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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.19.11 Council Minutes ~ COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR September 19, 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: Larson, Bartholomay, Donnelly, Fogarty, May None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; David McKnight, City Administrator; Teresa Walters, Finance Director; Brian Lindquist, Police Chief; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Audience: 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Allina Life Saver Award Presentation Farmington Police Officers, First Responders, Paramedics, and the DCC dispatch operator were recognized for saving the life of a resident who had suffered cardiac arrest. b) CEEF Presentation Ms. Julie McKnight presented a loan payment for Dew Days and expressed their gratitude to the City and townships for their support of Dew Days. There was positive feedback on the event and plans are starting for next year. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS Ms. Linda Landwehr and Mr. Nathan Hanson, representing the Farmington Rotary Club, spoke about their annual fundraiser which is Ramble Jam, a country music festival to be held at the Fairgrounds on October 1. The money raised will stay in Farmington. Mr. Jerry Ristow, 516 Lower Heritage Way, thanked Councilmembers Donnelly and May for their information on the taxes and budget. He asked Council to take a serious look at the budget and to listen to their colleagues. He has read about the struggles Council is having with the budget and watched the Council meetings. Every time taxes are raised it is not an easy task and many people are suffering. There are difficult times Council needs to be aware of. He asked Council to take a hard look at the budget. He does not 5 Council Minutes (Regular) September 19,2011 Page 2 want to cut services and realized everyone is doing a good job. When he was Mayor, there were difficult times, but everyone worked together and tightened the belt. When reading articles in the newspaper it scares him that Council is considering raising taxes when wages and retirement incomes are going down. There are no increases for social security. There is no more to give. Look at the delinquent tax bills. The county will not pay us. He noted seal coating is an issue. He asked Council to look at his street and the seal coating that was done. A portion of the road has been peeled offwith the snow plows and after two years, the rocks kick up when riding a bike or walking. He suggested a study be done to see if seal coating is a benefIt. Mayor Larson stated Council did set a preliminary budget, but we really want to hear from residents. Open houses are scheduled for October 10, 25, and November 14, for residents to attend. Mr. Ristow stated residents feel Council does not listen so why waste their time to come. Mayor Larson stated we will listen, we want to go over the plan with residents and have them tell us what they like and don't like. We will listen. 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Fogarty to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (9/6/11 Regular) (9/12/11 Workshop) b) Accepted Resignation Water Board - Administration c) Approved Temporary On-Sale Liquor License Farmington Liquors- Administration d) Adopted RESOLUTION R43-11 Approving Gambling Event Permit Fire Department - Administration e) Approved School and Conference Natural Resources - Engineering f) Approved EMT Training ~ Fire Department g) Approved Appointment Recommendation Parks & Recreation - Human Resources h) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) August 2011 Financial Report - Finance General fund revenues are at 49.2% of the budget which includes tax revenue for the fIrst half of the year. Expenditures are at 63.31 % of the budget which is well below the budget as 67% of the year has passed. All revenue is in line with the budget except for interest revenue. With keeping expenditures low, we should break even by the end ofthe year. Councilmember May asked if these are current expenditures or if there are some lagging behind. Finance Director Walters stated most are consistent. A lot ofthe expenditures for recreation are during the summer months and we are past that 6 Council Minutes (Regular) September 19,2011 Page 3 point. The Finance Department expenditures are a little high because of audit expenditures the first four months. Regarding Special Revenue Funds, the EDA, Rambling River Center, pool and the ice arena all had expenditures in excess of revenues. The pool did not have a good month, but overall did well for the season. We anticipated using $50,000 of the fund balance. So far the pool has utilized $8,000 of the fund balance. There will be additional expenditures as bills are still coming in, but staff anticipates it will do well. With that additional fund balance in the poo~ we can use that to offset the Rambling River Center deficit. Taking away transfers, the pool went $28,000 negative. Last year they were close to even with a $30,000 transfer. As far as the Enterprise Funds, they will be discussed next week at a workshop. A plan will be discussed for increasing revenue in the street light utility as well as reducing expenditures at the liquor stores. Councilmember May does have a concern about the liquor stores. They had a good month last month, but not this month. Staff noted it depends on the weather and how much inventory is bought. It fluctuates because staff takes advantage of good deals to purchase inventory and then not as much is bought the next month. Mayor Larson stated we keep an eye on the liquor stores month to month, but don't make any decisions. He felt a decision should not be made until the end of the year when all the numbers are in. Councilmember May noted only three of the eight months show a positive number. She asked if we will see a lower lease payment in November. Staff confirmed the current lease is up in November and the lower rate is reflected in the budget for next year. Councilmember Bartho lomay asked if staff was confident the revenue funds are doing okay. Staff will review them at the workshop. Most are fme and some are not. Councilmember May asked if the street light utility deficit is because of the way it was started and ifwe keep the fees the same, will we be okay next year if we use the fiscal disparities to cover the deficit. Finance Director Walters replied no. When the street light utility was started, residents called in to report street lights that were out. Now with all the lights being fIXed, there were maintenance costs and now there are higher electric bills and that will continue. City Administrator McKnight noted there will be information presented at the workshop that will get the fund to a positive nature in two years. There will not be a fee increase. Councilmember Donnelly agreed with Mayor Larson on the liquor stores, and the changes that have been made with a lower lease payment should help. The pool and ice arena are services for the citizens and as long as they are close, he was not concerned. Councilmember Fogarty recalled we reduced interest investment by $100,000. Staff noted it was reduced by $120,000 for 2012. 7 Council Minutes (Regular) September 19, 2011 Page 4 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Approve Business Reinvestment Grant Program - Economic Development Economic Development Specialist Hansmeier presented some changes to this grant program. Staff proposed to change the name from the Business Reinvestment Grant Program to Commercial Rehabilitation Grant Program to more accurately reflect the type of grant. Staff also proposed to delete the provision making retail businesses ineligible for grant funding, include the new federal requirements and to increase the maximum amount ofthe grant from $15,000 to $35,000. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to approve the proposed changes to the grant program. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) 2012 Budget Open House Schedule - Administration As part of the 2012 budget development Council requested open houses be held to explain the fmancial plan to residents and to get their feedback. City Administrator McKnight proposed three open houses with informational handouts for residents. Formal presentations will not be held so residents can come at any time. The open houses will be held at City Hall as follows: October 10,2011,4 - 6 p.m. October 25, 2011, 5 -7 p.m. November 14,2011,6 - 8 p.m. Councilmember Fogarty wanted to make sure at least one or two Councilmembers can be at each meeting. Mayor Larson and Councilmembers May and Donnelly will be at all the meetings. Councilmember Fogarty will be at the second and third meetings. Councilmember Bartholomay will be at the fIrst and third meetings. The information will be available on the website and residents can call staffwith any comments. Councilmember May asked if the information is based off the preliminary budget and if changes can be made. Staff created the information so it can be updated. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to approve the open house dates. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember May: Rotary's Ramble Jam will be held October 1. She encouraged residents to attend at least one ofthe open houses regarding the 2012 budget. It is imperative Councilmembers hear from residents. She was struggling with the preliminary number as Council worked very hard last year to make cuts and now we are increasing taxes this year. As a Councilmember she wants to make sure those voices are heard. She thanked City Engineer Schorzman for coming up with the plan that centered around the CIP. What we can gain on interest costs we will lose on future growth and growth is what we need in the community. We need to make sure we do not impede future growth. We already have a high tax rate. It is not a bad time to borrow money and 8 Council Minutes (Regular) September 19,2011 Page 5 we are not making money by saving it. She will keep an open mind through the process and Council really wants to hear from the public. Councilmember Donnelly: Encouraged residents to come to the open houses and Council will listen. It is a very important time in the City to do this plan. He has concerns about the timing of it. He will make it a priority to make all the meetings as this is very important. He thanked CEEF for their work on Dew Days, and the First Responders, Police, and Fire for saving a life. Councilmember Fogarty: When the preliminary budget was set, all five Councilmembers said they were very dedicated to lowering the number. Not only does Council want to hear from residents, they want their ideas. Some ofthe greatest ideas come from the public. She congratulated the Farmington football team for their first victory. Tomorrow night there is a CEEF meeting to begin planning the 2012 Dew Days. Councilmember Bartholomay: The budget plan is good and all Councilmembers had some reservations. Council would like to have as many residents and business owners attend the meetings as possible. He is keeping an open mind and wants to know how it impacts the residents and what ideas and solutions they have. In 2004 we were $24 million in debt and now we are at $38 million. Whatever plan we come up with we cannot slide deeper into debt. Residents should not hesitate to stop in and talk with staff They are very open to talking about the budget plan. The regular EDA meetings have been moved to the 4th Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. City Administrator McKnight: Thanked City staff for their hard work with Pollution Prevention Day last week. It was a great event and kept the children very entertained. Mayor Larson: There were over 550 4th graders who attended Pollution Prevention Day. This was the 15th year for it. He encouraged residents to sign up for Facebook, Twitter, or Nixie to receive City updates. Ramble Jam will be held October 1, at the Fairgrounds. A CEEF meeting will be held tomorrow night to start planning Dew Days. He encouraged residents to shop local and support our businesses. He had a great time at the Mayor's Cup Race for Hunger. Proceeds went to the food shelf. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to adjourn at 7:51 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 9