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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWS 10-21-1996 . . MINUTES it CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA WORKSESSION OCTOBER 21, 1996 4:30 P.M. - PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING LUNCHROOM . CALL TO ORDERlROLL CALL . Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Probst caUed to order the City Council Worksession at 4:40 p.m. Present were Mayor Dennis Probst, Councilmembers Paul Malone and Beverly Aplikowski; City Administrator, Brian Fritsinger; City Accountant, Terry Post; and . Administrative Secretary, Sheila Stowell, with Councilmember Susan Keim arriving at 4:45 p.m. and Councilmember Dale Hicks arriving at 5:00 p.m. . NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERNS Councilmember Keirn immediately brought her concerns before the Council regarding an incident occurring in her neighborhood with the propositioning of a 14-year old neighbor boy. . Councilmember Keirn expressed her concern that such an occurrence would happen in Arden Hills, and asked for direction from the City Council regarding any actions the City could take to assist Ramsey County in making citizens aware of the situation. Councilmember Keim also . mentioned several other incidents with suspicious vehicles at the Valentine Hills Elementary School. Ie City Administrator, Brian Fritsinger, informed the Council that he had been in contact with both Councilmember Keim and the Ramsey County Sheriffs Department regarding the incident, and . stated that the Sheriff s Department was currently doing their preliminary investigations, had a partial vehicle identification, and were reviewing several tapes of the alleged suspect from Ken's Market. Mr. Fritsinger stated that he was awaiting further information from the County's foUow- I up investigations the following day. The Council was receptive to Councilmember Keim's concerns and suggested that the City could . certainly become involved in assisting the Sheriffs Department in any way they felt was the most productive with the situation. . City Administrator Fritsinger was directed to continue his follow-up with Deputy SheritI, John Luey, and pursue appropriate communication with the School District and any pending press releases they advised were appropriate. . CITY ISSUES - SHORT TERM . Mayor Probst reversed the agenda order to accommodate discussion when additional Councilmembers arrived. . c. Committee Reviews Mayor Probst sought Council input regarding the future of the Council's advisory committees, and the possible reorganization of the committee structure. Mayor .. Probst expressed his thoughts on commissions versus task forces, and how the conuuittees would be more goal-oriented with specific missions to accomplish in a set time frame, and suggested that a task force format might be more successful . I I ARDEN I-fILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - OCTOBER 2 I. 1996 2 t' for reeruiting volunteers, with additional groups formed as new issues arise. I Mayor Probst challenged the Council to prepare a list of specific priorities they would like the various committees or task forces to consider. I Councilmember Aplikowski expressed her concern that the Council may be I sending the wrong message to standing committee members regarding disbanding. I Mayor Probst emphasized it was not his intent to turn away active volunteers, but to redirect their energies, and encourage aggressive community involvement and action, and stated the effectiveness of the former TCAAP Reutilization I Committee. Mayor Probst restated his main concern was that it appeared that several of the committees were stagnating and not accomplishing the directives originally provided by Council. I Councilmember Aplikowski expressed concern that due to past staffturnover, and lack of direction and appropriate communication from Council, the Committees Ie may not be sure of their directives. I Councilmember Malone concurred with Mayor Probst's evaluation that several of the committees haven't worked effectively, due to an apparent lack of focus. It was his opinion that if the committees, or task forces, were given more specific I items, they would become more effective. Councilmember Malone suggested that the list prepared by staffto-date was extensive enough to provide specific direction to various task forces, and that existing committees could be subdivided I to accomplish the needed task forces. Councilmember Keim suggested that the Council had not provided concrete I direction to the Committees as promised, and questioned how the various committees were to keep their focus without Council follow through. I Discussion continued regarding the role of the Council Liaisons to their respective committees and providing more communication with committees during Council Worksessions. I City Administrator Fritsinger reminded the Council of discussions held at the I March, 1996 Council Retreat regarding Committee structure, Round Table discussions (Communication), Council awareness (role of Liaison) and staff time (priorities as directed by Council), cost of outside consultants (expertise). .. I I I ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESS10N - OCTOBER 2 I. 1996 3 t' Staff was directed to work with Mayor Probst in development of a more complete I proposal and a list of pending items for further Council consideration and Committee volunteer discussion by the November, 1996 Council Worksession. Mayor Probst stated it was his intent to exclude the Park & Rec. Committee and I the Planning Commissions from any restructuring at this time. I Councilmember Keim left the meeting at 5: I 0 p.m. b. Building Inspection Sen>ices - 1997 I City Administrator Fritsinger reviewed the proposed creation of a full-time Building Inspector position for the City of Arden l-Iills, with formal action to be initiated at the October 28, 1996 Council meeting. Mr. Fritsinger reviewed I existing outside consulting services, addressing significant cost-savings to the City and increased customer service. The contracts of Dave Kriesel, current contracted Building Inspector, and Gene Pakoy, both require a 60-day notice of I termination. It was the consensus of the Council that the cost-savings for the position could -Ie serve as a bridge for a future phase-out of the position if deemed necessary as building permits decline, depending on the availability of future development I properties. Following further discussion, staff was directed to include creation ofa Building I Inspector position on the October 28, 1996 Council Agenda, with additional fine- tuning of the draft job description for inclusion oflegal requirements. I a. City Hall Facility - Review of Options City Administrator Fritsinger provided a summary ofthe City Hall project based on the origination of the project from the formation ofthe City Hall Committee in I January of 1990 to present. Issues discussed included the 1991 Community Survey results, review of possible I building sites, needs assessment report completed in 199 I by the City Hall Committee, 1992 architectural services enlisted, City Hall design issues, 1992 Bond Referendum regarding the proposed construction of a Public Works I building, TCAAP site selection and Reuse Plan process, temporary City facilities, City Hall relocation/renovation, 1996 architectural services requested, and other items. I Mr. Fritsinger asked for Council direction to staff as to its intentions for future t' City Hall facilities, and specifically how it wishes to proceed with the Request for Proposals for architectural services. Specifically, Mr. Fritsinger asked for clarification on where we're at, and how to proceed. I I I ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - OCTOBER 21. 1996 4 t' After an extensive review of options available, various scenarios, and the public's I perception of various avenues for the City Hall project to proceed, the consensus of the Council was to pursue a building on the easterly edge of city-owned property on the south side of Highway 96. I Staff was directed to pursue a short-term and/or long-term solution for facilities I by contacting potential developers. Staff was directed to work with the short list of five architectural firms previously identified for their advice on the building, parking, planning and zoning issues to avoid getting land-locked. It was I suggested that the architects be contacted and the interview process continued to discuss the City's options, with the initial intent being to proceed with the possibility oftwo projects until further information is available regarding the I TCAAP site. It was the consensus of the Council that statI seek architectural services for I provision of a design for temporary facilities, which would be owned by the EDA and leased to the City, with future sale of the building for commercial use in order to recoup as much of the City's initial investruent as possible, or - if the situation Ie dictates - for long-term use should the TCAAP property not be available for city use. I Staff was also directed to get quotes on re-shingling of the roof of the existing City Hall facility to prevent potential damage to equipment until a new facility is I available for occupancy. MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS I The Council reviewed a variety of miscellaneous items including the Firemen's Benefit Association, Budget items, Code enforcement, business luncheon and Met Council future growth options. I Worksession Agenda/Format City Administrator Fritsinger provided comments to the Council regarding a change in I the format of the Worksession agenda, with the elimination ofthe "Round Table Discussion." This item will be added as Department Activities to the regular Council meeting agenda in the future, to provide an opportunity for Council Liaisons to comment I in the public forum about any key issues their respective committees or staff are working on. It was hoped that this would facilitate more public awareness. I It was the consensus of the Council that this would be a positive attempt to improve communication, with Mayor Probst suggesting that this would allow citizens to be more .. informed by broadening their knowledge, eliminating the "shorthand" conversations that often inadvertently occur between staff and Council. I -- --------- . . ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - OCTOBER 2 I. 1996 5 tJj ADJOURN . Mayor Probst adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m. . . . . . 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