4.1. DRAFT MINUTES (1 SET) 09-18-2017 VA
City of
Elk Meeting of the Elk River City Council
River Held at the Elk River City Hall
Monday, September 5, 2017
Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Olsen, Ovall,Westgaard, and Wagner
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Finance Director Lori Ziemer,
Police Chief Ron Nierenhausen, Fire Chief John Cunningham, and
City Clerk Tina Allard
I. Call Meeting to Order
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River City Council
was called to order at 6:33 p.m. by Mayor Dietz.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
3. Consider 09/05/2017 Agenda,
Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember
Westgaard to approve the August 7, 2017, agenda. Motion carried 5-0.
4. Consider Consent Agenda
Moved by Councilmember Olsen and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to
`',,approve the following consent agenda:
4.1 August 21, 2017, Minutes
4.2 Check Register, check numbers 9905-9909 and 102912-103104 as
outlined in the staff report.
4.3 Resolution 17-48 approving transfer of$66,000 to the Jobs Incentive
Microloan Fund from EDA reserves.
4.4 Liquor license amendment allowing an 18' x 36' foot patio as part of
the approved premises for the American Legion 112 dba Davis-
Darrow-Meyer Post.
4.5 Special Event Permit and a Temporary On-Sale Liquor License to the
Eagles Club for September 23, 2017, subject to the following
conditions:
1. Alcohol must be limited to an area that is fenced in with secured
and controlled access and be compact and contiguous to the
establishment. Age verification is required and wrist band control
is recommended.
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September 5,2017
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2. The event planner is required to notify surrounding businesses,
residents, and organizations. The city will provide a template of the
notice that must be distributed and a list of the property owners to
notify. The event planner must submit an affidavit that the notice
was distributed.
3. Permission to use private property for parking must be obtained
prior to event.
4. All applicable noise ordinances must be followed.
5. If tents are to be used they must be inspected by the fire marshal
prior to the event. Applicant must contact the Fire Marshal Cliff
Anderson at 763.635.1110 during regular city hall hours to schedule
an inspection. No staking of tents is allowed on city right-of-way or
off Eagles property unless approved.
6. Signs larger than four square feet require a temporary sign permit.
Contact the Planning Department at 763.635.1000.
4.6 On-Sale and Sunday Liquor License to Chow Mixed Grill and BBQ,
valid until June 30, 2018.
4.7.A Special Event Permit for the Elk River High School homecoming
parade on Friday, September 29, 2017, subject to the following
conditions:
1. The event planner is required to notify all property owners abutting
the parade route. The city will provide a template of the notice that
shall be distributed and a list of the properties to be notified. The
event planner shall submit an affidavit showing the notice was
distributed.
2. Garbage clean-up shall be completed immediately following the
parade.
3. Signs shall be installed at the following locations no later than
September 22, 2017:
■ School Street 50-feet west of Freeport Street (alerting
westbound traffic)
■ School Street 100-feet east of Proctor Avenue (alerting
eastbound traffic)
■ Jackson Avenue at 7th Street (alerting northbound traffic)
■ Jackson Avenue at the north high school parking lot entrance
(alerting southbound traffic)
The signs shall state:
School Street Closed
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Friday, September 29
Parade
4. Police and reserve support will be provided for traffic control.
5. Candy may be handed out at the parade but is not allowed to be
thrown from moving objects
4.7.13 Special Event Permit for ERX Motor Park for Day of the Dozers on
Saturday, September 30, 2017, subject to the following conditions:
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September 5,2017
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1. The event planner is required to notify surrounding businesses,
residents, and organizations. The city will provide a template of the
notice that must be distributed and a list of properties to be
notified. The event planner must submit an affidavit that the notice
was distributed.
2. Follow approved traffic control plans as outlined in the
Environmental Assessment Worksheet.
3. Inspection of the outside area will take place prior to each outside
event when there is a tent. Applicant must contact Fire Marshal
Cliff Anderson at 763.635.1110 or 763.238.3489 to schedule an
inspection after the tent area has been set up.
4. No electrical services shall be across any drive or walking surface
4.8 Hire Nicholas Madsen to position of On-call Firefighter effective
October 2, 2017.
4.9 Resolution 17-49 authorizing execution of agreement between the Elk
River Police Department and the Minnesota Department of Public
Safety (Toward Zero Deaths).
Motion carried 5-0.
S. Open Forum
No one appeared for Open Forum.
6.1 Oath of Office: On-Call Lieutenant Zachary Hoffman
Chief Cunningham introduced Mr. Hoffman.
Mayor Dietz performed the oath of office.
6.2 Proclamation: Constitution Week
Mayor Dietz read the proclamation. He presented it to Daughters of the American
Revolution member Marilyn Schroeder.
Moved by Councilmember Ovall and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to
proclaim September 17-23, 2017 as Constitution Week. Motion carried 5-0.
6.3 Promotion: Adam Bebeau to Patrol Sergeant
Chief Nierenhausen introduced Adam Bebeau.
Mayor Dietz provided the oath of office.
6.4 Recognize Service of Police K9 Zeus
Chief Nierenhausen introduced Zeus.
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September 5,2017
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Moved by Councilmember Olsen and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to
approve the K9 retirement contract for sale of an animal and waiver of liability
agreement. Motion carried 5-0.
7. Public Hearings
There were no public hearings.
8.1 Proclamation Policy
Ms. Allard presented the staff report.
Moved by Councilmember Olsen and seconded by Councilmember Wagner
to accept the proclamation policy. Motion carried 5-0.
8.2 Discuss Work Session Items
Mr. Portner presented the staff report.
Mayor Dietz asked for an ordinance regarding the parking of semi-trucks/trailer on
residential streets
9.1 Council Liaison Updates
Council provided updates on the activities of the various boards and commissions.
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Council recessed at 7:04 p.m. in order to go into work session. Council reconvened
at 7:10 p.m.
10.1 Fire Station Feasibility and Facility Study
Chief Cunningham presented the staff report.
Mr. Mike Clark, Five Bugles provided a summary of the study:
■ Station location/response time
o Challenges
0 4 station model solution
■ Space needs analysis for police and fire
o Near,mid, and long-term recommendations
■ Existing conditions
■ Training Center
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September 5,2017
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Council discussed the following:
■ Sale options of existing property.
■ Safety concerns with Station 1.
■ Current driveway easement needed with adjacent county property as Station
1 to protect city access in the event the county sells the property.
■ Response times from the various station location models.
■ Population standards for building stations and how much the city is paying
for its geographical burden compared to other communities. It was noted the
station locations are based on response time to the various geographical areas
based on their challenges, such as the railroad.
■ Otsego station and whether they'll want to create their own department.
■ Whether the Cleveland Street site is the best location on the east side of the
city due to:
• Traffic
• Buses/walkers during peak school times
• New surrounding development
• Ingress/egress of station design
• Use of fire station parking lot due to limited parking in school lot
• Noise
10.2 2018 Budget
Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report.
There was discussion regarding property taxes and valuation.
Councilmember Westgaard stated valuations are outside of city control and Council
should focus on whether a$1 million budget increase is justifiable. He stated the city
continues to grow and hasn't been adding any new positions.
Mayor Dietz expressed concerns because the amount seems like a large increase in a
one-year period. He noted half the increase is due to the public safety portion of the
budget and may bring fewer complaints from property owners. He stated vehicles
for police and fire ($93,500) for the new employees should come out of the
Equipment Replacement Fund and not the General Fund as currently noted in the
draft budget.
Mr. Portner stated new capital expenditures are initially funded by the general tax
levy and the future replacement funds are then allocated from the General Fund to
the Equipment Replacement Fund each year over the expected lifespan of the
vehicle. He expressed concerns with the depletion of the Equipment Replacement
Fund,which has not had a proper allocation from the General Fund in the past due
to General Fund budget increase concerns. He stated we need to re-evaluate the
replacement schedule of our vehicles. He further stated,we currently replace police
vehicles every 4 years,which was based on the wear experienced on the Crown
Victoria sedans. Police now use SUVs which are intended to be much more rugged
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and should last longer than 4 years. We also had direction to seek the best resale
value which may not be a good practice.
Mayor Dietz expressed concerns with the Equipment Replacement Fund going
negative next year due to scheduled replacements.
Mr. Portner stated the requested fire engine,like other higher cost
vehicles/equipment, such as snow plows and the vac-tron, could be made with a
different type of investment such as equipment certificates or an internal loan.
Mayor Dietz questioned past practice with funds paid to the city as Payment In Lieu
of Taxes (PILOT) by Elk River Municipal Utilities.
Mr. Portner stated the PILOT funds were split between the General Fund and the
Equipment Replacement Fund when the city did not receive Local Government Aid
(LGA). When the state legislature resumed LGA payments a few years ago,the
finance director recommended placing those funds in the Equipment Replacement
Fund as we have no control if the state withholds future payments. At that time,
ERMU PILOT transfers were increased to the General Fund to offset the projected
increase. He noted Council has been utilizing a lot of short term solutions to balance
past budgets without having property owners pay their true tax share for current
services. He stated Elk River has a number of revenue advantages other communities
don't have,however following the recession,the city has sheltered the true cost of
living in the community which has resulted in funding shortages for parks, recreation
facilities,vehicles, and information technology. He stated at some point Council is
going to have to levy money to pay for things. He further noted community
members/organizations have provided us numerous assets, but long-term
maintenance/replacement also needs to be considered.
Mayor Dietz stated the $93,500 in vehicle funding requests can be paid in the short-
term but noted the city would be kicking the problem down the road. He questioned
if a new vehicle is needed for the new police positions or if there were other
alternatives available.
Staff would review the matter.
Council consensus was to move $93,500 from the General Fund to the
Equipment Replacement Fund.
Councilmember Wagner questioned how the requested communications position fits
with the existing position.
Mr. Portner stated the current coordinator's role is assisting staff when needed and
making sure (branding/grammar) polices are being met. He stated the
communications coordinator doesn't create content but assists other staff where
needed with their content. He noted the new position will have more of a marketing
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September 5,2017
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and social engagement role and will help the other communication staff be better
utilized.
Councilmember Ovall expressed concerns operationally and culturally for the new
role,noting they will be requesting more data from staff in order to feed social
media.
Mayor Dietz stated the position is important for community engagement noting
many people don't have an understanding of government.
Mayor Dietz questioned if any funding in this year's budget can be used to purchase
items early.
It was noted staff will need to review the matter.
Mr. Portner discussed the lighting request from the youth football association. He
stated this funding should be from reserves and not the parks maintenance budget.
Councilmember Wagner stated there seems to be miscommunication between staff
and the association regarding lighting costs. She stated the lighting request was
discussed last fall with no action yet. She would like the city to continue to work with
associations and is fearful they will become frustrated and stop bringing money to
the table. She stated the youth association wants to pay for the lights over a number
of years.
Mr. Portner stated staff would not recommend a seven-year payment plan as
requested by the association. He questioned how the city can hold the association
accountable for payments if they default. He stated the city could kick them off the
fields but it won't look good to the public/media. He further noted Council will have
to develop a policy on the matter if they want to allow it.
Councilmember Wagner stated she is unsure whether the requested fire captain and
second patrol officer position should stay in the budget. She questioned if$15.4
million is an appropriate amount to the Council for what is needed to run the city.
She questioned the value of the academy training to the residents of Elk River.
Mr. Portner stated the academy training adds revenue. He stated that public safety is
our largest annual expenditure and the only true means to slow the growth of public
safety expenditures is by decreasing the demand for service by assisting with public
education in the neighborhoods needing help, and strengthen the rental inspection
program and ensuring the housing stock does not decay. He stated the city can't
afford to tear down dilapidated homes and needs to encourage maintenance via
education and engagement.
Mayor Dietz also questioned the need for the fire captain position. He further stated
the city can't control valuation and can't have the philosophy to never increase
expenditures either because then it will have to look at cutting services.
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Councilmember Wagner stated she doesn't want to cut current services but to make
sure there is a thorough review of new services being requested.
Mayor Dietz stated he wants to continue to have a proactive police department but
wasn't sure about hiring for two positions. He stated he felt the fire captain position
is needed and the city needs to be proactive with inspections.
Councilmember Olsen noted how rental properties can degrade very quickly.
Mayor Dietz asked staff for the following:
■ Present examples of the budget change for certain valued properties
■ Leave all positions in the preliminary budget
■ Review 2017 budgets to see if any expenditures for 2018 can be purchased
this year
Councilmember Westgaard suggested reviewing the policy regarding the excess fund
balance. He stated he would like to see $400,000 cut from the budget. He stated he is
willing to keep the 5 positions in the budget but staff needs to bring the budget
down by$400,000 without cutting services; but if this can't be met,then the new
positions would have to evaluated for cutting from the budget. He stated he is not
convinced of the need for the fire captain position and is concerned staff is creating
work by looking for more inspections to complete.
Councilmember Ovall expressed concerns with capital expenditures and how the city
is going to pay for parks,vehicles, and technology in the long-term.
Chief Cunningham stated he is not looking to expand any services with the fire
captain position but keeping up with the current workload. He discussed how staff
roles have changed and public education has suffered due to the inspection
workload. He stated the city would have to cut fire department public education
services.
Council consensus was to include keeping the requested positions in the preliminary
budget, but noted they may still be cut before adoption of the final budget.
Volunteers Appreciation Program
Council discussed this newly added program and would like to keep it as a small
event, such as coffee/cookies or brats/hamburgers at a park with thanks from the
Council.
Council consensus was to add$2,500 to the budget for a new volunteer
appreciation program.
II. Adjournment
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September 5,2017
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There being no further business,Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk
River City Council at 9:40 p.m.
John J. Dietz,Mayor
Tina Allard, City Clerk
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