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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.07.10 Council Minutes 7~ COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR September 7, 2010 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Larson at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Larson led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Larson, Donnelly, Fogarty, Wilson May Andrea Poehler, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Teresa Walters, Finance Director; Randy Distad, Parks and Recreation Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Beve Preece, Mike Barnet, Russell Hatten, Bob Erickson, Bruce Rydeen, Sue & Brian Miller, Rosemary Swedin, Charlie Weber, Dave McMillen, Jerry Ristow, David Pritzlaff Audience: 4. APPROVE AGENDA Mayor Larson added item 71) Change Order #1 Pilot Knob Trail Extension Project to the Consent Agenda. MOTION by Wilson, second by Fogarty to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Mr. Russell Hatten, 1241 Willow Trail, stated several years ago there was a smoking ban in restaurants. Now there are patios outside where people smoke. His concern was that the Council allows the businesses to break the law by playing extremely loud music and late into the night. He strongly objects to this. He has been told the permit is until 12:00 a.m., but they play until 1 :00 a.m. He was referring to the American Legion. The bands play too loud and too long. A few weeks ago he called the police at 12:15 a.m. and asked why they were still playing. The officer went there and called Mr. Hatten back at 12:20 a.m. The officer said they will shut down at 12:20 a.In. and laughed about it. A half hour later they were shooting extremely loud fIreworks in the air. In his neighborhood there are 150 townhouses and 50 homes. That is 200 homes immediately behind the American Legion. Most of the people do not like the loud Saturday night music. He has friends that live by the cul-de-sac on the south end of town and they also hear it. He would like 5 Council Minutes (Regular) September 7, 2010 Page 2 the City to stop giving the Legion a permit. If they want the noise, keep it inside as they did a few years ago. Mayor Larson stated they will have the Police Chief check into this and make sure they stay below the decibel levels. Mr. Hatten stated he talked to the Police Chief and he said there was nothing they could do because the Council gave them a permit and he should talk to the Council. Mr. Mike Barnet, Pastor at New Heights Christian Fellowship, 501 Walnut Street, their church is between 5th Street and 6th Street on Walnut that has been buried behind dirt and big equipment the last four months. They want to celebrate the completion of this massive project so people can drive to their church again. They will be having a community block party with a fair and crafts. They will raise money for the food shelf and encourage people to bring donations for the food shelf. There will also be games and entertainment for the kids, a bake sale, and live music. This is a community block party to celebrate the road opening again. This will be held October 2,2010. Mr. Bob Erickson, 18224 Justice Way, expressed his appreciation on behalf of his daughter for the excellent follow-up on the tornado clean-up. The clean-up was well planned and thought out. The dumpsters were an excellent idea, the public works staff was following up within 72 hours picking up debris. This motivated the neighborhood. The repairs are ongoing, but when you have a natural disaster it is always good to have the community behind you. Not often enough does staff receive thanks for the work they do and they did a remarkable job. Even the website told people the rules of clean-up. Everything was in place and it was done timely and efficiently. Mayor Larson also thanked staff for the great job they did. They are hearing this from residents all over the City. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (8/16/10 Regular) (8/23/10 Workshop) b) Approved Firefighter Training Grant - Fire Department c) Approved School and Conference - Fire Department d) Approved School and Conference - Fire Department e) Approved 2010 WHEP Contract - Natural Resources f) Acknowledged Retirement Municipal Services - Human Resources g) Acknowledged Retirement Fire Department - Human Resources h) Approved Appointment Recommendation Liquor Operations - Human Resources i) Adopted RESOLUTION R49-10 Accepting Fitness Equipment Donation Rambling River Center - Parks and Recreation j) Approved School and Conference - Planning k) Approved Bills 1) Approved Change Order #1 Pilot Knob Road Trail Extension Project- Engineering APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 6 Council Minutes (Regular) September 7, 2010 Page 3 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Adopt Ordinance - Defining Warehouse Retail and Conditionally Allowing Warehouse Retail in the IP Zone - Planning Mr. Doug Vinge, owner of the property at 21025 Eaton Avenue in the Industrial Park, has a proposal from NAP A Auto Parts to locate a distribution/retail center in a portion of his building. The property is currently zoned IP where warehousing is a permitted use, but retail is not. Staff is proposing to amend the ordinance to defme a new use within the IP district for warehouse/retail. The defmition is: "A facility used for the conduct of a business that involves the storage and distribution of goods or merchandise from the premises that also contains a retail component that comprises less than 30% of the total floor area occupied. No outdoor display or storage is allowed with this use." Staff is also recommending allowing this as a conditional use in the IP district. This will allow the Planning Commission to review the interior site plan to confrrm the 30% requirement is met. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to adopt ORDINANCE 010-626, amending sections 10-2-1 and 10-5-21 defming Warehouse Retail and conditionally allowing Warehouse Retail in the IP Zone. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Approve Agreement Installation Slop Sink Ice Arena Project - Parks and Recreation Staff is requesting approval to hire a contractor to install a slop sink in the Ice Arena. This change order was not approved in June and directed staff to contact Farmington Youth Hockey Association regarding doing the work. The FYHA did not have any members interested in doing the work. Staff contacted six local plumbers and three quotes were received. The low quote was received from Performance Plumbing and Heating in the amount of $960. The contingency amount remaining for the project is $37,788.95. Councilmember Fogarty noted $104 of the bid was for a permit. Parks and Recreation Director Distad stated the fee will be less as the City only pays the State surcharge. Councilmember Wilson stated this worked out well to use a local contractor. He asked if the City has the ability to carve out items from projects and direct the work be done locally. City Attorney Poehler agreed this process was fme. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to approve the agreement with Performance Plumbing and Heating for completing the installation of the slop sink at the Schmitz-Maki Arena. Voting for: Larson, Fogarty, Wilson. Abstain: Donnelly. MOTION CARRIED. 7 Council Minutes (Regular) September 7, 2010 Page 4 c) Approve Artwork Display Policy Rambling River Center - Parks and Recreation There have been requests to display artwork at the Rambling River Center. Staff presented a policy that provides the following direction: - the criteria to be met before the artwork will be given approval to be displayed - the process used in selecting artwork to be displayed - the length of time artwork can be displayed - the location of where the artwork will be displayed - states there is no fmancial compensation in exchange for the Rambling River Center displaying the artwork - identifies the different types of artwork allowed to be displayed in the Rambling River Center Councilmember Fogarty noted artwork exceeding $100 in value will not be allowed. She asked if that was for vandalism or liability and how is that determined. Staff explained the artist will be asked to identify a value. Artwork should be at a lesser value as the building is open to various groups after hours. Councilmember Wilson asked how religious artwork will be determined. Staff explained they are trying to get away from artwork that is pushing a specific religious belief or theme. Councilmember Wilson asked about a painting of a Christmas tree and would that be banned. City Attorney Poehler stated this policy will be a work in progress. As those issues come up, it may get more defined. If a Christmas tree is not the overriding theme of the picture that should not be an issue. Mayor Larson suggested dealing with it if complaints are received. City Attorney Poehler noted courts have said that Christmas trees are no longer a religious symbol and are more generic to the season. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to approve the Artwork Display Policy for the Rambling River Center. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. d) Approve Agreement Depot Way Arts Park Concrete Sidewalk Project- Parks and Recreation The brick paver sidewalk in the Depot Way Arts Park has deteriorated to a point where it needs to be replaced. Staff obtained six quotes. The low quote of $11,548.50 was received from Minnesota State Curb and Gutter, Apple Valley. This includes removal of existing pavers, 4 inch concrete sidewalk, 6 inch concrete pedestrian ramp, and truncated dome panels. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to approve the agreement with Minnesota State Curb and Gutter for the Depot Way Arts Park Concrete Sidewalk Project. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. e) Adopt Resolution - Approve Development Contract Riverbend 3rd Addition - Engineering The plat for the Riverbend 3rd Addition was approved at the August 16, 2010, meeting. Conditions of the Development Contract include: - the Developer enter into this agreement - the Developer provide the necessary security outlined in the agreement 8 Council Minutes (Regular) September 7, 2010 Page 5 - the Developer pays the identified development fees in ful~ of$173,194 prior to the City signing the contract - the Developer record the plat and the deeds for Outlots A, C and F, prior to the City signing the Development Contract. MOTION by Wilson, second by Donnelly to adopt RESOLUTION R50-10 approving the execution ofthe Riverbend 3rd Addition Development Contract and authorize its signing contingent upon the above conditions and final approval by the Engineering Division. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Adopt Resolution - Approve 2011 Preliminary Tax Levy and Budget - Finance The City is required to adopt a preliminary levy before September 15. At the August 23, 2010, workshop, Council gave direction to reduce the general fund budget by $400,000. Staff presented items totaling this reduction. Councilmember Fogarty felt there was a lot of discussion that needs to happen with the budget reductions. There are certain things that she will not approve such as closing the warming houses. Council asked for a resolution with a dollar amount that is presented and she was comfortable passing that resolution. Council and staffhave a great deal of work to do on where those reductions will come from. She appreciated staff only had two weeks to work with the numbers. She felt a workshop was the appropriate place to go through the items line by line. Councilmember Wilson felt the discussion at the workshop and this document are two different things. Mayor Larson added not even close. Councilmember Wilson appreciated the work staffhas done, but for example, there is a $130,000 item with staffmg considerations. He agreed with discussing this in more detail in a workshop. Councilmember Wilson felt Council had a good discussion and came to a good decision with the $400,000 reduction. The cuts that are outlined, which are part ofthe 4% Council requested, seem arbitrarily directed at residents and potentially at Council with no packets being printed. He did not have money to purchase a laptop and did not have a printer. He did not see any consideration noting his recommendation to reduce Council stipends to what they were two years ago. This needs to be discussed again. He asked if staff established the start-up costs for the Deputy Registrar. City Administrator Herlofsky stated he has been working on a budget with Human Resources Director Wendlandt and projecting costs and revenues. Staff hoped to have something ready by the next meeting. Councilmember Wilson felt Council could have gotten a sense ofthat prior to today. In the discussions it would be interesting to determine what capacity the EDA has with dealing with those start-up costs and if this could be a function ofthe EDA. Councilmember Wilson agreed we need to go through this 9 Council Minutes (Regular) September 7, 2010 Page 6 line by line. He does want to see a $500,000 reduction. He realized there is a memo stating another $100,000 reduction. He will be looking for $500,000 prior to a fmal vote in December. He trusted staffwill be working with Council to come to a point where we can agree on that. Another item to check on is the $54,000 for a squad car. Staff clarified this is for two squad cars. Councilmember Wilson wanted to know the implications ofholding offfor one year. City Administrator Herlofsky stated all these items have been discussed with department heads. There is a memo with reductions for another $100,000. Councilmember Wilson felt the document does not reflect the discussion at the workshop, but appreciated the effort put into it. Councilmember Donnelly stated he does not totally agree with Councilmember Wilson. Council asked staff to cut $400,000, and perhaps not the way you wanted it done, but he wanted to point out some major things. There is $254,000, almost 4.5%, was cut from the general fund; the debt service increased by 27.5%, $562,000; we lost $65,000 in market value homestead credit; the Fire Relief levy went down by $64,000; Police salaries went up 3.5%; because ofthe market, investment income went down by $32,000; and on the plus side we have more building permit revenue and the fiscal disparities went up by $234,000. The big thing is the $562,000 oflevy increase we need to make the bond payments. Revenues are going down and the bond payments are going up. He appreciated the work that was done on this. We will discuss the details further. This gives us the outline and there are some staffmg reductions built in, which is tough, and he appreciated that also. He was not surprised by this, but staff did what they were asked to do. Mayor Larson stated the $562,000 extra in bond payments is no fault of the City. It was due to a developer and a land owner disagreeing and taking the land to court. The land was tied up during the prime years of development. When they settled and the land could be sold, we were in a recession. When the project was set up, everyone thought that within five years there would be more than two buildings on the property. Because of the lawsuit and the recession that did not happen. The City is now responsible for $562,000. As far as the budget, he agreed with the $400,000. He does not agree with a lot of how we got there. When he looks at this document and the minutes from the workshop he wondered if we were all at the same meeting. There is a point of diminishing return and he wondered ifwe were not there in the document presented to Council. It almost looks like the City is getting set up to fail with how tight everything is. Some of the cuts are not reasonable and are not realistic and that does concern him. He is also concerned with the loss of five fIrefighters. At meetings the Fire Chief said he could live with the reduction of two members and still run the department. A five member reduction concerns the Mayor and the Fire Chief. Finance Director Walters stated the two members were part ofthe 2% and the 4% includes five members. Mayor Larson stated he wants that department to be able to put out a fIre. That is public safety and he wants to look at that. There will be a discussion at a workshop to get closer to Council's thoughts. 10 Council Minutes (Regular) September 7, 2010 Page 7 Councilmember Wilson noted he also had a concern with the Fire Department. He felt Council would prioritize public safety near the top. That is where we can discuss some tradeoffs and things that are the highest priority for residents. He noted the $400,000 is a reduction off the originally proposed number. Mr. David Pritzlaff, 20255 Akin Road, agreed that at the workshop there were items mentioned as far as cuts to reach the $400,000 and $500,000 reductions. The majority of Council directed staff to get there through cuts of personnel. At the workshop it was stated re-organization of management and the Economic Development Specialist position. There were positions to be looked at as cuts which have a big dollar amount. Other than the five firefighters, the $400,000 in cuts that are shown are basically nothing more than the fat that has been in this budget all along. There are certain parts saving $1,000 in water consumption and trash, Kleenex and toilet paper being donated are pennies and that is not what was talked about at the workshop. This Council clearly gave Administration direction of how they wanted to see these cuts and you did not get those. At the workshop Councilmember Fogarty wanted to set a policy as far as bond payments so this situation does not happen again. Mr. Pritzlaffasked how do we set a policy and direction and it is not followed. The next item was reducing positions to reach the $500,000 reduction. Everything that is proposed for the fIrst $400,000 has nothing to do with personnel cuts; it is the fat of the budget that should have been taken offmonths ago and saved a lot of time in the budget meetings. Council did ask for a lean budget to start with. Seeing how easy it was to cut $400,000 from the fat ofthis budget, there has been a lot of time wasted. Councilmember Fogarty stated two positions were cut in the reductions that were presented. She did not like hearing someone say there is fat in the budget. There has never been fat in our budget. This City runs very lean. She was talking to a Councilmember from Crookston who has a staff similar to ours and their City is only 8,000 people. That should be very reflective of how lean Farmington runs. She respectfully disagreed with Mr. Pritzlaff's comments that we are reducing fat from the budget. Mr. Pritzlaffasked how can we slash $450 in office supplies, reduce water consumption and trash by $1,000. Ifwe weren't already doing this, why throw $1,000 towards that now. When you can shave $1,000 offwater and trash, that should be an everyday occurrence no matter what. He respectfully disagreed that there was not fat cut in the budget. As far as the two positions in the reductions, that was not the direction of the majority of Council at the workshop. Mayor Larson commented that is what he meant by the diminishing return; he was not sure we can cut $1,000 so he wants an explanation on how we can do that. The $1,000 is just a number. Mr. PritzIaff stated these are projections and each year you have to readjust the budget at the end ofthe year. If these savings all down the line are not met, and you only save $200,000, at the end of the year you have a $200,000 reduction rather than $400,000. If you do it like the majority of Council 11 Council~mesQWgW~) September 7, 2010 Page 8 directed and took staff from higher levels, it would be automatic. You would save staff salaries. Mr. Pritzlaff noted the memo states all employees that are dismissed are eligible for unemployment paid by the City directly. That is a fraction of the wage. At $100,000/person you top out at $580/week for unemployment. For a $70,000 position you would pay $30,000 in unemployment, but you are saving $40,000. It is a scare tactic to not get rid of a position because you will have to pay unemployment. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to adopt RESOLUTION R5I-I0 to approve the 2011 preliminary budget with a preliminary tax levy increase of 3.73% and set the Truth-in-Taxation hearing for December 6, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) 2011 Budget Additional Reductions - Administration City Administrator Herlofsky stated this is a follow-up for further reductions and from the previous discussion it sounds like Council would like to look at those options. Mr. David Pritzlaff, 20255 Akin Road, noted the memo states Council has requested items that would reduce the budget by another $100,000 for a total of $500,000. The list includes eliminate the Economic Development Specialist position, management re-organization and do with less management, a furlough, or change weekly hours to four 9-hour days. Mr. Pritzlaff stated this is done in the summer for building permits, etc. Now we want to close City Hall for a :full day. That will prevent people from bringing in revenue. There is more in the upper management and personnel levels that need to be cut financially for the City because you have not only the salaries, but also the benefIts. Regarding the Deputy Registrar, when the contract was approved Mr. Pritzlaffbrought up the start-up costs for this item. He stated for us to go this far into the budget and not have a start-up cost is ridiculous. Those numbers should have been brought to Council by now. The revenue and start-up costs will not break even in a short enough period oftime for Council to do this. He was appalled that Council did not have those numbers by now. 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE a) Yellow Ribbon Event, September 22 There will be a special event on September 22, to celebrate Farmington being the fIrst Yellow Ribbon City in Minnesota. Council has been provided with a tentative agenda. The event will be at Boeckman Middle School with events throughout the day. Mayor Larson noted the morning session is limited seating and by invitation only. As many Councilmembers as possible should attend the afternoon session. Councilmember Wilson: Asked about setting a date for the next budget workshop. Council set the workshop for September 13, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. 12 Council Minutes (Regular) September 7, 2010 Page 9 Councilmember Fogarty: Reminded everyone school started today and be careful when driving. She received an e-mail from Kris Akin with the Farmington Food Shelf. They need help tomorrow morning to unload pallets of food. She also read a list of items needed at the food shelf. In the next couple months, she would like Council to discuss composition of a Teen Board and a Tree Board and place it on an October agenda. Mayor Larson noted the Tree Board has been presented to serve as the Tree Board. The Planning Commission would like to meet with the Council on this. City Administrator Herlofsky: Regarding the budget preparation, every effort was made to go through the budget. When people talk about fat in the budget, we budget as best we can with each department trying to determine what is the best and worst that can happen. We have trimmed every bit of extra. Any extra is passed over to the next year. It is a positive way to increase the fund balance. We have gotten everyone down to bare bones. One thing we have to consider is, earlier staff was congratulated for the way they handled the tornado clean-up. Council has been informed with costs associated with that. Because the budget has contingencies we are able to cover those costs. There was another community that had a storm and they could not pick up the trees. With the excellent City employees who work very hard and cooperation between departments everything was taken care of. When you trim the budget, you are trimming that little extra. He took responsibility for items Council felt were not what they directed, but sometimes we are looking further on. If someone eliminates a position we have to look at how to staff the area it supported and whether the work will also go away or just the position. We are trying to make adjustments and we have an opportunity next week to make those corrections. Finance Director Walters: This was not easy to cut $400,000 from the budget. Numerous hours were spent with department heads trying to determine where to cut. With a lot of that we may have to come back and say we need this because we don't know what will happen. It was difficult and very time consuming. She clarified for September 13, Council wants to see the $500,000 or revise the $400,000. Councilmember Wilson stated regarding the start-up costs for the Deputy Registrar, we do need to have that information, and see what $500,000 would look like. If that cannot be done by Monday, then we have to look at a different date. City Administrator Herlofsky suggested at the workshop to go through the detail list that has been provided and determine what Council does not want reduced to fIrm up the $400,000. The second memo gives other options and we should determine what options we want to take. City Engineer Schorzman: On September 22, Dakota County is hosting an open house to discuss the updates to their transportation plan for the overall update of the Comp Plan. Staff has been working with the County on updates to the transportation plan and they have added some things into the plan the City has been asking about for years. 13 Council Minutes (Regular) September 7, 2010 Page 10 Mayor Larson: He met with Glen Anderson regarding Farmington Heart Restart and they are looking for trainers. You do not need to be in the medical field and it takes 40 minutes to become a trainer. The trainers would take the information to various groups and organizations to get as many people trained in Heart Restart as possible. They will also be at the open house for Fire Station 2 on October 7. He asked everyone to shop locally. Residents should check Twitter or NixIe for City notices. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to adjourn at 8:11 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 14