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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-21-09-Special �zS�EN HILLS Approved: January 25, 20 10 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 21, 2009 5:00 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Stan Harpstead called to order the special City Council meeting at 5:05 p.m. Present: Mayor Stan Harpstead, Council Members David Grant (arrived at 5:06 p.m.), Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, and David McClung Absent: None. Also present: City Administrator, Ronald Moorse; Finance Director, Susan Iverson; Community Development Director, James Lehnhoff; Recreation Manager, Michelle Olson; City Attorney, Jerry Filla; and Public Works Director, Greg Hoag. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE L APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Councilmember McClung moved and Councilmember Holmes seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL-DECEMBER 21, 2009 2 2. AGENDA ITEMS A. Resolution 2009-043 Supporting Transferring Land from the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) Property to Ramsey County for the Rice Creek South Regional Trail Corridor,the Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS) Trailhead, and the Vento Wildlife Corridor Community Devel opment Director Lehnhoff summarized the request. As noted in the Resolution there were several provisions; most importantly that the property would be transferred to Ramsey County. He indicated that Greg Mack did review the Resolution and requested that it be noted the City was in support for the Vento - Wildlife Corridor transfer as well. Community Development Director Lehnhoff reviewed a map with the Council and asked for comments or questions. Councilmember Holmes asked if the Vento Wildlife Corridor was a new section of property or just a new name. Community Development Director Lehnhoff explained this was not a new portion of property; it was always referred to as the wildlife corridor. Mayor Harpstead requested that the word "Vento" be removed from the name. The Council agreed with this suggestion. MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve Resolution 2009-043 Supporting Transferring Land from the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) Property to Ramsey County for the Rice Creek South Regional Trail Corridor, the Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS) Trailhead, and the Wildlife Corridor. Councilmember McClung stated he would be reluctantly voting for the trail corridor. He did not feel the City should be forced into making the decision on where the trail corridor should be located. However, in trying to bring the Council together on this issue, he would support the Resolution. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL-DECEMBER 21, 2009 3 B. Resignation of Public Works Maintenance Employee Todd Hansen Public Works Director Hoag summarized the request stating that on December 1, 2009, Todd Hansen submitted his letter of resignation effective December 29, 2009. He explained Mr. Hansen was solicited to return to work at the Mounds View School District. It was recommended the Council accept his resignation and authorize the recruitment and hiring process to fill this position. Councilmember Holden questioned where a new hire would start on the pay scale. Public Works Director Hoag indicated a new employee would begin as low as .possible, but that will be based on the candidate's qualifications. Councilmember Holden encouraged staff to seek along-term candidate for this position. Public Works Director Hoag explained that this would be the intent and his first thought was to send letters to the top 15 candidates from the search process that took place in early 2009 to see if any of those candidates were interested, or the position could be posted with the League of Minnesota Cities again. Discussion ensued regarding the process that should be followed for the hiring of a new public works employee. Councilmember Holden indicated she would like staff to send letters to the top 15 candidates from the previous hiring process to begin the search. Mayor Harpstead questioned who would participate in the interview process. Public Works Director Hoag stated this was yet to be determined, but that three different interviews were conducted with the last candidates. He indicated he would have hired any of the last six candidates, as they were all qualified for the job. Mayor Harpstead suggested that group be selected for interviews from the top candidates of the previous hiring process. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL-DECEMBER 21, 2009 4 2B. Resignation of Public Works Maintenance Employee Todd Hansen (continued) Councilmember Holden agreed with this suggestion if the top six were qualified for the job. Councilmember McClung questioned if there were HR requirements to post the job. Public Works Director Hoag stated he had checked with the League and the City's personnel policy and proceeding to interview previous candidates would not violate any City hiring requirements. MOTION: Councilmember Grant moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to accept the Resignation of Public Works Maintenance Employee .Todd Hansen and authorize staff to begin the recruitment and hiring process to fill this position. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Grant seconded a motion to authorize staff to begin the recruitment and hiring process to fill Todd Hansen's position by utilizing the list from last February, while requesting the candidate's personnel file, and bring a recommendation back to Council. Mayor Harpstead explained that an absence of personnel information from previous employers should not be viewed as a negative for any candidate. He asked that the Council understand that some companies have data privacy regulations. Councilmember Holden stated she would like each candidate's last performance evaluation reviewed before the City consider hiring an individual. Councilmember Grant agreed with this suggestion. Councilmember McClung stated he would like legal guidance if the City was allowed to go that far into previous performance evaluations. Mayor Harpstead indicated there was nothing wrong with asking for this information voluntarily, but cautioned how the candidate would be judged if it were absent. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCII,-DECEMBER 21, 2009 5 2B. Resignation of Public Woks Maintenance Employee Todd Hansen (continued) Councilmember Holmes agreed stating that there would be a bias. Finance Director Iverson stated she could check with the League of Minnesota Cities and see how this issue has been handled in the past. The Council requested this information. The motion carried unanimously (5-0)., C. Recruiter Options for City Administrator Search Process Mayor Harpstead reviewed information regarding the Brimeyer Group and Springsted, both able to assist the City with the recruitment process for a new City Administrator. He indicated the Brimeyer Group did have additional handouts for the Council. Mayor Harpstead stated he did not have a formal presentation but both have been recommended as groups that recruit from the local area at nearly the same expense and have placed individuals in similar positions in the recent future. Mayor Harpstead noted that a member from Springsted removed themselves from this process due to a past issue with the City. He felt the Brimeyer Group had a more formal survey of personality profiles, but that both had a very similar timeline. Mayor Harpstead then asked for questions or comments from the Council. Councilmember Holmes questioned if the Council was interested in asking Harry Bruel to fill the position. Mayor Harpstead stated the consensus was to not ask Harry Bruel. Councilmember Holden questioned if it would be a conflict of interest to work with Springsted based on the fact the City had a prior lawsuit with one of its employees. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL-DECEMBER 21, 2009 6 2C. Recruiter Optionsfor City Administrator Search Process (continued) City Attorney Filla indicated Sharon Klump was the spouse of the owner of the dog in the lawsuit, but did not know if she would be doing any of the interviews or work for the City. Mayor Harpstead explained he did speak with Sharon Klump about this issue and she acknowledged it would not be seemly to have her involved in the process, but felt the conflict was more with her spouse than with herself. Councilmember Holmes felt the Brimeyer Group had more Minnesota connections and was more comfortable working with them based on that. Councilmember Holden stated this was true but that Springsted had placed more City Administrators in the last three years than the Brimeyer Group. Mayor Harpstead indicated Springsted was a larger organization while the Brimeyer Group was smaller; each came with pros and cons. Councilmember McClung agreed there were pros and cons to each organization, but that they were both similar in their scope and methodology. He noted one substantial difference with the Brimeyer Group was they addressed Phase 4, On Board/Preparing for Change. Councilmember Holden added that the Brimeyer Group's timeline was about a month earlier than the Springsted timeline. She noted she would be in favor of working with the Brimeyer Group. Councilmember Grant stated he was in favor of hiring the Brimeyer Group as well. Councilmember Holmes was more comfortable working with the Brimeyer Group. Councilmember McClung also gave the Brimeyer Group his approval. He encouraged the City Attorney to be more involved with the salary negotiations. Mayor Harpstead agreed the Attorney should be involved with the negotiations and added that he was comfortable with either option. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL-DECEMBER 21, 2009 7 2C. Recruiter Optionsfor City Administrator Search Process (continued) MOTION: Councilmember Holden moved and Councilmember Grant seconded a motion to reach an agreement and contract with the Brimeyer Group to search for a City Administrator for the City of Arden Hills. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). I APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. August 31, 2009 Regular City Council Meeting MOTION: Councilmember McClung moved and Mayor Harpstead seconded a motion to approve the August 31, 2009 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously (5-0).8 B. November 16, 2009 Worksession City Council Meeting MOTION: Councilmember McClung moved and Mayor Harpstead seconded a motion to app rove the November 16, 2009 Worksession City Council Meeting Minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 4. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Councilmember Holden questioned if the City put in a claim to the League of Minnesota Cities for Ron Nelson's property. City Administrator Moorse indicated this was discussed, but that a claim was not placed. It was his understanding the claim would be less than the City's deductible. Finance Director Iverson noted however, that if the claim were placed, it would count towards the City's aggregate. Mayor Harpstead stated if this was a legitimate claim and was a legitimate process, a claim should be filed. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL-DECEMBER 21, 2009 8 4. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS (continued) Councilmember Holmes noted she received an email regarding the library trustees want to meet with the Council for a presentation. She suggested they be invited to the January worksession meeting to allow for greater discussion of the library situation. In addition, they could be invited back for a 1 0-minute presentation at a Council Meeting to provide greater information to the public. Mayor Harpstead agreed with this suggestion and requested staff place the library discussion on the January 18th worksession agenda for content discussion, with presentation time set aside at the January 25 th Council meeting. The Council was in favor with this suggestion. Councilmember Holmes received a phone call from Sandy Martin, Mayor of Shoreview, asking if the Council was interested in meeting with their Council to brainstorm and discuss concerns regarding TCAAP. Mayor Martin indicated that she would be making the same request of each Councilmember. Councilmember Holmes was not in favor of such a meeting at this time. Mayor Harpstead stated he spoke with Mayor Martin as well and she understands there were concerns about County Road I and how the property would impact her City. Councilmember Holden indicated she was not interested in holding a meeting with the City of Shoreview. Councilmember McClung received a call from Mayor Martin and stated he was willing to sit down and talk to her about TCAAP at any time, but that he would need to receive a letter requesting such a meeting. Councilmember McClung welcomed the new Smith Employees within the City of Arden Hills. He explained there was a new expansion of this local business, bringing new employees into the City. ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL-DECEMBER 21, 2009 9 ADJOURN Mayor Harpstead adjou e cial City Council Meeting at 5:51 p.m. 101 aetyL t arp ad san K. Iverson Mayor Acting City Administrator