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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-17-12-WS ,.It -zS DEN HILLS Approved: October 8, 2012 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING SEPTEMBER 17,2012 5:00 PM-ARDEN HILLS CONFERENCE ROOM CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Pro-Tem Nick Tamble called to order the City Council Work Session meeting at 5:00 p.m. Present: Mayor David Grant (arrived at 5:04 p.m.); Councilmembers Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes,Nick Tamble, and Ed Werner Absent: None Also present: City Administrator Patrick Klaers; Public Works Director Terry Maurer; and Deputy City Clerk Amy Dietl 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA City Administrator Klaers stated that although the travel policy is not on the agenda, he wanted to address the topic during Staff Updates. The Council accepted the agenda as presented. 2. AGENDA ITEMS A. Sanitary Sewer Maintenance Policy Public Works Director Maurer stated that the draft Sanitary Sewer Maintenance Policy was prepared using the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT) model as a guide. He indicated that having an adopted sewer policy was recommended by our LMCIT Loss Prevention Agent. Public Works Director Maurer noted that the draft Maintenance Policy divides the collection system into three categories. The first category includes plastic mains and lined clay mains that need less frequent cleaning; about every four to six years. The second category is comprised of the clay mains that are susceptible to root intrusion. These mains require cleaning every three ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION— SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 2 years. The third category is made up of larger mains that have heavier flow and are generally self- cleaning. These mains are cleaned on an as-needed basis. Public Works Director Maurer indicated that in following the draft Maintenance Policy, the Public Works staff will need to clean approximately 10 to 11 miles of sewer main every year. Of those miles of main, six miles will be of clay mains and four to five miles will consist of plastic and/or lined clay mains. He noted that manholes will be inspected as the sewer mains are cleaned, and the fourteen lift stations will be cleaned every spring. He explained that having a policy in place will keep sewer maintenance on a schedule. Public Works Director Maurer stated that on a related matter, the Council had previously inquired about the cost of adding the Omni Site to the remaining seven lift stations so they could be monitored directly from a computer. The cost to add the Omni system is $22,050 for the remaining seven lift stations, which is $3,150 per unit. Mayor Grant questioned what the advantage would be to get on the Omni system. Public Works Director Maurer stated that it would get the City off the Electro Watchman system, which would save time and money. Electro Watchman costs $450 annually for maintenance, while the Omni system costs $276 per year. Additionally, the Omni system is web- based and provides a lot more information. Currently, when Electro Watchman calls, the only information they provide is that there is an alarm at the specified lift station. With the Omni system, the lift station problem is identified so staff knows what the problem is before even heading over to the lift station. Councilmember Holden asked if the Omni system allows for on-line repairs. Public Works Director Maurer indicated that on-line repairs cannot be made using the Omni system; a Scada system would be required for that functionality. He noted that other Public Works Departments who have Scada systems are hesitant to make on-line repairs. Most are not comfortable making adjustments without actually going out to the site; therefore, the Omni system seemed like a good choice. Councilmember Holden inquired if manhole covers require a separate maintenance policy. Public Works Director Maurer stated that manhole covers do not require a policy and they are included in the draft Sanitary Sewer Maintenance Policy. He noted that the Sanitary Sewer Maintenance Policy was kept general and in the League's suggested format. Councilmember Holden questioned what the League suggested for televising inspections. Public Works Director Maurer stated that he will check with the League's Loss Control Agent. Discussion continued regarding the sanitary sewer system. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION— SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 3 Consensus among the Council was for the draft Sanitary Sewer Maintenance Policy to be brought to the next regular meeting of the City Council for approval. Additionally, the Council would like to proceed with upgrading the seven remaining lift stations to the Omni Site system. B. Water Meter Reader Installation Update Public Works Director Maurer provided the Council with an update on the water meter reader installations. He noted that the program went well, and of the 2,685 meters that needed to be changed, all but 40 residential units (plus 11 vacant units) have been completed. The remaining properties have not responded to two mailings, door knocks, and door hangers. He noted that the second mailing told property owners that the old technology was no longer usable and without the new reader installed, their future water bills would be estimated. Public Works Director Maurer noted that there are basically three options available for the remaining residential properties that need the new meter. The first option is to send a certified letter stating that if a new water meter reader is not installed by a certain date, the property's water would be shut off until the reader is installed. The second option is to send a letter indicating that a surcharge would be added to the quarterly water bill starting the fourth quarter of 2012 and will continue until a new reader is installed. Staff suggested a $100 surcharge as a means of getting the property owner's attention. The third option would be to do nothing but continue with estimated quarterly water billing. Councilmember Tamble stated that the third option of doing nothing and continuing with estimated water billing is a paperwork nightmare. He suggested that a more firm approach be taken. Councilmember Holmes suggested that the property owners be called rather than sending a certified letter informing them of water shut-offs if the new meter is not installed. Public Works Director Maurer stated that he could have the on-call Public Works employee knock on doors when he is out checking lift stations. Councilmember Holmes stated that she liked that idea. She said that the City should wait about six months before further action is taken. She stated that people may not intentionally be ignoring the request to install the new meter, but because people are busy, it is something that might slip their minds. She also has concern that some people are renters and they might not be aware of the need to install a new meter. Public Works Director Maurer stated that the letters went to the property owners on file. Mayor Grant agreed that people should be given a couple of months, but that we do need to get their attention on this matter. Public Works Director Maurer noted that doors were knocked on when Midwest Testing was doing the installation. He also noted that we do not want to shut people's water off when the weather gets colder because we do not want pipes to freeze. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 4 Councilmember Tamble stated that he did not feel that this warrants paying overtime to have someone knocking on doors. Public Works Director Maurer suggested putting something in the next utility billing. A notice could be put in the bills of the 51 residential properties that still need the new meters. He will also cross-check the remaining property owners against the delinquent billing list. Consensus among the Council was to proceed by aggressively contacting the remaining property owners. The Council is not opposed to water shut-offs but because of the Minnesota Cold Weather Rule, water would not be shut off until the spring of 2013. C. I-35W Corridor Coalition Mayor Grant stated that he received a letter in August from the North Metro I-35W Corridor Coalition requesting that the City of Arden Hills become an active member of the Coalition. He noted that he is not advocating for the City to become a member of the Coalition at this time. Unless something would start happening with the TCAAP site, he does not feel that membership is necessary. He noted that one reason why the City initially got out of the Coalition was because the Coalition would march forward as the collective voice of all cities and our voice was not always heard. Also, it was a big expense to be a member of the Coalition. Councilmember Tamble noted that the only intersection left for discussion is County Road H so he questioned what is the benefit to the City other than to be part of the Coalition. Mayor Grant stated that from the year 2000 to whenever the City got out of the Coalition, the work program was just study after study. Councilmember Holden noted that not all of the studies that were conducted were even related to transportation. Councilmember Holmes inquired about the cost of belonging to the Coalition. Mayor Grant stated that he thought the cost was 50% of the City's population, which would be approximately$5,000. Council consensus was for staff to draft a letter to the North Metro I-35W Corridor Coalition informing them that the City is not interested in active membership with the Coalition at this time. D. Roles and Responsibilities of Council Liaisons City Administrator Klaers stated that the topic of Council liaison policies had been on the August 20, 2012, work session agenda, but due to that meeting running long, it was postponed until now. He explained that for Council discussion, he created six draft City Council Liaison Roles and Responsibilities policies; one for each of the six City Council advisory commissions and committees. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION— SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 5 City Administrator Klaers noted that he kept all six policies consistent, with the same organizational format and nearly identical language in the standard sections, like in attendance and training sections. Based on a previous policy, there are two different procedures to follow in the selection of members. Also, in the draft policies, there are some differences, such as in the commission summary and participation in meetings sections. Mayor Grant stated that the Commission/Committee Policy that was approved on June 25, 2007, calls for responsibility of appointments/reappointments to lie with the Mayor as the recommending authority and the Council as the confirming authority. This is not consistent with the six new draft City Council Liaison Roles and Responsibilities. City Administrator Klaers explained that in the 2007 policy, committees were treated differently than commissions. The draft policies under discussion were written based on the 2007 policy. Mayor Grant stated that we have a policy, but there are times when we have not always followed the policy. Councilmember Holden inquired about the Karth Lake Board. She noted that if they are not meeting regularly and there is no work for the board, then the board should be dissolved. City Administrator Klaers stated that there may be a legal reason to keep the Karth Lake Board and he would defer that question to the City Attorney. Mayor Grant noted that he thought the board was ongoing. He remembered that the board was supposed to certify a levy for the cost and maintenance of the pump. If they did not certify a levy, he questioned whether they intended to certify a levy. City Administrator Klaers stated that he will ask the City Attorney to research the situation. Councilmember Tamble questioned City Code Section 220, Subd. 5 regarding compensation. City Code states that, "All members of Boards, Committees, Commissions and other appointed bodies shall serve without compensation." He inquired if Mary Nosek, who is on the Communications Committee, is paid. Councilmember Holden stated that Mary Nosek is paid as the desktop publisher for the City's newsletter. Councilmember Tamble noted that he does not mean to create additional paperwork, but we need to be aware that she is paid and Subd. 5 specifically states that members shall serve without compensation. He stated that if she is the only person that this is the exception for, as long as we have the correct language as to why she is getting paid, then he is fine with that. City Administrator Klaers stated that both the City Code Section 220 and the Commission/Committee Policy were documents approved in 2007 and both were used for creating the six draft City Council Liaison Roles and Responsibilities policies. He explained that the documents from 2007 are still in effect, but they do contain some inconsistencies. For ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION— SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 6 example, it is stated that the PTRC shall consist of eight members; however, twelve members are now allowed. Discussion continued regarding policies for commissions and committees. The Council expressed the need to be consistent in interviewing and making appointments to the commissions and committees. Council consensus was for staff to update the Commission/Committee Policy approved in 2007 using the recommendations provided by the Council. Staff is to bring the amended policy back to a regular City Council meeting for approval. 3. COUNCIL COMMENTS & STAFF UPDATES City Administrator Klaers distributed a copy of the Out-of-State Travel Policy for Elected Officials. He stated that he had forgotten that the City had adopted this policy and that an Out-of- State Travel Policy for Elected Officials is required by state law. Upon review by staff, it was determined that this policy was adopted in 2005. It is required by state law to have the travel policy annually reviewed. After reviewing this policy, staff realized that this policy has not always been followed because elected officials have not always gotten their request to travel approved in advance. Councilmember Holmes stated that the Council has been following audit procedure. The training and correlating expenses have always been in the budget, which is approved in advance of the travel. Mayor Grant noted that whatever has happened in the past is in the past. This policy should be followed starting today. Councilmember Werner stated that he is not opposed to in-state travel, but he does not support out-of-state travel. Councilmember Holden explained that the out-of-state travel she has participated in has been an educational experience and worth the expense. Mayor Grant questioned what happens with the frequent flyer miles. City Administrator Klaers indicated that he will research the frequent flyer miles issue. He suggested the topic could be put on a future work session so the Council can discuss and officially review the travel policy. Councilmember Werner stated that about a half a dozen people have volunteered so far to help with the planting of the rain garden at Valentine Park. Councilmember Tamble noted that he will be meeting with City Planner Beekman and Director of Public Works Maurer regarding the landscaping plans for the Gateway sign to offer constructive criticism. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 7 Councilmember Holden stated that she has talked with Public Works Director Maurer about the complaints received regarding the street signals at Red Fox Road and Lexington Avenue. She said that people are waiting for up to six revolutions of the lights before they are able to enter onto Lexington Avenue. She wondered if a formal letter should be written to the County. Councilmember Holden noted that there is a huge political sign on a trailer at the Holiday Inn site, but nothing can be done about it because it is parked on private property. Councilmember Holden inquired about the Yellow Ribbon Committee, and if no one on the Council is interested in being a representative, then a letter should be written to let them know that we are not interested at this time. Mayor Grant stated that Ramsey County did not receive the DEED grant that they had applied for. He inquired about the bridge funding and what the status is of that grant application. City Administrator Klaers stated that he has not heard one way or another regarding bridge funding. City Administrator Klaers asked the Council about their availability on Monday, September 24 for a one hour special work session either before or after the regular Council meeting. He noted that there are two topics for discussion; the recycling contract and the City Attorney RFP. Council consensus was to schedule the special work session to immediately follow the regular City Council meeting on Monday, September 24. ADJOURN Mayor Grant adjourned the Closed City Council Work Session meeting at 8:10 p.m. Patrick Klaers David Grant City Administrator Mayor