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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.17.13 Council Minutes /cc. COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR June 17, 2013 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: Larson, Bartholomay, Bonar Members Absent: Donnelly, Fogarty Also Present: David McKnight, City Administrator;Robin Hanson, Finance Director;Randy Distad, Parks and Recreation Director;Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Audience: Mike Slavik, Kirk Zeaman, David Hartnett 4. APPROVE AGENDA City Administrator McKnight pulled item 7e) Reliability Service Agreement to bring back at a later date. MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Bonar to approve the Agenda. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS a) Adopt Resolution—Supporting Dakota County's Master Plan for Lake Marion/South Creek Regional Greenway—Parks and Recreation Dakota County's Greenway plan involves a portion of South Creek which flows through Farmington. Farmington staff has been participating on the committee to develop the greenway master plan. John Mertens, Dakota County Planning Department, and Lil Latham from Hoisington Koegler Group were in attendance. Ms. Latham presented the master plan to Council. The Lake Marion/South Creek Regional Greenway goes from the Minnesota River in Burnsville to downtown Farmington. This portion is 20 miles long and is part of Dakota County's 200 miles of greenway. The greenways are focused on habitat, water quality, recreation, and transportation, which includes a 10 ft. paved trail. The purpose of the master plan is to guide future development of the greenway. This also satisfies the Met Council's requirement for regional trail designation,which opens up regional funding sources. The project started in July 2012. Following City support,the master plan will go to the County Board in August 2013,and then to the Met Council in September 2013. The first priority is land acquisitions. Land owners have been contacted and most are interested in the project. From South Creek,the greenway connects to downtown Farmington from the North Creek Regional Greenway in Rambling River Park. The trailhead would be at the Ice 4 Council Minutes(Regular) June 17,2013 Page 2 Arena which would be shared with the two greenways. The trail would bring people to downtown Farmington for shopping and restaurants. Councilmember Bonar asked about a construction timeline. Ms.Latham stated the best opportunity along South Creek would be with development. If all land owners are on board, a trail could be built a little sooner. Councilmember Bonar asked about funding sources. Ms. Latham stated with regional trail designation there is Met Council money for land acquisition. Transportation enhancement funding has been used in the past for the North Creek greenway. Legacy Grants are another source. A lot of funding comes from outside, but the City is in partnership where the City provides the design and engineering. Councilmember Bonar agreed the downtown is a designation and also the Pilot Knob district and highway 3. Mayor Larson was pleased with the project and realized it is several years away. MOTION by Bonar, second by Bartholomay to adopt RESOLUTION R28-13 supporting Dakota County's master plan for the Lake Marion—South Creek Regional Greenway. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Bonar to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Council Minutes(6/3/13 Regular)(6/3/13 &6/10/13 Workshop) b) Approved Agreement Pine Knoll Park Basketball Court Construction Project— Parks and Recreation c) Adopted RESOLUTION R29-13 Accepting Donation from Farmington Fire Relief Association-Finance d) Adopted RESOLUTION R30-13 Accepting Donation from Menasha— Municipal Services f) Approved Bills APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS a) Approve On-Sale Liquor and Sunday Liquor License for the Ground Round Grill and Bar—Administration Mr. Kirk Zeaman submitted an application for an On-Sale Liquor and Sunday Liquor license for the Ground Round Grill and Bar, 20700 Chippendale Avenue, in the Tamarack Retail Center. MOTION by Bonar, second by Bartholomay to close the public hearing. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Bonar to approve an On-Sale Liquor and Sunday Liquor license for Ground Round Grill and Bar, 20700 Chippendale Avenue. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 5 Council Minutes(Regular) June 17,2013 Page 3 10. PETITIONS,REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Approve Online Bill Presentment and Electronic Payment Options—Utility Accounts-Finance Staff has researched expanded bill presentment and bill payment options for utility accounts. The City currently provides ACH, or automatic withdrawal from an account, which is used by 16% of the accounts. There have been requests for one time and recurring debit/credit card transactions and e-checks. An additional module can be added to the current system, which staff recommends. The City could either charge a convenience fee or absorb the costs for electronic payments. The vendor to process electronic payments needs to be selected, and whether or not the City should accept walk-in electronic payments. In a previous workshop, Council and staff decided to absorb the fees for electronic payments. The first year the fees would be absorbed by the fund balance of the utility accounts. Based on participation levels next year, the costs would be included in the utility fees. As far as a vendor, staff recommends Paymentus so customers would have the ability to pay over the phone. Staff has also researched Payment Card Industry(PCI) compliance to protect customers' account information. Staff will begin working with LOGIS and Paymentus, and implement the system on November 1, 2013. Each year, delinquent account certification is September 15— October 15, so staff wanted to wait until after that time in case there are problems with the new system. Councilmember Bartholomay suggested in the future looking for a company that would cover electronic payments for all areas of the City. Finance Director Hanson explained that would not be possible, because the liquor stores are a point-of-sale and recreation programs are a different type of activity so each of these are handled by different companies. Mayor Larson appreciated staff's work on this and was confident in the outcome. MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Bonar to implement the Infmity.Link software to provide online account balances and electronic bill presentment for utility accounts, and enter into contracts with Paymentus and its Merchant Account vendor to provide processing of electronic payments under the Absorption Model for the City's utility accounts. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 12. NEW BUSINESS 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Councilmember Bonar: Attended several Dew Days activities and was the best attended event he has seen in quite some time. Mayor Larson: Dew Days was a great event and very organized. The Farmers' Market opened last Thursday and was well attended. It continues throughout the summer 6 Council Minutes(Regular) June 17,2013 Page 4 with 22 vendors. He encouraged residents to shop local and support the businesses we have. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Bartholomay, second by Bonar to adjourn at 7:35 p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant 7