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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.17.11 Council Minutes COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR October 17, 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: o Larson, Bartholomay, Fogarty, May Donnelly Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; David McKnight, City Administrator; Teresa Walters, Finance Director; Randy Distad, Parks and Recreation Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Tony Wippler, Assistant City Planner; Missie Kohlbeck, Senior Center Coordinator; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Colin Garvey, David Marsh, Kate Finnegan, Marianne Feely Audience: 4. APPROVE AGENDA Councilmember May pulled items 7d) GASB 54 Fund Balance Reporting, 7e) Policy to Jointly Negotiate Cable Franchise Renewal, and 7f) Approve City Insurance Contribution for Non-Bargaining Employees for discussion. Finance Director Walters added an addendum to 10e) Street Light Utility New Billing Method. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED, 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Introduce Promoted Employee - Parks and Recreation Parks and Recreation Director Distad introduced Ted Novak who was promoted to Building Maintenance Worker. 6, CITIZEN COMMENTS a) Response to Mr, Tom Jensen The information was provided to Mr. Jensen. 7, CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes (10/3/11 Regular) b) Received Information Third Quarter 2011 New Construction and Population Estimate - Building Inspections 5 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17, 2011 Page 2 c) Adopted RESOLUTION R48-11 Approving Submittal of Landfill Abatement Grant - Municipal Services g) Approved Closing of Arena Capital Project Fund - Finance h) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED, d) Adopt Resolution - GASB 54 Fund Balance Reporting - Finance Councilmember May noted a number of changes are being made to the titles of different funds. Regarding the categories, she asked for clarification between assigned and committed categories especially with the CIP funds and if a category assignment can be changed. Finance Director Walters explained when a fund is committed, that is done by Council through a resolution. The only way it can be changed is through another Council resolution. When it is assigned, Council is giving the City Administrator and Finance Director the authority to be able to assign the funds to whatever they need to be assigned to. They will keep the money within that fund. Finance Director Walters did have some changes to some funds that were assigned. The storm water trunk fund should be restricted. This means it is restricted by an outside entity. Neither Council nor staffhas the authority to change this. This also pertains to the sanitary sewer trunk fund. The dedicated fees from an outside source would be restricted to these funds. The CIP funds will be committed through a resolution when the levy is adopted. This would be for fees collected and also any amounts remaining. Councilmember May recalled the auditor mentioning the unreserved fund balance and retaining between 35% - 50% and as we are not meeting that, we should set something more realistic. Finance Director Walters agreed, but suggested still having a range such as 25% - 50%. Council agreed with changing the bottom number to 25%. City Administrator McKnight stated we can lower it to 25%, but continue to increase that over the year. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to adopt RESOLUTION R49-11 committing specific revenue sources to special revenue funds and adopt the revised fund balance policy with recommended changes. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. e) Approve Policy to Jointly Negotiate Cable Franchise Renewal - Human Resources Councilmember May noted the current policy expires in 2014 and asked if this process has to start three years earlier. Human Resources Director Wendlandt confirmed the process does take three years. The former City Administrator was part of the process to review the Request for Quotes. Councilmember May asked about the City's share. Staff noted the date for obtaining the number of subscribers has not been determined. The City's portion will be determined from that outcome and staffwill inform Council once that information is received. Councilmember May also asked for a determination if the number of subscribers is decreasing or increasing. She also asked if what we collect exceeds the costs. Human Resources Director Wendlandt noted there is a fund balance in the public communications fund and this is where franchise fees go. Administration charges are not included in the franchise fees. CounciImember May asked when this will 6 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17,2011 Page 3 be paid. Staff noted there will be some costs this year as negotiations begin. The rest is in the 2012 budget. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to approve the policy on the cable franchise negotiations, selecting Kennedy and Graven as legal consultant, and agreeing to share the costs based on cable subscriber rates with the other partner cities. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. t) Adopt Resolution - Approve City Insurance Contribution for Non- Bargaining Employees - Human Resources Councilmember May asked if the amounts listed for the City contribution are the amounts that are charged. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated these are the amounts the City would contribute towards insurance. For anyone choosing more than single coverage, that does not cover the entire cost of the premium. The single coverage high option does cover the premium. To encourage people to move to the high deductible health pIan, there is some additional dollars in the City contribution. There will be out-of-pocket costs for anyone choosing more than single coverage. Councilmember May asked about the amount the employee receives if they elect not to take coverage. Human Resources Director Wendlandt did not have the information, but if they elect to waive coverage, the City still deducts the cost ofthe lowest single premium from any dollar amount they receive. They can also put it towards their HSA, take cash, or put it in the retirement pIan. Everyone is not required to take health insurance because the City is part ofthe LOGIS health care consortium. Dental insurance is not part of LOGIS, and everyone has to take dental insurance to cover the costs. Councilmember May noted the benefIt dollars were calculated based on assumptions made before the City received their premiums. Staff explained costs have now been received and the costs from the insurance carriers have decreased, so there is enough money in the budget to cover the costs. Councilmember May noted the City will see the most savings if employees have single coverage instead of family coverage. City Administrator McKnight stated that is what Council was shown two weeks ago. The biggest savings comes from the reduced health insurance premiums. Councilmember May recalled Council has discussed having a trend where the taxpayers pay the actual costs. She would like to see the City pay a portion of the plan employees select. If you select no pIan, then you get zero dollars. That is the direction we need to go. She could not approve this proposal. She asked if this number covers a larger portion of the City portion for family coverage than this year. Councilmember Fogarty agreed with Councilmember May. She did not understand a benefits package where if you don't take benefIts you get a check. She also struggled with one group of employees having a better set of benefIts than another group of employees. She wanted to see the numbers as she was not sure the City is seeing the full benefit ofthe savings with the reduced premiums. If there is a reduction, she wanted to make sure the taxpayers see that full reduction. 7 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17, 2011 Page 4 City Administrator McKnight provided the comparison between 2011 and 2012 for the employee out-of-pocket cost for family coverage: Plan 1 goes from 42% - 41 %; Plan 2 is 18% - 16%; Plan 3 is 43% - 46%; Plan 4 is 43%- 46%. This is only health insurance. There is also dental and basic life insurance. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to adopt RESOLUTION RSO-ll approving the City contribution for insurance for all non-represented employees for calendar year 2012. Voting for: Bartholomay, Fogarty. Voting against: May. Abstain: Larson. MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Adopt Resolution - Delinquent Municipal Services Assessments - Finance This hearing was to certify delinquent municipal services bills to the property taxes. Property owners have until November 17,2011, to pay in order to avoid certification. At the time of notice, there was $384,508 in delinquent bills. Staff anticipates approximately $288,000 will be certified to the taxes. This does not impact the budget, as the revenue is recorded when earned, not when paid. Councilmember May noted when bills are over 90 days overdue, property owners are mailed certification notices. She asked if payment is one month late, does the owner receive a notice. Finance Director Walters replied no, bills are sent quarterly and late notices are not sent. With a landlord/tenant property, the landlord and tenant are both sent a bill so the landlord is made aware when a tenant is late in paying the bill. Ultimately, the property owner is responsible. Councilmember Bartholomay noted there is a fee associated with having the bills certified to the taxes. Staff stated there is a $25 fee and interest is charged at 5.25%. This should be a deterrent to not do this. Councilmember May asked if it would be expensive to send late notices. Staff felt it would because postage for quarterly bills is $1500. The mailing of bills and notices is outsourced and they would charge us to do this. Mayor Larson felt the current practice is sufficient. Councilmember May wondered ifthe property owners were notified sooner that a bill is not being paid, if that would make a difference. Staff noted some cities do shut off the water, but there are legal ramifications. Farmington does not shut off the water. Staffwill provide a rough estimate for sending out past due notices. Mr. Colin Garvey, 22098 Canton Court, stated in good times this is hard to swallow, but in bad times getting someone else's bill where the City sold them a service is not fair . You can shut off the water and the City has resources to collect the money better than he does. He does not have a choice on garbage and could save money getting his own hauler for garbage. The City collects the fees in good times and should also take the bad times. If the water is shut off, they will pay their bills. The City keeps giving renters service because the landlord has to pay. That is not fair. We want to develop our town, he has spoken up about keeping taxes down and we keep raising them. The renters cannot afford to pay their 8 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17, 2011 Page 5 utility bills. Now the landlords are being stuck with that. We need a different policy. Mr. David Marsh, 204 1st Street, owes $609. He gave a history of his property. One Councilmember has been here since he has been in town and the City Administrator used to be on the Council. In 1999 he bought his house. In 2002 he obtained a permit to put a porch on his house. In 2003, they had their frrst child and the house was a little small. The house was built in 1905 and they wanted to add an addition to the house. In 2005 he submitted plans to the City for approval on his proposed addition. In June 2005, he was informed at that time by City Engineer Lee Mann that his house was zoned commercial, not residential and he needed a conditional use permit. Mr. Marsh stated Mayor Larson was on the Planning Commission at that time. Mr. Marsh submitted his plans, paid his conditional use permit fee and was informed he needed to have a survey with elevation. At that time, he had Schwan's survey his property to determine exactly where the comers were and the elevation as it relates to the flood plain. It was determined his house sits in Zone B flood plain which is the 100 year flood plain. Even in the flood of 1999, his house did not go under water. Later that year, the Planning Commission approved his plans for the addition pending City Council approval. City Administrator McKnight and Councilmember Fogarty were on the Council at that time. The Council would not approve his plans because they would not let him build in a flood plain. He consulted an attorney to get the property zoned back to residential and to determine other alternatives. He is zoned commercial and cannot sell his property because he has to disclose that it is commercial property being used as residential. After that, he received a notice from the City that he will be assessed for Elm Street. He carne to every meeting that involved every Elm Street assessment, even though he does not live on Elm Street, but because he owns % acre he was assessed an exorbitant amount of money. He met with several Councilmembers as well as former City Administrator Herlofsky about the zoning and the money he has tied up in his house and was assured he would not be assessed. He is still paying attorneys trying to figure out the State statutes and how the City can re-zone his property without notifying him. In 2007, he was assessed for Elm Street, and has another child. At that time he spoke with City Planner Smick about what he could do to sell his property. He was informed to get his neighbors together. He had a couple offers on his property and all neighbors were in favor except for one homeowner that does not live there, but has a rental property. He wanted to build onto his house or buy something bigger for his expanding family. In the process, the Council offered no help and the Planning Commission said their hands are tied, the City Planner says their hands are tied. The City offered no help in getting one person removed from the process. Now house values are dropping. He asked City Planner Smick again what he can do to get the Council to rezone his property to residential so he can sell it. When a house is a non-conforming use, all you can do is maintain it; you cannot add on or remodel. City staff supports rezoning us back to residential because everything else is falling apart so at least he can get out, fmd a bigger house, and move on. The City Council at that time, which 9 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17, 20 II Page 6 included City Administrator McKnight and Councilmember Fogarty, Councilmember Fogarty was the only one that said we need to look into this. The Mayor and everyone else overruled everything and said we are not losing commercial property. Now it is 11 years later. He purchased his house for $102,000. When he was going to add on the addition and redo the entire house, the house was appraised for $209,000. Today the value is $128,000. In 1999 his taxes were $1,080/year. Today the taxes are $1,945/year. As oflast January he said enough is enough; he cannot keep giving. He is not paying his utility bill. Stop the garbage; he will fmd another way. Shut the water off; he will fmd another way to get water. As he looks at attorney's fees, assessments, etc. he has over $7,000 not including his time away from work, in direct costs related to putting an addition onto his house in order to give the City more tax revenue so his wife and kids can have a good home. We did like the City at that point. At the average of$170/quarter for water, garbage and sewer, divided by $6,250 is 9.19 years he should be allowed to have City sewer, water and trash service for the inconvenience he has gone through. He hoped the City Council would understand that $609 is a statement. He did not pay it because he needed to voice his opinion. A lot of things have changed since then. He knows offour different buildings, the liquor store, Pellicci's, the schoo~ Sauber have all built and changed the flood plain. It depends on who you are as to whether you can get something done and when you can't. Mr. Marsh felt the City owes him nine years worth of City sewer, water and trash. Mayor Larson asked if this can be investigated and help him out or are our hands tied as far as the rezoning. Mr. Marsh stated he will pay the bill if the City will rezone his property. He has four people living in a 1200 sq ft. house that all he can do is maintain. Why put on a new roof, when he would not get the cost out of it? He has to disclose that it is a commercial property with a non-conforming use. He cannot change the flood plain because it is non-conforming. He could at least change the flood plain if it was conforming and maybe do the addition. He had the support of City staff to do that, but the City Council decided no. Councilmember Fogarty asked for the history on this issue. City Administrator McKnight clarified that the $609 assessment will remain as these are two totally different issues. Council agreed. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Councilmember May addressed the landlord issue. Landlords have to take some responsibility because the alternative is more regulation. It would mean registering the rental properties. We as landlords know how the utility bill is set up. There are ways you can remedy that as there are always risks that someone will not pay the bill. You can increase the rent, or keep it in your name. We are being up front as to how it is setup, and the alternative of looking at more regulations could cost more down the road. Perhaps we can discuss ways to notifY landlords with past due notices. She felt that could increase collections. 10 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17,2011 Page 7 Councilmember May was concerned that by the time landlords know about unpaid bills, the bills can get fairly large and the tenant could be gone. She would like to see landlords notified sooner. Councilmember Fogarty suggested sending an electronic bill. Councilmember May suggested an e-mail notification to landlords. You could let companies know that anyone with certain addresses have to pay cash and the landlord has to be notified. A lot of renters are very committed to the community but some are transient and it can be difficult to collect that money. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to adopt RESOLUTION R51-11 certifying delinquent municipal service accounts to Dakota County Treasurer/Auditor. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. b) Adopt Ordinance - Approving 2012 Fee Schedule - Administration The City requires licenses, permits or other City approvals for certain regulated activities. City Administrator McKnight reviewed some of the proposed changes to the fee schedule for 2012. The subdivision/surface water management fee will be increased as discussed at the September 26, 2011 budget workshop. The municipal service/sewer user rate increase is a direct result of the Met Council increasing our environmental services fee. The City's fee for 2012 went up 24% to cover an increase by the Met Council and an increase in the sewage flows. Staff is working with the Met Council on the sewage flow issue, but does not expect the amount to change. The prime time ice fee is going up $5/hour based on market rates. The Rambling River Center membership will go to one fee of $25/member. The split fee of resident vs non-resident cost us a significant amount of members over the last few years. The police personnel event coverage is a new rate for 2012, but not a new issue. We have requests for our officers to work at sporting events and concerts. Staff is proposing to formalize the charges of$90/hour for non-profit and $ 140/hour for for-profIt groups. These fees will be effective January 1, 2012. The 2012 budget will reflect these changes if approved. Councilmember Fogarty liked the change with the membership fee for the Rambling River Center and having summer ice at the arena. Regarding the police personnel event coverage, she asked if that was a negotiated item in their contract and if it has to go through the City or can they do it on their own time. Human Resources Director Wendlandt stated this has not been negotiated with the police officers. Finance Director Walters understood they do this on their own time. The City receives a check from the non-profIt and the officers are paid their regular salary. Councilmember Fogarty agreed with this for 2012, but would like to talk with the officers as to how they would like to handle it. She was not sure the City had to be involved and wanted to know about the advantages and disadvantages of handling it both ways. Councilmember May recalled there were comments last year when fees were increased for outdoor fIeld use. She agreed with increasing the ice time as we 11 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17, 2011 Page 8 took on big expenses. She would like to see the outdoor field use fees remain the same. Parks and Recreation Director Distad stated the increase is based on the cost of maintaining the fields, fertilizer and fuel. Last year and for 2012 fees per participant were increased $1. Groups have a choice of paying the group fee or the per participant fee. This is not covering the costs and a lot of the costs are being subsidized by taxpayers. Mr. David Marsh stated he is a licensed contractor and has a landscape and ground maintenance company. Fertilizer costs have dropped the last three years, fuel is down 25% from 1.5 years ago. The cost of doing business has not gone up. If you are going to increase the fees across the board, why not do it on a 3-5 year plan, rather than every year. To play baseball in Farmington is getting expensive for an in-house league. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to close the public hearing. APIF, MOTION CARRIED, MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to adopt ORDINANCE 011-638 establishing 2012 fees and charges effective January 1, 2012. Voting for: Larson, Bartholomay, Fogarty. Voting against: May. MOTION CARRIED. 9, AWARD OF CONTRACT 10, PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Adopt Resolution Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Adopt Ordinance Rezoning of Feely Properties 104 Oak Street and 407 1st Street - Planning Mr. Greg Feely has petitioned for a comp plan amendment and rezoning ofthe property at the southeast comer of 1 st and Oak: Streets. The property consists of two lots, 104 Oak: Street and 407 1st Street. Mr. Feely is requesting the comp plan amendment from commercial to low-medium residential and a rezoning from B-3 (heavy business) to RT (downtown transitional mixed use). There is an existing duplex at 104 Oak: Street. This is a grandfathered, legal, non-conforming use as it is zoned B-3. If the rezoning to RT is approved, the house would still be a non- confrrming use because the front yard setback does not meet the R T setback. The existing duplex is a grandfathered, legal, non-conforming use since the property is zoned B-3 and the property is a residential use. If the rezoning is approved, the structure would still be non-conforming because the front yard setback does not meet the R- T front yard setback. Prior to 2000 the property was zoned R-2 (low- medium density residential). With the 2020 comp plan it was rezoned and re- guided from residential to commercial along with other properties including Mr. Marsh's property to accommodate redevelopment around the fringe of downtown. The Planning Commission approved the comp plan amendment and rezoning at their October 11,2011 meeting. Councilmember May asked why the Planning Commission would approve this change when Mr. Marsh went through so much. Assistant City Planner Wippler 12 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17,2011 Page 9 stated the Planning Commission has had significant turnover since Mr. Marsh's property was brought forward. Staff is in the process of updating the 2030 comp plan for the 2-3 year timeframe. The Planning Commission is willing to look at the fringe properties, including Mr. Marsh's property due to the fact they were rezoned for redevelopment. It has been ten years since the original plan was approved and to date redevelopment of the parcels is not happening. Councilmember May stated as a Councilmember she relies on these plans as staff spends a considerable amount of time on them. Now they don't mean much because ofthis. She was going to vote no because what is the point of having these plans. Staff stated that is why they are reviewed on a 2-3 year basis to determine if they are realistic and up-to-date. Councilmember May did not want to make piecemeal decisions until the updated plan is brought forward. Staffwill be reviewing the comp plan within the next couple months. Ms. Kate Finnegan, representing Mr. Feely, stated when they attended the Planning Commission meeting, the Commission thought the need for additional commercial space would grow and that has not been the case. Others on the block feel it is a residential area. No one is interested in using it as a commercial property. Everyone's hands are tied with the current zoning. Councilmember Fogarty stated one of the reasons we allow people to do these petitions is so we can evaluate each parcel and each situation on a case by case basis. She agreed with the concept of sticking with the comp plan, but things change. Part of the comp plan is to be flexible. Her biggest concern is there may not be much of a market for the property as residential because of what surrounds it, but that is up to the property owner. Councilmember May wanted to see the comp plan re-evaluated first. She is not saying the parcels should not be rezoned, but there was a purpose behind the plan. We still have a vision for the downtown business district. She wants to see staff re-evaluate the plan as we are only talking about two months. Ifthe zoning stays the same, we can look at individual petitions. Mayor Larson stated this is not spot zoning because across the street is the same zoning. Staff noted that is the difference with Mr. Marsh's property. His property is located mid-block so you would be taking a chunk out of that block and rezoning it while leaving the rest as business zoning. Mayor Larson asked about the timing of reviewing the comp plan. Staff stated there will have to be a workshop with the Planning Commission so the review process of the comp plan should be completed within the first couple months of2012. City Attorney Jamnik: stated if Council disagrees with the Planning Commission recommendation, staff should be directed to prepare Findings of Fact that summarize the reasons for denial. Mayor Larson agreed we do appoint our commissions for a reason. The Planning Commission did hold a public hearing and there was no opposition. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Larson to adopt 13 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17,2011 Page 10 RESOLUTION R52-11 granting a Comprehensive Plan Amendment from commercial to low/medium density residential and to adopt ORDINANCE 011- 639 rezoning the subject properties from B-3 (heavy business) to R-T (downtown transitional mixed use). Voting for: Larson, Bartholomay, Fogarty. Voting against: May. MOTION CARRIED. b) Approve Printing Services for Combined City Publication - Parks and Recreation Council had approved staff moving forward with combining the publication of the City Newsletter and Parks and Recreation brochure. This will now be called City News and Recreation Guide and will be mailed quarterly. The low quote for printing was from Cannon Valley Printing at $20,382/year. This is a two-year contract. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to approve an agreement with Cannon Valley Printing to provide print services for the City News and Recreation Guide. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. c) Approve Mailing Services for Combined City Publication - Parks and Recreation RFP's were sent for mailing services for the above publication. This includes a mailing list of 11,300 residents. The low quote for mailing services was received from Midwest Mailing for $1,816. This is also a two-year contract. The total savings for printing, mailing and postage is $13,186. MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to approve the agreement with Midwest Mailing to provide mailing services for the City News and Recreation Guide. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Parks and Recreation Director Distad recognized Missie Kohlbeck, Senior Center Coordinator, and Danielle Cahlander, Communications Specialist, for their work on this project. d) Approve 2011-2012 High School Hockey Game Contract - Parks and Recreation In evaluating the costs of the contract, there were some costs that have been removed that the City had charged to the school district. The primary cost was admissions personnel. The City used to handle admissions and ticket money and write a check to the school. The school will now hire their own personnel to handle admissions and ticket money. The school district will also pay for an additional seasonal position of penalty box gate operator. Staffhad anticipated that the Facility Maintenance Supervisor would be attending all the games, but that is not the case. He will only be attending selected games so there will be a reduced fee if he is not in attendance. Councilmember Fogarty asked if there is an advantage to having the Facility Maintenance Supervisor at the games. Staff noted there is, especially with rivalry games. Normally there is a full time maintenance worker along with a part-time staff member. At times it is good to have a supervisor. Councilmember Bartholomay asked who pays for the clean-up. Parks and Recreation Director Distad stated that is included in the per hour charge of$313.75. This includes 14 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17,2011 Page 11 staff time to clean-up after the game, a charge for the extra trash, etc. Staffwill provide a breakdown of the individual costs. Councilmember May agreed we want to work with the school district, but the City taxpayers also incurred a very large bill. Everything mentioned is about covering costs and she asked ifthere is anything included to increase revenues. Staff replied the contract last year was to cover the ice cost and any other costs incurred because of the game. We are only covering the cost for the game; no additional revenue is being generated. Councilmember May asked about adding to the fee to increase revenue. City Administrator McKnight noted staff could look at that for all users. Councilmember Fogarty stated as we are setting up funds to cover other things, we need to look at the Ice Arena as well. Staff will look at increasing costs for next year. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to approve the High School Hockey Game Contract with the school district. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. e) Approve Street Light Utility New Billing Method - Finance There is a deficit in the street light utility fund. Rather than raise rates, staff looked at how the fee was being charged, and it was not consistent throughout the City. Some condos, townhouses, apartments, duplexes and triplexes were being charged a fee per unit while others were being charged per building. Staff asked Council to approve a consistent method of charging the street light utility by charging every residential unit the same fee. This fee covers all street lights within the City as well as traffic lights. MOTION by Bartholomay, second by May to approve the new billing method for the street light utility. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 1) September 2011 Financial Report - Finance In the general fund, 75% of the year has passed and revenues are at 53% ofthe budget and expenditures are at 71.9% of the budget. There are still deficit balances in the special revenue funds except for the pool. The pool only utilized $13,000 of the fund balance. Therefore, not as much needed to be transferred. The liquor store revenues exceeded expenditures this month by $62,424. Councilmember Bartholomay asked if we are running revenues and expenditures too close. Staffagreed it is close, but the interest has been reduced for next year. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Bartholomay: He thanked Officers Admundson and Sundvall and Bosco for the ride along. He learned the importance of having a commercial vehicle officer. The training and behavior of the dog is amazing. The Fire Station open house was great. He thanked the residents who attended the budget open house. Council is committed to hearing from the residents on the 2012 budget. He suggested doing a 15 Council Minutes (Regular) October 17, 2011 Page 12 multiple year fee schedule. City Administrator McKnight noted along with that we will look at a two-year budget. Councilmember Bartholomay appreciated being able to see the changes with the fee schedule. Parks and Recreation Director Distad: October 28, the Rambling River Center will be holding a waflle breakfast as a fundraiser. November 3, there will be a wine tasting event at the Rambling River Center as a fundraiser. Mayor Larson: He thanked the residents that attended the frrst budget open house. The next open house is Tuesday, October 25, from 5 -7 p.m. The proposed budget is on the website. He encouraged residents to come to the open house with any comments or questions. The Farmington Business Association will be holding Dazzle Day on December 3, at the Second Street parking lot. Last Thursday he attended the wine tasting event at Blondie's Tavern. It was a nice program and very educational. He encouraged residents to shop locally at all Farmington businesses. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by May to adjourn at 8:54 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 16