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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION— OCTOBER 19, 2020 5 <br /> full-time employee could potentially manage the recreation program during the winter season. <br /> Projecting demand for future programs is also difficult as there have been changes in recreation <br /> over the last ten years. For example, softball has declined in some communities and held steady <br /> in others. Arden Hills staff, along with other communities, are trying to forecast how much <br /> recreation demand there will be in the future. <br /> Finance Director Bauman explained that anytime Public Works staff was working in the parks it <br /> was coded to Parks Maintenance, not Recreation. <br /> Councilmember Holden thought they should possibly look at this again in the spring because of <br /> the uncertainty of COVID-19. <br /> Councilmember McClung felt he wasn't sure they can come up with an answer now because of <br /> unknow variables. He thought it was probably not the best thing to have a full two FTEs in this <br /> area but he wasn't sure what the right mix is. <br /> Councilmember Holmes said they have always struggled with whether they need two people. <br /> Regardless of what happens with COVID they probably need two people in the summer but not in <br /> the winter. She felt there are other issues that could be looked at prior to the ending of COVID. <br /> Mayor Grant agreed in general with the comments and the idea of putting it back to the <br /> Personnel Committee to look at. He asked if the 95-105% range recommended for FPAC was an <br /> acceptable level of coverage of direct costs by program revenue. <br /> After further discussion, Council agreed that 95-105% was acceptable. <br /> Mayor Grant asked if they wanted to look at coordinating with other cities for any of the adult <br /> programs. <br /> Council agreed they would like to continue coordinating with other cities. <br /> Mayor Grant directed staff to add Parks and Recreation staffing to the January or February <br /> Personnel Committee meeting. <br /> D. Purchasing Policy Update <br /> Finance Director Bauman stated the City's Purchasing Policy was last updated in 2014. <br /> Updates are needed because Minnesota Statute contract limits have increased and are also <br /> requiring local governments to have a policy on electronic funds transfers. Also needed is <br /> information related to Cooperative Purchasing and Environmental Purchasing. An original draft <br /> of the policy was distributed to FPAC members earlier this year for any comments they might <br /> have on the proposed changes. The committee members didn't have much experience with this <br /> type of policy but felt it was more comprehensive and flowed better than the current policy in <br /> place. A comment was made regarding the spending limits on page 3. FPAC felt the limits were <br /> a little low. Staff concurs with this assessment and would recommend increasing the $7,500 <br /> amount throughout the policy to $10,000 and replacing the tables on pages 3 and 11 highlighted in <br /> yellow, with the new tables written in red. <br />