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07-23-2018 CCM SPECIALSpecial Meeting of the Elk River City Council Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, July 23, 2018 Members Present: Mayor Dietz, Councilmembers Olsen, Ovall, Westgaard, and Wagner Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Finance Director Lori Ziemer, Building Official Bob Ruprecht, Economic Development Director Amanda Othoudt, Human Resources Manager Lauren Wipper, PT Manager Bob Pearson, Building Maintenance Supervisor Gary Lore, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker, Recreation Manager Steve Benoit, Parks/Streets Maintenance Supervisor Tim Sevcik, City Engineer Justin Femrite, Stormwater Coordinator Brandon Wisner, Building Official Bob Ruprecht, 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 4:01 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Allegiance The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3.1 Compensation Plan Follow-up Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Moved by Councihnember Olsen and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to approve two adjustments to the Compensation Plan: Senior Citizen Programmer position in 4N rather than 3N. Top pay for Administrative Assistant (fire) to be equivalent to prior pay plan. Motion carried 5-0. 3.2 Hire Full -Time Liquor Store Clerk Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to approve the hiring of Nicole Petty as full-time liquor store clerk effective August 14, 2108. Motion carried 5-0. City Council Minutes Page 2 July 23, 2018 3.3 2019 Budget Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report. Councilmember Westgaard stated the total dollar impact of the assumptions/estimates would be have for future reference. Various staff reviewed their goals and proposed budgets for 2019. Administration Councilmember Ovall noted he had a contact he could share for scanning services. Human Resources Council consensus was to evaluate other software solutions for the city administrator performance evaluation. Formation Tecbnology Mayor Dietz stated he'd like the capital outlay items paid from 2018 excess funds. Council recessed at 5:17 pm. and reconvened at 5:37 p.m. 3.4 Jackson Hills, 72S 6"' Street Development Complaints Patrick Briggs, Briggs Companies and developer for Jackson Hills, was at the Council meeting but then left at approximately 5:15 p.m. Mr. Carlton presented the staff report. He stated because this is a Tax Increment Financed (TIF) project a development agreement is required prior to beginning construction. He stated this development agreement required soil corrections prior to the issuance of the building permit. He further stated the soil corrections were required to be inspected and certified by ITT, Inc. for the soil reclamation. He reviewed the timeline of the project as noted in his handout. He stated Mr. Briggs repeatedly challenged the building permit process. He discussed standard practices regarding the issuance of permits. He stated after repeated emails and calls from Mr. Briggs over concerns of bias regarding his project, staff then sent Mr. Brigg's plan to the State Department of Labor and Industry for an independent review. Mr. Carlton also noted the check written for the building permit did not clear the bank as the account had been closed. He stated, to date, the city has not received the building permit fees due from Mr. Briggs. Councilmember Ovall requested clarification if it was the proposal all along to send the plans to the state for review based on previous Council action. Mr. Carlton stated the plan review would have been completed by the city but all future inspections would be done by an independent party. He stated it was the threat of going to the state with unspecified complaints about Mr. Ruprecht, from rorteII et NATURE City Council Minutes July 23, 2018 Page 3 Mr. Briggs, that was the catalyst for sending the plans to the state for independent review. Councilmember Ovall stated this helps him understand the gap in the timeline. Mayor Dietz stated Mr. Briggs referenced a statement made to him by Building Official Bob Ruprecht indicating he could get his permit with a 4-5 week turnaround. He stated Mr. Briggs is claiming it has taken him over 17 weeks to get his permit. Mr. Ruprecht stated a typical turnaround time for plan review is 4-5 weeks. He stated this comment was not referenced specifically to Mr. Briggs project but to typical projects within the city overall. Mayor Dietz clarified of Mr. Ruprecht that he never stated to Mr. Briggs everything was in order in his plans and he would get his permit in 5 weeks. Mr. Ruprecht stated Mr. Briggs got that understanding from a May 3, 2018, meeting in which he, Mr. Ruprecht, stated he is done with the plan review and once everything is ready Mr. Briggs can get his permit Mr. Ruprecht stated where the translation may have went wrong is he hadn't clarified further there were other requirements to be met but rather only meant things were done from his end of the project. Mayor Dietz questioned if Mr. Ruprecht, at the time, was aware Mr. Briggs applied for TIF and would need to meet development agreement requirements. Mr. Ruprecht stated he knew there were other requirements needed but the developer's agreement, at that time, was going back and forth between staff and Mr. Briggs and hadn't been executed yet. He stated when Mr. Briggs kept sending emails about the May 3 meeting; he kept it in a chain of entails that were attached to the developer's agreement negotiations. In a phone conversation with Mr. Briggs, he told Mr. Briggs he needs to request the status of the plan review in an email that isn't attached to the developer's agreement because he didn't' want his response perceived as though everything was good to go with the development agreement as well. Mayor Dietz questioned another email sent in April by the economic development director stating once the developer's agreement is signed Mr. Briggs can get his building permit within 24 hours. Ms. Othoudt stated she was referring to the building and grading permits and it is up to the building department when they issue them. Mayor Dietz stated he offered Mr. Briggs a Special Council Meeting to approve the developer's agreement. He stated it should have been obvious to Mr. Briggs, by reading the developer's agreement, he would not be able to get his building permit until the grading was completed and approved by ITT, Inc. Mayor Dietz questioned P0WEBEO B1 ( ArURE City Council Minutes Page 4 July 23, 2018 if it was a long standing city policy to not give a plumbing permit until after the building permit is issued. Mr. Ruprecht stated yes. Mayor Dietz stated Mr. Briggs believes Beehive Homes was able to violate the policy. Mr. Ruprecht stated this is incorrect. He stated Beehive Homes was issued a foundation permit in November 2017. He stated the state plumbing plan review was approved on January 6, 2018, and the city issued the plumbing permit around January 24, 2018, and wasn't able to do an inspection until April due to frozen ground. Mayor Dietz stated he was told by another staff person that Mr. Briggs may have been referring to some work being done in the city street. Mr. Carlton stated this is correct. He stated the utilities needed to be extended north of the adjacent development, in order for Beehive Homes to access the public facilities. He stated Mr. Briggs may have been referring to the extension of public utilities, which has nothing to do with the issuance of a building permit. Mr. Ruprecht further stated the city issued a foundation permit for Beehive Homes in November because they wanted to get the footings in before the frost. He stated the city does this quite often, after obtaining certain information, but the city has always done it where they issue the foundation permit and collect all fees. He stated the city could issue Mr. Briggs a foundation permit if he paid his fees. He stated in this case, the city would issue the foundation permit, then the plumbing permit, and then the building permit. Mayor Dietz questioned if the state comments on the plan preclude anything from happening before Mr. Briggs can move forward. Mr. Ruprecht stated nothing has to go back to the state. He stated the answers from the state comments need to be provided to the city. He stated some of them have to be answered before issuance of the foundation permit, which Mr. Briggs should be able to provide quickly. He stated most of the comments should be simple to respond to but they need to be provided by Mr. Brigg's architect. Attorney Beck clarified that a foundation permit is enough of a building permit that Mr. Briggs could pull the plumbing permit. He cited the Beehive Homes example. Mayor Dietz noted Mr. Carlton spoke with Mr. Brigg's plumber, Voss Plumbing and Heating, and Voss confirmed they are aware this is standard policy in most cities for the building permit to be issued before the plumbing permit. Mr. Carlton stated this is correct. ra1[s[I er NATURE City Council Minutes July 23, 2018 Page 5 Councilmember Wagner questioned if the city has the ITT, Inc. report and their approval, expressing further concerns if this is a suitable location for this building. Mr. Ruprecht stated yes and he is comfortable with the report. Councilmember Wagner questioned what assurance the city has this building is being constructed on solid ground for decades to come because the building is receiving public dollars. Mr. Carlton stated this is the reason the city added requirements to the developers agreement. Mayor Dietz questioned whether liability is on the city or ITT, Inc. if something were to go wrong. Attorney Beck stated there is case law supporting the city in this case. He stated the city is better off because of the level of study and analysis and corrections that were completed. Mayor Dietz asked staff to send Mr. Briggs a copy of the information presented tonight. Councilmember Ovall thanked staff for their time in putting this information together understanding how much staff time and resources were utilized. He stated after review he feels the timeline was very clear. Mayor Dietz also stated he appreciates how professional staff has been on this project. Attorney Beck stated nothing has been done any differently in this situation than with any other applicant. Mr. Pormer stated staff will prepare a summary and a letter to Mr. Briggs. 3.3 2019 Budgets, Continued Reey eation Council discussed marketing and duplication of services between other entities. Mr. Hecker noted he has met with community education to discuss program duplication and noted both entities would like to work together to market and cross promote programs. Mr. Benoit explained he'd like to bump the recreation coordinator from 29 to 32 hours per week. He noted the importance of early event planning for Elk RiverFest, p0tfete 1r NATURE City Council Minutes July 23, 2018 Page 6 along with expansion of the farmer's market. He started they are considering adding a wintertime market and some one day smaller scale special events. Councilmember Wagner questioned if an app had been considered for recreational programming. Mr. Benoit stated currently the industry trend has been for counties to utilize apps. He stated they have been looking into it but it's not where the city needs the technology to be yet. He stated they haven't seen app use with other cities yet and have been making the website the primary focus. Mayor Dietz asked staff if there is any way to track staff time cost for Elk RiverFest. Mr. Portner stated they could work on putting together estimates. Mr. Hecker noted the revenue brought into the event from the beer garden. Mayor Dietz stated he hopes to get more service organizations to participate in the future and to do the work so it's not all on city staff. Councilmember Olsen stated he received many complements about Elk RiverFest. He suggested expanding some events to the Handke Center. Mayor Dietz stated many people felt it was a great way to enjoy community. Mr. Hecker discussed the $11,000 for the bump in the recreation coordinator hours and requested it start this year so early event planning can begin. Mr. Portner stated there is one dilemma with this position that makes it different. He stated staff has to track benefit eligibility, per the Affordable Care Act, which is triggered at 30 hours a week. He discussed how careful the city has to be in tracking hours throughout the year. He stated the recreation coordinator had to put in many extra hours early in the year for spring/summer events but now the city has to thin the hours down and this is when the coordinator is needed due to early planning for 2018 events. Councilmember Wagner stated Karen Wingaard, as the recreation coordinator, is one of biggest assets to the city, noting she does a phenomenal job and she would like to keep her as the recreational coordinator. Council consensus was to add $11,000, to begin July 1, toward the recreation coordinator position for 2018. Ennineering Mr. Femtite discussed position changes and noted the change to the public works position will create a void with the engineer role. He stated he would continue to participate in project management for larger city projects, such as the arena and QTURE City Council Minutes July 23, 2018 Page 7 Highway 169 Redefine, but the additional engineer position would be responsible for project management on a smaller scale. Mayor Dietz stated when the reorganization was originally discussed, staff stated there wouldn't be a lot of additional funding needed. He stated the city is now looking at adding $120,000 for an engineer. Mr. Portner stated the city would still need additional assistance with the Highway 169 Redefine project. He stated staff discussed adding a temporary position but with the current employment market, it would be difficult to find someone who would want the position. He further noted people who apply for engineer -type positions have more lucrative private sector options. Street Maintenance Mayor Dietz asked how the new integration with parks maintenance is working. Mr. Sevcik stated it's working out well and there is much better communication. Stormwater Management It was noted storm water fees are recommended to increase 5% and Elk River's rates are very modest compared to other communities. Ms. Ziemer reviewed requested positions and a summary of capital outlay for the departmental budgets presented tonight. Mayor Dietz noted he'd like to look at moving some stuff to the 2018 budget. Referendum andActija Center 55+ Mr. Portner requested consent to engage 292 Design in creating concepts and cost estimates for senior space planning at the existing senior activity facility and for the multipurpose recreational facility. Councilmember Westgaard stated he'd like to see what $1.5 million gets for both scenarios. Mr. Portner stated the YMCA is a challenge due to the current timeline for the referendum. He stated the YMCA needs to first draft a document outlining specifications/needs for senior programming before an architect can draw up any plan. Councihnember Wagner expressed frustration because conversations had been held with the YMCA over 9 months ago. She stated she thought when Council gave approval to move forward, YMCA staff would work to put something together. - P 0 W I a I 1 01 NATURE City Council Minutes July 23, 2018 Page 8 Mayor Dietz stated it is an issue because they won't have the information needed by the November referendum. Councilmember Wagner stated it is unfortunate because the YMCA is one of the city's best amenities and she would like to evaluate all possible options before determining the best solution. Councihnember Westgaard questioned if staff has been able to stress the importance and interest of this project to the YMCA. He questioned if the YMCA is interested in adding senior services. Councilmember Olsen stated YMCA staff met with city staff and senior representatives and they took a tour of the activity center. Mr. Pormer stated YMCA staff indicated they only needed to see how our facility was being utilized in order to draft their document. Councilmember Wagner questioned if city staff felt they did their due diligence and it is reasonable to believe the project is currently in the YMCA's court. She questioned if anything can be done this week or if there is anything she can do. Councilmember Olsen stated it wasn't the city's intent for a location to be chosen by the November referendum. Mr. Portner stated the YMCA was very hesitant to put together architectural plans because they have to create their needs document first. He stated he hasn't connected with YMCA staff in a while. He noted there are a lot of moving pieces and it's more complicated than saying the city wants a certain size building. He stated the YMCA also has ideas about what they want to see in a facility. Mayor Dietz discussed his communications with the seniors and noted how well they are communicating with each other about this project. He stated there are indications the seniors are more positive about moving to the multipurpose recreational facility. Councilmember Ovall questioned why there would be more positive buzz to be at the recreational facility versus the YMCA. Councilmember Westgaard stated it may be tied to location and paid membership. Mayor Dietz stated the seniors don't have a good feeling about moving into the YMCA due to past experiences. Councilmember Wagner stated younger demographics (younger seniors or soon to be seniors) like the YMCA, but the city could also consider action pieces at the recreational facility, such as walking trails and pickle ball courts. INATUREI City Council Minutes July 23, 2018 Page 9 Council consensus was to engage 292 Design for providing evaluations/options for senor programming at the senior activity facility and the multipurpose recreational facility and to bring back the discussion at the August G Council meeting. 4. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 8:11 p.m. Tina Allard, City Clerk PR1fRII RI NATURE