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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 03-18-1991 < . . . "ll MINUTES OF THE ARDEN HILLS WORK SESSION MEETING MONDAY, MARCH 18, 1991, 4:30 PM, CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Sather called the meeting to order at 4:30 PM. ROLL CALL The roll being called, the following members were present: Mayor Sather, Councilmembers Malone, Growe and Mahowald. Councilmember Hansen arrived at 4:40 PM. Also present: Public Works superintendent Dan Winkel, Treasurer Frank Green, Accountant TJ Swanson, Clerk Administrator Gary Berger and Administrative Secretary Mary Ann Hillyer. ADOPT AGENDA Malone moved, seconded by Mahowald, to adopt the March 18 agenda as revised by Mayor Sather with the addition of two items, - city logo sketches, and proposed use of the vacant Zycad building as a possible city Hall. Motion carried unanimously, (3-0). INVESTMENT POLICY Clerk Administrator Berger noted that this item had been discussed at the January 28 Council meeting and tabled from the March 11 regular Council meeting for further discussion at this time. He advised that Accountant Swanson had expanded on the original draft version prepared by Treasurer Green, and that city Auditor Gary Gruen, City Attorney Jerry Filla, and Norwest investment representative Gail Towner had also reviewed the draft and recommended changes. Accountant TJ Swanson noted that she had reviewed investment policies from the cities of Cottage Grove, Maplewood and Brooklyn Center, as well as from the League of Minnesota cities. City Treasurer Frank Green concurred with most of the changes, but asked for clarification of some points in the document and felt that some deletions should be left in place. Council then reviewed the entire document, addressing Treasurer Green's concerns, and making minor revisions. After discussion, Council concurred that this document be on the March 25 agenda for final adoption by Resolution. F~EX-TIME POLICY Clerk Administrator Berger advised Council that the proposed flex-time scheduling policy for salaried staff and new standardized time sheets for all City employees had been reviewed by Labor Relations Consultant Karen Olsen and that large cities and smaller cities do make use of a time sheet for department heads, as evidenced by a survey prepared last summer. Berger suggested that a written policy be adopted in order to implement use of flexible scheduling by salaried staff. Councilmember Mahowald asked what the ratio or exchange rate would be for flex-time. Councilmember Malone indicated he did not favor use of time sheets by salaried staff, that their hours should be .. . MARCH 18, 1991 WORK SESSION MINUTES, PAGE TWO left to the individual for reasonable management. After considerable discussion about what would be acceptable to the employees and Council, Mayor Sather suggested all employees use the new time sheets, and that staff prepare an additional survey on use of flex-time, and to ask staff for their recommendations. Councilmember Hansen also concurred with the use of time sheets for all employees. KEITHSON POND Clerk Administrator Berger noted his memo dated March 15 and said the Council needs to determine a fair value of the drainage easement. His memo indicated that according to tax values, the value of George Reiling's land that the City would acquire for the drainage easement would be $8,051. According to real estate values, the same land would be worth $49,290. Council discussed the need for an appraisal to determine a fair market price and directed that Mr. Blake Davis, with Davis and Lagerman, be retained to perform this appraisal for $800. . Public Works Superintendent Winkel asked if perhaps the city could negotiate with Mr. Reiling on this property in exchange for his future proposed assessment for reconstruction of Snelling Avenue. Council concurred that this may be worth investigating and that perhaps if Mr. Reiling were willing, the city would defer payment of his Snelling Avenue assessments until such time as the property on Snelling Avenue is developed or sold, in lieu of payment for the drainage easement for Keithson Pond. Staff was directed to contact Mr. Reiling on this possibility. CITY LOGO councilmember Malone distributed copies of City logos that had been prepared and asked council to choose one they preferred. councilmember Mahowald liked the "peak" style logo and apologized to the council, noting that he had another commitment. He left the meeting at 6:15 PM. After a brief discussion, council concurred with the "block" style for a new City logo. Councilmember Malone noted that a dark green logo on a light tan or buff colored background would be a nice color combination on either vehicles or letterhead. Council concurred. Malone noted that the logo could be prepared in about two weeks time. . ZYCAD BLDG. Mayor Sather noted that he and Clerk Administrator Berger, Parks Director Buckley and PW Superintendent Winkel had toured the vacant Zycad building last week, with the thought that perhaps the building could be used as a new City Hall . . . . . . . ~ March 18, 1991 Work Session Minutes, Page Three facility. Sather noted that the building is much larger than could be utilized by City staff and that the School District may be interested in renting out office space for their own use. He noted that the building could be rented for about $14/square foot. Councilmember Hansen indicated an interest in touring the building and suggested an early morning time this week. Consensus was that Thursday morning would be best for most members. Councilmember Hansen left the meeting at 6:30 PM. Council discussed the option for the building, with Public Works perhaps occupying the lower level, with administrative offices on the second floor. Staff was directed to schedule a walk through for Thursday morning with further discussion on this topic at the March 25 Council meeting. TOWN CRIER Clerk Administrator Berger polled the Council on continuation of the Town Crier for the time being, until a decision is made as to future publication by City staff or a private individual. Council concurred to continue the present method for the time being. There being no further business to come before the Council, councilmember Malone moved, seconded by Councilmember Growe to adjourn the meeting at 6:45 P.M. Motion carried unanimously, (3-0). ADJOURN ~te~ Gary . Ber er Clerk Administrator -rL~ Thomas R. Sather Mayor NOTICE OF MEETING The next regular Council meeting will be held on Monday, March 25, 1991, at 7:30 P.M. at City Hall.