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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWS 04-05-1999 MINUTES . CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA SPECIAL COUNCIL WORKSESSION MONDAY, APRIL 5, 1999 6:30 P.M. - CITY HALL, 4364 WEST ROUND LAKE ROAD CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Dennis Probst callcd to order the City Council Worksession at 6:35 p.m. Present were Councilmembers Beverly Aplikowski, Gregg Larson, Paul Malone, and Lois Rem; City Administrator, Brian Fritsinger; and Administrative Secretary, Sheila Stowell. The purpose ofthe meeting was to continue discussion of the 1999 committee structure for the City. This discussion had been carried over from the 1999 City Council/Department Head Retreat, and the March 29, 1999 Special Council Worksession. Pronosed 1999 StandiDl!: Committee Structure The City Council had previously provided staff with some direction on the number of committees being considered, and was further directed to provide a brief summary of the proposed committees, potential task force issues, and other basic structural items that needed to be linalized. Mayor Probst opened the discussion by seeking Council comment on the tour . suggested standing committees, and discussion ensued on each component. 1. Planninl!: Commission The Council agreed that the Planning Commission would continue to operate in the same manner as it has in previous years with no changes to mission, membership size or staffing for 1999. The Planning Commission will continue to utilize a recording secretary to record meeting minutes, due to the formal nature of this group. 2. Communications Committee . Discussion Discussion included the current committee membership and whether it should remain focused on the monthly newsletter, or whether those members should be involved with other communications-related issues. Some of those items discussed were cable broadcasting and community updates; a State of the City address by the Mayor from the Town Hall meeting; City logo; and web site creation. The Communications Committee will continue with their main responsibility being production of the monthly newsletter, but will add members to address the other issues. . Council and Staff Liaisons Council member Larson . Brian Fritsinger/Sheila Stowell ___m______ ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 5, 1999 2 . 3. Parks & Recreation Committec The Council agreed that the Parks and Recreation Committee would continue to operate under the same mission statement and goals as in past years. No changes were suggested for this committee for 1999. . Council and Staff Liaisons Councilmember Rem Tom Moore/Recreation Program Supervisor 4. Operations and Finance Committee . Description The City Council agreed that the Operations and Finance Committee would provide recommendations on a variety of subjects, such as public works, public safety and finance that affect the City. Areas of involvement may range from reviewing requests for signs; parking ordinances, community policing, long-term police and fire protection services, assessment policy, rubbish hauling, water sourcing, etc.... . Council and Staff Liaisons Councilmember Aplikowski Terry Post/Dwayne Stafford/Brian Fritsinger . Community Proiects/Issues and Potential Task Force Creation The Council and staff had identified several projects for which a task force may be the most appropriate method to review a particular issue. These items were described in detail in Mr. Fritsinger's memorandum dated March 24,1999. Potential task force areas for consideration included, Water Quality; Environmental Quality; Trails and Waterways; Cable TV; Web Site; Logo; Resident Guide/Welcome Packet Review; Business Relations; 50 Year Anniversary Program; Day in thc Park Planning; Human Rights; Town Hall Meeting; Public Works/Parks Maintenance Facility; Police/Fire Services; Water Sourcing; Rubbish Hauling; Assessment Policy; and TCAAP. Those task forces deemed most expedient for immediate consideration were ranked as follows by each Councilmember respectively: . Mavor Probst Public Works/Parks Maintenance Facility Water/Environmental Quality Events Task Web Site . ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 5 1999 3 , . . Councilmember Larson Public Works/Parks Maintenance Facility Water Quality Rubbish Hauling TCAAP Web Site . Councilmember Malone Public Works/Parks Maintenance Facility Police/Fire Services Events (incorporating plamling for Town Hall meetings; 50 year anniversary program, and Day in the Park) Web Site . Councilmember Aplikowski Public Works/Parks Maintenance Facility Annual Events Police/Fire Services Water Quality . Councilmember Rem . Public Works/Parks Maintenance Facility Water Quality (combined with enviromnental) Annual Events Web Site Mr. Fritsinger expressed to the Council that a TCAAP Task Force was not listed by any of the Councilmembers as a priority for 1999, yet Phase II planning had been reiterated as a top priority by the City Council at the 1999 Retreat. It was the consensus of the Council that, for now, the responsibility for initiating TCAAP planning rested with staff and Mayor Probst, and would not be appropriate for delegating to a task force until a later date. The consensus of the City Council was for the initial creation of the following four task force projects for 1999: . Public WorkslParks Maintenance Facilitv Task Force . Council and Staff Liaisons Councilmember Malone Brian Fritsinger/Dwayne Stafford . ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 5 1999 4 , ~ . Special and/or Annual Events Task Force . Discussion Various events for consideration were the annual day in the park; fifty year (50) year City anniversary (2001); Town Hall meeting planning and preparation; initiating an annual event, or using the day-in-the-park as our annual event; and volunteer recognition timing. . Council and Staff Liaisons Councilmember Aplikowski Brian Fritsinger/Tom Moore . Water Oualitv Task Force . Discussion Discussion items included use of comprehensive plan and engineering reports (i.e., drainage report) for confined or broad-based surface water solutions; dramatic changes in the quality of Lake Johanna and continual weed spraying; more aggressive street sweeping schedules; involvement oflake associations and watershed districts; and initial focus of task force. . . Council and Staff Liaisons Councilmember Larson Kevin Ringwald/Nancy Randall . Web Site Task Force . Discussion Mr. Fritsinger stated that the City had a major head start with the work already completed by Mr. Ringwald with the I-35W Corridor Coalition. Discussion items also included tapping into the expertise of residents in the community; knowledge of staff; initial set up and continued updating. . Council and Staff Liaisons Councilmember Rem Kevin Ringwald/Nancy Randall The City Council agreed that the Public Works/Parks Maintenance Facility Task Force should be created immediately. With summer approaching, there was concern about the ability to find interested members in the other task forces. As a result, the Council indicated that the remaining three task forces would not be appointed until later in 1999. . Structural Discussion and Clarification Mr. Fritsinger also identified several items the City Council had indicated it intended to clarify related to Council Liaison roles. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 5, 1999 5 . . Role of Council Liaison/Council The primary role of the Council Liaison is to represent/clarify Council positions on issues, provide feedback to the committee based on the goals of the City Council, and report back to the full City Council any relevant issues of discussion. Councilmembers should not take an active part in discussions or involve themselves in anyway which may bias the committee on any Issue. The City Council would provide, at an annual orientation session, an overview (i.e., government background, operations, etc.); and its prioritized goals and specific charge to each City committee, and then the Council Liaisons would take on an advisory or observation status. . Staff Role The primary role of staff is to provide background information to the committees, and to keep the committee focused on the prioritized goals as outlined by the City Council. Staff or the Council Liaison would take any recommendations ofthe committee and forward them to the City Council. Staff would prepare all meeting agenda packets and mail them, based on the direction of the committee chairperson. Staff should provide any background information it has available to assist with the discussion of agenda items. Concerns discussed were the current erratic . meeting minutes available to the Council on the activities of its committees. It was the consensus of Council that staff provide background information to the committees, who then create their own agenda, work program, and complete all work with a resulting formal recommendation or resolution for the City Council. Staffs role would be simply to keep the committee focused on the prioritized goals outlined by Council, and ensure that a proper record of the actions of the committee were kept for Council information. Staff was directed to prepare guidelines for each committee and the recommended procedures to follow. . Role of Committee It was the consensus of the City Council that each committee currently elects a Vice- Chairperson and Secretary. It is the responsibility ofthe chairperson to provide staff with the agenda for upcoming meetings. The Secretary would keep all minutes and provide them to staff for processing and inclusion in meeting packets and for Council information. In a situation whereby a committce member cannot take minutes, the Council Liaison or staff Liaison shall be responsible for preparing meeting minutes. The committee would set its agendas based on the prioritized goals of the City Council. The committee may wish to prepare a preliminary agenda for each meeting to be held during the calendar year, which would be reviewed by the City Council ~ ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 5 1999 6 , . It was the consensus of the Council that the committee chairpersons were the most important keys in how they lead the group, and the eventual accomplishments of the committee. As a result, the Council will continue to appoint the Chairperson. . Number of Members It was the consensus of Councilmembers that each committee tentatively is set up with seven to nine members, for the purpose of seeking members and appointments. . Term Limits It was the consensus ofthe Council that there would be no established term limits, but that the Committee Chairperson be rotated every two years at a minimum. Council would continue to reserve the right, through the Mayor's annual appointment and Council ratification process, to be flexible in determining who would serve on various committees and task forces. It was the consensus of the Council that rotations of Councilmember and/or staff be dealt with in the year 2000. . Number of Excused Absences Staff advised Councilmembers that the City had not recently followed any set procedures on the number of unexcused absences from committee/commission meetings. Mr. Fritsinger . informed Councilmembers that several years ago, there was an informal policy that missing three meetings in a year was reason for not being re-appointed. After brief discussion, it was the consensus of the City Council that it be stated committee members are expected to attend a minimum ofthree-quartcrs of the scheduled meetings, and should notify City staff if they were unavailable to attend. The City Council would reserve tlle right to terminate a member after unexcused absences of three or more times, if it deemed so necessary. . Service on Multinle Committees Mr. Fritsinger advised that the City has, in the past, had several citizens who have expressed an interest in serving on multiple committees. It was the consensus of the Council that as a general rule, a resident can serve on up to two (2) different committees at any given time, but it would be dictated more by the number of applicants available for given vacancies. . Anulication Process/Forms Discussion was held regarding the City's current application process, form, and request for resumes. With the exception of requiring resumes and application form for vacancies on the Planning Commission, it was the consensus of the Council that resumes are not required, but use of the current application form, with some minor revisions, was encouraged. . ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 5, 1999 7 . . Business Devclonment and Business Relations Committees Some discussion was held regarding these two committees. It was the consensus ofthe Council that both committees needed to be advised to complete their current tasks and come to an orderly conclusion, at which point the committee would be terminated. Ifinformation or action items needed to be provided to the Council, they should be completed and forwarded as soon as possible, with a suggested target completion date of May 15, 1999. Several projects that were referenced were the marketing brochure and the Lexington Avenue/Grey Fox Road study. . Economic Development Authoritv Discuss took place regarding whether the EDA should remain internally driven, or to expand it to include community representatives for the purpose of business and public relations. No changes were recommended. . Human Rie:hts Committee Some discussion was held on the former Human Rights Committee, and the current status of Sushila Shah representing the City at statewide human rights functions and discussions. It was the consensus of the Council that, while not an issue that is currently active in the community, they continue to support Sushila as the City's representative for future issues as . they may become available. Councilmember Rem volunteered to encourage and work with Ms. Shah to coordinate with local school districts and neighboring communities in joint ventures and activities that would enhance this aspect in Arden Hills. Councilmember Rem was requested to express the Council's expectations to Ms. Shah. Restructurine: Proccss The City Council discussed the concept of providing training to each of the committees. This training would be intended to give members an understanding ofthe responsibilities of the committee, a broad overview of the city, its history, and philosophy of government. Staff was directed to prepare a resolution laying out the committee restructuring for formal Council action on April 26, 1999. Councilmembers concurred that current and potential committee members be invited to attend an "interest" meeting with Councilmembers to discuss the various committees and/or task forces and their proposed duties and charges. This meeting would be held after the Council took action to adopt a resolution summarizing the committee restructuring. Staff was directed to continue with the current committee structure through April, putting each committee on notice regarding the future structure. Each Council Liaison was charged with informing their respective committee regarding the restructuring to be put in place by May 1, 1999. It was the consensus of the Council that the current committee restructuring be . accomplished first, with a fall goal for implementing the task forces. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 5, 1999 8 . Staff was directed to prepare a more fine-tuned overview and description of the standing committees and four suggested task forces for 1999 for future discussion at the April Worksession. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS Councilmember Malone left the meeting at 8:40 p.m. . New City Hall/TCAAP Property Councilmember Larson expressed his concerns about the lack of communication between the Minnesota National Guard and the City regarding the delay in receiving the paperwork regarding the transfer of the land for the pending construction of the new City Hall. Councilmembers discussed various options for facilitating the transfer of property, and how it relates to the award of construction contract window that expires June 9, 1999, and when actual construction could begin. Councilmembcrs further discussed exactly what their comfort level would be, as far as a letter of intent from the Minnesota National Guard in lieu of an actual signed lease agreement, to consider construction prior to completion of the necessary paperwork. . It was the consensus of Councilmembers that Council and staff proceed with caution in making legislative contacts and that they remained confident that the transfer would be forthcoming. In a related comment, Mr. Fritsinger stated that he had been contacted by Mr. Marty Harstad regarding the status of the former City Hall property and the City's plans. Mr. Fritsinger had informed Mr. Harstad that the City would not be taking any action regarding the property until a final decision was made on the future maintenance facility construction. ADJOURN MOTION: Councilmember Aplikowski moved and Councilmember Larson seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9: 18 p.m. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). ,