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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWS 04-21-1997 MINUTES . CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA WORKSESSION MONDAY, APRIL 21,1997 4:45 P.M. - ARMY RESERVE CENTER - 4655 LEXINGTON A VENUE NORTH CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Probst called to order the City Council Worksession at 4:45 p.m. Present were Mayor Dennis Probst, Councilmembers Beverly Aplikowski, Dale Hicks and Paul Malone; City Administrator, Brian fritsinger; City Accountant, Terry Post; Public Works Superintendent, Dwayne Stafford; Community Development Director, Kevin Ringwald; and Administrative Secretary, Sheila Stowell. Councilmember Susan Keim arrived at 5:05 p.m. APPROVAL OF MEETING AGENDA MOTION: Malone moved and Aplikowski seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda for the April 21, 1997 Worksession as presented. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). CITY ISSUES - SHORT TERM . a. Lake Johanna Fire Contract City Administrator, Brian Fritsinger, reviewed the 1998 Lake Johanna Volunteer Fire Department contract expiration in regards to the City's future budget and CIP program impacts for future community fire needs. Mr. Fritsinger sought Council direction as to the desired procedural approach it wished to take regarding the current contract expiration. Various issues, as outlined below, were discussed and considered: . Estab1islunent of Task Force or Council/Staff Subcommittee . Determine positions held by Shoreview and North Oaks . Consider Request for Proposals . Bricks and Mortar of our own department . TCAAP/Sub-contracting . Fire Marshal/Plan Review Needs . Location/Relocation of Arden Hills Fire Hall . Future Use of Station #1 . Vehicle and Equipment Ownership . Manpower Recruitment Needs for the Future . Equipment Needs, Age and Excess - CIP . Title contingencies to Station #1 . Affect on ISO Ratings . Mayor Probst suggested that a Task Force/Subcommittee be formed consisting of two Councilmembers, 1 - 3 staff members, a representative of the City's Finance Committee, and a representative of the City's Public Safety Commission. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 21. 1997 2 . City Administrator Fritsinger reviewed various immediate issues affecting City Hall operations at present, specifically the response time for fire code-related inspections. It was the consensus of the Council for staff to survey surrounding communities for the status of their fire inspections, and investigate hiring of an independent contractor to serve area cities for plan review, independent of the Lake Johanna Volunteer Fire Department. Mayor Probst appointed Councilmember Malone to serve as the Council Liaison to the Fire Services Task Force, and schedule the first meeting until the Task Force is more formalized. Mayor Probst requested another Councilmember to volunteer to serve on the task force, and directed City Administrator Fritsinger to appoint 1 - 3 City staff members to serve and provide inter-city contact with the City's of Shoreview and North Oaks. Mayor Probst also directed Council Liaisons to the Finance Committee and Public Safety Commission to approach their respective committee and/or commission members for a volunteer to serve on the task force. b. Marketing Brochure Mr. Ringwald reviewed suggestions and comments of Suzanne Foust, Kindred . Consulting & Creative Services, who had recently reviewed the marketing brochure prepared and drafted by the City's Economic Development/Business Development Committee over the last few years. Councilmember Aplikowski expressed her personal concerns regarding the City not using the mock-up brochure prepared by the Committee, and requested that a letter be sent to Committee members advising them of the Council's intent to seek professional design services for the marketing brochure. Mr. Ringwald reiterated that the major portion of the committee-prepared materials were being used in the revised brochure, with only graphics details having changed. Councilmember Aplikowski stated it was her understanding, from previous Council action, that only proofreading and subtle revisions would be made to the Committee's draft of the marketing brochure. Councilmember Hicks questioned whether or not the focus had really changed, or was staff completing and formalizing what the committee had done. Councilmember Aplikowski stated that the Committee needed closure on this project, and requested a representative of the Committee, Jeanne Winiecki, who was present in the . Worksession audience, for her opinion. Ms. Winiecki expressed her opinion that the Committee as a whole was more concerned with the availability of a final product, rather than being concerned with the process. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 21. 1997 3 . Mayor Probst stated that he was grateful to the Committee for the work they had completed to-date, and that this background information would still be used, with minor reformatting, as suggested by the design consultant, for some of the titles, and use of a new cover format more in line with the City's logo and graphic designs. Councilmember Malone stated this was consistent with previous Council action and direction to staff. Following further Council discussion regarding the layout and preferred design of the marketing brochure, it was the consensus ofthe Council to move ahead with the brochure as defined by previous Council action, with Concept # I being their preferred design. Staff was also directed to send a letter to the Committee advising them of the status of the brochure. CITY ISSUES - LONG TERM a. Retreat Follow Up City Administrator Fritsinger reviewed those priorities established by the Council at the 1997 City Council/Department Head Retreat. Mr. Fritsinger explained how City . Department Head's perceived the coordination ofthose priorities with their existing work loads. Mr. Fritsinger provided a status report for each department. Discussion ensued regarding the value and use of outside consultants to relieve department pressures and alleviate staff time. It was the consensus of the City Council and staff that those priorities identified, along with the existing workload, were proceeding on track, and the Council would be advised if, at any time, a particular department's workload needed to be revisited. Staff was directed to keep the Council informed as to the various Department's workloads and provide frequent status reports on the prioritized items. Mr. Fritsinger stated that, in cases where there were heavy workloads created by the prioritized items, annual performance evaluations for those specific Department Heads may need to be reviewed. Comnrehensive Plan Mayor Probst stated he felt it was important for staff to complete the revised Comprehensive Plan by the end of 1997 to incorporate the TCAAP portion while it was still fresh in the committee's minds. Discussion continued regarding the amount of detail to be incorporated in the . Comprehensive Plan. It was the consensus of the Council that the Comprehensive Plan helped hold the City Council accountable for those items incorporated in the Plan. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 21. 1997 4 . Staff was directed to prepare possible inclusions in the Comprehensive plan to be presented at a future Worksession, at which time their feasibility could be itemized. b. Gatewav Business District Mr. Ringwald reviewed the status of the Gateway Business District project to-date. Mr. Ringwald stated he was awaiting a revised Master Plan and proforma from the Welsh Company, for presentation to the City Council. Upon its receipt, staff and the City's Consulting Engineer would be better able to determine the infrastructure requirements, status oftax increment financing plans, and remaining property acquisitions needed. MISCELLANEOUS City Hall City Administrator Fritsinger advised Councilmembers that the previously-selected short list of architectural firms had each indicated a desire to make a presentation to the City Council on the City Hall project. Staff was directed to schedule the five interviews for Monday, May 12, 1997 and Tuesday, May 13, 1997 at the largest second-level New Brighton City Hall Conference Room. . Jeanne Winiecki, who was present as a member of the audience and representative of the City's Newsletter Committee, suggested that comments be included in the May, 1997 City newsletter regarding City Hall project activities ISTEA Apnlication City Administrator Fritsinger updated the City Council regarding the status of the ISTEA walking bridge application for the intersection of Highways 96 and 10. The Council indicated it was still interested in proceeding with the ISTEA Funding for this project. Alliant Techsystems Protest Notice City Administrator Fritsinger made the Council aware of notice received from Alliant T echsystems of a planned protest at one of their facilities this spring. Corporate Express Commercial Building Community Development Director Ringwald updated the Council on expansion of former retail space into corporate offices at the Corporate Express building, formerly St. Paul Book and Stationery. Mr. Ringwald stated that it appeared that all zoning and signing issues had been met. Assessment Policy Councilmembers briefly discussed the status of the City's existing Assessment Policy. - City Accountant, Terrance Post, advised Councilmembers that he was currently exploring an alternative basis of assessment and determining the legal ramifications. ------. .--- ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - APRIL 21. 1997 5 . Televised Sewer Lines Public Works Superintendent, Dwayne Stafford, presented a video of a portion of the City's sanitary sewer system. Mr. Stafford stated that he would be working with the City's Consulting Engineer to assess this segment and prepare a report and cost estimates of corrective actions for Council consideration and review. 1997 Day in the Park Mayor Probst reminded the Council of the date of the 1997 Day in the Park, and expressed his appreciation to the Parks & Recreation Commission for their planning for this annual event. ADJOURN MOTION: Hicks moved and Aplikowski seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:20 p.m. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). . .... -....