Charter commission seeks to add four members

Talk about it

Red Wing Charter Commission is looking to add to its ranks and is redefining its nomination process.

The commission came to a rough consensus Wednesday that it would like to add at least four members. The commission currently has seven members, but may have up to 15.

"There's some interesting issues" that the body examines, Commissioner Kent Speight said. "We could use some dissenting voices."

The Charter Commission is charged with examining and amending Red Wing's city charter. The charter outlines the roles and responsibilities of the city and its bodies.

Chairperson Evan Brown agreed with Speight, saying, "We're talking about things that need a broad forum."

Commissioners said they didn't want their body to become too large and seemed to agree that expanding to 15 members would become cumbersome.

Nominations

In the past, Red Wing's mayor has nominated charter commission members. State statute, however, says the city council or the charter commission itself is charged with that role.

"I got a feeling we've operated for however many years with a nomination process that wasn't exactly in line with state statutes," Brown said.

The confusion likely came about because Red Wing's charter states the mayor shall nominate people to boards and commissions, city officials said. The charter commission is a different beast, however, because it is founded on state statutes.

The commissioners said Wednesday that they would take it upon themselves to search for two new members and asked that the city council find two other potential members.

Regardless of who nominates potential members, a district court judge ultimately approves nominees, according to state statute.

In the end, how many members are added will come down to how interested people are in joining, commissioners said.

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