2008 04 18
AGENDA
CHANHASSEN SENIOR COMMISSION
FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2008
10:00 A.M. TO 11:30 P.M.
CHANHASSEN SENIOR CENTER
1. Approval of agenda.
2. Approval of Minutes dated March 21, 2008.
3. Election of Officers.
4. Approval of By-Laws.
5. Arbor Day Volunteers Needed– May 3, 2008.
6. Transportation.
7. Marketing.
8. Senior Commission Comments.
Adjournment
Next meeting: May 16, 2008
MEMORANDUM
TO: Chanhassen Senior Commission
FROM: Sharmin Al-Jaff, Senior Planner
DATE: April 18, 2008
SUBJ: Staff Report
Senior Commission Election of Officers:
The Senior Commission must elect a
chair and a vice chair every year during their April Meeting.
Approval of By-Laws
: The By-Laws remain unchanged.
Updated Chanhassen Senior Commission Contact List:
Attached is a list of
the current Senior Commission members. If there are any corrections, please
forward them to my attention.
Arbor Day Volunteers
: Arbor Day celebrations will fall on May 3, 2008. The City
needs volunteers to assist with the sale of trees from 9:30 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.
Senior Commission photograph
: Staff will take a new photograph of the Senior
Commission to keep the City records updated.
SENIOR COMMISSION
CITY OF CHANHASSEN
BY-LAWS
The following by-laws are adopted by the Chanhassen Senior Commission to facilitate the
performances of its duties and the exercising of its functions as a Commission established by the City
Council pursuant to the provision of Subdivision 1, Section 462.354, Minnesota State Statutes
annotated.
Section 1 - Duties and Responsibilities
1.1 The Senior Commission shall serve as an advisory body to the City Council in addressing the
special needs of the people over 55 living in Chanhassen. All final decisions are to be made by
the City Council.
1.2 The Senior Commission will consider and make recommendations to the City Council
regarding the special needs of seniors in the areas of transportation, information and assistance,
independent living in the home, social and recreational programs, senior centers and senior
housing, but will not be limited to these issues.
1.3 The Senior Commission will make recommendations to the City Council regarding funding for
special services to be provided for the citizens over 55.
1.4 The Senior Commission may propose needs studies of this age group where necessary and
make recommendations to the City Council according to the results.
1.5 The Senior Commission will coordinate services with other governments and private agencies
for this age group.
1.6 Public Hearings. The Senior Citizen Commission shall hold public meeting on issues regarding
special needs of seniors in areas of transportation, information and assistance, independent
living in the home, social and recreational programs, senior centers and senior housing, but will
not be limited to these issues.
1.7 Establishment of Sub-Committees. The Senior Commission may, as they deem appropriate,
establish special sub-committees comprised of their own members and other citizens from the
community.
Section 2 - Meetings
2.1 Times and Place. Regular meetings of the Commission shall be held on the third Friday of
every other month (February, April, June, August, October and December) at 10:00 a.m. at the
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Senior Center, 7700 Market Boulevard, unless otherwise directed by the Chairperson, in which
case, at least 24 hours notice will be given to all members. Regular meetings shall have a
curfew of 12:00 p.m., which may be waived at the discretion of the Chairperson. All
unfinished business will be carried over to the next regular meeting. When the regular meeting
day falls on a legal holiday, there shall be no meeting.
2.2 Special Meetings. Special meetings shall be held upon call by the Chairperson, or in her/his
absence, the Vice-Chairperson, or any other member with the concurrence of four other
members of the Commission and with at least 48 hours of notice to all members on the first
Friday of the month. Notice of all special meetings shall be posted on the official city bulletin
board.
2.3 Attendance. The Senior Commission members shall attend not less than 70% of all regular and
special meetings held during a given calendar year and shall not be absent from two
consecutive meetings. Failure to meet this minimum attendance requirement will result in
removal from the commission.
Section 3 - Commission Composition - Terms and Vacancies
3.1 Composition. The Senior Commission shall consist of seven voting members. Seven members
shall be appointed by the City Council and may be removed by the Council.
3.2 Terms and Vacancies. The City Council shall appoint seven members to the commissionfor
terms of three years. No member shall serve more than three (3) consecutive terms, not to
exceed nine (9) years. Vacancies during the term shall be filled by the Council for the
unexpired portion of the term. Every appointed member shall, before entering upon the charge
of his/her duties take an oath that he/she will faithfully discharge the duties of his/her office. All
members shall serve without compensation.
3.3 Quorum. Four Senior Commission members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business. Whenever a quorum is not present, no final or official action shall be taken at such
meeting.
3.4 No two members of the same household may serve on the Senior Commission at the same
time.
Section 4 - Organization
4.1 Election of Officers. The first meeting in April of each year, the Senior Commission shall hold
an organizational meeting. At this meeting, the Commission shall elect from its membership a
chairperson and vice-chairperson. This shall be done by voice vote. Vice-Chairperson shall be
elected from the remaining members by the same proceeding. If the Chairperson retires from
the Senior Commission before the next regular organizational meeting, the Vice-Chairperson
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shall be Chairperson. If both Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson retire, new officers shall be
elected at the next regular meeting. If both Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson are absent from
a meeting, the Commission shall elect a temporary Chairperson by voice vote. The newly
elected officers will begin serving their seats in the month of May.
4.2 Duties of Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson. The Chairperson, or in his/her absence, the Vice-
Chairperson, shall preside at meetings, appoint committees from it's own membership and
perform other such duties as ordered by the Commission.
The Chairperson shall conduct the meeting so as to keep it moving as rapidly and efficiently as
possible and shall remind members, witnesses and petitioners to preserve order and decorum
and to keep comments to the subject at hand. The Chairperson shall not move for action but
may second motions.
Section 5 - Procedure
5.1 Procedure. Parliamentary procedure governed by Robert's Rules of Order Revised shall be
followed at all regular meetings. At special work session meetings, and when appropriate, the
Commission may hold group discussions not following any set parliamentary procedures
except when motions are before the Commission.
5.2Commission meeting shall follow an agenda prepared by staff.
Section 6 - Public Hearings
6.1 Purpose of Hearings. The purpose of a hearing is to collect information and facts in order for
the Commission to develop a rational senior issue recommendation for the City Council.
6.2 Hearing Procedure. At hearings, the following procedures shall be followed in each case:
a. The Chairperson shall state the case to be heard.
b. The Chairperson shall call upon staff to present the staff report. Required reports from
each city department shall be submitted to the Senior Commission before each case is
heard.
c. The Chairperson shall ask the applicant to present his/her case.
d. Interested persons may address the Commission, giving information regarding the
particular proposal.
e. Petitioners and the public are to address the Chairperson only, not staff or other
commissioners.
f. There shall be no dialogue among the Commissioners, giving information regarding the
particular proposal. (The Senior Commission members may ask questions of persons
addressing the Commission in order to clarify a fact, but any statement by a member for
any other purpose then to question may be ruled out of order.)
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g. After all new facts and information have been brought forth, the hearing shall be closed
and interested persons shall not be heard again. Upon completion of the hearing on
each case, the Senior Commission shall discuss the item at hand and render a decision.
The Senior Commission, if it so desires, may leave the public record open for written
comments for a specified period of time.
h. The Chairperson shall have the responsibility to inform all of the parties of their rights
of appeal on any decision or recommendation of the Senior Commission.
6.3 Schedule. At meetings where more than one hearing is scheduled, every effort shall be made to
begin each case at the time set on the agenda, but in no case may an item be called for hearing
prior to the advertised time listed on the agenda.
Section 7 - Miscellaneous
7.1 Senior Commission Discussion. Matters for discussion which do not appear on the agenda
may not be considered and discussed by the Commission unless, when initiated and presented
by the staff and be placed at the end of the agenda.
7.2 Suspension of Rules. The Commission may suspend any of these rules by unanimous vote of
the members present.
7.3 Amendments. Amendments of these by-laws may be made at any regular or special meeting of
the Senior Commission but only if scheduled on the meeting agenda in advance of the meeting.
7.4 Review. At the first meeting in Aprilof each year, these by-laws shall be read and adopted by
the Senior Commission.
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Adopted this 18 day of April 2008.
Chairperson
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