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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.11.11 Work Session Minutes Council Workshop Minutes Municipal Services Department Budget May 11, 2011 Mayor Larson called the workshop to order at 3 :06 p.m. Present: Larson, Bartholomay, Donnelly, Fogarty (arrived 3:20 p.m.), May (arrived 3:30 p.m.) Also Present: Todd Reiten, Municipal Services Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer; Lena Larson, Municipal Services Coordinator; Steve Arndt, Streets and Utilities Supervisor; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Donnelly to approve the agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Sanitation - Rates are comparable with other cities. Staff explained what the City would lose if we allowed residents to use a private hauler. Currently there is $225,000 that sanitation puts into general fund items that the City would have to come up with. This includes certain salaries at City Hall that are spread out and we would need $155,000 for clean-up day. A portion of clean- up day is included in the rates. We would not have Christmas tree pickup, no cardboard cage drop offs, park and pond cleanup day, garbage collected downtown, need another plow operator, no help for park reconstruction projects, Dew Days would have to dispose of own garbage, sanitation now disposes of dead animals rather than 4 Paws. It also helps pay for IT services, electricity for the Maintenance Facility is $10,000, gas is $12,000, general fund receives $66,300 to help offset salaries at City Hall. Sanitation participates in $2,000 of the audit, pay for water, sewer and garbage for all City buildings at $3,000/year, softener salt, furnace filters, and building repairs. There is at least $225,000 the City would have to come up with ifwe did not have Solid Waste, plus the residents would have a bill to pay for their own garbage. If you want clean-up day there would be an additional $155,000 needed. Auditors would say sanitation cannot make money to give it to another area such as the liquor store. We have to have enough to cover the cost for doing business and equipment, but you cannot substitute an increase in fees for raising taxes. Staff would not recommend eliminating Solid Waste. Council agreed when looking at the big picture, the benefit to the community outweighs a couple complaints. Regarding having a drop-off location for clean-up day rather than curbside pickup, it is not as convenient for all residents and to have just one day for clean-up day, there is too much to pick up in one day. (Councilmember Fogarty arrived). There are five full time sanitation employees in addition to the $225,000. Snow - The City has used 1300 tons of salt/year which is approximately $90,000. There is $10,000 in the budget for cutting edges for plows. Fuel was over budget and repairs were over budget by $7,000. Salt was over by $2,000 for 2010. Currently we are at $61,000 for salt. (Councilmember May arrived). 14 Council Workshop Minutes May 11, 2011 Page 2 There is $15,000 budgeted for fuel and we have spent $22,000. $3500 is budgeted for sod damage and $500 for mailbox repair. The City allows $50 for a mailbox. Council asked that staff look at installing our own fuel pumps. Staff estimated it would cost $150,000 to install a fuel station. It is cheaper if the tank is under ground. Council also suggested doing the project with Empire Township. Council asked if we should convert to a cleaner energy source as we replace equipment. Staff explained Apple Valley switched their squad cars to natural gas and had nothing but trouble, spent a lot of money on it and switched them back. As far as infrastructure, staff suggested putting in charging stations in the future for electric vehicles. City Engineer Schorzman stated if we are considering a fuel station, it would be good to combine it with a salt storage facility. Staff purchases gas from Kwik Trip at the same price as everyone else. Council asked if it was possible to negotiate with the individual station owner or discuss buying diesel from Marshall Lines. Staff stated we need to depend on ourselves. If there is a gas shortage, other companies will not let us get gas from them. Neighboring cities have their own tanks. We would use the state bid process to purchase gas. The cost ofa fuel station is $150,000 and a salt storage facility would be $100,000. With the City having its own salt storage, we are able to use our own mix rather than use what the County has. Council asked if staff is looking at ways to reduce trips to the hardware store, etc. Staff explained every vehicle is equipped with the same supplies so there is no running back and forth. Staff takes a half hour break in the morning instead of 15 minutes in the morning and afternoon so they are not running back and forth. Council asked if they have to come back to the Maintenance Facility for break. Staff explained some do, some go home, some stay where they are. As far as the hardware store, employees are in that area a lot and it would be very expensive for us to keep that kind of inventory. Ifwe want fewer trips, we would have to start ordering supplies. Employees have been told to call the Director or the Supervisor when they need to go to the hardware store. Ifthe parts were at the Maintenance Facility they would still be making a trip to get the part. Cost for a fuel station and salt storage facility would come from the general fund. Council asked staff to talk to Marshall Lines and the gas stations to determine any savings for the remainder of this year. Streets - There is $32,500 in the budget for street materials and we will be close to that. Staff received a call from Eureka regarding the maintenance of Farmington's portion of225th Street that will cost $2,000. We took $9,000 out of gravel hoping to make up for Flagstaff, but we should put that into blacktopping. The need for blacktopping materials will go up over the next several years. Staff suggested leaving the budget at the same amount and increasing it slightly each year. We need to increase the $32,500 because last year we had to stop blacktopping because we ran out of money. We should add $14,000 back in that was taken out last year. Fleet - Over the next five years we would need $200,000 - $300,000 every year to replace vehicles on the scheduled maintenance plan. One year we will need a new fire department pumper for $600,000, so that year we will need $800,000. The vehicle is over 20 years old. Because we have not stayed with the schedule we are $1.3 million behind. Adding in the salt storage and fuel tanks we are at $1.6 million. Ifa vehicle now costs $30,000, in two years it will 15 Council Workshop Minutes May 11, 2011 Page 3 be $35,000. Council asked if all the regular vehicles need to be pick-up trucks. Staffagreed building inspections could get by with something smaller such as a Ford Ranger or a car. City Engineer Schorzman would prefer them having pick-ups because they do haul equipment. A smaller pick-up would work and use a hybrid or something more fuel efficient. Council asked if we could have a supply of vehicles and reduce the number of vehicles. Staff explained some people use their own car to go places. We may not need a truck for specific tasks, but do need it for other duties. We have been transferring and getting rid ofthe older vehicles. The type of vehicle needs to be able to be repaired by Fleet Maintenance. Staff recommended that next year when the $162,000 equipment certificate is paid for, it be put futo a vehicle fund or a project such as seal coating. All of these expenses are from the general fund, not enterprise funds. Council recalled we were trying to get away from using certificates for vehicles and pay for them. We may have to go back to using certificates. Staff noted the enterprise funds are running right. The general fund is not running right. Ifwe get rid ofan old squad car, the money should go into a fleet fund and not the general fund. Regarding enterprise funds, if there are sewer and road problems, public works needs to work with engineering to fix the sewer before the road. Ifwe have a CIP that Council will support, when there are issues, we can say it will be fIXed next year and it gets fIXed. We need to start setting up funds for the future. Staff asked Council to think about a funding level they would be comfortable with on an annual basis and make the CIP match it. Staffwill give options of projects for $750,000 and $500,000. Council asked if staff could be more creative of storing City Hall vehicles over the winter and suggested they be parked at the Maintenance Facility. Council received numerous calls from residents about City vehicles not being used over the winter. Regarding snow plowing, if the roads need to be plowed, they will be plowed. Staffwill use common sense. Council felt staff does a great job with plowing the roads. Council asked about reducing weekend overtime and send employees home early during the week. Staff could change the work schedule, but it depends on the snowfall. That does not always work because we have to react to the situation. If there is no snow, we still have to pay the employees. Councilmembers took a tour of the Maintenance Facility. MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Donnelly to adjourn at 5:25 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 16