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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWS 11-19-1996 I I MINUTES t' CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA WORKSESSION NOVEMBER 19, 1996 4:30 P.M. - PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING LUNCHROOM . CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL . Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Probst called to order the City Council Worksession at 4:30 p.m. Present were Mayor Dennis Probst, Councilmembers Paul Malone, . Dale Hicks and Beverly Aplikowski; City Administrator, Brian Fritsinger; City Accountant, Terry Post; Dwayne Stafford, Public Works Superintendent; Kevin Ringwald, Community Development Director; and Administrative Secretary, Sheila Stowell, with Councilmember . Susan Keim arriving at 4:50 p.m., and Parks & Recreation Director, Cindy Walsh, arriving at 5:05 p.m. . Prior to the start ofthe meeting, Mayor Probst ealled the Council's attention to the closed Executive Session ofthe meeting scheduled for 5:00 p.m. . CITY ISSUES - SHORT TERM a. I-35W Corridor Coalition Ie City Administrator Fritsinger reviewed the proposed Joint Powers Agreement and other . documentation for the I-35W Corridor Coalition and updated the Council on the historical background and purposes of the 1- 35W Corridor Coalition. StatI advised the Council that City Attorney Filla has reviewed the documents and has no significant . Issues. Mayor Probst added that the meetings of the Coalition to-date have been very productive, . and the consensus of the neighboring cities is that existing City staff - in any of the communities - is not available to administer the day-to-day activities of the Coalition, therefore an agreement with Strauss Management is included in the proposed documents . for Council consideration. Mr. Fritsinger expressed the interest received by the Coalition from the Met Council, with . them identifying the uniqueness and collaborative nature ofthe Coalition. I City Accountant, Terry Post, advised the Council that while the initial expenditure of $4,347 was not included in the initial Preliminary 1997 Budget, this expenditure should not impact the proposed levy increase. . Councilmember Aplikowski questioned whether the Coalition was adding another layer of bureaucracy to the system, and questioned whether we needed to get involved. t' I . I ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - NOVEMBER 19 1996 2 .. City Administrator Fritsinger advised the Council that the Steering Committee had . seriously looked into the need for a formalized structure in order to obtain grants, and had determined that there were issues that could be dealt with by the Coalition more effectively than by an individual city. Several items identified by Mr. Fritsinger included I Geographic Information Systems, business retention activities and transportation issues. . The consensus of the Council was to pursue the Coalition, with proposed action at the November 25, 1996 Council meeting. b. Truth-In-Taxation Preview of Presentation Materials . City Accountant, Terry Post, presented a summary of the proposed Truth-In-Taxation I materials and a DRAFT Agenda for the December 5, 1996 Public Hearing scheduled at the Army Reserve Center at 7:30 p.m. . Those items presented included Resolution No. 96-50; Resolution No. 96-5 I; Tax Computation Example; Components of Total Local Tax Rate; Homesteaded Property with $120K EMV; Median Market Value of Homes in Ramsey County by City; Market Ie Valuation, Tax Capacity and Levy Data; State LGA and HACA Aid Relative to Net Levy Amount; a breakdown of 1997 General Fund Revenues and Expenditures; Analysis of Proposed General Fund Expenditures; Summary Comparison of General Fund Revenues, I Expenditures and Operating Transfers; Proposed 1997 All Fund Expend/Transfers; and Summary Comparison of All Funds, Expenditures and Transfers Out. . Mr. Post provided two bench handouts, which reflect more current information from the time preliminary budget materials had been prepared, including an increase in 1996 and . 1997 State Fire Aid, as well as revised net 1997 PMP project costs in the PIR Fund which reflects the City Engineer's recent Feasibility Report. I Councilmembers Hicks and Malone each expressed concern regarding the confusion with the Net Tax Capacity being shown as a percentage and how it could be more appropriately shown for understanding. I Mayor Probst and Councilmembers provided several suggestions to clarify the presentation materials and their order, and concurred on the information prepared for I public presentation by Mr. Post. Mr. Post advised the Council that Public Hearing advertisements would be placed in the Focus and Bulletin prior to hearings. . .. I -. r , , ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - NOVEMBER 19.1996 3 .J CLOSED EXECUTIVE SESSION . At 5:15 p.m., Mayor Probst announced the Worksession would be closed for the Executive Session to discuss potential litigation, and invited the public and staff to . wait for completion of business, and the Council would reconvene the public portion ofthe meeting. The Executive Session of the meeting was opened at 5: 15 p.m., and concluded at 5:38 p.m., at which time the Council recessed momentarily. The Worksession was opened at 5:42 p.m. to conclude the business scheduled to be conducted. CITY ISSUES - LONG TERM a. Discussion of Committee Structure for 1997 Mayor Probst provided an overview of the Committee Structure he is proposing for 1997, including Statutory Commissions and various other Committees, Commissions and Task Forces. Discussion took place regarding the lack of a proposed Finance Committee for 1997, with Councilmember Malone pointing out that the Finance Committee had been established when the City had only a part-time Treasurer, and not a full-time Accountant as currently exists. Mayor Probst opened the meeting to Council response. Discussion took place regarding the identifiable differences in a Committee vs. a Task Force structure, and which would be more effective for the community. It was the general consensus ofthe Council that a Task Force would set a time goal of six weeks to three months to deal with a specific issue, and would be more effective, and provide more community involvement by allowing more citizens to participate. Discussion took place as to whether the proposed Youth Commission would create enough interest and provide youth with more civic opportunities for future leadership, and allow our area youth to express their views of a future community. Discussion also included the development of Task Force/Committee goals, rather than Mission Statements, as well as statI involvement, Council commitment and liaison responsibilities on Task Forces/Committees, Committee motivation, City Council goal setting for 1997, and establishment of community priorities from the Town Hall meeting proposed for early 1997. I I ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - NOVEMBER 19. 1996 4 it Discussion also took place regarding how the Task Forces/Committees were perceived, I with the consensus being that they should supplement staff, and make recommendations to the Council. I Staff input was that the Council had previously commented that the role of statI was to supplement the work of the Committees. However, the current Committee structure I utilizing this format, was not working. This often resulted in a lack of assistance being provided to staff by existing Committee structures, with staff generally required to prepare the materials for Committee, providing it to the Committee, and with staff then I making recommendations to Council. It was the consensus of staff that the Task Forces/Committees needed defined priorities and goals to provide staff and Council the needed input to complete projects. Staff would like to see the Task Force/Committee I structure created so as to accomplish or assist with the larger projects and goals as directed by Council. I After further discussion, it was the consensus of the Council that the draft list of Task Forces/Commissions prepared by Mayor Probst was a start to get discussion started at the proposed January 1997 Town Hall meeting, and with modification, may assist in Ie heightening interest from residents or volunteers already serving the community on existing Committees. I b. Preliminary Town Hall Meeting- Discussion I The preceding discussions on community involvement led to further discussion of plans for the Town Hall Meeting. Mayor Probst provided Council and staff with his direction for the meeting, with a "State of the City" commentary by Mayor Probst with 1996 I accomplishments, and 1997 plans being discussed, as well as an update on the City Hall facilities. It was the consensus of the Council that no outside speakers be obtained for the first meeting. I Councilmember Keim suggested a forum to develop and enhance communication with the public and allow them to disseminate information, with involvement by civic I organizations, the Fire Department and Ramsey County Sheriff through the use of informational booths. I Locations and dates were discussed, with Valentine Hills Elementary School being suggested as the first choice, followed by the Holiday Inn, Bethel College and the Army Reserve Center. I Staff was directed to seek the availability of the above-referenced locations for a it proposed meeting on January 25, 1997. I I I ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION - NOVEMBER 19.1996 5 .. Informational sources were discussed and included a one-page insert in the I December/January Arden Hills Notes, January 1997 utility billing stuffer, Cable TV, Cable TV taping for future use, and articles or news releases in The Focus and The Bulletin newspapers. I Staff sought Council direction in whether or not to advertise for volunteers for Task I Force/Committee participation. It was the consensus of the Council to proceed with advertising for interested persons to serve, with a suggested target number to serve on each committee being seven members. I MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS I Meeting Attendance Councilmember Keim advised she would be unable to attend the December 5, 1996 Truth-in- Taxation meeting due to scheduling conflicts. I Councilmember Hicks advised he would be unable to attend November's Public Safety and Works Committee meeting due to a scheduling conflict. Ie Elections - Precinct 3 Voter Registrations Discussion took place regarding recent correspondence from Tom Lynch, one of the I City's Election Judges, regarding voter registration difficulties at Bethel College. City Administrator Fritsinger responded that the situation was under review for procedural I changes prior to the 1998 election. Fire Services Contract I The Fire Services contract, and it's expiration date, were discussed and Council consensus was to include it in future discussions with surrounding communities who would be in a position to participate in a possible joint agreement with fire service I providers. AD.JOURN I Malone moved and Hicks seconded a motion to adjourn the meeting at 7:08 p.m. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). I I .. I