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08-05-2019 CCMMembers Present: Members Absent: Meeting of the Elk River City Council Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, August 5, 2019 Mayor John Dietz, Councilmembers Garrett Christianson, Nate Ovall, Matt Westgaard, and Jennifer Wagner None Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Police Chief Ron Nierenhausen, Fire Chief Mark Dickinson, Senior Planner Chris Leeseberg, Finance Director Lori Ziemer, Deputy Fire Chief Aaron Surratt, Public Works Director Justin Femrite, Parks and Recreation Director Michael Hecker, and Deputy Clerk Jessica Miller 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 6:37 p.m. by Mayor Dietz. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Consider Agenda Moved by Councilmember Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to approve the agenda. Motion carried 5-0. 4. Consent Agenda Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Wagner to approve: 4.1 Minutes: ■ July 1, 2019, Regular ■ July 10, 2019, Special (Groundbreaking) ■ July 15, 2019, Regular ■ July 22, 2019, Special (Budget) 4.2 Check register, check numbers 9988-9990 and 11190-111403 as outlined in the staff report. 4.3 Continue the temporary recreation program lead position at the Activity Center as outlined in the staff report. 4.4 Law Enforcement Services Agreement No. 19-17 between the City of Elk River and ISD 728. 4.5 Ordinance 19-14 repealing and replacing Chapter 2, Article IV, Finance, Division 1, relating to enactment of local sales and use tax. City Council Minutes August 5, 2019 Page 2 4.6 Hire James Kuklock as liquor store manager effective August 21, 2019, with pay and benefits as outlined in the staff report. 4.7 Interim pay to Lori Stich for acting as interim assistant finance director effective July 24, 2019. 4.8 First amendment to the settle agreement No. 19-14 with John and Elaine Dryer. 4.9 Professional services in the amount of $246,800 from Hakanson Anderson associated with engineering services for the Twin Lakes Road and Yale Street extension project. Motion carried 5-0. S. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6.1 CenterPoint Energy Community Partnership Grant Jake Schwietering, New Market Development Sales Consultant for CenterPoint Energy, presented a grant in the amount of $2,500 to the Elk River Fire Department. Moved by Councilmember Christianson and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to adopt Resolution 19-32 acknowledging the $2,500 contribution from CenterPoint Energy to the Elk River Fire Department. Motion carried 5- 0. 7.1 Simple Plat: Bloomdahl Addition Mr. Leeseberg presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue, Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. Moved by Councilmember Westgaard and seconded by Councilmember Ovall to adopt Resolution 19-33 approving the plat of Bloomdahl Addition, with the following conditions: 1. Wetland delineation must be approved by city staff, and the plat must be updated to reflect the approved delineation prior to recording. 2. Add 45 -foot easements around delineated wetlands. 3. Any item or condition found indicating the site is likely to yield information important to pre -history or history shall immediately be reported to the city. Further, the city reserves the right to stop work authorized in its approval until the site is appropriately investigated and work is authorized. Motion carried 5-0. 0* E I E I I r NATURE City Council Minutes Page 3 August 5, 2019 ----------------------------- 7.2 Issuance of Sales Tax Revenue Bonds Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report and asked for the public hearing to be opened and closed. She indicated the city is no longer pursuing the 501(c)3 designation for the bonds. Mayor Dietz opened the public hearing. There being no one to speak to this issue, Mayor Dietz closed the public hearing. 8.1 Discuss Work Session Items Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Councilmember Christianson would like to add discussion regarding the purpose of the arena commission, heritage preservation commission, and library board. 9. Council Liaison Updates Councilmembers gave updates on the work of various boards/commissions as outlined in the specific board/commission minutes. Council recessed at 6:58 p.m. in order to go into work session. Council reconvened at 6:59 p.m. 10.1 T21 Discussion Sherburne County Public Health and Economic Supports Division Manager Amanda Larson and Sherburne County Attorney Kathleen Heaney provided a presentation on a proposed Sherburne County ordinance relating to changing the age to purchase tobacco to 21. The Council expressed concern with implementing T21 at the local level and would prefer it be a state initiative. They also believed educating students would be effective. Consensus was to not move forward with T21 at this time. Mayor Dietz disagreed believing something has to be done to help prevent the underage smoking epidemic. 10.4 Sunset Ridge Development Street Extension Mr. Femrite presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz asked Mr. Femrite for his opinion of opening the connection. Mr. Femrite indicated he would stick with the staff recommendation when Miske Meadows 4th Addition was approved to allow the connection of Lincoln Street. Mayor Dietz indicated the Council received an email questioning if tree trimming could be done to improve site lines. Mr. Femrite explained Twin Lakes Road is IP0NEIII Ir NATUR UR� City Council Minutes August 5, 2019 Page 4 Sherburne County's responsibility and in previous review the county did not have sufficient right-of-way to conduct tree trimming in some areas. He noted he can discuss with the county again. Councilmember Wagner would be interested in working with Mr. Femrite and the county to get brush cleared from the site lines. Councilmember Ovall questioned if smart signs would help in the area. Mr. Femrite stated he will apply the conditions against the Enhanced Traffic Control Policy to see if the area qualifies. The Council discussed whether or not the connection to the Sunset Ridge Development should be opened at this time in order to ease construction traffic. Consensus was to leave the connection barricaded closed for now until safety recommendations from the Twin Lakes Corridor Study have been completed. 10.2 Elk RiverFest Update Mr. Hecker presented the staff report. He indicated staff is recommending keeping the event on the first Saturday in July for consistency. Councilmember Christianson questioned if the Elk River High School is the only location to shoot fireworks. He questioned if it is feasible to shoot them over the river downtown. Mr. Hecker indicated fireworks can legally be discharged from Bailey Point but there are public safety concerns. Mayor Dietz believes the High School is a good location as it has lots of parking and traffic disperses pretty easy compared to when the fireworks were held near Orono. Councilmember Wagner added she wouldn't be opposed to having the fireworks downtown but understands the public safety concerns. Council consensus was to hold next year's Elk RiverFest on July 4, 2020. 10.3 Council Chamber Security Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Chief Nierenhausen indicated he would like to hear what the Council has in mind for security. He expressed concerns with the Council Chambers and City Hall security. The Council discussed security concerns and options. Council consensus was for Chief Nierenhausen to put together a cost estimate to have an officer present at Council meetings. 10.5 2020 Budget Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report. K EIII Ir TURE M City Council Minutes August 5, 2019 Page 5 Councilmember Christianson questioned if we can hold off on the $190,000 capital improvement for information technology. Mr. Portner indicated his recommendation is to hold off until the new IT manager is on board to review the system and make recommendations. Councilmember Wagner indicated she would like to see a breakdown of what the tax increase means to the average homeowner. Council consensus was to eliminate the three Fire Department position requests in the budget. Council felt this is a good time for the new fire chief to evaluate the department's needs. Mayor Dietz noted he asked for a complete analysis on the duties of the fire marshal and inspector. Councilmember Wagner explained the Council struggles with the balance between maintaining service levels versus maintaining the tax rate. She stated it comes down to what it will cost the average taxpayer. Councilmember Wagner explained it is easy for the Council to set goals but it would be helpful to know the cost of implementing the goals when setting the goals. She requested Mr. Portner ask the Council next year if they want to maintain service levels or maintain the tax rate during the goal discussion. Councilmember Christianson concurred. Mayor Dietz suggested reducing the sinking fund by $150,000, postponing the hiring of the IT manager until 2021, and postponing the start date of the new investigative assistant until July of 2020. He also suggested transferring $50,000 out of the capital reserve to the General Fund for a total reduction of almost $300,000. Ms. Ziemer indicated liquor transfers to the General Fund could be increased but that would reduce transfers to the Park Improvement Fund. Mayor Dietz would like to see an analysis on these amounts. Councilmember Westgaard indicated he would prefer to look to culture and recreation budgets, including park maintenance, recreation, and senior programing before looking to cut officers. He indicated he would rather look at cutting non- essential services first. He noted the culture and recreation budget increased $120,000 compared to last year. Chief Nierenhausen clarified the investigative assistant position is not a licensed officer and he is comfortable with delaying hiring for six months if that helps the budget. Councilmember Ovall questioned how long the step increases from the recent Compensation Plan adjustments will impact the budget. Mr. Portner indicated the impact may be the highest this year and it should level off. He stated he will get information from finance to the Council this week. PawEBE0 BY NATURE City Council Minutes August 5, 2019 Page 6 Councilmember Christianson questioned if conferences and schools can be reduced. Staff indicated some staff is required to attend conferences and schools in order to maintain certifications. Councilmember Wagner asked Mr. Portner to go back to staff and request additional reductions. Mr. Portner indicated this has already been done. Councilmember Westgaard asked Mr. Portner is he preferred the Council reduce the budget as they see fit. Mr. Portner stated staff worked hard to reduce the budget and he would defer any additional reductions to the Council. Mayor Dietz asked if Monday, September 23 would work for the employee picnic. Councilmembers indicated they would check their schedules and asked Mr. Portner to discuss with employees to see if that date works. II. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 10:10 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jessica Miller. POWEREI IC NATURE