked what was being done about the two properties that the City knows have more
than the allotted renters living there. Schmidt stated that she would speak to the City
Attorney about the grandfather clause about 5 unrelated people living together, and see what
could be done with these tenants. She would speak to Scherer about holding a hearing on
this issue sometime in December.
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Hiemenz reported that there are a number of initiatives relating to affordable housing in St.
Cloud that St. Joseph should be active in. Loso reported that he attended a meeting in St.
Cloud on the topic. St. Cloud is receiving grants due to its status as an entitlement City. St.
Joseph has been asked to participate, because in theory, we will benefit from their initiatives.
A committee has been formed to address the issue and to re-WlÎte an existing policy.
5. Adjourn - Logo made a motion to adjourn at 4:45 PM. Ehlert seconded the motion and it
passed unanimously.
Respectfùlly Submitted,
Cari Schmidt
Clerk/Administrator
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