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10.2 SR 10-21-2024The Elk River Vision A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity Request for Action To City Council Item Number 10.2 Meeting Date October 21, 2024 Prepared By Joe Audette, Liquor Operations Manager Item Description Northbound Liquor Store Clerk Position Reviewed by Cal Portner Tina Allard Action Requested Discuss the part-time and full-time liquor store employee mix. Background/Discussion The Northbound liquor store had several staff changes in 2024. Recruitment and retention of high quality part-time staff has been an industry challenge in recent years. Staff recommends a change to the liquor store's part-time and full-time employee mix to meet the changing needs of the operation. Financial Impact The financial impact between part-time and full-time employee benefits was greatly reduced by recent legislative changes to part-time ESST benefits. Mission/Policy/Goal Meet changing needs - agile Attachments 1. June 4, 2018 City Council Minutes 2. July 1, 2019 City Council Minutes 3. November 15, 2021 City Council Minutes Page 276 of 294 City Council Minutes June 4, 2018 Page 4 Moved by Councilmember Olsen and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to accept the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the City of Elk River for the year ended December 31, 2017. Motion carried 5-0. 7.1 Easement Vacation: Bryan Provo Mr. Carlton 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 Olsen to adopt Resolution 18-34 approving a Petition to Vacate a Portion of a Drainage and Utility Easement Case No. EV 18-02. Motion carried 4-0. Councilmember Ovall abstained. 7.2 Easement Vacation: Thomas Newstrom Mr. Carlton 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 Wagner and seconded by Councilmember Olsen to adopt Resolution 18-35 approving a Petition to Vacate a Portion of a Drainage and Utility Easement Case No. EV 18-03. Motion carried 5-0. 8.1 Hire Additional Full Time Liquor Store Clerk Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report. Councilmember Ovall asked if Northbound and Westbound each do their own scheduling and if there may be a scheduling conflict for a new person. Mr. Audette clarified the new person would be working at the Northbound location. If council approves the hiring of an additional full-time liquor store clerk, they would primarily work at the Westbound location with occasional coverage at Northbound. Councilmember Wagner asked for clarification that the city would be hiring a full- time employee to replace a recent retirement and wanted to hire an additional person to replace two recent part-time employee resignations. She understood the convenience factor but questioned the necessity. Mr. Audette stated a full-time employee would be more sustainable and be easier to schedule. An additional full-time person would alleviate having to post for open positions and go through the hiring process as often. Ms. Ziemer added many of the current part-time employees have full-time jobs and want to limit the hours they work at the liquor stores to avoid bum out. IOtEIEI BE NATUR€ Page 277 of 294 City Council Minutes June 4, 2018 Page 5 Councilmember Olsen asked how many full-time and part-time employees the liquor store employs. There are currently 6 full-time employees and 20 part-time employees. Ms. Ziemer clarified there would be negligible financial change for the 2018 budget but the cost of benefits would factor in 2019. Moved by Councilmember Olsen and seconded by Councilmember Westgaard to hire an additional full-time liquor clerk to be utilized by Northbound and Westbound liquor stores. Motion carried 4-1. Councihnember Wagner opposed. 8.2 Discuss Work Session Items Mr. Portner presented the staff report. Councilmember Olsen requested the Council prioritize the list of work session items. Councilmember Wagner wished to add she asked City Engineer Justin Femrite about the process to lower the speed limit on County Road 12. Since the area is in development due to the addition of roundabouts, it may be a good time to work with Sherburne County to conduct a speed study. Councilmember Olsen expressed concerns with the current speed limit on County Road 30. Councilmember Wagner also wished to look into alternative funding for trail projects. Councilmember Westgaard felt the Park and Recreation Commission should be providing this type of information to the Council. He also wanted to caution the Council about providing staff direction on individual projects versus Council -led initiatives. Mayor Dietz said a speed study is typically completed by MnDOT and said the Council should be prepared they may not like the results as sometimes speeds are increased based on driver behavior. Councilmember Wagner clarified she brought the concern because it was part of her ward and she felt it should be addressed. Mr. Portner asked if Mr. Femrite could develop written materials to outline the process of determining speed limits. The Council also asked for information on what authority the council has on determining and changing speed limits. VArEAEA B9 rE Page 278 of 294 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 Page 279 of 294 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 Page 280 of 294 City Council Minutes Page 8 November 15, 2021 Dan Krueger outlined his concept to council. Council consensus was to allow a townhome development in the area requested. 9.4 Liquor Store Full Time Position Mr. Audette presented the staff report. Mayor Dietz asked how much sales have increased in the past two years and the cost of hiring a full-time person with benefits. Mr. Audette noted sales have increased over $1 million in the past two years. Ms. Ziemer stated the cost of a full-time person with benefits would be $60,000- 70,000. If the city did not replace the vacant full-time position and filled it with part- time staff, there would be a savings of about $12,000. Several part-time staff would need to be hired to cover the hours of a full-time position. Mr. Colotti added that full-time staff also have different responsibilities and authority than part-time staff. Councilmember Beyer asked the point of having part-time employees. Mr. Audette stated the original intent was that part-time staff were able to fill in shifts without overstaffing of full-time employees. Now the situation is reversed, and the stores could likely function better with full-time staff rather than part-time. Councilmember Westgaard recommended the Council look at staffing and what the headcount should be for the liquor stores. Council was in favor of allowing the full-time position. Mayor Dietz reminded Mr. Audette that he had said he would not need additional full-time staff during a past meeting and cautioned him about making promises to the Council he couldn't keep. 9.5 Capital Improvement Plan Ms. Ziemer presented the staff report. Staff were in attendance to answer questions on their portion of the plan. Council asked about the replacement of the fire ladder truck and fire engine and would like to have a future discussion on fire vehicles. The $2.8 million needed for repayment of the debt for the vehicle replacements would have to be put on tax levy. P 0 V E R E 1 8 1 1 ATURE Page 281 of 294