Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.13.14 Work Session Minutes City Council Work Session Minutes October 13,2014 Mayor Larson called the workshop to order at 6:30 p.m. Present: Larson,Bartholomay,Bonar,Donnelly, Fogarty Also Present: David McKnight, City Administrator;Robin Hanson,Finance Director; Adam Kienberger, Community Development Director;Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer;Todd Reiten, Municipal Services Director;Jeremy Pire,Facilities Supervisor;Nicole Gorman, Rambling River Center Coordinator;Jeff Allbee, Relief Association President; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Audience: David McMillen, Tim Pitcher, Michelle Leonard MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to approve the agenda. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Firefighter Fitness Reimbursement Policy The fire department is proposing the city use funds from the fire capital fund budget to reimburse firefighters for a fitness workout program. The firefighter would have to attend a fitness center at least eight times a month and would have to provide proof to receive the$25 reimbursement to go towards the membership dues. This program is currently in place,but the money is coming from the fire relief general fund. There are currently 13 people taking advantage of the program. Gambling proceeds cannot be spent for this use,but the Fire Relief does donate $45,000 to$50,000 to the city. If there is no money in the capital fund account, no reimbursements would be paid. If all 50 members participated in the fitness program,the cost would be$15,000 annually. Finance Director Hanson clarified this is only if there is donation money in the fire capital fund as that fund is also used to pay for equipment. The city council was in general agreement of this proposal and it will be placed on the October 20, 2014 city council agenda. 2015 Fee Schedule Councilmember Donnelly noted ice time rates were increased even though the Parks and Recreation Commission did not recommend an increase. He also asked about rates in neighboring communities. Neighboring rates are proposed at$200-$220 per hour,which is similar to staff's proposed increase to$220 per hour. Finance Director Hanson noted we are still at a projected loss even with the new rates for 2015. We rent approximately 1,200 hours annually. The Parks and Recreation Commission chose to leave the rates the same. There has not been another commission meeting for staff to propose the increased rates. Councilmember Donnelly had a concern with not following the commission recommendations,but also wanted to stay competitive. The projected loss is$9,000; $5,000 of that is due to Active Net to allow credit and debit card processing. Without that there would be a projected loss of$4,300 assuming the higher rates go into effect in July 2015. The projected income with the increase would be Council Workshop Minutes October 13,2014 Page 2 $11,000. These rates go into effect in July, so they are only for half of the year in 2015. Councilmember Fogarty asked that the hockey association be made aware of the increase. Councilmember Fogarty was aware of a membership problem at the Rambling River Center and asked if it was because of the fees. Staff explained we are the highest south of the river and gave examples of surrounding rates. Our current rates are$27 for a general membership and$65 for a fitness center membership. Participants have to be a general member in order to get the fitness center membership. The city council would like to see the subsidy other cities provide per user and how much revenue fees generate at other cities. As far as rentals,there are ongoing weekly meetings for rentals. The rental income is much higher this year than last year. We are also the lowest in the south metro for rental rates. There is one rate charged for any type of group. Councilmember Fogarty asked why we break out the cleaning fee from the banquet room fee. She would like to see that changed. She also wondered why we charge$50 for the first two hours and$32 for each additional hour. She felt if there are additional hours the rate should go up,not down. The rental fee and cleaning fee combined is what she would like to see compared to other communities. Staff stated it costs $45 each time for the cleaning company to come in for weekend rentals above the cleaning contract. Councilmember Fogarty suggested charging a higher fee for weekend rentals to cover the cleaning cost. Councilmember Bartholomay asked if another column could be added to the fee schedule to show the overall dollar impact due to changes. He asked if the Rambling River Center fees were recommended by the Rambling River Center Board. They send their recommendations to the Parks and Recreation Commission and they are passed on to staff. Regarding the weed notice,Councilmember Bartholomay asked if there was a different fee for different size lots. The difference is between developed and undeveloped lots. Finance Director Hanson stated presently the resident pays for mowing,but there is no administrative fee charged. The process becomes very time consuming. The current method is not a deterrent and we become a mowing service. Regarding finance charges for delinquent utility bills, staff surveyed surrounding communities on what they charge. Our current fee is 10%of the delinquent balance with a minimum$25 fee and 2.5%interest charged once certified to the county. The city council agreed to charge a$35 flat administrative fee and 8%interest once certified. Staff may pull out the Rambling River Center fees for approval at a later meeting. The rest of the fee schedule will be brought to the October 20, 2014, city council meeting for approval. Tax Increment Financing Update and Early Redemption of 2004B TIF Bonds There are two remaining TIF districts,the Eagles and City Center. The Eagles district is scheduled to be decertified in 2014. Any residual funds in either district go back to the county and are distributed to the county, school district and the city. City Center is scheduled to be decertified on December 31, 2020. However,once there are no longer any obligations outstanding you need to decertify the district. Developer payments are scheduled through 2016, so on December 31,2016,that district will be decertified. There are some remaining funds in the Council Workshop Minutes October 13,2014 Page 3 City Center district. We could use the funds to help pay for a downtown redevelopment study. The 2004B TIF bonds are scheduled to mature on February 1,2015. Finance Director Hanson recommends calling the bonds as soon as possible to close out the books in 2014. Staff will bring this to a December city council meeting for formal approval. Community Development Director Kienberger explained the downtown redevelopment study would provide a grant opportunity to reinvest in the area. The best way to secure additional grant funding for a certain area is to have a plan in place. The highway 3 area would be another viable choice. Pilot Knob is a newer commercial area. The priority would be the downtown area. City's Bond Rating One of the city council strategic plan goals is to improve the city bond rating. The city currently has a Standard and Poor's rating of AA-. Finance Director Hanson explained the seven factors to determine the bond rating. The city has been working to improve our financial status over the past few years and will use the portions of the seven factors that we have control over to continue to improve our financial health. Staff will analyze our financial status in 2015 to recommend when to ask for a bond rating review in hopes of improving permanently to a AA ranking in the near future. Utility Rate Plans City Engineer Schorzman presented the rate schedule for sanitary sewer,water and storm water for the next 40+years. The proposed plans cover both operations and depreciation. A summary of the revenues and expenses for utilities will be brought to a future work session for additional review. Upcoming Calendar Items City Administrator McKnight provided a list of upcoming meetings the city council may want to attend. The 195th Street project open house will be October 22, 2014. This project will affect three schools and will begin in April 2015 and continue through the end of 2015. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Bartholomay to adjourn at 7:55 p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant