08-09-2021 Special CCMSpecial Meeting of the Elk River City Council
Held at the Elk River City Hall
Monday, August 9, 2021
Members Present: Mayor John Dietz, Councilmembers Garrett Christianson, Mike
Beyer, Matt Westgaard, and Jennifer Wagner
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: City Administrator Calvin Portner, Police Chief Ron Nierenhausen,
Police Captain Joe Gacke, Police Captain Darren McKernan, Fire
Chief Mark Dickinson, Assistant Fire Chief Mark Wandersee,
Environmental Coordinator Amanda Erickson, Building
Maintenance Supervisor Gary Lore, Public Safety Director Justin
Femrite, Public Safety Superintendent Tim Sevcik, Librarian Robbie
Schake, Engineering Project Manager Brandon. Wisner, Multipurpose
Facility Superintendent Tim Dalton, Waste Water Treatment System
Chief Operator Matt Stevens, and Parks and Recreation Director
Michael Hecker
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 4:02 p.m. by Mayor Dietz.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
3. Contract for Deed
Mr. Portner presented the staff report.
Consensus of Council for staff to prepare conveyance for 413 Proctor Avenue by
Contract for Deed.
4. 2022 Budget
Various staff presented their departmental budgets. Items to note include the
following:
Libra
Ms. Schaake introduced her new supervisor, Ryan McCormick.
There was discussion about Covid and its effect of reducing programming.
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Mayor Dietz questioned if the city could continue to get the three extra hours of
programming at no charge after 2022.
Mr. McCormick stated it needs to be approved by the Great River Regional Library
Board, but it seems a fair request.
Police
Chief Nierenhausen discussed the crime prevention specialist position. He stated he
would like to see it become a sworn position to lend credibility to the program and
save costs by not also having to provide a police officer to attend the many program
events. He further noted he consistently hears from officers they would like the
ability to branch out and do different things, so he suggested a four-year rotation for
the position.
Fire
Chief Dickinson discussed self-contained breathing apparatus and turnout gear,
noting the equipment is expired per National Fire Protection Association standards.
He stated he applied for a $300,000 grant to hopefully offset some of the costs.
Mayor Dietz stated these costs are high and he would like to split the expenses up.
Assistant Chief Wandersee discussed the need for a rotational replacement program
to help even out the yearly expenses.
Garbage
Ms. Erickson noted garbage contracts expire in 2022 and Randy's has commented
they would like to extend their contract. She further stated billing could be
outsourced to the hauler and if bids are sought, it could be an alternative bid option.
Councilmember Wagner felt the cost for the organics bag was high and questioned if
they could be left near the dumpsters so when someone drops a bag off, they can
pick up another one.
Ms. Erickson stated the bags are shipped direct from the company to the person and
can't be stored outside due to weather exposure affecting the composition.
Wastewater Treatment System
There was discussion about disposable wipes still being a significant issue and
evaluating a redesign of equipment to handle them as the product manufacturer's
most likely won't redesign the wipes.
Building Maintenance
There was discussion about the amount of work orders the department handles but
can't complete. Mr. Lore discussed the need for an additional employee due to the
amount of new equipment requiring maintenance and the work order load.
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Mr. Femrite stated they completed an industry service level benchmark, which is
difficult to compare because of factors such as number of buildings and their age,
but the city would still be below industry standard with the new hire.
Council recessed for 15 minutes.
Equipment Services
Mr. Sevcik discussed his request for a mechanics position. He noted trails would be
added to the crack fill program to preserve them longer.
Park Maintenance
Mr. Sevcik discussed his request for a park maintenance position because of new
amenities, such as the splash pad, new picnic shelters, nature play area at Woodlands,
additional trails, and pickle ball courts.
There was discussion about an increase in equipment maintenance lately due to a
surge in theft/damage from park users. Mr. Portner stated they are working on
policy changes to address the issues.
Furniture and Things Community Event Center
Council stated they would like the open house moved to September.
Councilmember Westgaard stated the city should have seen savings in personal
' services when the Serrano Bros. sponsorship was approved and questioned where
this is shown referring to a spreadsheet distributed last year accounting for every
position at the Center. He felt the part-time pay line item should have been reduced.
Councilmember Beyer stated there is $10,000 for the Concession Management Fee
line item but the city is expected to get additional revenue based on sales. He
questioned where this revenue will go.
Councilmember Wagner noted the $10,000 is the fee Serrano Bros. will pay in 2022
for their cafe naming rights and she further questioned where the other two line
items are for the additional 12% for the concessions and the 7% for rented
room/catered events. She stated these revenue line items should be added.
Ms. Ziemer stated these numbers are currently unknown but will be added once
actuals are received.
Councilmember Wagner felt these numbers should be added to the budget and staff
should ask Serrano Bros. what they feel these numbers would be.
Councilmember Wagner questioned why the Naming Rights/Sponsorships line item
is in the Revenue budget.
Ms. Ziemer stated it was in this section last year because it paid for the consulting
f fees. She stated the consultant fees will be put in expenditures.
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Mayor Dietz questioned if the Multipurpose Advisory Commission would be
responsible to designate the sponsorship revenues and designating it as a sinking
fund.
Councilmember Westgaard stated yes, it would be part of the fund balance to
support this facility.
Mr. Portner stated the commission should create a policy recommendation to
Council regarding the allocation.
Councilmember Wagner noted the goal with naming rights was to create the sinking
fund to have the Center operate independently. She stated naming rights funds
should not be used for operating costs and should be separated into different line
items.
Councilmember Westgaard further stated revenue from scoreboard advertising could
be used for upgrades/replacement of the scoreboard in the future and should be
broken down into separate line items for tracking purposes.
Councilmember Westgaard further suggested a line item for the lease space.
Councilmember Westgaard noted there are a lot of requests for new positions
because of new equipment and amenities and suggested Council may want to have a
philosophical discussion evaluating fees and covering costs for added staff to
maintain and clean facilities or are they costs to the taxpayer.
Councilmember Wagner stated we should see efficiencies with combining from three
buildings down to one.
There was discussion about the fund balance policy and whether to draw down the
fund to help offset some costs.
S. Adjournment
There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk
River City Council at 8:13 p.m.
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