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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,December 8, 2014 Page 28 Roll Call Ayes: Laliberte, McGehee, Willmus, Etten, and Roe. Nays: None. c. Consider Approval of Newly Created Positions in the 2015 City Budget At the request of Mayor Roe, City Manager Trudgeon briefly reviewed the new positions, as approved in the 2015 City Budget just adopted, as detailed in the RCA dated December 8, 2014, and sought official City Council approval of those new positions. Mr. Trudgeon advised that the positions would be funded through existing non-tax levy revenue sources with the exception of the Firefighters, with that net cost estimated at $68,000 to be funded from levy funds. Councilmember McGehee noted that, according to previous presentation by Fire Chief O'Neill, this left forty firefighters still covered in the Relief Association pension fund. Councilmember McGehee reiterated her ongoing support to fast track this additional liability and implement the restructuring plan sooner. Councilmember McGehee requested additional information on the Right-of-Way Coordinator position. At the request of Mayor Roe, Public Works Director Duane Schwartz provided an overview of duties intended to be performed more efficiently by one position ver- sus those same duties being performed by a number of current staff members in the Public Works and Engineering Departments. Mr. Schwartz noted that those duties included numerous permit approvals, monitoring and inspections, Gopher State one-call locates, review and coordination of private utility problems when new fiber installations occur, and whether or not City, Ramsey County, or State of Minnesota rights-of-way may be in conflict with existing City utilities. Mr. Schwartz noted that often there may be multiple staff members currently visiting the same sites, and this new position was intended to streamline management of those efforts. Mr. Schwartz noted that other details of the position were summa- rized in the RCA, pending completion of a job description. Councilmember McGehee stated that she was not happy with the proposed For- ester position, at least as the current part-time position exists, opining that the City didn't do a very good job of keeping trees alive in streetscapes. Councilmember McGehee noted that the Public Works Department performed maintenance along the streets, but she had observed an amazing amount of maintenance of those streetscapes that she deemed unnecessary, a lot of which was related to trees. Councilmember McGehee noted that the Department was also responsible for trees around wetlands and lift stations. Mr. Schwartz clarified that all departments had a role in tree maintenance, and admitted that streetscape trees and vegetation were challenging due to the tough