08-12-2024 CCM Special Budget
Meeting of the City Council
Held at the Elk River City Hall
Monday, August 12, 2024
Members Present: Mayor John Dietz, Councilmember Jennifer Wagner, Councilmember Mike Beyer,
Councilmember Matt Westgaard, Councilmember Cory Grupa
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: City Administrator Cal Portner, Business Services Director/Assistant City
Administrator Joe Stremcha; Community Development Director Zack Carlton;
Building Official Mark Pistulka; Fire Chief Mark Dickinson; Assistant Fire Chief Joe
Libor Jr.; Environmental Services and Special Projects Director Suzanne Fischer;
Park and Recreation Manager Jeff Shelby; Customer Service Associate Laura
Estby; Recreation Coordinator Natalie Anderson; Concessions Supervisor Ja'Nea
Dart; Great River Regional Library Services Coordinator Margo Barry; Great
River Regional Library Patron Services Supervisor Jeannette Burkhardt
Also Present from the
Multipurpose Facility
Commission:
Jim Hecker, Tonya Henderson, Kara Walker, Michael Westgaard, and Jacob
Kotzian
1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting was called to order at 4:00 PM.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
3. 2025 BUDGET
3.1 2025 Budget
Mr. Stremcha presented the staff report. Scheduled staff presented their budgets to the City Council.
Environmental/Energy City/Garbage
Mayor Dietz asked about making the organics recycling dumpsters easier to access at City Hall and
clearly label each dumpster.
Mr. Portner asked Ms. Fischer to see if there are organics containers that designed for collection that
are more aesthetically pleasing and prevent bugs, animals, and rodents from accessing them.
Recreation
Mayor Dietz asked about the historical programming numbers since the paper guide was eliminated a
few years ago. Mr. Portner stated he would look into it; the paper version was no longer printed
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August 12, 2024
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because the electronic version was supposed to take its place; it currently does and is updated twice a
year.
Mayor Dietz requested staff increase the number of concerts from 6 to 9; he stated he received a lot of
comments about only 6 concerts this summer; staff will meet with The Bank of Elk River to discuss how
this year went and what to plan for 2025.
Mayor Dietz suggested Elk RiverFest be moved to Orono Park as there would be less asphalt if it was a
hot day and that allows everything to be located in one place.
Great River Regional Library
New flooring and shelving costs were discussed. Average costs were $200,000 for new flooring and
$231,000 for new shelving. The library would be required to close for approximately two weeks for
replacement and installation. Staff was directed to get formal bids for exact costs. The Council
requested that the right materials be chosen, while considering costs, to maintain the LEED
certification.
Multipurpose Facility
Mr. Stremcha recommended blending rates per hour into the categories of Prime, Non-Prime, and
School District instead of using resident versus non-resident. The Council discussed various ideas for
being fair and considerate to residents and non-residents, encouraging earlier commitment of time,
adding a deposit process, and increasing opportunities inside the building such as a hard court surface,
to increase revenues.
The meeting recessed at 6:12 p.m. and was reconvened at 6:16 p.m.
4. JOINT MEETING WITH THE MULTIPURPOSE ADVISORY COMMISSION
4.1 Chair Westgaard shall call the meeting of the Mulitpurpose Facility Advisory Commission to
order.
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the joint meeting with the Multipurpose Advisory Commission
was called to order at 6:16 PM.
4.2 Discuss Ice, Turf, and Room Rental Rates
Mr. Stremcha presented the budget and discussed the creation of a prime and non-prime rate blend,
removing the resident and non-resident status and also removing weekday/weekend.
After a considerable discussion, the following rate schedule was a result of their collaborative efforts:
Ice Rates
Bronze Level User – Organizations/Individuals that purchased 0+ total hours in FYE 2023:
$255/hr = Prime (September 1 – March 31)
$204/hr = Non-Prime (April 1 – August 31)
$128/hr = ISD #728 School Hours
Silver Level User – Organizations/Individuals that purchased 200+ total hours in FYE 2023:
$250/hr = Prime (September 1 – March 31)
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$184/hr = Non-Prime (April 1 – August 31)
$128/hr = ISD #728 School Hours
Gold Level User – Organizations/Individuals that purchased 800+ total hours in FYE 2023:
$242/hr = Prime (September 1 – March 31)
$153/hr = Non-Prime (April 1 – August 31)
$128/hr = ISD #728 School Hours
Members of the MFAC discussed partnering with the figure skating staff to ensure the figure skating
rate increases were minimal and avoid losing the important part of city recreation programming.
Turf
$180/hr = Prime (November 1 – April 30)
$130/hr = Non-Prime (May, September, and October)
$100/hr = ISD 728 School Hours
$85/hr = Summer (June, July, and August)
Rooms
$50/hr = Individual Party Room
$95/hr = Combined Party Room
$60/hour = Individual Meeting Room
$110/hour = Combined Meeting Room
$100/hour = Flex Space
$125/hour = Upper lobby
Room rental fees will be waived for events using FT Center catering services with food/beverage that
exceed the room rate. Increasing promotions, marketing, and experienced staff will improve the
opportunities and increase rentals.
5. MOTION TO ADJOURN THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Moved by Councilmember Beyer and seconded by Councilmember Grupa to adjourn the
meeting of City Council. Motion carried 5-0.
The meeting adjourned at 08:06 PM.
Minutes prepared by Jennifer Green.
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John J. Dietz, Mayor
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Tina Allard, City Clerk