by Dennis Dalman
Sartell city staff will check into a suggestion to expand the city council to seven members, not that the council plans to expand.
The suggestion was made by council member Amy Braig-Lindstrom at the Nov. 23 council meeting. She said with the rapid developments on the south side of Sartell, maybe the council should consider forming three wards: South, East, West. The other positions could be at-large members voted for by all city residents.
Currently, council member David Peterson is the only east-side resident on the council.
The council seemed to concur that having seven members on the council would not necessarily improve representation for residents because Sartell is not a large metro city.
However, all council members agreed to have city staff check into such a configuration and whether such a thing is even allowable for a city the size of Sartell.