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043002 CC Reg Min . . . CITY OF SHOREWOOD CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, APRIL 30, 2002 5755 COUNTRY CLUB ROAD COUNCIL CHAMBERS 7:00 P.M. MINUTES 1. CONVENE CITY COUNCIL MEETING Mayor Love called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. A. Roll Call Present: Mayor Love; Councilmembers Garfunkel, Lizee, Turgeon, and Zerby; Administrator Dawson; Deputy Clerk Panchyshyn Absent: None B. Review Agenda Without objection from the Council, Mayor Love proceeded with the only item on the Agenda for this evening. 2. CONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARING ON THE CONSIDERATION OF ESTABLISHING CITY ELECTION WARDS AND PRECINCTS A. Consideration of Establishing Election Wards Mayor Love opened the Public Hearing on the Consideration of Establishing City Election Wards and Precincts at 7:02 P.M., noting this was a continuation of a Public Hearing from April 8 and 22, 2002. Administrator Dawson reviewed the option Council had indicated preference for incorporating ward elections. This option included at-large elections with two-year terms for the 2002 election. In 2004, ward elections would be held for all four wards with terms staggered. He explained Wards 1 and 3 would have two-year terms and Wards 2 and 4 would hold four-year terms. He also explained the deadline for this decision was today should Council prefer to begin the Ward elections in 2002. Seeing no one present in the audience wishing to address this matter, Mayor Love requested Council discuss the issue in effort to come to a decision. Councilmember Zerby explained he had done a great deal of thinking about the issue of wards and had changed his mind several times. He stated he was in favor of establishing a ward system of representation for a number of reasons. First, he stated he believed it provided increased opportunity for election participation as it may decrease the number of competitors. He also noted there would be increased awareness of issues as a result. Further, he believed it preserved the neighborhood identity of an area. He commented he was unaware of certain areas of Shorewood when he had been campaigning, and he now believed these areas would be getting recognition. He also stated he had not had a great deal of recognition as a Councilmember throughout the City, as he believed people were unfamiliar with their elected officials. He noted he would love to hear comments and questions from City residents regarding any issue of concern. He thought wards would help people to feel more attached to their neighborhood area and ward representative. . . . REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES April 30, 2002 Page 2 of 4 Councilmember Lizee stated she also favored the ward system of representation. She believed it encouraged the political process from all areas of the City. She stated a total at-large system, combined with the geography of the City, seemed rife for division. In addition, she believed the "big picture" would be overlooked when single issues would drive elections. Councilmember Garfunkel stated he respectfully disagreed for a number of reasons. He believed the ward system would limit candidacy, as opportunity became limited to the area for council members expiring term. Also, within any election cycle currently, every person had a vote. With the ward system, only 50% of the residents would be allowed to vote at a time. He also stated people would tend to focus on a single area, rather than the City as a whole, and this would not add to the openness of the process. He believed strength could be found in the at-large system in that all elected officials needed to be aware of the issues concerning all the residents. He believed the ward system to be limiting rather than expanding the electoral process. He also thought people might be reluctant to run against a candidate they believed was doing a good job and was known in their neighborhood area. Overall, he thought the ward system of representation to be a limited participatory system. Councilmember Zerby stated he agreed with some of Councilmember Garfunkel's points; however, he noted a four-year period was not a great deal of time to wait to be able to run for a ward seat, as there were many other ways to get involved with community leadership and have influence on local government. He believed a ward system was the best decision at this time for the City, and also believed it an important campaign promise to follow through on. Councilmember Turgeon stated she believed the City was too small for a ward system. She noted nothing unique about the geography, and noted there would be less choice for candidates to run. She stated wards provided incumbent protection. She stated the factor most concerning her in this decision was that it was opposed by the public as shown by the numerous comments stated such. She believed a ward system seemed as though the local government was trying to legislate a voter's right, choice, and participation. She also thought the Council was treating this issue differently than other projects in not listening to the residents' wishes. She stated there was not a high level of support for this system and wondered why the Council felt it important to change the current method. She stated she had reservations as to whether candidates would run to fill all ward seats as the City currently had difficulty attracting and retaining Commissioners for various City Commissions. She stated she could not support the action to move to a ward system of representation. If there were a groundswell of support from residents to that end, she would be willing to reexamine the issue. She cited the declining number of people in attendance at the Public Hearings on this matter to show the lack of interest in the topic. She thought the citizenry would be present if a change was warranted. Mayor Love stated he had heard anecdotal support and concerns for the ward system of representation. Woven throughout those comments, he had heard problems with City representation. He also stated he thought the ward system was beneficial, and an at-large system somewhat confusing. He thought the ward system would provide an electoral contest of ideas and issues rather than name recognition. Further, he believed the four-ward system would provide a better sense of community identity than the current system. He stated he had continually been in support of the ward system throughout discussions held in the past four years, believing it to be a positive step forward. Mayor Love also commented people may have to be recruited to run for an electoral position, which was no different than the current practice. He believed Council heard commonality to concerns regarding the best system of representation, but disagreed on solutions to those concerns. Councilmember Turgeon stated she respectfully disagreed with the comment regarding numerous discussions over the past four years. She noted four times where the issue of wards had surfaced in the . . . REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES April 30, 2002 Page 3 of 4 minutes. More discussions had followed in the last few months however, she noted. Councilmember Zerby commented he had been questioned about the timeline for implementation of a ward system when he ran for office in 1998. He stated many opportunities were available for discussion prior to the current consideration of the issue. Councilmember Garfunkel expressed concern for more education on the issue being made to the residents. As he looked back over the past months of discussion, he noted, until recently, logistics of implementation had been the focus, rather than in-depth discussion of the issue. He did not think the advantages and disadvantages had been presented to the public at this time. Councilmember Zerby noted it had been a major issue of consideration for the past three and one half years he had been a Councilmember. Zerby moved, Lizee seconded, Approving ORDINANCE NO. 384, "An Ordinance Amending Chapter 106 of the City Code Relating to Municipal Elections." Councilmember Turgeon questioned whether questions had been answered regarding the percentage deviations within each ward area. Administrator Dawson responded that the City Attorney answered affirmatively Garfunkel moved, Turgeon seconded, to Amend the Ward Election Cycle to begin with the 2002 Elections. Councilmember Garfunkel commented that if the Council believed its efforts to have ward representation were what was best for the City, then he did not see the logic in waiting until the 2004 election as proposed. Mayor Love stated he would not support the amendment as he believed people needed time to become acquainted with the idea of ward elections and decide how best to get involved. Councilmember Garfunkel questioned what would have changed in two years' time to make people identify with their ward area. Councilmember Turgeon agreed. Mayor Love stated diversity existed within the community, and people needed to look forward to examine issues important to them. In addition, he explained, if the original motion were to pass this evening, he would recommend names be applied to ward areas, rather than numbers. Councilmember Zerby also stated if residents were opposed to a ward system, two years' time with at-large representation allowed them to get involved and work to make changes to that system. Mayor. Love. called for a vote on the amendment. It failed 2/3, with Lizee, Love, and Zerby dissenting. A vote on the Ordinance passed 3/2, with Turgeon and Garfunkel dissenting. B. Consideration of Establishing Election Precincts Administrator Dawson explained precinct boundaries were needed for each ward area. Polling locations within the precincts would need to be determined by June II, 2002. He explained adjusting the precinct boundaries allowed for more effective administration of elections. In addition, he cited a need for change in the boundaries due to increased population in various areas of the City. He further explained the ~ . . . .." REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES April 30, 2002 Page 4 of 4 precinct boundary map provided for five precincts within the City and would follow the ward boundaries established by Council earlier in the evening. Zerby moved, Garfunkel seconded, Adopting RESOLUTION NO. 02-037, "A Resolution Establishing Precinct Boundaries Within the City of Shorewood." Motion passed 5/0. 3. ADJOURN Lizee moved, Turgeon seconded, Adjourning the Regular City Council Meeting of April 30, 2002, at 7:44 P.M. Motion passed 5/0. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED, Sally Keefe, Recordinl! Secretary Woody Love, Mayor I awson, City Administrator