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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-16-10-WS ,,,-ARZEN HILLS Approved: September 13, 2010 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS,MINNESOTA CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING AUGUST 16,2010 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 City Council Work Session meeting at 5:02 p.m. Present: Mayor Stan Harpstead; Council Members David Grant (arrived at 5:15 p.m.), Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes, and David McClung. Absent. None. Also present: City Administrator, Patrick Klaers; Finance Director, Susan Iverson; Public Works Director, Terry Maurer; City Planner, Meagan Beekman; and Parks and Recreation Manager, Michelle Olson. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Councilmember Holmes moved and Councilmember Holden seconded a motion to approve the meeting agenda as presented. The motion carried unanimously (4-0). L COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS Councilmember Holmes noted she read an article in the newspaper regarding the DNR and their search for 500 acres of land for a shooting range. She suggested the City be in contact with them. City Administrator Klaers indicated he has received two phone calls from area newspapers on this issue and he explained that TCAAP was federal government owned property and not City owned. The information from the DNR was forwarded to Kevin Legare with the GSA. Councilmember Holden thanked staff for including the cable issues with the packet, as there was valuable information within the magazines. She suggested the City staff collaborate further with the Cable network and the available programming. Mayor Harpstead questioned if any further information was known about the land auction dates for the TCAAP property. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 16 2010 2 1. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS(CONTINUED) City Planner Beekman indicated each parcel had a public auction date, and September 24th was a placeholder at this time. City Administrator Klaers noted that as of 5:00 p.m. today no one else has filed for the Mayor or City Council positions. 2. AGENDA ITEMS A. Library Proposal Update City Administrator Klaers presented the City Council with an update from the Library Board. He invited all of the Councilmembers to attend a Library Board meeting on August 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the Maplewood Library. Presbyterian Homes would be making a presentation at this meeting and a packet from staff would also be included in the meeting information. He asked for feedback or comments from the Council at this time. Councilmember Holmes explained the Library Board was not real interested in the Presbyterian Homes option unless operating funds were available and that may require the City to use TIF for the overall Presbyterian Homes project. She felt TIF was a key factor and the Library Board is looking for an answer. Mayor Harpstead agreed. Councilmember Holden questioned the Library Board's timeline. City Planner Beekman reviewed the timeline stating last month was designated to the New Brighton proposal and this month the Board would be reviewing the Presbyterian Homes option. In September the Board would review both options and make a determination as to which direction they wish to pursue. This decision may go into October, but not any further. The County Commissioners would make the final decision, after receiving a recommendation from the Library Board. Councilmember Holden questioned if documentation of New Brighton's proposal was public information. City Planner Beekman indicated she had requested this information and it was not available at this time. City Administrator Klaers suggested the Presbyterian Homes proposal be referred to FPAC to further discuss the possibility of TIF. A request has not been submitted, but Presbyterian Homes is expected to make the request in the next few weeks. Councilmember Holden expressed concern about the 20 year lease; she felt this should be extended to 50 years. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 16 2010 3 2.A Library Proposal Update (continued) Councilmember Grant questioned if the City had received any further information on potential - operating costs. City Administrator Klaers indicated the City has not. He stated the timing of the FPAC meeting would be tight for passing along information to the Library Board. A special Council meeting may need to be called to review the information within the proper timeline. He added that the Council should discuss whether or not they were interested in using TIF for Presbyterian Homes if the library was not included in the redevelopment. Mayor Harpstead stated TIF had to be used for construction or infrastructure, specific to property improvements, and the potential for TIF was there. He indicated the total content of the proposed development would determine his decision, as TIF could not be used for operating expenses for the Library. The overall mix of the development may justify the use of TIF when looking at the project in total. Councilmember Holden explained the facility was being utilized every day and because it was old does not mean it needs to be replaced. Councilmember Holmes questioned what further information was needed from Presbyterian Homes. City Administrator Klaers stated a pro forma from Ehlers was in the works and Ehlers would be present at the FPAC meeting. Councilmember Grant suggested staff work to gather as much information as possible to get the process started. Mayor Harpstead agreed and requested staff begin gathering the necessary information. B. 2011 Bud e Finance Director Iverson presented the City Council with the 2011 Budget. She reviewed the overall changes from the 2010 budget noting there was an additional staff person added to the finance department and interns into administration. The City has a great deal of clean up work and the interns have been effective in completing these tasks and they also have helped to get rid of audit findings with timely reconciliations. Overall, the recent personnel changes made to staff resulted in a $19,000 increase in the budget. Insurance rates would be back to the City at the end of August or early September. She expected the rates to be favorable. The budget reflected a 10% increase for benefits, but this may be reduced. Finance Director Iverson reviewed the budget further explaining a 1% increase in COLA for 2011 would impact the general fund by about$10,000 and about$6,000 in special funds. Mayor Harpstead questioned if the finance staff member would be a one year deal or on-going. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION--AUGUST 16, 2010 4 2.B 2011 Budget/CIP (continued) Finance Director Iverson stated this could be tried for one year, but would be an ongoing need of the City. Mayor Harpstead questioned if the personnel changes included Terry and Pat. Finance Director Iverson indicated this was the case and the budget also reflected the new hire of a Community Development Director. Councilmember Holden questioned how the administrative interns would be funded. Finance Director Iverson explained this was a line item and was budgeted in administration. Mayor Harpstead asked if there would be any change in the administrative interns from 2010 to 2011. Finance Director Iverson projected there would be a $4,000 reduction in intern expenses for finance with an$8,000 increase in administration. City Administrator Klaers indicated staff was not certain how the Council felt about increases in wages or benefits. He noted the union contract with Public Works would need to be negotiated. He hoped to reach a three year contract with the union. He suggested the Council consider the increases made by surrounding communities before establishing any increase. Finance Director Iverson stated the budget reflected a 3% COLA increase at this time. However, she recommended the Council take the wage increases and put them into a contingency fund until this percentage was finalized and staffing was decided. Councilmember Holden questioned who would handle the union negotiations. City Administrator Klaers stated he would negotiate with the union, and stated in the past he has used a consultant to assist with negotiations as this keeps things neutral and professional. Mayor Harpstead asked when the negotiations would take place. City Administrator Klaers estimated this would take place in several months, and he would make a recommendation to Council prior to the negotiations on how Staff wishes to proceed. Councilmember Holmes asked, based on the current numbers and personnel changes, if the levy would have to increase 4-5%. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 16, 2010 5 2.B 2011 Budget/CIP (continued) Finance Director Iverson explained there was a proposed levy increase of 3.4% with all budget increases as stated within the budget book at this time. The number would decrease if the Council made decreases. Mayor Harpstead suggested the Council now address the total budget, since the personnel issues have been discussed. Councilmember Grant stated he did not recall discussing additional personnel for the finance department. Finance Director Iverson indicated this had not yet been discussed by the Council as a group, but several Councilmembers had discussions with her and the City Administrator. The numbers were included just to show the Council how it would affect the budget. Councilmember Holden suggested the additional finance staff member as this department seemed to be behind. She felt the additional staff would greatly benefit the City and allow this department to catch up. Mayor Harpstead explained he would be reluctant to add another staff member to this department. He felt neighboring cities had similar finance systems and a joint powers arrangement could be established to share one half of the position. He questioned how many hours the current interns were working. Finance Director Iverson indicated one intern works about 40 hours per week while the other works between 10-20 hours per week. City Administrator Klaers stated the finance department did have a need in the short term, but long term the City may not have the need. He suggested the Council consider a one year contract for this position. Councilmember Holmes suggested the Personnel Committee discuss this further and potentially put Sue into a Finance Director/Assistant City Administrator position for the City. Councilmember Holden asked who was completing human resource tasks at this time. Finance Director Iverson indicated she was handling human resources. City Administrator Klaers stated there was no one individual that handled all of the human resources at this time. He indicated the Deputy Clerk did not have the experience necessary to complete all of the Human Resource tasks. Typically the City Administrator does not handle these tasks but makes recommendations to Council. Currently Sue is the only one with the experience and skill set to supervise these functions. Councilmember McClung commented he was uncomfortable with this discussion in that this issue should have come before the Council prior to the budget discussion. He felt an organizational chart of the City should be reviewed further. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 16, 2010 6 2.B 2011 Budget/CIP (continued) Mayor Harpstead felt the budget timing was convenient for this personnel discussion,but he was reacting to the job title versus the needed head count. He wanted to be assured that the City Administrator was driving the personnel recommendations. City Administrator Klaers felt the finance intern was a valuable asset to the City and has experience with the City. The thought was to keep him on board for one more year. He stated he would like to see the work load caught up and this could be reevaluated for next year's budget. - Councilmember Holden commented there was a need in the finance department if they had 50+ hours of interns per week. City Administrator Klaers stated the Personnel Committee was going to discuss the organizational chart and staffing of City Hall further. Mayor Harpstead suggested the COLA increases and additional staff be put into a contingency fund for the time being. Councilmember Holden and Councilmember Grant were in favor of a 2% COLA increase. Councilmember Holmes was in favor of a 3% increase. Councilmember McClung had not considered an increase and did not have a comment but he was not in favor of 3%. Mayor Harpstead suggested staff proceed with a 2% COLA increase in the budget for the time being. He then proposed the Council further discuss the 2011 budget. Councilmember Holden questioned how the Park Special Revenue fund would be affected with the potential Hazelnut Park acquisition. Finance Director Iverson explained the Park Special Revenue fund held all park dedications and the PIR fund would assist with all other park expenses. She noted the PIR budget had $360,000 as a placeholder for Hazelnut Park for 2011. Mayor Harpstead asked if the Parks Department had any other outstanding grants. Park and Recreation Manager Olson stated the City was awaiting reimbursement for the Safe Routes to School trail. No additional grants have been applied for. Councilmember Grant questioned what the Cable Revenue funds were spent on. Finance Director Iverson indicated this was used for audio/visual items, the website, and providing information to the public. She stated there was a healthy balance in this account. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 16 2010 7 2.B 2011 Budget/CIP (continued) Councilmember Holmes questioned how the recycling reimbursements were handled. - Finance Director Iverson indicated these were paid to the City twice a year in July and December, when property taxes were collected. Councilmember Holden asked if the City would be expanding Park and Rec activities given the recent article from New Brighton. - Park and Recreation Manager Olson did anticipate an increase in the need for services, especially those for seniors. The hope would be the New Brighton residents would look to Arden Hills. Mayor Harpstead questioned if Celebrating Arden Hills was included in the 2011 budget. Finance Director Iverson stated $10,000 was set aside for the event ($25,000 in expenditures and$15,000 in revenue—donations.) Councilmember Holden did not see a need to hold the event yearly and suggested it be held every other year and remove the expense from the 2011 budget. Councilmember Holmes requested that the event be held annually as the committee has done a great deal of planning and this momentum would be lost. Councilmember McClung expressed concern as the event took a great deal of staff time and effort. He stated he would support the event every other year. He commented that the alternate years could be highlighted with"The Day in the Park"event. Mayor Harpstead indicated the benefits to the community may not justify the labor and expense for the event. He stated Public Works was extremely involved in Celebrating Arden Hills this year. Councilmember Grant stated the committee could continue working on the event and come back with a number. Councilmember Holmes expressed frustration that the subcommittee was not told these comments up front. She wanted to see the event become large and successful like Shoreview and New Brighton. Park and Recreation Manager Olson indicated the Shoreview and New Brighton events were not staff driven and had 501(c)(3) established to make tax deductible donations possible. Mayor Harpstead suggested the funds remain in the budget and that it be reviewed at a later date. The City would need to realize that it does not have the same structure in place as the neighboring cities. A lot of effort was being assumed by City staff. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 16. 2010 8 2.B 2011 Budget/CIP (continued) Councilmember Holden questioned if funds were set aside in the 2011 budget for the B2 district.She requested staff time be set aside to work further on this district. Finance Director Iverson stated this would be explained within the CIP. She explained $60,000 was set aside for professional services in planning for the B2 district and TCAAP and other projects as needed. Councilmember Grant asked if the City has received additional comments regarding the utility bills and the senior discount. He stated he has heard many comments. Finance Director Iverson noted the phase-out plan would be completed in 2011, as it was athree year plan. Councilmember McClung questioned if additional funds would be added to planning for the Red Fox/Gray Fox area. City Planner Beekman stated $60,000 was aside in Professionals Services in Planning and Zoning for that type of work. The Red Fox/Gray Fox planning study could be completed in 2011. Councilmember Holden expressed concern about the Council completing additional studies when nothing comes from them and stated that she wanted more work done on the B2 district. Mayor Harpstead indicated the Holiday Inn could be a catalyst to this redevelopment, while on the other end the bridge could get the area going. At this time, the funding for the County Road E Bridge fell through. The next best opportunity would be the 2015 build-out of the bridge. City Administrator Klaers suggested the Council discuss this further and decide the commitment level to this district as it could not be completed without financial assistance. Councilmember McClung indicated the County should be approached to see if they would be interested in advance constructing the bridge. City Administrator Klaers noted something not in the budget that should be considered was Administrative Traffic Fines. This program was going well for Ramsey County. He reviewed the revenues collected by neighboring communities and stated the additional revenues collected from this program would flow into the City's general fund. Mayor Harpstead stated he was not opposed to moving forward with this program. Councilmember Holmes suggested this be discussed further at a future work session meeting. Councilmember McClung agreed that this item needed further discussion before putting it into the budget. He did not want to see the City proceed with this program as a revenue generator, but instead as a way to further promote public safety. The Council agreed to discuss this further at a work session before making a decision. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 16. 2010 9 2.B 2011 Budget/CIP (continued) Councilmember Holden requested staff investigate the monetary savings that could be gained by extending the summer hours to all year and turning down the heat in City buildings Friday through Sunday through the winter months. In addition the air conditioning units could be turned off in the summer months over the weekends. Park and Recreation Manager Olson explained the system was programmed to turn down at times the building was vacant but this could be investigated further. Mayor Harpstead questioned if additional fund balances could be spent down to decrease the expenditures. If possible, this would reduce the amount needed for the levy. Finance Director Iverson indicated the fund balance was at 52%. Mayor Harpstead stated the City did discuss having additional engineering completed for pending projects in case future grant opportunities were available. He noted the next step for the budget would be setting the preliminary levy limit in September. The limit presented at this time was 3.4%and could be reduced but not increased after September. Councilmember McClung requested that the City Administrator provide the Council with some options to reduce the budget by 10%. The Council had no objections to this request. Councilmember Holden questioned if the new City Administrator had any recommendations for the proposed budget. City Administrator Klaers did not have any comments at this time but stated he could provide comments to Council at the September meeting. C. Lake Johanna Fire Department Discussion City Administrator Klaers noted on May 17, a discussion was held regarding the Lake Johanna Fire Department budget and contract. At this meeting the Council raised a number of questions about the finances and future plans of the department. The Council had requested the Fire Chief respond to these questions and a written response was received in July. Councilmember McClung reviewed that the Monday through Thursday staffing extension was going forward as the department was moving to a full time duty crew. He then asked for further comments from the Council regarding the Chief s responses. All feedback would then be brought back to the Fire Board. Councilmember Holden expressed concern with the number of new fire fighters in the department and questioned if members left due to the new system, and if this continues to happen how experienced fire fighters would be retained in the department. Mayor Harpstead agreed this was a valid question and wanted to see if the new staffing model would lend itself to maintaining an experienced fire fighting staff. He understood that several fire fighters had left the Lake Johanna Department for full time work and one to complete his Masters. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 16 2010 10 2.C Lake Johanna Fire Department Discussion (continued) Councilmember Holmes asked if the Council was in agreement that Station#1 would be closing.She was troubled that the Fire Station and Library would both be closing in the City of Arden Hills, when Shoreview had two fully staffed fire stations. She felt our residents deserved a Fire Station and Library. Mayor Harpstead stated he was not bothered by these closings as the buildings were in complete disrepair and it would be better for the City to close these sites than to further tax the residents. - However, the Mayor stated that he was concerned about adequate fire safety and keeping the library within the City. Councilmember Grant indicated the safety of the residents was first and foremost, whether in a new station or old. Councilmember Holmes questioned if the City should consider contracting out the fire services with the City of Roseville. Mayor Harpstead stated this would be an interesting question to ask if the department was staffed properly to handle this joint venture. He felt that it would be more expensive to contract these services with the City of Roseville than with the Lake Johanna Fire Department. Councilmember Holden asked if the City would regret closing Station #1 in the future as this would mean the City had to continually contract for services. Mayor Harpstead explained it was his impression that response times were the most important to keep the residents in Arden Hills safe. Councilmember Holmes suggested the Arden Hills Fire Station be improved to keep the City more involved in the department and invested in the City. Councilmember McClung indicated this Fire Station would still never be fully staffed with a duty crew as it was on the far southern corner of the fire district. He explained how the various stations would be filled with crews going forward. He indicated that fully staffing Station #1 would not increase response times. If the City were to build a new fire station it would need to be more centrally located in Arden Hills. Funds would be received for the department when Station #1 was sold, but this may not occur until 2016. Councilmember Holmes questioned if the Council would take a formal vote on the Fire Department issue. City Administrator Klaers noted that by approving the Fire budget the Council was approving year two of the six year plan. Councilmember McClung noted if the Council continued to support the budget, the department was assuming that each year of the plan would be supported, which included the closing of Station #1. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION--AUGUST 161 2010 11 2.C Lake Johanna Fire Department Discussion (continued) Councilmember Grant asked what the additional operating expenses were for dragging out the closing of Station#1 over six years. Mayor Harpstead indicated the incremental operating costs are growing because of the duty crews. The potential risk to the City, by keeping Station #1 open for several years, would be the large expense of roof repairs, etc. Councilmember Grant wondered if the duty crews could be reallocated to Station #4 on a 24/7 basis to allow the City to get out of the Station#1 expenses earlier. Councilmember McClung explained he could bring this question to the department as this would require some time to prepare the necessary calculations. Mayor Harpstead stated another expense would be the build-out of necessary sleeping quarters. Councilmember McClung indicated this option would not increase the services provided to North Oaks. Further discussion ensured regarding the response times of various stations to the City of Arden Hills. Mayor Harpstead requested the City advocate for increased services to the southwest corner of the City and the best option was Station #4. He wanted to have the department keep this building a high priority. His biggest concern at this time was the large budget increases each year made by the Fire Department, even though they do not control the tax levies. Councilmember Holden questioned why the fire fighters were being paid a higher per diem and mileage compensation rate than the IRS allowed. She requested this be brought to the Fire Board as well. She further asked if the City should continue to fund the softball league, fitness club reimbursements, picnics, etc. In addition, a more detailed budget should be provided to the City as the department was moving to full-time staff. Mayor Harpstead indicated this was a transition period and this will be in the works. Councilmember Holmes left the meeting at 7:50 p.m. Councilmember Holden suggested the response calls be further reviewed or analyzed before sending fire,police and paramedics to each medical call. Mayor Harpstead agreed this could be further reviewed. ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—AUGUST 16 2010 12 2.C Lake Johanna Fire Department Discussion (continued) Councilmember McClung indicated this would be difficult until each of the stations were fully staffed 24/7. City Administrator Klaers stated the Sheriff's department has to respond to certain calls and this could not be dictated by the City. A level of consistency would have to be maintained. It was his understanding that with having the fire department on the scene, it frees up the Sheriff's Deputy to respond to other calls. - Councilmember McClung explained he could review this further with the department. Mayor Harpstead questioned if the Council wanted to extend the meeting further. Councilmember McClung stated he would forward the comments and feedback from Council to the Fire Board. ADJOURN Mayor Harpstead adjourned the City Council Work Session meeting at 8:07 p Patrick Klaers tan FLAKtea City Administrator Mayor