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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-27-12-R ,-ARQEN HILLS Approved: March 26, 2012 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING FEBRUARY 27,2012 7:00 P.M. -ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor David Grant called to order the regular City Council meeting at 7:05 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant, Council Members Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, Nick Tamble, and Ed Werner Absent: None Also present: City Attorney Jerry Filla; City Administrator Patrick Klaers; Director of Finance and Administrative Services Sue Iverson; and Community Development Director Jill Hutmacher PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Councilmember Tamble moved and Councilmember Werner seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 2. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL Mayor Grant opened the Public Inquiries/Informational at 7:07 p.m. Joe Johnson introduced himself to the Council stating he was working on his Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge for Boy Scout Troop 606. He noted he recently ran the lights for a local musical volunteering over 32 hours of time. Zac Mollenhalf introduced himself to the Council stating he also was working on his Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge for Boy Scout Troop 419. Mayor Grant thanked both scout members for attending this evenings meeting and for their service to the community. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 27,2012 2 Greg Larson, 3377 North Snelling Avenue, addressed the Council regarding the stadium plans. He expressed concern with the approach the Council and Mayor were taking and how property taxes may be affected. He requested the Council protect the City's interests. Mr. Larson indicated he served on the Council for 11 years. He cautioned the Council against attending out of state conferences at the expense of the taxpayers. At a time when budgets are tight, he felt this was not a necessary expense for the City. He recommended the Council begin taking action as the fiscal conservatives they claim to be. Mayor Grant closed the Public Inquiries/Informational at 7:13 p.m. 3. STAFF COMMENTS A. TCAAP/Stadium Update Community Development Director Hutmacher explained the Star Tribune reported on February 18th the Vikings, the City of Minneapolis and the State of Minnesota had reached a tentative agreement to locate the new stadium at or near the Metrodome site. The article reported the stadium would cost $975 million. The funding would include $427 million from the Vikings, $398 million from the State and $150 million from the City of Minneapolis. A formal announcement of this deal was expected to occur last week, but has not yet occurred. Community Development Director Hutmacher indicated Representative Hamilton suggested a plan to have the stadium located in Arden Hills which would be funded by electronic bingo and pull tabs. She discussed the plan in further detail. Another bill, proposed by Representative Davids would eliminate the Minneapolis sales and hospitality taxes which would be used for the Minneapolis stadium financing. Mayor Grant clarified he had, at no time, made any statement about having the stadium in Arden Hills "at any cost". Nor was he focusing on locating a casino in Arden Hills. He did not want the residents of Arden Hills putting words in his mouth. He commented that the trip taken by Councilmember Holden and Councilmember Holmes was to a National League of Cities Conference held in Arizona. A report was given by the Councilmembers. Councilmember Holden indicated she did attend a conference in Arizona and discussed stadium funding along with park design and foreclosed homes. These issues were discussed with the Council after returning from the trip. Councilmember Holmes reported the National League of Cities Conference was attended by the Mayor of St. Paul as well. Many representatives from Minnesota and throughout the country were present at the event. She discussed the locations she visited and information gained from the conference. She felt the networking at the conference allowed her to gain valuable information that would assist the City of Arden Hills. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. January 17, 2012, Council Work Session B. January 30, 2012 Council Work Session ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 27, 2012 3 C. January 30, 2012, Regular Council Meeting Councilmember Holden noted that she had a few minor wording changes to the January 17th minutes and the January 301"meeting minutes. MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Werner seconded a motion to approve the January 17, 2012 Council Work Session, January 30, 2012, Council Work Session and January 30, 2012 Regular Council Meeting minutes as amended. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 5. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Claims and Payroll B. Approve Ordinance 2012-003 Adopting the 2012 Fee Schedule and Authorizing Publication of the Ordinance Summary C. Accept Resignation of Deputy Clerk Rebecca Brazys and Authorization to Advertise MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Tamble seconded a motion to approve the Consent Calendar as presented and to authorize execution of all necessary documents contained therein. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 6. PULLED CONSENT ITEMS None. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS None. 8. NEW BUSINESS None. 9. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A. Contract with CivicPlus for Redesign of the City Website Community Development Director Hutmacher stated the City Council appointed an ad hoc committee to assist with the redesign of the City's website. She noted that members of the ad hoc committee were present with a report for the Council. Ms. Arlene Mitchell thanked the Council for their time this evening and was pleased the City's website was being redesigned. She indicated technology was changing rapidly and felt the website was serving as a gateway to the City. She wanted the City's website to make a great ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 27, 2012 4 impression to those visiting the site. Ms. Mitchell indicated the City's website had over 66,000 visits in just the first eight weeks of 2012. Councilmember Holden thanked Ms. Mitchell and the committee for working so diligently on the website issue and for making a recommendation to the Council. Mayor Grant agreed stating the ad hoc committee provided the City with a great service by reviewing website vendors. Community Development Director Hutmacher reviewed the current website features stating a lot of information was available, but navigation was difficult. In addition, it was difficult to update and maintain and did not allow for automated bulk-emails or calendar updates. She stated newer websites have word-based content management systems which allow for easier updates. She pulled up the City's current website stating it was somewhat dated. Community Development Director Hutmacher indicated in October of 2011 the Council appointed an ad hoc committee for the website redesign project. She named the members assigned to the ad hoc committee. The ad hoc committee was responsible for requesting vendor proposals, reviewing the information, and was now presenting a recommendation to the Council for consideration. The preliminary budget for the website redesign was $35,000 which included design and project management. Councilmember Tamble explained the City's needs were evaluated. A major concern was ease of use for the website to assure that information was readily available and accessible to visitors. Many municipal websites were reviewed and components of each were discussed. This assisted the committee in creating a database of likes and dislikes. Councilmember Tamble stated several cities were contacted regarding the vendors to learn more about the redesign process. The two final vendors interviewed for the website redesign were Vision Internet and CivicPlus, both located out of state. Staff created a matrix to compare the pros and cons of each vendor. It was determined that CivicPlus would provide the greatest benefit to the City at the least cost. CivicPlus offers flexibility in site design, ease of site updates and maintenance, capacity for social media and e-notification, user-friendly features, mobile app included in design and had many positive references. Councilmember Tamble reviewed several municipal websites created by CivicPlus. The first one discussed was Manhattan, Kansas which was the hometown of CivicPlus. The numerous positive features were pointed out. Another site discussed was the City of Burnsville. It was pointed out navigation of this site was extremely easy. Community Development Director Hutmacher recommended that the City Council approve the CiviePlus Advantage Contract for a three-year cost including website design, hosting, and support for $9,545 annually or a total of$28,635. CiviePlus offered third-parry hosting and training for the website, which was necessary as the City of Roseville was not interested in providing these IT services for Arden Hills. If the City were to maintain a four-year contract with CivicPlus,the fifth year of the contract would offer a free website redesign. This would be a great benefit to the City ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 27, 2012 5 that other vendors were not providing. It was noted the website design process will take six to eight months. Councilmember Tamble explained that the website redesign would be funded through the Cable Fund. Community Development Director Hutmacher stated the price from CiviePlus was based on the population of the City, which allowed the City to get the redesigned website at a discounted price. Councilmember Holden asked if the online payments could be made for utility bills, permits and pet licenses. Community Development Director Hutmacher indicated each of these areas would be reviewed and integrated into the new website. The City already allows on-line bill paying through software provided by a third-party vendor. Mayor Grant asked if any current functionality would be lost with the website redesign. Community Development Director Hutmacher was not aware that any functions would be lost. Mayor Grant questioned if the utility billing could be set to auto pay versus online billing. Director of Finance and Administrative Services Iverson stated this would have to be reviewed with the City's accounting software. Councilmember Holmes felt the Manhattan, Kansas, website had features and amenities which would be unfamiliar to Arden Hills residents. Ms. Mitchell stated the website design would be very intuitive. She indicated people are learning how to navigate the new amenities and the Communications Committee could provide training to the residents. Community Development Director Hutmacher added that the new website could also be discussed and walked through live at a City Council meeting. This would provide valuable education to the residents on the new website. She indicated she would serve as the City's project manager for the website. This would save the City approximately $15,000 by not having to hire an outside project manager. She was pleased that the ad hoc committee would continue to work with staff throughout the redesign process as their input has been extremely valuable. Councilmember Holmes asked how the website would address social media. Councilmember Tamble indicated automatic updates on the website could be posted to Facebook to keep the public updated. He explained that what is posted on Facebook would be determined by the City and Council. The issues did not have to be decided at this point. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—FEBRUARY 27, 2012 6 MOTION: Councilmember Tamble moved and Mayor Grant seconded a motion to approve the CivicPlus Advantage Contract including website design, hosting, and support for $9,545 annually for a term of three years for a total of $28,635. Mayor Grant commented he was on Council when the first website was designed. He stated the current website is limited. He indicated the website served a communication need and the redesign would assist with increasing this communication. He felt the updates would assist in reaching all demographics. He was pleased the City was keeping up with changing technology. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 10. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Councilmember Holmes encouraged residents to become involved in the Beyond the Yellow Ribbon initiative and assist in supporting military families. She indicated Northwest Youth and Family Services was also seeking resident volunteers. In addition, the Planning Commission had a vacant seat. Those interested could contact City Hall for further information. Councilmember Werner added that the Economic Development Commission had a vacancy as well. He indicated he had a coyote in his neighborhood and asked what the City could do to address concerns. Councilmember Holden indicated another City in the metro area had a coyote issue and smaller animals were not to be left out. Mayor Grant stated the school board (#612) has named a liaison to the City of Arden Hills. He suggested the City Administrator request a presentation from the liaison. City Administrator Klaers noted there would be a Special City Council Meeting on May 7t". He added that there would be a continuation of the Salvation Army discussion on March 19tn ADJOURN TO WORK SESSION MOTION: Councilmember Tamble moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to adiourn. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). Mayor Grant adjourned the Regular City Council Meeting at 8:09 p.m. S Patrick Klaers David Grant City Administrator Mayor