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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWS 05-20-1996 . . .- MINUTES CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA WORKSESSION MAY 20, 1996 . 4:30 P.M. - PUBLIC WORKS GARAGE LUNCHROOM . CALL TO ORDERlROLL CALL . Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Deunis Probst called to order the City Council Worksession at 4:35 P.M. Present: Councilmembers, Beverly Aplikowski, Dale Hicks and Paul Malone; City Administrator, Brian Fritsinger; City Accountant, Terry Post; Public Works . Superintendent, Dwayne Stafford; and Parks & Recreation Director, Cindy Walsh. Councilmember Susan Keim arrived at 5:10 P.M. . City Issues - Short Term/Audit Findinl!s As a means of reducing the wait of the Abdo Abdo & Eick (AA&E) representative in attendance, Steve McDonald, Mayor Probst dealt with this agenda item first. . Mr. McDonald highlighted various items in the Draft Annual Financial Report for the year ended December 31,1995 and responded to Council questions. He noted that most of his comments .. were also contained in thc Management Letter. He specifically conunended the City on its strong financial position relative to tl1e other . municipal audit clients of AA&E. Arden Hills is also unique when compared to other cities, in that it has the financial strengtl1 to finance projects without incurring debt. He also encouraged . the City to be more demanding in requiring consultants to provide more detail in support of their billings. . Roundtable Diseussion a. Committee Renorts/Couneil Comments Councilmember Hicks discussed traffic control issues by Mounds View High School and . asked othcr Councilmembers their tl10ughts on trying a pilot project for the rest of thc 95- 96 school year to expand deputy patrol by two overtime hours per day during peak parking lot traffic conditions. . Mr. Fritsinger also commented on a mecting held with school officials and the Sheriffs . department to discuss the same issue. One of the suggestions tl1at came out of that meeting was to link the loss of parking lot permit privileges with moving vehicle violations. . Mr. Hicks also advised tl1e Council of a current year Northwest Y outl1 & Family Services (NYFS) current year operating deficit and the likelihood ofNYFS approaching the City .. for donation support. . . . Worksession Minutes for May 20, 1996 .- Page 2 . Councilmember Malone briefed the Council on the Fire Department Relief Association investigation of switching from a defined benefit to a defined contribution pension benefit. Additional actuarial and legal opinions are being sought on the matter. He also . briefly discussed two Planning Conunission cases (Amble Plat and Bethel Parking Lot) that will be coming before the Council. . b. Department Head Reports Mr. Post updated Council on 1995 MSA construction project receipts received in May, . the option of securing County Road F Sidewalk/Trail Funding before the project is finalized, and submitting a matching grant application to the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) Division to televise sanitary sewer lines in 1997. . Ms. Walsh updated Council on Perry Park playground equipment, efforts being made to encourage Ramsey County to give Tony Schmidt Park redevelopment higher funding and I priority, and status of the donated Sheehy property tennis court. Mr. Stafford updated Council on issues now moving forward through the .. recommendation stage from Public Works/Safety Committee (i.e. trails plowing, garbage hauling and renaming County Road F), use of the rented crack sealing machine, need for a backup crew during emergency situations, and the shrinking of the north water tower . service area to accommodate oft~peak filling requirements. e. Administrator Comments . Mr. Fritsinger asked direction from Council on the County Road F renaming issue. After discussion, Mayor Probst suggested that Staff should forward name candidates to Council I for consideration. Mayor Probst reminded Council that this was no longer a County Road and that a name change to reflect this fact would be appropriate. I Education Update Mr. Fritsinger briefed the Council on his observations from the reccnt attendance at the City Managers' Conference. He elaborated on the issue of conunittee structure versus specific task I forces. City Issues - Short Term/1997 Budget I Council gave general agreement to the proposed 1997 Budget Process Calendar. Council also gave general direction to StatTto strive for a zero percent levy increase for 1997. Councilmember Hicks suggestcd that Staff consider funding tl1e Pavement Management Program I (PMP) at a higher level than prior years. I Councilmember Malone suggested that the impact of a potential legislative property tax freeze be . considered. The remainder ofthe Council concurred that the City should carefully evaluate the impact of a property tax freeze before finalizing any levy increase for 1997. He also requested I I I Worksession Minutes for May 20,1996 I . Page 3 I Staff to review the size of tl1e existing City vehicle and equipment fleet to see if reductions can be made. I Regarding a Capital Improvemcnt Plan (CIP), considerable discussion ensued regarding City Hall and Public Works garage location, cost and timing issues. Mr. Fritsinger indicated tl1at a future facilities decision tree model would be available for discussion at the next worksession. I City Issues - Lon!! Term a. Community Survey . Council gave direction to Staff to proceed with the budgeted Community Survey this summer. A further recommendation from Council was to focus on just a few of the . highest priorities from the earlier off-site strategic meeting. b. Newsletter Committee . Councilmember Aplikowski distributed a rough draft markup of a "ARDEN HILLS SCENE" newsletter for discussion. After discussion, two issues emerged: (1) it was difficult to evaluate a document in non-final stage; and (2) of greater concern than the .. appearance of the newsletter, was receiving the time commitment from volunteers to ensure future issues of the publication. Staff was directed to prepare a final mock-up for Council review. . e. Use of Community Serviees Fund . Council restated its philosophy of using the Conununity Services Fund for non-operating purposes in light of the uncertain future of licensed charitable gambling as a revenue source. After reviewing how some neighboring conununities distribute their gambling . proceeds, Council indicated they were comfortable with the City's current distribution practices. . Miseellaneous Reminder of Perry Park's Grand Re-Opening on June 1, 1996 . The meeting adjourned at 7:38 P.M. . . .e Council\minutes\worksess\w-520.min .