by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Should Sartell enlist the services of an outside, independent mediator to help city staff and the city council set and meet goals?
That was a topic raised at the Dec. 8 council meeting by council member Amy Braig-Lindstrom. She noted almost two years ago, the council voted unanimously to do just that – seek an outside mediator – but that nothing happened since that agreement. Braig-Lindstrom said the council should vote to rescind that old resolution and then vote again for a renewed resolution to hire a mediator.
“I keep waiting for it to happen,” she said.
Other cities, including St. Cloud, do just that – get input from outside mediators to help set and achieve goals, Braig-Lindstrom noted. A mediator, she said, could help the city every two years with goal-planning.
“It’s the best way to grow,” she said.
Council member Sarah Jane Nicoll said she agrees the resolution should be rescinded but the second issue (to hire a mediator) would best be discussed at a meeting in the new year, when a newly constituted city council meets. The new council will include newly elected Pat Lynch, a former council member, and Nicoll, who will be mayor.
The council then voted 4-1 (with Steven Hennes dissenting) to rescind the old motion and to discuss hiring a mediator at an early meeting in 2015.
