Granite Falls council replaces charter-commission member, schedules public hearing to add birth date to recall petitions

Granite Falls — The City Council approved a resolution to change membership on the charter commission and scheduled a public hearing on a charter amendment to add a birth-date requirement to recall petitions.

Staff told the council the charter commission met and recommended replacing Jeremy Blackelder with the city attorney, Spencer Kong. The council moved, seconded and adopted a resolution to remove Blackelder and add Spencer Kong; staff said the resolution will be sent to a judge because a judge must sign off on commission membership changes.

Staff also described a separate charter edit recommended by the League of Minnesota Cities: inserting a birth-date field in the recall-petition signature section so petition signers can be confirmed as voting-age residents. That change, staff said, is required by state statute and must follow the charter amendment process. Council approved calling a public hearing, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 17, to receive public comment before any ordinance readings.

Why it matters: adding a birth-date field is a procedural change intended to ensure petition signers meet voting-age requirements; the process requires public notice, a hearing and then ordinance readings if the council chooses to proceed. Staff acknowledged that residents could object at the hearing but said the council must comply with the state statute.

What’s next: the council asked staff to publish the required hearing notice and to follow statutory procedures; if the council moves forward after the public hearing, the change would be handled through the ordinance-first-reading/second-reading process.