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DE LIN <br /> __ <br /> FLAW OFF !_PE <br /> 30849 FHW STREET <br /> P.O.BOX 298 <br /> PAUL J.SANDELIN PEQUOT) ums,MINNESOTA 56472 TELEPHONE(218)568-8481 <br /> ATTORNEY AT LAw FAX(218)568-8444 <br /> www.lakCS8realw.com <br /> June 2,2006 <br /> City of Pequot Lakes <br /> Attn: Mayor Malecha and Council Members <br /> 4638 County Road 11 <br /> Pequot Lakes, MN 56472 <br /> Re: Highway 371 Petition <br /> File No. 25000.010 <br /> Dear Mayor Malecha and Council Members: <br /> Sandy Peine requested that I review the legal authority of a petition presented to the City by a <br /> resident(Jack Schmidt)to place a question on the ballot regarding the expansion of Highway 371 <br /> (the "Petition"). I reviewed the newspaper article from Thursday May 18,2006, which described <br /> the purpose of the Petition. The newspaper article does not identify the specific legal authority <br /> for the Petition and I have not seen a copy of the Petition. <br /> The City of Pequot Lakes is a statutory city under Minnesota Law and the City's authority is <br /> limited to that authority specifically granted under State Law. In other words if there is no <br /> specific statutory authority granted to the City for a particular matter the City is without authority <br /> to act upon the matter. There is a provision in the State Election Law(Minnesota Statute Section <br /> 205.10) that in summary provides that special elections may be held in a city on a question on <br /> which the voters are authorized by law to pass judgment. That Statute goes on to provide that a <br /> special election on a question may be placed upon a ballot upon a petition signed by a number of <br /> voters equal to 20% of the votes cast at the last municipal general election. I believe Section <br /> 205.10 is the Statute that perhaps Mr. Schmidt is relying upon. <br /> The Statute that I refer to above is premised upon the fact that the proposed ballot question <br /> presented through the Petition at issue is a question upon which the voters are authorized by law <br /> to pass judgment. The Statute that addresses trunk highway road improvements and plans for <br /> realignment and final highway layout (Minnesota Statute Section 161.64) provides that the <br /> governing body, or city, has the authority to approve or not approve the final layout presented by <br /> the Commissioner of Transportation. In this case the final layout would be the proposed <br /> Highway 371 expansion. The Statute provides no authority for the City to place a question on the <br />