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07-01-2019 CCMMeeting of the Elk River City Council ver Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, July I, 2019 Members Present: Mayor John Dietz, Councilmembers Garrett Christianson, Matt Westgaard, and Jennifer Wagner Members Absent: Councilmember Nate Ovall Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Public Works Director Justin Femrite, Recreation Manager Steve Benoit, Liquor Operations Manager Joe Audette, Human Resources Manager Lauren Wipper, 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 Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider Agenda Item 10.2, Liquor Operations Reorganization Plan was added to the agenda. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 4-0. 4. Consent Agenda Mayor Dietz requested a change to the minutes regarding funding for the Lake Orono Improvement District item. Mayor Dietz asked staff to research and provide more information regarding the $25,000 invoice from Elk River Municipal Utilities for the wastewater treatment plant. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve: 4.1 June 17, 2019, closed and regular (with changes) minutes. 4.2 Check register, check numbers 9984- 9987 and 110868-111014 as outlined in the staff report. 4.3 Resolution 19-23 acknowledging contributions to City of Elk River for Farmer's Market and Elk RiverFest. City Council Minutes July 1, 2019 Page 2 4.4 Temporary On -Sale Liquor License to Fraternal Order of Eagles 3264 for a car show scheduled July 20, 2019 with the condition alcohol must be confined to an area enclosed by a fence with a secured, controlled access. Wrist band control is required for patrons 21 and over. 4.5 Resolution 19-24 accepting federal funding for Twin Lakes Road and Yale Street Extension Project. 4.6 2019 Mineral Licenses. 4.7 Settlement Agreement 19-14 for City of Elk River, SNL Island View Properties, LLC, and John and Elaine Dryer. Motion carried 4-0. S. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6.1 Proclamation: Steve Tillmann Day, July 5, 2019 Mr. Audette discussed Steve's history with the city over the last 35 years. Dave Potvin, former manager, spoke to Steve's employment and how fortunate he was to work with him. Alice Tillmann, Steve's wife, stated he was always excited to go to work and was very loyal. She stated he loved his job and his proud of him. Mayor Dietz read and presented a plaque to Steve. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to proclaim July 5, 2019, as Steve Tillmann Day. Motion carried 4- 0. 7. Public Hearings There were no public hearings. 8.1 Active Elk River Project: Multi -Purpose Facility and Lion John Weicht Park Improvements Mr. Femrite presented the staff report. He discussed construction cost estimates, owner cost estimates, total project estimate, and the land exchange. Mayor Dietz stated the Active Elk River project was sold to residents as a $27.5 million project and he expects to hold firm to the budget. Mr. Femrite discussed the contingency cost, which is likely to be utilized during the construction. f01EAEI Ir NX:i City Council Minutes July 1, 2019 Page 3 There was discussion on the rejected bids, breaking out some of the bid packages into smaller components, and value engineering some items in order to reduce some costs. Councilmember Westgaard noted the bid climate is currently at a high level and Council could consider funding the overage from a different source. Councilmember Wagner stated it is priority to honor the budget provided to the voters. There was discussion on lowering the project cost and whether to remove the owner's contingency or evaluating a breakdown of some of the bid options to quote categories. It was also noted there is still a lot of review to be done on the bids and items can be tweaked to help reduce costs. Tom Betty, 292 Design Group, stated it's up to the Council's comfort level on how they feel about a contingency. He stated some owners like to keep the contingency as it allows for flexibility during construction. He noted this is a large project and unknowns can occur. Mayor Dietz stated the project must remain at $27.5 million. He stated if an issue arises in the future, then staff will need to come back to Council. Mr. Femrite explained the bids for the lease space came in high and no recommendation is being made at tonight's meeting. He stated it will be reevaluated and it is not part of the project cost presented tonight. Councilmember Westgaard questioned if Councilmember Ovall submitted any comments or questions about this agenda item. Mr. Portner stated no comments were received. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to award contract 3b.3. Motion carried 3-0. Councilmember Wagner abstained due to conflict of interest. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve the remaining bid packages with removal of the owner contingency, of $169,971 and increasing the anticipated value engineering line item to $166,000 to a total project estimated cost of $27.5 million Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to adopt Resolution 19-25 awarding contracts for the multi-purpose facility and Lion John Weicht Park improvements and reassigning the contracts to RJM Construction. Motion carried 4-0. '01FRta 81 NATUREI City Council Minutes July 1, 2019 Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to approve design fee adjustment for 292 Design Group as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. Page 4 Mr. Femrite stated this agreement relates to the shared use of the softball field and outlines responsibilities for maintenance and use. He noted costs for the pond are undetermined at this time and not part of this project as it will be part of the school district project, but there will be some costs to the city related to it in the future. Mayor Dietz stated he would like a future discussion on what to do with the senior center property located at 413 Proctor Avenue. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve Joint Powers Agreement 19-15 with Independent School District No. 728 for mutual use and maintenance of Lion John Weicht Park. Motion carried 4-0. Mr. Femrite stated this agreement gives the city 75 dedicated parking stalls for daytime use and allows rights to cross school district property to access the city's facility. Moved by Councihnember Christianson and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve First Amendment to Reciprocal Easement Agreement 19- 16 with Independent School District No. 728. Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Christianson to adopt Resolution 19-26 approving a land exchange agreement with Independent School District No. 728. Motion carried 4-0. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councihnember Christianson to approve a special meeting at 4:00 p.m., July 19, 2019, for groundbreaking. Motion carried 4-0. Councilmember Westgaard thanked RJM for their work. 0 w E A E 1 I Y NATUR� City Council Minutes Page 5 July 1, 2019 8.2 Field Use Allocation Policy and Procedures Mr. Benoit presented the staff report. Council questioned how the selection process would be handled if there were two rival soccer associations under Group 3. Mr. Benoit explained how the decision would be made based on the various criteria outlined in the policy. Council questioned if youth organizations had a chance to review the policy. It was noted they did Council noted Group 2 and Group 4 referred to "club" and "club teams" and there may be questions about which organization fits into either definition. Dave Williams, youth association representative, stated Group 2 encompasses the school district and would be a school related club. Moved by Councilmember Christianson and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to adopt the Field Use Allocation Policies and Procedures as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. 8.3 Field Use Fees Policy Mr. Benoit presented the staff report. Council requested the policy be sent out to all organizations. Councilmember Wagner, liaison for the parks and recreation commission, stated she was happy with the process for policy development as it was very engaging with multiple meetings and open participation. She noted the soccer group did not attend meetings or provide any feedback. Councilmember Wagner stated there previously was not any equity with the fees policy and felt she needed reasoning as to why a certain user fee is charged differently from another user fee. She stated what was not shown in the numbers is that some groups paid for capital improvements and others none. She stated the capital improvements have been significant in the park system. Councilmember Wagner stated the intent of collecting fees into one managed fund is so improvements can be made, there could be collaborated projects, and there would be better transparency. She expressed concerns with the fees going into the Park Improvement Fund and getting mixed with other park funded projects. She noted the associations concern with the funds as they should be designated to maintenance for fields. I OMEAEI II NATE �� City Council Minutes July 1, 2019 Page 6 Mr. Williams stated he would prefer a separate fund setup that can only be used for maintenance. Mr. Benoit stated it can go into the Park Improvement Fund and still be tracked and reported separately utilizing a special code. Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to adopt the Athletic Field Use Fees Policy as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. 8.4 Rivers Edge Commons Park Master Plan Update Mr. Benoit presented Mr. Hecker's staff report. Council questioned if downtown business owners were informed and able to provide input on the plan amendment. Mr. Benoit stated he was unsure but noted the Rivers Edge Association has been involved with dock discussions. Council suggested staff communicate this change to the businesses. Councilmember Wagner suggested keeping the original site for the dock as an option in the plan as a possible pier or observation deck. Councilmember Westgaard stated the DNR may have issues with a permanent structure in the floodway, which should probably be explored further. Moved by Councilmember Christianson and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to amend the Rivers Edge Commons Park Master Plan as outlined in the staff report. Motion carried 4-0. 8.5 Picnic Pavilion Standardized Designs Mr. Benoit presented Mr. Hecker's staff report. The Woodland Trails Subcommittee preferred a natural, earth toned roof over the pavilions. The Parks and Recreation Commission voted 3-2, with two members absent, for the earth tone color. Councilmember Wagner stated she prefers a red roof similar to the colors used at the Rivers Edge Park in downtown. She discussed the importance of have consistent brand standards with buildings and signage. She noted how the red roof downtown stands out and people know it as Elk River. She stated the Council shouldn't break its own standards right at the start of policy implementation. She stated the Woodland Trails Park upgrades will be amazing and increase park usage. She stated red is a color in nature and it won't take away from the beauty and nature of the park. She noted the close vote with two members missing. PII[EaEI aY NATURE City Council Minutes July 1, 2019 Page 7 Councilmember Westgaard expressed concerns with creep from the standard, noting there are other more natural parks that may have pavilions in the future. He questioned if there would be a push for differing colors then. He stated he would prefer one standard color but didn't have a preference between red or a natural color. He agreed consistency is important and helps draw people and shows everything belongs to the same city. Councilmember Christianson asked why there can't be two colors in the standards; a natural color for nature parks and red for more social parks. Councilmember Westgaard suggested choosing one nature tone color for all the pavilions. Parks and Recreation Commissioner Dave Anderson discussed an earth tone red versus a bright red. He believes the city could have a standard shelter design but feels the roof color can be differing. He suggested the downtown structures be red but the Woodland Trails Committee felt strongly the roof should be earth toned. Councilmember Wagner suggested if a design is not going to be agreed upon tonight that this item be scrapped and reviewed again so Council doesn't break its own rules. She discussed the need for branding and consistency. Mayor Dietz felt everything else with the pavilion design shouldn't be scrapped if the roof is the only issue. Councilmember Wagner stated a brand can be built utilizing differing colors but it hasn't been vetted. Councilmember Wagner discussed the plan for the city has a whole and how branding with the red sends a strong message and creates a wow factor. She stated it lets you know where you are and that you are in Elk River. She stated the natural roof creates a different meaning and is not a keystone look. Moved by Councilmember Wagner to approve a standardized pavilion design for parks that are consistent with the framing and a red roof design standard. Motion dies for lack of a second. Council continued this item to a future meeting so staff can bring back true renderings of options for pavilion design. 8.6 Discuss Work Session Items Mr. Portner presented the staff report. The following were requested as future work session items: rp IMI E 8 E I 11 INaruRE City Council Minutes Page 8 July 1, 2019 • Arena Commission Review ■ City Hall Security • Snow and Ice Control Policy 9. Council Liaison Updates Council provided updates on the activities of the various boards and commissions as also noted in the respective board's minutes. 10.1 Compensation Plan Amendment and IT Division Staffing Mr. Portner presented the staff report. He discussed the advantageous of a phased retirement plan. He further discussed how the transition would work for the IT manager. He stated bridging the retirement with the hiring of a new manager would be helpful for succession planning. Council concurred on changing the policy and bringing the item back for consideration at a future meeting. Council questioned the financial impact. Mr. Portner stated there would be an impact in the IT Division with the hiring of a manager, but the current manager's salary would be reduced in half due to reduced hours. He stated the rest of the benefits, such as vacation would be reduced proportionately for the current manager. 10.2 Liquor Operations Reorganization Plan Mr. Audette presented the staff report. He noted they have an unusual situation where they received a significant number of higher qualified candidates than expected. He stated he anticipated they would be hiring internally for an assistant liquor operations manager but would like to change the organizational structure and hire a manager for each liquor store because they had two very good external candidates. He further discussed the advantageous of how this change would help to free up his time to focus on the liquor operations as a whole. There was discussion on the budget impact, which was unknown due to many variables. Mr. Audette noted, via attrition, he wouldn't be replacing certain positions, which would help reduce the budget impact. Councilmember Wagner stated she would like to see a return on investment brought to the liquor operation if this change were approved. Mr. Audette felt this could be difficult to quantify. INATUR� City Council Minutes July 1, 2019 Page 9 Mr. Portner noted the odd situation as this is the first time in a very long time the liquor stores have been fully staffed. He stated, historically the stores haven't utilized their full allotment of part-time hours. He discussed some future retirements that could occur. He noted this is an enterprise operation and when there are part-time/ full-time vacancies it can create stress and pressure. He stated this change would create some stability and allow for more flexibility in the interim. Mayor Dietz stated he believes the organization change is worth it if there are good, qualified managers but it would be different if it affected the city budget versus the enterprise fund. Councilmember Wagner expressed concerns with future competition so she is unsure about changing the structure. She stated there are not enough details on knowing the full impact of these changes. She stated the budget increase takes away from investment into the park and recreation improvement fund. She would like the added position to pay for itself. Mr. Audette discussed the customer service aspects of a city liquor operation, noting a fully -staffed, highly -trained, management team is important. Councilmember Westgaard stated he has no issues with the request noting it is difficult to find good employees. Councilmember Christianson stated he would like more information and suggested further discussion at the next Council meeting. Mr. Audette expressed concern with losing candidates if this item is delayed. Mr. Portner stated competition and legislative changes will cause evaluation of the liquor operations regardless of the organizational changes being considered tonight. Councilmember Wagner stated there are no numbers of how this change will affect the budget and profits. Mr. Audette stated part-time hours will be reduced which will help offset some costs. Councilmember Wagner stated she will support it but when it comes to budget planning she will expect further review. Council consensus to move forward with the organizational changes. II. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 9:17 p.m. ETURE City Council Minutes July 1, 2019 hn J Dietz, Mayor Tina Allard, City Clerk Page 10 p 0 w I A I I Ir NATURE