06-22-2020-R - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—MAY 1812020 6 After further discussion on the three cities agreement it was decided that Chief Boehlke should sign the purchase agreement for the Anderson Center property. Mayor Grant reiterated that Arden Hills won't be waiving building permit fees, plan review fees etc. Chief Boehlke thanked the Council for their support. C. Recreation Staffing and COVID-19 City Administrator Perrault reported the Personnel Committee directed staff to bring forward to Council information regarding ongoing recreation staffing and COVID-19 implications. At a previous meeting, the City Council directed staff to cancel all recreation programming through the summer season due to COVID-19 concerns. Cancelling programs was not an easy decision but felt it was necessary to protect the health of our residents and staff, and allow residents and seasonal staff to adjust their summer plans accordingly. With summer programs being cancelled, staff brought forward to the Personnel Committee proposed supplemental duties during the summer season for the recreation positions. These duties were not necessarily specific to recreation staff however they provided support or assistance to other departments in the City. The Personnel Committee preferred not to supplement recreation personnel with additional duties, but rather focus on core recreation duties and augment staffing levels to accommodate ongoing operations. With the absence of summer recreation programming, it is anticipated that the recreation duties could be accomplished by the equivalent of a single full-time employee. City Administrator Perrault explained if the Council directs staff to have recreation only focus on core duties, options that may be considered include reduced hours for both the Recreation Programmer and Recreation Coordinator totaling forty hours per week or temporary furlough of one of the recreation employees until normal operations can resume. At this time staff is requesting Council to consider only temporary options. If Council directs staff to move forward augmenting the recreation employees' duties, staff would request the flexibility to work internally and bring forward a proposal at a future regular City Council meeting for approval. City Administrator Perrault noted that budget numbers show there is about a $10,000 loss to the city with the programs being cancelled. That number includes seasonal but not full time staff. Councilmember Holden thought they had to furlough or lay someone off. She expressed disappointment in the last eight weeks the recreation staff hasn't produced any online classes like coloring, sing-a-longs, and book reading. She was wondering why the list of potential things to do haven't been done in the past eight weeks. Councilmember Holmes added that she didn't think we'll have a robust program in the fall. She is disappointed in the information provided for tennis and art classes because it doesn't include number of students and costs of the programs. While some of the duties on the list are important she thought they could be continued after August. Councilmember Scott felt with the cancellation of summer programs he didn't think a second full time staff member could be supported and concurred in furloughing one staff member.