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07-11-2011 CCMMEETING OF THE ELK RIVER CITY COUNCIL HELD AT THE CITY OF ELK RIVER (UPPER TOWN CONFERENCE ROOM) MONDAY, JULY I I, 201 I Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Gumphrey, Motin, Westgaard, and Zerwas Members Absent: None Staff Present: Interim City Administrator Bob Thistle, Finance Director Tim Simon, Director of Economic Development Annie Deckert, Planning Manager Jeremy Barnhart, Human Resources Representative Lauren Wipper, Accountant Lori Stich, Environmental Administrator Rebecca Haug, Street Superintendent Phil Hals. Assistant Street Superintendent Mark Thompson, City Engineer Justin Femrite, Fire Chief John Cunningham, and City Clerk Tina Allard Call Meeting To Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 6:45 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Consider Council Agenda ® MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER WESTGAARD AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER GUMPHREY TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 3. Consider Consent Agenda MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER MOTIN AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER ZERWAS TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING CONSENT AGENDA: 3.1. EXECUTION OF A TRANSFER AGREEMENT FOR THE DELANO MUNICIPAL UTILITIES CAPX2020 BROOKINGS-TWIN CITIES TRANSMISSION PROJECT SHARE. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 4. Open Mike No one appeared for open mike. 5.1. Authorization to Initiate a Conditional Use Amendment to Amend the Planned Unit Development Agreement for Trott Brook Farms -continued from July 5 2011 Mr. Barnhart presented the staff report and discussed the op~ons Council could consider. • Mayor Dietz questioned the notification process. City Council Minutes July 11, 2011 Page 2 Mr. Barnhart stated that because Trott Brook is organized under the Planned Unit Development (PL?D) Agreement everyone in the development must be notified of any variance application. Council questioned if there are any issues with the city approving this appeal process because PUD's are negotiated with developers and neighborhood associations enforce them. Mr. Barnhart stated, per the city attorney, completing a published notice affords an opportunity to speak on the issue. He stated the city can initiate changes but not without going through the Conditional Use Permit public hearing process first. Council consensus was there should be an ability for an appeal process but the costs should be shared. MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER ZERWAS AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER GUMHREY TO ALLOW THE APPLICANT TO BEGIN THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT PROCESS AND FOR STAFF TO START THE PROCESS TO AMEND THE PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR TROTT BROOK FARMS. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 5.2. Fire Relief Ugdate Scott Schmidt, Fire Relief President, presented the staff report. Brian McKnight with Wealth Management Group stated they have taken over the management of the fire reliefs investments in 2010. He stated the offer a special niche • service for relief associations. He further stated they invest in less aggressive funds which allows for more consistency during market shifts and based on past history with other relief associations. 5.3. Public Works Facilit~U,pdate Mr. Simon presented the staff report. Pam Anderson, 292 Group, reviewed the proposed floor plan of a new public works facility. Mark Wentzell, 292 Group, reviewed the building elevations, materials, exterior design and lighting. Brian Recker, 292 Group, discussed the proposed timetable for completion of the project. He noted the project could be completed by December/January of 2012 if the proposed timeline is followed and Council decides to move forward with Phase II. He noted the project would cost between $637,000-$685,000 for Phase I. Councilmember Gumphrey questioned if street staff would be participating in assisting with some of the work for this project. Mr. Simon stated the Public Works Facility Committee is currently evaluating it. Councilmember Motin expressed concern with keeping the existing 25 year old building. • City Council Minutes July 11, 2011 Page 3 Ms. Anderson stated the structure is precast concrete and very solid. She stated the roof will be replaced once the addition is completed. She noted the mechanical systems were currently under review. Councilmember Gumphrey stated he is in favor of moving ahead on both phases of the project due to construction pricing being good. Councilmember Westgaard stated he agreed with moving forward as long as the project stayed on budget. Council consensus was to continue to move forward with the project. 5.4. Branding and Marketing Update Mayor Dietz requested a report be presented at a future meeting regarding progress in attracting restaurants and whether any other staff is involved in the process. Ms. Deckert had prepared a report and updated the Council on current activity. She discussed the site selection criteria on the website, the SAC/WAC program, the microloan program, cold-calling, and direct mail marketing. She noted many restaurants are focusing more on remodeling and updating of existing restaurants or analyzing whether to close some locations. 5.5. City Volunteer Program Update • Ms. Wipper presented the staff report as to where staff is at with the volunteer program and requested direction from Council. She noted many of the current opportunities are being filled through RSVP. Mayor Dietz requested staff to advertise for volunteer opportunities in the city's newsletter. Ms. Wipper noted staff would also be advertising with The Volunteer Bridge, on cable, and the city website. Mayor Dietz stated he is working on finding a "volunteer" volunteer coordinator and would try to work on a story with the newspaper. Mayor Dietz questioned if there would be an application process. Ms. Wipper stated there would be an application that asks for the volunteer's interest and availability. She stated the volunteer coordinator could match up the position available to the volunteer. She stated a volunteer handbook needs to be completed and could be a good project for the volunteer coordinator. She also stated background checks and liability waivers have to be determined for each position. Mayor Dietz questioned if volunteers could begin right away without the handbook. Councilmember Gumphrey stated he would like to see the handbook completed first and he • also wants to make sure the city has checked into the liability issues. City Council Minutes July il, Zoli Page 4 Councilmember Westgaard stated the position descriptions should list the requirements such as the background check, a confidentiality statement and liability waivers. It was noted that the city attorney would draft the volunteer handbook. Councilxnember Gumphrey expressed concerns with the amount of staff time being utilized for managing volunteers as noted at the previous EDA meeting. Council suggested periodic updates from staff to gauge whether the program is working but then further noted that staff should have latitude to decide which volunteer opportunities are working or should be eliminated. 5.6. Street Division Restructurin Mr. Hals and Mr. Thompson presented the staff report. There was much discussion on whether the fleet maintenance division should be a separate division under the Public Works Department but no decision was made to separate them at this time. Council concurred that they don't want the city engineer to act as an interim public works director. Councilmember Motin stated they were previously told the engineer and public works director position could be combined as one. He stated that after the position was combined staff requested a city engineer be hired. • Council consensus was that the divisions under Public Works need to meet on a regular basis and work together so they don't have to approach the city administrator as often. Mr. Thistle noted there are currently 18 direct reports to the city administrator and that this would be a good opportunity to try the city engineer as an interim public works director on a short term basis to see how the process will work. Council stated it may be more appropriate to review this when a city administrator is hired. Mr. Hals noted the city engineer has been assisting all the departments when needed. Mayor Dietz suggested the Parks employees work with the Street employees to prioritize plowing roads and then the Streets employees could assist with trail plowing afterwards. Council felt the two departments needed to work together and share equipment. It was noted that the city comparison in the staff report was not accurate due to different variables and couldn't be compared to Elk River staffing. Council stated they had no issue with hiring a laborer in August but that the rest of the positions will need to be reviewed with the budget. Council consensus was to add the laborer to the next meeting agenda as a consent item. Councilmember Gumphrey stated he would like a Snow Plan in place by mid-October. • City Council Minutes Page 5 July 11, 2011 5.7. 2012 Budget Discussion • Public Works • Storm Water Management ^ Fire Department Mr. Simon presented the staff report. Staff discussed their requested budget and goals. Mayor Dietz requested that Ms. Haug prepare a best case and worst case scenario regarding the storm water management mandated impacts. 5.8. North American Joint Purchasing Program It was Council consensus to move forward with reviewing this program. 5.9. Council Open Forum Councilmember Zerwas stated he would like to start an employee recognition program that recognizes an employee of the month. He suggested the program be administered by department heads and that the Council each donate $120 to a fund where a gift card could be purchased for the employee. Mayor Dietz stated he talked with the city attorney who didn't believe there was an issue with this type of program. He noted that the funds could not come out of Council paychecks and he didn't think that department heads could be eligible for consideration. He • further stated he would like to see department heads included in the recognition. Councilmember Motin stated he liked the idea but expressed concerns about having a uniform selection process. Council concurred that they liked the idea and consensus was to pursue working with the city attorney on general guidelines. He suggested that the department to be recognized be rotated each month. Councilmember Gumphrey expressed concerns regarding current street department structure and questioned whether the hours of the street superintendent could be better utilized. Councilmember Westgaard stated the city is getting value from the experience of the street superintendent and his mentoring of the Assistant Street Superintendent. Mayor Dietz concurred. 6. Other Business Mr. Thistle stated staff would bring back a report regarding the impact of the state shutdown and stated the Council may see an ordinance that addresses an issue with the hold up of building projects due to not having an electrical inspector. Mayor Dietz questioned if this is an issue for the county fair and directed staff to review the situation. City Council Minutes July 11, 2011 Council Updates There were no council updates. 8. Staff Updates There were no staff updates. Adjournment Page 6 There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 10:10 p.m. Tina Allard, City Clerk J h J. etz, M o • •