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03-08-2010 CCMMEETING OF THE ELK RIVER CITY COUNCIL HELD AT THE CITY OF ELK RIVER (UPPER TOWN CONFERENCE ROOM) MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2010 Members Present: Mayor Klinzing, Councilmembers Westgaard, Gumphrey, Motin, and Zerwas Members Absent: None Staff Present: City Administrator Lori Johnson, Chief of Police Jeff Beahen, Parks and Recreation Director Bill Maertz, Environrnental Administrator Rebecca Haug, Finance Director Tim Simon, and Executive Secretary/Deputy City Clerk Jessica Miller Call Meeting To Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River City Council was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor Klinzing. 2. Consider Council Agenda MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER MOTIN AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WESTGAARD TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. • 3. Consider Consent Agenda MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER ZERWAS AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER MOTIN TO APPROVE THE.FOLLOWING CONSENT AGENDA: 3.1. SHERBURNE SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT GRANTS - LRP STORMWATER RETROFIT AND CLEAN WATER FUND 3.2. CALL SPECIAL MEETING FOR MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2010, AT 6:30 P.M. TO REVIEW THE FOCUSED AREA STUDY LAND USE. 3.3. COUNCIL APPROVAL TO FILL VACANCY CREATED BY RETIREMENT OF DETECTIVE DAVE HURD AND TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICER JESSE SMITH TO PATROL OFFICER EFFECTIVE MARCH 12, 2010. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 4. Omen Mike No one appeared for open mike. :7 City Council Minutes March 8, 2010 Page 2 5.1. 2011 CIP Softball Light Discussion Mr. Maertz presented the staff report. Counciltnember Gumphrey questioned if other organizations use the softball fields. Mr. Maertz stated that youth football and girl's fast pitch use the fields. He noted that associations prefer to donate money for new items rather than replacement items. Councilmember Motin questioned if grants are available to upgrade to dark sky compliant lighting. Mr. Maertz indicated he has not looked into that yet but generally the grants are looking for a quicker payback than what the lights would provide. 5.2. Project Conserve Phase II Ms. Haug presented her staff report. Councilmember Motin questioned if there could be a scaled back version of Phase III which would allow residents not in Elk River Municipal Utilities' service area to participate. Ms. Haug indicated that those residents can participate in Phase II. She stated that Connexus Energy has agreed to provide information to the city for their customers once the customer signs a release form. Councilmember Motin stated that the current application form for Phase II states that the customer must receive electric service from Elk River Municipal Utilities. Ms. Haug noted that is an error and she will update the form. Counal consensus was to move forward with Phase II as outlined. 5.3. Council Code of Conduct Mayor Klinzing distributed a City Council Code of Conduct that she drafted. She indicated that she used codes from other cities and the League of Minnesota Cities' information as a guide. Councilmember Zerwas stated he has no interest in having a City Council Code of Conduct at this point. He added that if he were interested it would be in having a much shorter code than the one distributed. Councilmember Motin indicated he is not in favor of a formal code. He explained that he believes Councilmembers are already held to the standards outlined in the document and that a formal written code it not necessary. He stated that one example of where the code of conduct may have lapsed is with the Random Acts of Kindness campaign. He stated that it was a good program but he believes it made the Council look bad. He expressed concern that the campaign was promoted to the media before the City Council had discussed it. Mayor Klinzing explained the campaign was not a chy-sponsored event and that the City Council was only asked to approve a proclamation of support. She added that the Council has been asked to approve proclamations from many community organizations. Councilmember Westgaard indicated that he is not in favor of additional policy. He added that he agrees with Councilmember Motin that Councilmembers are already held to unwritten rules similar to the Code of Conduct. City Council Minutes March 8, 2010 Page 3 Mayor Klinzing stated it is better to operate under written guidelines for liability reasons. Councilrnember Moon indicated that from an attorney standpoint, the liability could increase if written rules are approved. Councilmember Gumphrey asked for an example of liability. Mayor Klinzing indicated one Councilmember attempting to directly supervise or direct employees, without Council consent or direction, may create unintended legal liability for the Mayor or City Council members. Mayor Klinzing added that it is important for staff to be aware of this and understand that the Mayor or individual Council members should only be giving advice to employees. Councilmember Motin stated he does not believe a written Code of Conduct needs to be approved to make staff aware of that fact. Mayor Klinzing questioned if this is a governance model that the Council agrees with. Councilmember Motin indicated he agrees to the extent that the Council is governed by state statute. He added that once a Councilmember is elected he/she should be aware this is how they should act. Councilmember Gurnphrey concurred. It was the consensus of the Council to not adopt a Code of Conduct at this time. The Council discussed a board and commission Code of Conduct. Councilmember Zerwas stated he is not in favor of formal codes. He would like to review the board and commission handbook for new commissioners that is currently in place to see if it can be modified. Mayor Klinzing expressed interest in adding consequences for inappropriate actions to the board and commission information. Councilmember Motin asked that this information be discussed at the May worksession. Ms. Johnson noted that consequences for some board and commissions are governed by state statute. The Council asked staff to provide this information to them as well. 5.4. Public Works Director Organizational Structure Ms. Johnson reviewed her staff report. She stated that the organizational chart in the packet is the structure the city currently operates under. She noted that Elk River Municipal Utilities has been included on the organizational chart provided only for auditing purposes. She also distributed the original organizational chart approved by the Council in 2004. Ms. Johnson stated that the two department head positions open are community development director and public works director. She indicated that the budget does not allow both positions to be filled. She added that she believes a community development director is a higher priority than the public works director at this time. She stated she spends an average of one or two hours a day on community development related activities. Councilmember Gumphrey concurred with Ms. Johnson that a community development director is a higher priority than a public works director. Councilmember Motin agreed but indicated he is not comfortable hiring at this time due to the current budget situation. Mayor Klixizing concurred with Councilmember Motin. She explained that while a community development director and public works director are discretionary positions, a city engineer is necessary. She explained that the impact to the general budget to hire a city engineer is minimal because a majority of the funding is billed back to special projects. Mr. Simon indicated that approximately 65 - 70% of a city City Council Minutes March 8, 2010 Page 4 engineer's time can be funded by special projects. She noted that the current arrangement with the consulting engineer is working very well, but it may be more cost effective to have a city engineer on staff. Councilxnember Westgaard stated that his initial thought was that the public works director was more important because community development activities are at a slower pace. Councilmember Zerwas stated it makes financial sense to have a city engineer on staff. He added that with the current budget situation, the community development director and public works director positions may have to wait. Discussion took place regarding the number of direct reports for Ms. Johnson and possibly redirecting some of her current reports to another department head position, possibly an assistant city administrator. Ms. Johnson will bring back options at a future meeting. MOVED BY COUNCILMEMBER ZERWAS AND SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WESTGAARD TO AUTHORIZE STAFF TO BEGIN THE PROCESS TO HIRE. A CITY ENGINEER AS A CITY EMPLOYEE. MOTION CARRIED 5-0. 5.5. Council Open Forum Mayor Klinzing indicated that the Random Acts of Kindness campaign generated approximately 1,500 acts of kindness. 6. Other Business There was no other business. 7. Council Updates There were no Council updates. 8. Staff Updates Ms. Johnson provided an update on Northstar Marketing Committee efforts. She noted that Elk River had the highest ridership of all stations in January. Councilmember Motin provided an update on some changes proposed by the Northstar Executive Committee. 9. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Klinzing adjourned the meeting of the Elk River City Council at 7:32 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jessica Miller. ``~~ , ~~1~ Tina Allard, City Clerk • • Ciry Council Minutes March 8, 2010 -. Steph nie Khnzing, • Page 5 •