09-21-2020-WS - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 12 Councilmember Holden questioned what other non-profits the City should be funding if they do good works in the community. Mayor Grant explained Arden Hills was instrumental in starting NYFS and was a founding charter member. He indicated the City was not a founding charter member of any other non-profit in the community. Councilmember Holden stated she was upset because the City has never received a simple apology for the way their board has treated Arden Hills. Regardless of meeting with the new executive director, the board remains the same. She feared the board was not able to take on the mental health issues occurring in Arden Hills, given the fact it could not apologize for misbehavior. She stated she was against funding NYFS or proposed that NYFS be funded at only 50%. Councilmember Holmes commented she had no confidence in the NYFS board. She feared that a similar situation could occur again in the future due to the leadership on the NYFS board. She stated she agreed with Councilmember Holden. She questioned why the City was funding a non- profit. She explained there were a lot of mental health options available to residents these days. She indicated there were no other non-profits in Arden Hills that were receiving funding from the City. She recommended the City stop funding NYFS. Councilmember Scott stated he wanted to avoid getting into the political dispute. He did not believe now was the time to cut off the feet of a non-profit organization in the community that was providing critical services to Arden Hills residents. He supported funding NYFS with the increase. He suggested CARES Act funding be used for the increase. Councilmember McClung indicated he has some reservations regarding NYFS, but he understood the services they were providing were important. He reported he would not be supportive of cutting all ties. He stated he could support paying a portion with CARES Act dollars and paying the remaining amount after the first of the year. Councilmember Holden recommended more CARES Act dollars be used if NYFS were funded. She suggested 50% of the fee be paid for by CARES Act funds as this would reduce the impact on Arden Hills taxpayers. City Administrator Perrault stated CARES Act dollars could not be used to front expenses in 2021 but rather had to be used for expenses in 2020. Further discussion ensued regarding the City’s CARES Act funding. Mayor Grant questioned how many applications the City has received for CARES Act grants. Community Development Manager/City Planner Mrosla reported the City has received 18 grant applications and noted 11 payments have been issued at this time. Mayor Grant asked if the Council could support the City offering $5,000 in CARES Act funding to NYFS and then reducing the amount funded to NYFS in 2021 by $5,000.