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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02.07.11 Council Minutes /CL COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR February 7, 2011 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: Audience: Larson, Bartholomay, Donnelly, Fogarty, May None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Teresa Walters, Finance Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Russ Zellmer, Annette Kuyper 4. APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember Bartholomay wanted to comment on 7a) Council Minutes. Councilmember May pulled item 7b) Adopt Resolution 401/409 Oak Street Recording Error Correction for separate vote. City Administrator Herlofsky added item 71) Accept Resignation Heritage Preservation Commission. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) 4th Quarter 2010 ALF Ambulance Report An Allina representative will present this report at the February 22,2011, Council meeting. Councilmember Fogarty asked for information on their action plan for response times for the townships. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Ms. Annette Kuyper, representing Warrior to Citizen, stated the organization is starting its fourth year. There was a Veteran's Dinner at Farmington Lutheran tonight and the next dinner is March 7, at Bible Baptist Church. They are working on scheduling two more churches for monthly dinners. When that is complete, over the last two years all 18 Farmington churches have opened their doors and offered to serve Veteran Dinners. They have served up to 52 attendees and there have been veterans from every era. Every church has committed to hosting a dinner for two years. When the Veteran Dinners started, a focus group was held with older and younger veterans. The two things that would bring them together would be free food and no program. So at the dinners the different eras are meeting each other and sharing stories. The third annual spaghetti dinner fundraiser will be March 6, at the American Legion. On May 7, the Military Mother/Grandmother Luncheon will be held. There are over 20 gold star mothers who 4 Council Minutes (Regular) February 7,2011 Page 2 will be special guests. These are mothers who have lost a child in combat. On May 21, the Military Family Picnic will be held. All the Dakota County Yellow Ribbon networks are coming together to form a committee for this event. It will be held at the Fairgrounds. The Patriotic Day Celebration is being planned. Last year 1,000 people from Farmington attended the dinner. The committee for planning this event is made up of everyone in the community. She invited a Councilmember to be a representative and they hope to also have someone from the School Board. There is also business representation and various organizations. This event will be held November 3. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (1/18/11 Regular) Councilmember Bartholomay noted he wanted the capital expenditures for the City for the next five years, not just the Fire Department. c) Adopted RESOLUTION R8-11 Approving Agreement Firearms Training Facility - Police Department d) Adopted RESOLUTION R9-11 Accepting Donation Rambling River Center Construction Project - Parks and Recreation e) Adopted RESOLUTION R10-11 Accepting Donation from Dakota Valley Arts Council- Parks and Recreation f) Approved Request for Proposal Process for Contracting of Cleaning City Facilities - Parks and Recreation g) Adopted RESOLUTION R12-11 Approving Gambling Premise Permit- Administration h) Approved Attendance Fire Prevention & Safety Grant Program - Fire Department i) Approved Appointment Recommendation Fire Department - Human Resources j) Approved Appointment Recommendation Parks and Recreation - Human Resources k) Approved Bills I) Accepted Resignation Heritage Preservation Commission - Administration APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Adopt Resolution - 401/409 Oak Street Recording Error Correction - Planning Councilmember May clarified on two separate properties the legal description was incorrectly recorded. City Attorney Jamnik explained due to an incorrect legal description in 1994, the variance intended to be issued against the property at 409 Oak Street, was actually recorded against the property at 401 Oak Street. It is to remove the variance from the title records on 401 Oak Street and place it back on 409 Oak Street consistent with the Council actions in 1994. The application approved in 1994 was to allow a duplex multiple family dwelling at 409 Oak Street. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to adopt RESOLUTION R8-11 directing staff to send the approved documentation to Dakota County for recording. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5 Council Minutes (Regular) February 7. 2011 Page 3 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Approve Deputy Registrar Agreement - Administration City Administrator Herlofsky presented the agreement with Quick-Serv, the license vendor who will be operating the license center. It is anticipated to open in February 2011. Staff has the applications ready for the driver and vehicle services and has met with the Department of Natural Resources. Passports and birth and death certificates will not be handled at this office. Councilmember Fogarty asked about the hunting and fishing licenses as a business in town also sells them. She understood the people who buy them at that business will continue to buy them there for convenience when buying supplies. City Administrator Herlofsky noted we will provide a wider range of licenses. Councilmember Fogarty noted the hours of operation are 8:00 - 5:00. She asked ifthey are flexible, for example with summer hours. Ifwe change City Hall hours, is this business willing to change with us? City Administrator Herlofsky stated it has been set up for 8:00 - 5:00. Ifthere is a need to adjust hours, we have to advise the State agency. City Attorney Jamnik stated the agreement has a provision that generally it will be those hours, but they will not be able to do operations any time the municipal building is closed unless we have written permission to do so. There is some flexibility if Council wants to close at noon on Friday. They will have to figure their 40 hours on Monday - Thursday to accommodate that. Councilmember Fogarty did not want the City limited to certain hours based on an agreement we have made with a private party. City Attorney Jamnik stated within the regulations of a 40-hour minimum, we have flexibility. Councilmember Fogarty asked where in City Hall this will be located. City Administrator Herlofsky noted it will be on the east side of the building, inside the front door. Councilmember Bartholomay asked ifwe have considered any security access. Staff stated there is no concern with that. Councilmember Bartholomay clarified if City Administrator Herlofsky is absent, there is an Assistant Deputy Registrar. City Administrator Herlofsky stated Brenda Wendlandt has that designation in his absence. Councilmember Bartholomay asked if there is any special training required. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the training will be the responsibility of the vendor. He will be responsible for what they do and have the authority to address issues. Councilmember Donnelly asked why not passports and birth and death certificates. Human Resources Director Wendlandt explained birth and death certificates come through the County. Passports are governed by the Department 6 Council Minutes (Regular) February 7,2011 Page 4 of Homeland Security and there has to be a separation. The same people cannot issue driver's licenses and passports. Councilmember May asked about the tenant's termination option and asked if they can terminate and do not have to pay any fee to the City regardless if they are over the $100,000. City Attorney Jamnik stated the trigger for the payment would still be there, but if their fees are less than $150,000 after year three, they could terminate, but would still be obligated to pay any splits if the amount is over that. Councilmember May noted the agreement states no monthly rent shall be due or payable to landlord in the term year in which the tenant serves a notice of intent to terminate regardless of the amount offiling fees collected by tenant in said term year. City Attorney Jamnik stated there is an error as the threshold should be at $100,000 not $150,000. They would only pay rent if they were over the threshold. Councilmember Fogarty clarified if they do not make $100,000 in the third year they have the right to terminate. Councilmember May thought the percentage for the City would be on more of a scale. She understood if they make more we get more, but would like to have seen after year five go to 30%. City Administrator Herlofsky noted they are taking all the risk at the beginning. If you want 100% of the profits you take 100% of the risk. We want them to be successful so the 25% is a beneficial number. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to approve the Farmington License Center Agreement with Quick-Serv with the noted change in section 8 from $150,000 to $100,000. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Appoint City Administrator as Deputy Registrar - Administration MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to appoint City Administrator Peter Herlofsky as Deputy Registrar for Office 177 to satisfy the requirements of the State of Minnesota. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Farmington Fire Relief Association Contribution Budget Amendment - Finance The auditors reviewed the paperwork for the Fire Relief Association Contribution. After the budget was approved, the State noticed an error in the amount. The City owed $56,538 more to the Fire Relief Pension. The total contribution amount is $187,713. The auditors, KDV, offered $5,000 towards the additional amount. The amount will be made up through the following: Contingency KDV Contribution Fund Balance Total $45,841 5,000 5,697 $56,538 Councilmember Fogarty stated several years ago the Fire fund was doing very well and the fIrefighters asked us to raise the liability and the City did. There have been a lot of departments in the City that have made concessions. She 7 Council Minutes (Regular) February 7,2011 Page 5 would like to have a conversation with the fIrefighters about helping to reduce the liability for 2012. She understood we cannot force them to do that. $187,000 is jobs. What alternatives do we have ifwe cannot get a concession from our fIrefighters? This has been a habitual debt for the City for the past three years and has become really tough on our budget. She wanted the City to have a conversation with the fIrefighters. A lot of people have lost jobs or jobs have not been filled, which means everyone in City Hall is working harder. She wanted to see what can be done for 2012 because we cannot afford this. City Administrator Herlofsky noted the new numbers will be coming out this summer and that would be a good time to approach this. Councilmember May was concerned we are finding out about this now. It is unfortunate we had that contingency and we are only in the fIrst part of February. She asked who is on the Relief Board and is there a way for Council to be informed throughout the year how it is doing. Staff explained the number is submitted in September. The issue is the State did not review the documentation until late December. Finance Director Walters stated we would have known what the number is had it been calculated correctly. In the past the Fire Relief Association has done the work themselves to calculate the number and it has been accurate. Had things been checked more through our auditing fIrm we would have known the exact number when we were doing the budget. Councilmember May wanted to know how we can stay better informed as to how the fund is doing. Finance Director Walters stated she is on the Board and receives updates, but how they are doing this year will not matter. It is what they did in the prior year as far as being able to calculate it. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the best way to tell if the cost will increase is to watch the stock market. We should see a break coming into 2012 and we will know this summer. Councilmember May felt there is something wrong when the Council has to carry the liability. City Administrator Herlofsky explained the issue is the Council approves the benefit level. The fIrefighters can invest the money based on their own choice. We went through a fmancial crisis, so that causes a problem. Councilmember May noted instead of using the fund balance, staffwas hoping to make up that amount through careful spending and a reduction to various line items. Councilmember May asked if Council can receive detail on that. Finance Director Walters explained right now our budget is very tight. It depends on whether certain things happen or not throughout the year as to whether we would spend our entire budget. We hope by the end of the year we would be able to save $5,600. We cannot pinpoint where we will save that money and will cut back where we can. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the monthly budget summaries will provide an indication of portions of the budget that are more favorable than others. Councilmember Bartholomay asked if the firefighters could voluntarily help to reduce this by agreeing to safer investments. Staff will mention it. Mayor Larson noted they can invest as they want and the City has to recover any losses. 8 Council Minutes (Regular) February 7, 2011 Page 6 Councilmember Fogarty noted she did not want to imply they have mismanaged their funds. When the markets were good and they had a lot of money in their fund, they asked for an increase in the benefit. What she is asking is since the market is not good anymore, would they be willing to consider a reduction in the benefit. Councilmember Donnelly asked if the local Fire Association makes the investments themselves or is it statewide. Staff stated they manage it themselves. All Cities operate the same way. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to approve a budget adjustment adding $56,538 to the Fire Department budget for Fire Pension Aid, accepting the $5,000 from KDV into the General Fund reimbursements, and approve the utilization of the contingency funds and fund balance as shown above. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Donnelly: Regarding the Deputy Registrar agreement, he asked if changing the amount from $150,000 to $100,000 made it easier for the vendor to get out of the agreement. City Attorney Jamnik stated no matter what amount, decisions would have to be made, hopefully that will not occur. Expectations are that it will be profitable for both parties. If the amount is $150,000, the question is what is the benefit to having it here? The Community Expo was a great event and had a wonderful turnout. He thanked everyone who participated. It was a great way to show off our community. Councilmember Fogarty: Agreed the Expo was a great event. After the Expo all Councilmembers attended the ribbon cutting at the new Napa Auto. It was the fIrst time all five Councilmembers were at an event and a ribbon cutting. It says a lot to the community when they see Council involved. Thanked staff for working on the agreement for a Deputy Registrar. It will be very good for the City. One thing moving through the legislature is liquor stores being open on Sunday. She wanted information on what that means for the City, for employees, for staffing, for obligations with contracts, etc. She would like to have that information in case the legislature passes that bill we can make the decision whether we want our liquor stores open on Sundays. She was noticing policies at liquor establishments that they are carding everyone and they are looking for the e-card endorsement. She would like the City to do this at our liquor stores. The individual is no longer allowed to consume alcoho~ but can purchase it. Bars and liquor stores are starting to card everyone and looking for that designation and choosing as a policy to not serve or sell that individual alcohol. She felt it would be a good policy for the City and would cover us regarding carding minors. She would like staff to consider this policy change. 9 Council Minutes (Regular) February 7,2011 Page 7 Councilmember Bartholomay: Thanked everyone who attended the first Brew HaHa and Blondie's for hosting the event. The Community Expo was great and a good turnout. It was fabulous seeing all the businesses. The next GROW Farmington session will be February 9, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. Council received foreclosure information for Farmington. He asked if these numbers are reflected in the budget for taxes. Finance Director Walters stated we are not levying to cover for foreclosures. The banks will pay the taxes on foreclosed properties. Councilmember May noted there could be some delay as some banks will not pay until the property is sold. Some Cities set up contingency funds for that purpose. Councilmember Bartholomay noted Farmington was the highest in Dakota County. It gives us that much more push for development and looking at the catalyst for why Farmington is the highest. He suggested working with other entities to combat this. The easiest solution is to lower taxes, but that is not always the best. For the April workshop, he would like to start discussing the budget without numbers and begin planning. He would like things brought forward from Councilmembers and staff. He also suggested having a Council retreat without impacting the budget, before looking at numbers. Councilmember May: Suggested having a short discussion about a retreat at the workshop next Monday. The next workshop is Monday, February 14, at 6:30 p.m. to discuss franchise fees. Many residents have different opinions on that subject, so the workshop will take place next Monday. The Community Expo was a great event. She thanked Community Ed and the City for the event. The Knights of Columbus is hosting a spaghetti dinner on Saturday, February 26, followed by bingo at St. Michael's Church. Mayor Larson: Warrior to Citizens is hosting a Veteran's dinner on March 7, at Bible Baptist Church, on March 6 there is a spaghetti dinner fundraiser, May 21 is the Military Family picnic. Regarding the liquor stores being open on Sunday, he agreed with Councilmember Fogarty's comments to keep Council informed on any plans for that. He attended the Chamber BrewHaHa briefly and then went to the high school to speak to civics classes. He also attended the Community Expo for a short amount oftime and it was a very good event. 10 Council Minutes (Regular) February 7, 2011 Page 8 He urged residents to support Farmington businesses. Ifwe want more businesses we have to support the ones we have. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to adjourn at 7:58 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 11