05-18-2020-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – MAY 18, 2020 7 Councilmember McClung agreed. Councilmember Holmes stated the Personnel Committee had requested the information from the Public Works Director but felt the entire Council should consider the options. Councilmember Holden indicated there wasn’t a need for someone in the Recreation department to do tree inspections or park and trail boundary inspections as Public Works is in the field. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom noted that there is a certified tree inspector in Public Works and the Recreation Coordinator is also a certified tree inspector. He explained the process for boundary surveys for parks and trails requires someone documenting the encroachment so it can move to enforcement. Council agreed that as a result of COVID-19 the Parks and Rec staff would need to be limited. City Administrator Perrault requested that Council allow staff to discuss internally and decide how to curtail hours to the equivalent of one full time employee due to COVID-19. If they would like to consider a permanent change to the staffing model that would be a separate discussion. Councilmember Holden stated the need to furlough one person. Mayor Grant agreed. Councilmember Holden wished to furlough one person full time. She said it’s not fair to the taxpayers of Arden Hills to be paying salaries for no product. City Administrator Perrault said the item can be brought for approval at the May 26 Council meeting. Mayor Grant asked to have the Council informed of the staff’s recommendation by Thursday. D. COVID-19 Operations and Summer Hours Discussion City Administrator Perrault stated the Governor’s latest guidance allowed retail to open at a reduced capacity and allowed for groups of 10 or less to gather. Staff is continuing to work some staff remotely and some staff rotating in to the office, and following CDC guidelines. They are proposing new hours for the Public Works Department. He asked when Council may be ready to bring City Hall staff back and/or open to the public. Also, some cities are opening park playground equipment and staff would like direction for our parks. Public Works Director/City Engineer Blomstrom requested support from the Council to move to a more efficient work schedule and bring the crews back to hours that more closely resemble normal work hours. They are proposing to keep staff split and staggered by one hour to provide for better social distancing. There would be different start, break, lunch and end times. Councilmember Holden suggested the shifts start at 6:30 and 7:30 instead of 6:00 and 7:00.