2014-08-27 CC WS Minutes - Approved

Home Browse Search

City Council 2014-08-27 Minutes of Work Session City Council 2014-08-27 8:45 p.m. Minutes of Work Session Present were Mayor Tom Wilharber, Council members Jeff Paar, Steve King, D Love, and Ben Fehrenbacher. Also present were Kurt Glaser, City Attorney, Lee Mann of Stantec., and Public Works Director Paul Palzer. The purpose of the work session was to cover four agenda items: Bond Refinancing. George Eilertson of Northland Securities was present to review the 2009 Series B Improvement Bonds. The structure of the original bond issue anticipated revenue from sale of certain city land along Commerce Drive. That sale has not yet happened, while the bond has a balloon payment due in the year 2018. Mr. Eilertson suggested that the City could refinance the bond and extend the payment term so that the cash flow becomes more manageable, especially if the sale of land does not happen as planned. The decision is not urgent and the consensus was to have further discussion of this in October, so that a decision can be made in advance of the first call date of February 1, 2015. Budget 2014 . The draft budget for 2015 has been updated to include changes in the police costs, as well as adjustments to the required bond levies. The net effect is an increase in the combined levy of 4.25%. There may be adjustments that can be made to reduce it some. Council consensus was to have another work session in September to review it again before the preliminary budget and levy is adopted. Also, staff was asked to prepare to report on the revenue potential of franchise fees. 2015 Street Program. The Council deferred further review of the 2015 street program. Staff will update the cost estimates and provide a list of affected property owners so the project can move to the public comment stage. Benefitted properties would be asked to bear a special assessment of $525 on the 2015 project. Labor issues. The Council discussed the engineer staffing from Stantec. Administrator Larson expressed concern that Mark Statz who is assigned to Centerville took a two-month leave of absence without any preplanning, leaving the city in a difficult spot. Larson suggested that Stantec staff may have rights to certain leave, but those personnel issues should not adversely affect Centerville. Solutions were discussed, including assigning a different staff person to Centerville on a permanent basis, and better planning and transitioning in the future, should a leave issue arise again. Lee Mann of Stantec apologized for the way the situation was handled and the lack of communication in advance of the leave. Mr. Mann assured the Council that the City would not be placed in this situation again, that in the future, better advance planning will be done and further assured the Council that the city will not be double billed because other Stantec staff have to work along-side Mark to get up to speed in advance of a leave. Council was satisfied with leaving Statz in his position, with the assurance that were provided by Mr. Mann. 12 Page of