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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-08-27 CC MIN Special Meeting 1 hater THE IINTNPLACE Of MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES August 27, 2013 SPECIAL MEETING 4:30 P.M. Mayor Harycki called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Menikheim, Polehna, Weidner, and Mayor Harycki Absent: Councilmember Kozlowski Staff present: City Administrator Larry Hansen Police Chief Gannaway Finance Director Harrison Public Works Director Sanders Public Works Superintendent Moore Library Director Bertalmio Fire Chief Glaser OTHER BUSINESS Budget Workshop Police Police Chief Gannaway noted that he had requested staff but was denied. The City is getting by with the minimum number of staff possible to properly police the City, two per shift for 55 of the shifts. Five years ago, two officers were cut and this has never been made up. Councilmember Weidner asked about minimum staffing levels. Police Chief Gannaway responded that, with the current population and current call load, three per shift would be adequate. Councilmember Polehna asked about using part-time reserve officers. Chief Gannaway replied that considering background checks, equipment, and training, which amount to several thousand dollars, it is not cost effective to make up the staffing deficit with part time officers, who are usually looking to move on. In terms of capital items, Chief Gannaway stated the City is going to Ford SUVs for patrol cars which get great gas mileage. An officer is looking for grants for AEDs in squad cars. Mayor Harycki and Councilmember Polehna stated they would like to see this expedited. Chief Gannaway also mentioned that the budget includes an additional downtown civil defense siren. Engineering Public Works Director Sanders stated that the only major change is that the Water Board agreed to take over maintenance of hydrants, which reduced the overall budget in engineering. The City Council Meeting August 27, 2013 entire Public Works Department is doing OK on staffing, 23 total. A new person was hired for 75% engineering, 25% storm sewer allocation. Streets Public Works Director Sanders stated the budget for asphalt increased from $35,000 to $45,000 because prices are increasing, and sidewalk and curb repair increased by $5,000. Councilmember Weidner asked if there has ever been conversation about increasing assessment rates. Public Works Director Sanders replied he is working on current assessments and will include an estimate of what it would cost property owners if the City went to a 75% assessment rate. City Administrator Hansen predicted that within the next five years, the City will either have to bond for its share or increase the amount paid by property owners. Finance Director Harrison added that there is nothing left in the reserve fund. Public Works Director Sanders reviewed capital items included in the budget: setting aside $125,000 for a new plow purchase in 2016; a roller compactor; two salt sander units; a skid steer with attachments; GPS units for plow trucks and loaders; a loader arm scale; a 3,000 gallon tank for storage for salt brine; and MIS requests for computers. Parks Public Works Director Sanders reported the major increases are general supplies, fuel, and equipment repair. The tree removal line item also increased. The City may want to start a dedicated fund for tree replacement. Councilmember Polehna suggested promoting tree donations on the web site. Public Works Director Sanders went over capital items: replacing the Legends play structure and replacing the Teddy Bear Park play surface. City Administrator Hansen mentioned how "high maintenance" Teddy Bear Park is. The storage building is to replace the old parks building on Greeley. Councilmember Polehna pointed out commissioners have discussed something to take the gum off the sidewalks downtown. City Administrator Hansen stated the areas were cleaned at considerable expense and then they looked the same as they had within two months. Public Works Superintendent Moore added that one option would be cleaning the sidewalks once a year. They may need acid-washing. Sanitary Sewers Public Works Director Sanders noted that Item 3705 on page 198 should be $55,000 instead of $5,500. Capital outlay purchases are: replacing three generators and three lift stations; replacing a sewer truck with a one-ton pickup; and computer or MIS-related items. Storm Sewers Public Works Director Sanders stated capital items include: a new mechanical sweeper and water quality improvements for McKusick and Long Lake. Signs Public Works Director Sanders reported no major change in the budget for signs other than purchasing another"Your Speed Is" sign to mount on a pole. Project Updates Public Works Director Sanders updated the Council on various projects: In Lowell Park, the contractor started working on the amphitheater; the new bathroom should be constructed this fall; parking lots from Mulberry to Nelson will be done this fall. Councilmember Polehna asked for review of the 50 parking spots allotted to River Market Coop, which he stated seems Page 2 of 5 City Council Meeting August 27, 2013 excessive. City Administrator Hansen will clarify the agreement. Councilmember Polehna stated he has gotten complaints about the state of the Zephyr property. Public Works Director Sanders replied that he has had calls from a mover who is supposedly going to take the train cars to Lake Elmo by the end of this month. Library Library Director Bertalmio informed the Council that this budget shows no change in hours which means no Sundays. Library Board President Tom Corbett reviewed the public library value calculator and discussed community support. The Library Foundation and Friends group is contributing about 18% of the total budget. This has grown significantly since the Foundation was formed in 2007, and is in line with other communities whose foundations are more mature. Library Director Bertalmio added that the Foundation generates close to $50,000 a year, part of which pays for the event coordinator and volunteer coordinator. Mr. Corbett showed how City funding has compared to basic operating expenses over the past 5 years. Basic operating costs are going up - 96% of amount of the money received from the City goes toward basic hard operating costs. Money received through the foundation and enterprise funds pays for additions to collections, new events and programming. He added that e-book downloads have increased dramatically. Councilmember Weidner asked if the board has considered contracting services with Washington County. Mr. Corbett responded that the Library already contracts a number of services with the County; becoming a member of the county-wide system has been discussed a number of times which would require a referendum. Mayor Harycki reminded Councilmember Weidner of the other libraries have gone through with hours being cut. Mr. Corbett stated residents of Stillwater pay per capita $57 a year for the library. Residents outside of the area covered by city libraries pay about $28 a year; you are paying more, you are getting more, you have City control. If the Library were under County authority, the City would lose control over hours, resources, and programming. He does not believe the County would take on the operation of the Stillwater Library for any less than the City is paying for it now. Councilmember Polehna stated residents have asked why doesn't the City continue to own the library but give its operation to the County? Library Director Bertalmio responded that the Washington County library director has stated they do not want to operate a library in the present facility because it is too complicated. Mayor Harycki asked what it would take to open the library on Sundays during the school year. Library Director Bertalmio replied that the Library had previously received a gift of $13,000 that paid for 21 Sundays with mostly volunteer staff. To be open more Sundays and have more experienced staff there would cost between $20-30,000. City Administrator Hansen pointed out that the smart-check system has been on the capital list for three years and he has had to pull it out as being too expensive every year. This year he had to leave it in with Library Director Bertalmio's promise that it will not be replaced until the present system crashes. There were not a lot of other capital requests in the budget. Mr. Corbett noted the coffee shop will close at the end of September due to lack of traffic to support it. Councilmember Weidner asked for further cost comparison information about county operation of the library such as if there the possibility of maintaining the same operational level if the County took it over. Page3of5 City Council Meeting August 27, 2013 Mayor Harycki noted he is not interested in pursuing this. Mr. Corbett stated the Foundation probably would not support the volunteer and event coordinator positions if the Library was operated by Washington County and he is not sure how the change would impact union agreements. He also questioned whether the City charter requires the City to run the Library under the original Carnegie agreement which is probably a question for the City Attorney. Mayor Harycki asked why discuss the County taking over operation of the Library, comparing it to the County taking over policing, if the issue is duplication of services. Councilmember Weidner replied he is not asking about the Police Department, he is asking about the Library. Mr. Corbett stated before the Library Board spends too much time on the question, he would like to know if it is legally feasible or not. City Administrator Hansen remarked that he has already asked the City Attorney this question and he recalled that the answer is complex. He also had conversations with Jim Schug when he was County Administrator, and with the previous County Library Administrator about the issue. Mr. Corbett suggested the Council also consider the value of the Library as a community resource. Councilmember Menikheim commented there are a lot of qualitative issues, not just financial, but it is worth asking the question. Fire Department Fire Chief Glaser noted the largest request was for two additional personnel. Other than that, he tried to keep the budget as flat as possible. He reduced other areas of the budget to accommodate the additional staff. There was a slight increase in vehicle repair costs for trucks. Councilmember Polehna asked about the $9,000 cost for each of four additional self-contained breathing apparatus. Chief Glaser responded that it is not scuba gear, it is a closed circuit system which is very expensive, including harness, tank, and hydro-testing every five years; a previous grant paid for some of them. He added that the life expectancy of truck is about 20 years; the City is keeping them so long they have no trade-in value left. Regarding big apparatus, the greatest need is for the water tender which is from 1989. Even the first-run truck will be getting close to needing replacement, as well the small engine which is already 10 years old. Regarding ladder trucks, it is a matter of locating them properly to meet response standards. Mayor and Council City Administrator Hansen reported there is not a lot of change in this item. He reduced contractual services from $17,000 to $10,000 because the bridge project is up and running. He added $4,500 for webcasting, and budgeted for possible replacement of iPads. Finance Department Finance Director Harrison stated the City is implementing new software in October which will enable residents to not only get their utility bill emailed to them, but to pay online. Auditing services went up only one percent. Administration Department City Administrator Hansen stated the budget moved about $16,000 which is mostly in small incremental items such as salaries. Page 4 of 5 City Council Meeting August 27, 2013 Plant and City Hall City Administrator Hansen informed the Council that other than giving the cleaning employee a $500 raise, which he has not had in five or six years, there is nothing new. Leftover items from last meeting Regarding consultants for MIS, City Administrator Hansen talked with MIS Specialist Holman who stated that if she could have another $21,000 a year for a consultant, she would not need another staff person; he recommends including this in the MIS budget. Regarding an events coordinator, Councilmember Polehna commented that maybe the City should contract with someone rather than hiring. City Administrator Hansen pointed out that the budget can support these additions without significantly raising taxes. Mayor Harycki suggested adding $10,000 to $15,000 for tree planting, and using $10,000 from the Council budget and adding another $10,000 to hire an event coordinator. He would like to further consider adding Sunday hours for the Library. City Administrator Hansen noted the Council will be asked to approve the budget next Tuesday. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Councilmember Polehna, seconded by Councilmember Menikheim, to adjourn the meeting at 8:00 p.m. All in favor. Ken a,907 ayor ATTEST: Larry D. HA.en, City Administrator Page 5 of 5