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11-07-2011 CCMMEETING OF THE ELK RIVER CITY COUNCIL • HELD AT THE ELK RIVER CITY HALL MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 201 I Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Zerwas, Motin, Gumphrey, and Westgaard Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Finance Director Tim Simon, Planning Manager Jeremy Barnhart, Street Superintendent Phil Hals, Assistant Street Superintendent Mark Thompson, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker, Human Resources Representative Lauren Wipper, City Engineer Justin Femrite, and Recording Secretary Jennifer Johnson Call Meeting To Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Alle 'ance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. • 3. Consider Council A eg nda Mayor Dietz added an item before 6.1. regarding a proclamation for DECA. MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER ZERWAS AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WESTGAARD TO APPROVE THE AGENDA WITH THE ABOVE ADDITION. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 4. Consent Agenda MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER MOTIN AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WESTGAARD TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING CONSENT AGENDA: 4.1 COUNCIL MINUTES ^ OCTOBER 3, 2011 REGULAR. ^ OCTOBER 10, 2011 WORKSESSION. ^ OCTOBER 17, 2011 REGULAR. 4.2. CHECK REGISTER. 4.3. APPLICATIONS FOR DEFERRAL OF SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS. 4.4. SURVEY QUOTE AWARDED TO OLIVER SURVEYING & ENGINEERING, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $7,700.00 FOR UPCOMING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS. • MOTION CARRIED 5-0. City Council Minutes November 7, 2011 Page 2 5. Olen Mike No one appeared for Open Mike. • 6. Proclamation -November 7-10 DECA Week Mayor Dietz read aloud a proclamation authorizing the week of November 7-10, 2011 be proclaimed as DECA Week in the City of Elk River. Two students representing DECA accepted the proclamation and thanked the Council. 6.1. Downtown Task Force Update Mr. Barnhart presented the staff report. He stated the task force would meet the fourth Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. After some discussion and suggestions regarding committee members, Mr. Barnhart was directed to approach Fred McCoy, Frank Galli, and Keith Holmes to see if they would be interested in serving as business representatives. Councilmembers Zerwas and Gumphrey offered to serve as members representing the EDA and City Council. Mr. Barnhart asked the Council if a resident living on the north side of Highway 10 should be appointed to serve. It was suggested to ask Jim Hudson or Chad Wurm if they would be interested in serving on the committee. 6.2. Discuss Council Worksession A endas • Mayor Dietz presented the staff report. Commercial Reserve District was moved to the December 12 worksession. Mr. Fortner stated the Council should review the city survey that was recently completed as part of the branding program. He stated it would be better to present the survey at a regular Council meeting. The Organizational Chart was added to the December 12 worksession. 7. Other Business There was no Other Business. 8. Council Updates There were no Council Updates. 9. Staff Updates There were no Staff Updates. Council recessed at 6:44 p.m. 10. Recess to Budget Worksession -Upper Town Conference Room Council reconvened at 6:48 p.m. • City Council Minutes Page 3 November 7, 2011 ----------------------------- 10.1. Snowplow Overtime for 2011 /2012 Season • Mr. Fortner presented the staff report. He noted this snowplow polity would be an interim polity to guide staff through the 2011/2012 snow season and a more permanent policy would be brought for Council review when he completes a more thorough review of all city policies, including overtime/comp time polity. Mr. Simon noted the 2012 preliminary budget included an increase of $5,000 for overtime from $15,000 to $20,000 for snowplow routes (in the snow removal budget). He stated the Park Maintenance budget will need to be fine-tuned and he will have a recommendation on an overtime amount for parks maintenance when the 2012 budget is reviewed later on in the month. Councilmember Westgaard expressed concerns with monitoring the employee overtime hours. He stated he would prefer that overtime be paid out and not banked as banking compensatory time and then trying to use up banked time only pushes off work duties even further. Mr. Fortner stated both department heads and division managers have access to their budget in real time and would be responsible for monitoring comp levels, as well as discussing an agreement with the employee before the snow event to determine if time would be banked as compensatory or paid out in overtime. He also stated he would soon be reviewing the entire personnel polity, reviewing the entire citywide compensatory and overtime polity for all employees, and he would bring suggestions back to Council at a future date for discussion. • MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER ZERWAS AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WESTGAARD TO APPROVE THE SNOWPLOW OVERTIME POLICY FOR THE 2011/2012 SEASON AS OUTLINED IN THE STAFF REPORT. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 10.2. Governance (Verbal Update Mr. Fortner gave a verbal update regarding the memo presented to Council on October 7, 2011, from former interim City Administrator Bob Thistle on the topic of Council Governance. He requested Council consensus on how to move ahead in developing a set of operating protocols for the Council in regard to memos to Council, the role of Council Liaison to various City Commissions, and communication between Council, the city administrator, and staff, among other topics of consideration. Council consensus is for Mr. Fortner to bring back to a future worksession a listing of the current policies that are in place, and have Council review each item individually in order to develop a set of operating protocols. 10.3. 2012-2016 Capital Improvement Plan Update Mr. Simon presented the staff report. Park Dedication Fund Mr. Simon reviewed the Park Dedication Capital budget. Discussion took place regarding • the decrease in revenues in recent years in this fund due to the recording of new plats slowing. Pinewood Golf Course will be paid in full in 2013 with a balloon payment. City Council Minutes November 7, 2011 Page 4 GRE Bererve Fsrnd . Mr. Simon reviewed the GRE Reserve Fund and the use of funds received from GRE for hosting the peaking plant. Council had previously discussed information on the calling in the bonds on the Ice Arena before final maturity on December 1, 2013. Besides the amount of principal and interest in the 2011 budget, the additional amount of principal is $370,000 plus accrued interest from December 1, 2011, until the next regularly scheduled payment on June 1, 2012. Paying off the bonds would eliminate the $111,650 transfer from the general fund to the Ice Arena in 2012. Also, $31,920 in future interest expense would be saved. It was the consensus of the Council to use GRE funds to pay off the ice arena bonds. Trunk Utility Fund Mr. Simon reviewed the Trunk Utilities Fund and answered questions from Council. Mr. Femrite stated he would be presenting information on the 1715[ Focus Area Study Phase I at the November 14, 2011, worksession in regard to this fund. Technology/Software Impmvementr Mr. Simon and Mr. Pearson reviewed the requests for technology and software improvements from various departments. Mr. Simon asked the Council if they were still interested in considering moving ahead with purchasing a laptop or an iPad/tablet for use by Councilmembers in place of receiving paper packets. He referenced City Clerk Tina Allard's previous memo outlining the cost savings of going with electronic packets. • Mr. Fortner answered questions regarding the pros and cons of both an Apple iPad and an Android-based tablet. It was the consensus of the Council that it would be a cost savings to provide paperless packets by using an electronic device and directed staff to put together pricing on different options for a netbook, laptop, iPad and tablet. Michael Hecker discussed the request by Parks and Recreation for a software upgrade. He stated it would improve efficiencies with staff time and accuracy by upgrading the currently used software programs. Mr. Hecker noted one such software, Vermont Systems, Inc., that he's used in the past and stated it is a very good product and would increase productivity and efficiency, which in turn would offer a cost savings for staff time. Mr. Simon discussed the timekeeping software, another benefit to all departments to improve efficiencies and save staff time with data entry in the payroll process. Ms. Wipper stated the program could be setup any way they wanted and Council could see a complete analysis before any decisions were made. It was the consensus of the Council to have staff come back at a future meeting to provide a presentation of timekeeping software. • City Council Minutes November 7, 2011 Page 5 11. Adjournment • There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 7:54 p.m. Minut Prepared by Jennifer Johnson ._~ Tina Allard, City Clerk ~.... i J ' J. ietz, M or ~;