City names Charter Commission

The New Prague City Council selected members for the City Charter Commission at its Tuesday, Sept. 3, meeting. The council chose seven residents from a list of 13 names. The seven people will now be contacted about serving on the commission. Two members of the council were also chosen to serve on the group.

            Members of the charter commission meet once a year to study the city’s charter and propose improvements. The commission must also file an annual report with a District Court Judge.

            Besides choosing the members, the council also had to set up how long each members appointment would last. Of the initial appointments, half the members plus one will serve two-year terms with the remainder serving full four-year terms. After that, the judge appoints new members every two years.

            Residents on the list were Paul Flick, Kay Wilcox, Jim Kratochvil, Bruce Wolf, Nathan Smithson, Maggie Bass, Mary Klimp, Steve Frost, Brad Carlson, Kristy Mach, Matt Goldade, Ben Bartusek with Mayor Chuck Nickolay adding Larry Schoenecker during the meeting.

            City Administrator Mike Johnson suggested the council add two alternates after the seven members had been chosen.

            The council discussed how to choose the seven members. Johnson suggested they each pick one member and then pick the final two as a council. The seven chosen were Flick, Wilcox, Kratochvil, Bass, Klimp, Carlson and Bartusek. The consensus on the council members were Pat Scripture and Shawn Ryan as they expressed interest in serving.

            Members of the commission who will serve two years are Flick, Kratochvil, Klimp, Bartusek and Ryan. Wilcox, Bass, Carlson and Scripture will serve four years.

            After city staff has verified each person is willing to serve, the city attorney will prepare a resolution for the council to adopt. Once adopted it will be submitted to the District Court Judge for formal appointment.