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2023-10-16
Agenda
Not posted
What was on the agenda.
Packet
Not posted
The supporting materials council reviewed.
One-line summary
The council accepted the agenda, discussed Sam Corns’ concerns about resident communication and complaint handling, and adjourned without taking further substantive action.
3 items as recorded in the packet and minutes.
1CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Pilon called the work session to order, the pledge was recited, roll call was taken, and the council accepted the agenda as presented.
The agenda was accepted as presented by a 5-aye motion.
2ADDRESS SAM CORNS CONCERNS
Sam Corns addressed the council about how residents can communicate with council members, how complaints are handled, and concerns about a prior complaint and septic-related issue. The council, administrator, planner, and prosecuting attorney discussed the complaint process, data privacy, staff and contractor roles, and why the prior complaint had been closed.
The minutes record discussion and no substantive motion on Mr. Corns' concerns.
3Adjournment
The council adjourned the work session.
A motion to adjourn was made and seconded, and the minutes state that the meeting was adjourned at 5:57 p.m.
What this meeting did about specific topics, organized by issue rather than by document.
Sam Corns resident complaint concerns
Sam Corns used the work session to ask how residents can have back-and-forth communication with the council outside the floor-item process, how complaints about staff or contractors are documented and handled, and why prior code and septic-related complaints had been resolved as they were. Council and staff explained that complaints should start with city staff, the administrator is notified and supervises staff and contractors, complaint forms have become more detailed, many complaint details are not shared with the complaining resident because of privacy and process limits, and the city normally relies on its professional staff and contractors. The council and staff told Mr. Corns that his complaint had been addressed and closed, including because the septic system was certified compliant by a licensed contractor.
Agenda: 2. Speakers: Sam Corns, Mayor Pilon, Council Member Alders, Council Member Rainville, Administrator Lehner, Planner Stockman, City Prosecuting Attorney Glaser.
Work-session procedure
The council opened the work session, accepted the agenda as presented, and later adjourned the meeting after the discussion with Sam Corns concluded.
Agenda: 1, 3. Motions: M1, M2. Speakers: Mayor Pilon, Council Member Breyen, Council Member Rainville.
2 motions on the record. Split votes are highlighted.
M1MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER BREYEN, SECONDED BY PILON TO ACCEPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED.
moved by Breyen, seconded by Pilon
M2MOTION TO ADJOURN BY COUNCIL MEMBER BREYEN, SECONDED BY RAINVILLE.
moved by Breyen, seconded by Rainville
When someone tried to remember earlier business, we cross-reference the corpus and write a short related-history note.
so before today actually I'm sorry before that last city council meting I was at on the 12 I didn't know anything about a request for Council action because that's never been told to me before I didn't know that that's how it worked
— Sam Corns
What this is about
Sam Corns recalled a prior council meeting where he learned about a request-for-council-action process and said he had not known that was how residents could seek council discussion.
The records show a partial match. At the October 16, 2023 City Council work session, Sam Corns addressed the council and said he understood the “Floor Item” process but wanted to know how residents could communicate with council members and how complaints were handled. The council then reviewed the complaint and communication process with him, including that residents may contact council members, complaints should go through city staff, the administrator is notified, and complaints are investigated and closed or enforced as appropriate. No formal vote on a “request for council action” process was recorded in those minutes. Related records also show that at the October 10, 2023 council meeting, council discussed “Sam Corns concerns and work session requested,” including that he wanted a meeting or “conversation” with council and did not want to pay the $500 fee associated with a work session. The records searched do not show a prior formal council decision specifically establishing or explaining a resident “request for council action” process to Mr. Corns.
one one specific instance that that comes to mind is um a year ago when you you yourself came out to my property for that Cod compliance issue
— Sam Corns
What this is about
Sam Corns recalled a prior code-compliance inspection at his property and the request he had made for a detailed description of what the city was looking for.
The records show related discussions about Sam Corns’ code-compliance concerns, but they do not specifically document a council member going to Mr. Corns’ property or a recorded request from him for a detailed written description of what the City was looking for during an inspection. At the October 10, 2023 City Council meeting, council discussed “Sam Corns concerns and work session requested,” describing the matter as a neighbor/code-enforcement complaint where steps had been followed and noting Mr. Corns wanted a meeting with council but did not want to pay the $500 work-session fee. No formal vote on the substance of the complaint is shown in the excerpt. At the October 16, 2023 work session, Mr. Corns addressed council about how residents communicate with council members and how complaints are handled. Council reviewed the complaint process, including that complaints are investigated, resolved or cited, and closed; that noncompliance can lead to citation and assessment to property taxes; and that Mr. Corns’ complaint had been closed because the resident he complained about was considered in compliance by the city administrator and code compliance officer/Planner Stockman. The agenda was accepted 5-0, but no separate formal action on Mr. Corns’ complaint is recorded.
we have since had a discussion about that at Council level and have agreed to be a little more inquisitive of the complainants to try to get specifics
— Planner Stockman
What this is about
Planner Stockman recalled that the council had previously discussed making complaints more specific before code-compliance follow-up.
The records I searched do not contain a prior Council discussion or decision matching Planner Stockman’s recollection about asking complainants for more specific information before code-compliance follow-up. The search results instead relate to City Planner review procedures for lot line adjustments and minor subdivisions in packets from December 23, 2025, February 24, 2026, and March 10, 2026, and do not address complaint intake or code-compliance complaint specificity.
we addressed this last year because we didn't agree with that concept even correct um and that's why we have have tightened that up to be more specific
— Mayor Pilon
What this is about
Mayor Pilon recalled that the council had already addressed the problem of vague complaint wording such as “items” in a prior discussion.
The records I searched do not contain a prior council decision matching Mayor Pilon’s recollection about tightening complaint wording to avoid vague terms such as “items.” The closest related record is from the March 24, 2026 Planning Commission materials, repeated in the April 28, 2026 packet, where Jeff Pilon discussed his support for Nowthen’s complaint-based approach to code enforcement. That record describes his general view that complaint-based enforcement encourages neighbor-to-neighbor communication, but it does not mention a prior council action, specific complaint form language, or a vote to require more specific wording.
I believe that that conversation and change in policy occurred in October of 22 so it was after this right so we can't take our new policy and make it look proactive to what was happening in July and August
— Council Member Rainville
What this is about
Council Member Rainville recalled that the complaint-policy change occurred in October 2022, after the earlier events being discussed.
The records I searched do not contain a prior decision matching Council Member Rainville’s recollection of a complaint-policy change in October 2022. The search results returned unrelated 2026 items, including appointments, community events, and agenda actions, but nothing about an October 2022 complaint-policy discussion or vote. Based on these results alone, I cannot confirm from the provided records whether the policy change occurred in October 2022 or whether it came after the July/August events being discussed.
we agreed that the process should be improved we made a process Improvement it went through in October of 2022 and our revise process is something generic comes in Scott's going to follow up
— Council Member Alders
What this is about
Council Member Alders recalled the October 2022 process improvement for generic complaints and described the revised practice of asking for specifics.
The records I searched do not contain a prior October 2022 decision or discussion matching Council Member Alders’ recollection about a process improvement for generic complaints or a revised practice of asking for specifics. The search results returned unrelated 2026 items, including municipal operations priorities and appointments, but nothing showing the October 2022 complaint-process change, a vote, or formal direction on that topic.
MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER BREYEN, SECONDED BY PILON TO ACCEPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. 5 AYES. MOTION CARRIED. ## 2. ADDRESS SAM CORNS CONCERNS Mayor Pilon instructed Council Member Alders to please re
MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER BREYEN, SECONDED BY PILON TO ACCEPT THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. 5 AYES. MOTION CARRIED. ## 2. ADDRESS SAM CORNS CONCERNS Mayor Pilon instructed Council Member Alders to please re
council members volunteering are Mayor Pilon, Council Members Rainville, Fladebo, and Breyen. ## 10. CITY COUNCIL- OLD BUSINESS a) Sam Corns concerns and work session requested. Discussion about what
council members volunteering are Mayor Pilon, Council Members Rainville, Fladebo, and Breyen. ## 10. CITY COUNCIL- OLD BUSINESS a) Sam Corns concerns and work session requested. Discussion about what
<!-- PageBreak --> 67 1/17/25 6\. Payroll was completed for both payroll groups - one correction to make: Who knew Full and Part-time City Employee Fire Fighters are exempt from Social Security? As I
Every document and recording archived for this meeting.
Meeting City Council Work Session — Minutes (2023-10-16)
Minutes · 2023-10-16
4 pages
Meeting recording
YouTube
Transcript · 380 segments · 55:32
The structured brief on this page is auto-generated and may need correction. The PDFs and the meeting recording remain the official record.