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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWS 11-16-1998 MINUTES . CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA WORKSESSION MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1998 4:45 P.M. - CITY HALL, 4364 WEST ROUND LAKE ROAD CALL TO ORDF,R Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Dennis Probst called to order the City Council Worksession at 4:47 p.m. Present were Councilmembers Beverly Aplikowski, Susan Keim, Paul Malone, and Gregg Larson; City Administrator, Brian Fritsinger; Assistant to the City Administrator, Kevin Ringwald; Public Works Director, Dwayne Stafford; City Accountant, TelTance Post; and Administrative Secretary, Sheila Stowell. DISCUSSION ITEMS a. North Metro I-35W Corridor Coalition Update Mayor Probst introduced Joseph Strauss, Administrator for the I-35W Corridor Coalition, who presented an update on the goals and activities of the Coalition. After Mr. Strauss's presentation, Mayor Probst commented on the significant contributions to the . Coalition of City Administrator Fritsinger and Assistant to the City Administrator Ringwald. Mr. Fritsinger spoke of the degree of cooperation achieved among the seven participating communities. Mr. Strauss's highlights of the coalition's work to-date included the GIS, transportation studies, and uniqueness ofthe coalition and it's respect within the State of Minnesota. Councilmember Larson requested an overview of the Coalition's overall budget sources and staffing; and Councilmember Larson asked for a more detailed explanation of the proposed "Code of Conduct" for busincss retention related to competition between cities. Mr. Strauss, Mr. Ringwald and Mayor Probst addressed these issues. b. Truth In Taxation (TNT) Preview City Accountant Post previewed some of the preliminary TNT presentation materials, and requested feedback from the Council on the information included. It was the consensus of the Council that the presentation had been sufficiently streamlined by staff over the last few years, that it provided sufficient information to inform the public of the City's budget. Councilmembers suggested staff may wish to incorporate the City's Philosophy Statement as adopted at the 1998 Retreat into the presentation; and highlight three or four of the major issues that drive the annual budget. . Me Post advised Councilmembers that a full packet would be available at the November 30, 1998 Council meeting for Council review prior to the Truth in Taxation Hearing. --- -. ARDEN HllJ,S CITY COlJNCIL WORKSESS10N - NOVEMBER 16 1998 2 . e. Community Development Director Position/Oreanizational Update Mr. Fritsinger provided background information and various options available to the City related to filling the vacant Community Development Director position, and how these options affected the rest of the organization. Mr. Fritsinger reviewed previous Council direction from the 1998 City Council! Department Head Retreat, for staffto evaluate the organizational framework and consider adding additional support staff to assist with current and proj ected workload. The City Council, at its April 20, 1998 Worksession, further discussed the reorganization of City staff. This discussion included the duties of existing staff members and the creation of new positions. The City Council had identified that it was supportive of reorganization and creation of the following positions: . Assistant to the City Administrator . Associate Planner . Half-time Building Official . Support Clerk/Secretary . As a result of those discussions, the City Council identified several immediate needs and agreed to several org311izational changes. These changes were primarily driven by the establishment of TCAAP as a high priority goal for the next two years, existing staff workload, and the desire to better utilize the skills of existing staff. Specifically, the City created an Assistant to City Administrator position (Kevin Ringwald) and an Associate Planner position (Nancy Randall). Changes were made to all Department Head position descriptions, including the elimination of the Parks & Recreation Director position, by merging this position with the Community Development Director position. The half-time Building Official and Support Clerk/Secretary positions were not officially created, nor was there a detemlination on how or when these needs would be resolved. Thc rccent resignation of Cindy Walsh as Community Development Director (CDD) now requires the City to further evaluate the duties of this position and the resulting impacts on the organizational structure. The City still has current staffing needs in the areas previously identified and depending on how the City Council wishes to proceed with the CDD position, it presents 311 opportunity to further strengthen the organizational structure. Mr. Fritsinger addressed the current responsibilities of the CDD position, the time spent on the various responsibilities, and how those responsibilities relate to the City Council's goals and community expectations. Mr. Fritsinger summarized the various options being considered for the position, their impacts on . the remainder of the staff and its organization, and requested Council direction in how to proceed. ARDEN HlT,T.S CITY C01INClT, WORKSESS10N - NOVEMBER I h 199R 3 . The six options, in no specific order, which Mr. Fritsinger summarized were: . Hire a full-time Parks & Recreation Director staff position. . Hire a part-time Parks Development/Planner staff position. . Hire a full-time Parks Development/Planner staff position. . Create a joint parks department with a neighboring community. . A parks consultant could be hired to undertake all parks development activities. . Should any ofthe above options be selected, the existing Department Heads/City Administrator would need to pick up supervision responsibilities in the area of community development. This could inelude ajoint maintenance department being created between Public Works and Parks. Several members of the Parks and Recreation Commission were present and provided input to the Council. After substantial discussion, staff was directed to investigate the costs and ramifications of the six options identified above and report back to the City Council at the December Worksession with its findings, including other organizational changes which may be appropriate for Council consideration. The City Council also directed staff to have the Parks Commission review the . full-time Parks and Recreation Director staff position, full-time Parks Development/Planner staff position, and the joint parks department options and make a recommendation at the Commission's December 1, 1998 meeting. Councilmember Keirn left the meeting at 6:35 p.m. c. Maintenance Facility Discnssion The City Council had previously directed staff to place this item on the Worksession for discussion. The Council and committee members had previously received copies of the reports produced in 1991192 related to the facility needs. Me Fritsinger asked for Council direction as to pursuing discussion on this facility now, or waiting until the 1999 Retreat, as originally planned. It was the consensus of Councilmembers that thcre was no inunediate need for creation of a task force to study construction of a new facility, but review of various available options be addressed at the 1999 Retreat. Discussion items included funding for a facility; participation in a joint facility with Ramsey County and the Minnesota National Guard; . ARDEN Hll 1.S CiTY CmJNC1L WORKSESSlON - NOVEMBER 16 1998 4 . d. Town Hall Meeting, Preliminary Planning Mr. Fritsinger asked Council for direction on some of the activities that need to be put together for the 1999 Town Hall meeting. It was the consensus ofthe Council that the times and format be similar to last year, with main discussion topics being the completion of the Comprehensive Plan update; redevelopment of Tony Schmidt Park by Ramsey County; potential park facility with Bethel College; a brief update on the status of City Hall construction; and incorporation ofthe City's Philosophy Statement in the advertising and promotional materials. Staff was directed to invite the agencies and civic organizations as in past years, and also the Minnesota National Guard. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS Bethel Park Development Mr. Fritsinger advised Councilmembers that he and Mr. Ringwald had met with Bethel College representatives again to view the draft proposal regarding the proposed joint park development. Mr. Fritsinger asked for the Council's preference in the process to follow in reviewing the . proposal, once it is received by staff. It was the consensus of Councilmembers that they and the Parks and Recreation Commission receive a preliminary copy for review prior to action at a Council meeting. The Parks and Recreation Commission can then make a recommendation to the Council, and the Council can look at costs and other related ramifications. If the Council should then decide to proceed with the project, the Parks and Recreation Commission would hold public meetings for citizen review prior to final Council action. Mr. Fritsinger advised Councilmembers that a preliminary plan should be ready for review, and available for Parks and Recreation Commission review by December I, 1998; with formal action on the feasibility of the park to be considered at the December 7, 1998 Council meeting. Winter Trail Plowing Mr. Fritsinger presented a map as developed by Mr. Stafford and Mr. Winkel, highlighting trail areas that could be plowed, and those problem areas experienced last winter by the maintenance department due to topography. Discussion also included the manpower and equipment necessary to accommodate plowing. AD.JOURN Mayor Probst left the meeting at approximately 7:40 p.m., and Acting Mayor Paul Malone . adjourned the meeting at 7:42 p.m. --------------