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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.20.18 Council Minutes CITY OF FARMINGTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 20, 2018 1. Call to Order Mayor Larson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Larson led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. Roll Call Present-Larson, Bartholomay, Bernhjelm, Craig and Donnelly Absent-None Staff Present-Administrator McKnight, Finance Director Malecha, Public Works Director Gehler, Parks and Recreation Director Distad, Community Development Director Kienberger, Human Resources Director Wendlandt, Planning Manager Wippler, Police Chief Lindquist and Attorney Ja m nik. 4. Agenda Motion by Bartholomay, second by Donnelly, to approve the agenda as amended moving item 12(a) to be discussed right after the agenda approval and moving item 12(b)to the consent agenda. APIF, motion carried. *The meeting items were discussed out of order from what is printed. 5. Announcements/Commendations None 6. Citizen Comments a) Kim Soderberg, 1312 Fairview Lane, stated that department heads should watch out because they may be next on the hit list. b) Lacelle Cordes, 1405 Lower Heritage Way, asked what the future plans are for the building left on the former pool site. 7. Consent Agenda August 20, 2018 Minutes - 1 - Motion by Bartholomay, second by Bernhjelm,to approve the consent agenda including the addition of item 7L: a) Approve Minutes of the August 6, 2018 City Council Meeting-Administration b) Approve Minutes of the August 13, 2018 City Council Work Session-Administration c) Approve 2019 Fire Relief Association Pension Increase-Administration d) Appoint Acting Police Chief-Administration e) Acknowledge City Administrator Evaluation Summary Report and Approve Changes to the City Administrator Employment Agreement-Attorney f) Approve Cooperative Fire Protection Agreement with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources-Fire g) Adopt Resolution R32-2018 Declaring Surplus Property-Fire h) Approve Extension of Vermillion River Crossings Third Additional Plat Submittal- Community Development i) Appointment Recommendation Finance-Human Resources j) Approve Purchasing Policy-Finance k) Approve Bills-Finance I) Acknowledge Financial Review for the Six Months Ending June 30, 2018 APIF, motion carried. 8. Public Hearings None 9. Award of Contract None 10. Petitions, Requests and Communications a) Sapphire Lake Preliminary Plat Planning Manager Wippler presented the Sapphire Lake preliminary plat request for review. Winkler Land Co. LLC is proposing to construct 131 single-family lots on the property bounded by Prairie Waterway and single-family homes to the west and cultivated farmland to the north, east and west in the East Farmington area. There are nine out lots proposed with the preliminary plat totaling 33.07 acres. The preliminary plat shows the extension of 213th Street West and Spruce Street east into the northern and southern portions of the property respectively. 213th Street crosses the Prairie Waterway and then transitions to a north/south alignment and connects into Spruce Street. August 20, 2018 Minutes -2 - The Parks and Recreation Department has provided some requirements that need to be met with the final plat. The Engineering Department has recommended approval of the preliminary plat subject to four comments outlined with the plat. The Planning Commission reviewed the preliminary plat at the August 15, 2018 regular meeting and held a public hearing concerning the application. The Planning Commission recommended approval of the preliminary plat, with contingencies, with a vote of 3-0. There were no questions from the city council. Motion by Bartholomay, second by Bernhjelm, to adopt Resolution R33-2018 approving the preliminary plat of Sapphire Lake contingent upon: 1. The preliminary plat is contingent upon meeting the requirements stipulated in Parks and Recreation Director Distad's letter dated August 3, 2018 with the exception that the sidewalk can remain on the west side of 213th Street. 2. Engineering comments as outlined in the comment letter dated August 14, 2018. APIF, motion carried. 11. Unfinished Business None 12. New Business a) Separation Agreement Between the City of Farmington and Brian Lindquist Administrator McKnight presented a draft separation agreement that has been negotiated between the city and Police Chief Lindquist. McKnight review the agreement specifics and shared that Lindquist has signed the agreement. Mayor Larson asked those residents who wanted to speak to please be respectful. Brian Rezny, 3830 Pilot Knob Road, stated he has heard nothing but good things about the chief and does not understand where this issue is coming from. Farmington is a safe city with a low crime rate and the reason he moved here. He felt that it was a short working relationship for some of the councilmembers to judge the chief. He was disappointed the press release was sent out on the last day of filing for city council. He felt the next chief will be under the thumb of the city council and does not want politics in the police department. He felt the city council should follow the 2017 police department staffing study. August 20, 2018 Minutes -3 - Leon Orr, 19161 Echo Lane, he first heard about this issue on the television news and has not any public meeting on this issue. He stated the residents are the city and the city council should listen to them. He has concerns about open meeting law violations with this issue. Dave Pritzlaff, 20255 Akin Road, he voted to hire the chief as a former city councilmember. He supports the police department and likes that he does not see negative news stories about the police department in Farmington. The separation agreement is paid for with taxpayer dollars which is a concern. He stated Mayor Larson has cost us money in this area before. He wants to see transparency and is asking the city council to not support this agreement. Joshua Hoight, he is disappointed in the decision. The citizens deserve to know why this happening. Transparency is the key. The number of signatures on the petition compared to the population of Farmington is very high. This is a safe city with a low crime rate, no misconduct. This seems to be a personal agenda. He has concerns the news was released on the day candidate filing closed and stated he will take the write in vote. He respectfully requests that the right decision be made. Justin Giles, 20103 Cabrella Way, stated he had an encounter with the chief in 2003. He wanted to know about the follow up to his issue. He does not support keeping the chief. Kym Bakker, 1100 Larch Street, stated there is a cost for breaking the law. She is here because she loves this community. She has never been so affected by one person. The city has been fantastic to her. She stated we need more than personality conflicts as a reason. No one likes their boss. The city council speaks for the residents. This is a massive mistake. Lindsay Manklowski, 18085 Empire Trail, she lives in a former problem neighborhood. This year they had their first National Night Out event. The police department cleaned up the neighborhood. She is choosing to live here and supports the chief and urged the city council to vote against this agreement. Janelle White, 5843 191st Street, stated that the city council are all public servants and the chief is an outstanding example of this. His leadership brought us a safe city and a strong department. His support is shown tonight. Data requests have been made to the city. The public deserves to know why this is happening and what new direction the city council is looking for. She thanked Mayor Larson and Councilmember Donnelly for their support. She reminded the city council that when they vote, do you respect the people or is this a personal agenda. Judy Barna, 20044 English Avenue, as a taxpayer she deserves to know why this is happening and she fully supports the chief. Denise Wagner, 23360 Ottawa Avenue, she wants to hear from the city councilmembers. She asked Councilmember Bernhjelm if she knows how to be a team player. She wants to August 20, 2018 Minutes -4- understand if there is a chance to keep the chief. She thanked the chief for his service to the community. Brea Hallach, former Edgewood Court resident, she cares about the community. The chief helped her with a medical issue that saved her life, comforted her children and probably does not even remember her. What better direction does a department need? The chief has treated people fair and upholds the law. He is the example of leadership and she hopes our current officers follow his lead. Why would the city want to make a change? Henry Cho, 18612 Delaney Drive, he supports the chief and has heard powerful stories of the department. The community has come out in force and the city council should listen. Do not forget the ways he has served. From a business perspective he expects the city council to be good stewards of tax dollars. Recruitment and retention of staff is an important issue. Who would want to take this position? The ripple effect of this decision is important and cost money. He would like the city council to reconsider their position. Nick Gessel, 19891 Deerbrooke path, he applied for the vacancy in 2017 and stated that communication is a huge issue. He encourages the city council to be transparent in the decision making process. Future decisions should be made in the open, the city council works for the people. Sandy Brown, 19434 Exodus Drive, she stated that communication is the issue. She emails all five city councilmembers and only heard back from Councilmember Donnelly. She is disappointed with her previous votes. Kevan Soderberg, 1312 Fairview Lane, as a former mayor when decisions are made on personnel he is a believer in progressive discipline. This issue should have shown up in a performance review. This is an issue for the administrator, discipline comes from this position. To his knowledge, no discipline exists. In his opinion, this is being driven by a malcontent on the city council. That is wrong. Phil Ozmon, 1001 Spruce Street, He has lived here for 33 years, does not know the chief, works in law enforcement and hears from peers that Farmington has a good chief and reputation around the area. He agrees with many of the comments already made in support of the chief. Tom Donnelly, 317 11th Street, he stated he is no relation to Councilmember Donnelly. This is a great place to live. He has had numerous encounters with the police and stated good cops come from a good chief. This is not acceptable and needs to be reconsidered. Conner Pelch, Elko New Market, he has had numerous encounters with the police and has had no issues even when he is completely in the wrong. This behavior comes from the chief. Jennifer Targes, 19880 Deerbrooke Path, she has a child with special needs and has been treated with nothing but respect even when issues were created by her child. August 20, 2018 Minutes -5 - Melissa Johnson she is a former teacher in the Farmington district. The chief would visit her classroom and made an impact on her kids. The chief is a good man. She urged the city council to represent the community that voted them in. Kalie Stevenson, 1012 Spruce Street, she stated that the system is not effective. She is hearing many comments that are leading to a lack of professionalism. Joe Fritz, 624 46 Street, he is a resident and business owner and thought people should be able to work out personal conflicts. These should be set aside. Steve Cunningham, Cypress Drive, stated that statements have been made that the city council represents the people and the city council makes decisions based on what the people want. He asked the two newest members to represent their constituency. Doug Taube, 300 Spruce Street, asked how this decision can be made after we recognized two long time retirees in the last year for their longevity. He asked the city council to change their mind of their job is in jeopardy. Mayor Larson thanked those in residents who chose to share their thoughts. Councilmember Bartholomay understands the concerns of residents, but has to honor legal agreements. Hard to hear that this is about politics and personalities,that is not true. The city council has worked hard on its image. If the city administrator did not want this to happen it would not occur. He wished others could have kept on the topic and not reverted to ruining character. He thanked the chief for his service and agreed that communication has been an issue. Councilmember Craig thanked everyone for attending the meeting. The city council has some concerns and are limited with what they can share. Attorney Jamnik explained laws regarding public and private personnel data. Legally we are limited with what we can discuss. She takes this decision seriously. The city administrator asked the chief to reach out to the city council. Unfortunately, relationships continued to deteriorate. She wants to be clear, this is not based on political or personality differences. Councilmember Bernhjelm stated that residents are owed an explanation. She chose to do it at the city council meeting and not hide behind a computer. She cannot speak for the administrator, but trusts his leadership. She does not have any intention of smearing the chief. The chief role has an administrative role that extends far beyond the police department. When she was appointed in 2017 she heard about some issues with the chief. August 20, 2018 Minutes -6- When the police study was concluded in 2017 she reached out to the chief with questions and the chief responded with a lack of information. She felt he did not take her inquiry seriously. In the fall of 2017 the chief was asked to reach out to city councilmembers. She met with the chief and asked many questions and was basically told we need bodies. She felt the chief was dismissive to her questions and she felt discouraged. The chief's presence has been notably absent and he has been asked to be more visible in meetings. The spring gun camera purchase caused her to have questions that she failed to receive answers on from the chief. Around the same time the Vitals program was offered to the city and declined with no city council input. She felt this issues was entirely preventable. It is not an attack on the police department. This change will not change the department. She has found out more in the last three weeks about what is going on in the department from Sergeant Rutherfords' weekly update. She was disappointed in a comment made in the paper by Mayor Larson. She was disappointed of the notion that she would make a decision to further her political agenda. She was disappointed we could not stand as a united city council. Councilmember Donnelly thanked the residents, he has received more emails on this topic than on any in his time as an elected official. Farmington is great place to live. This is a very difficult decision. We all want what is best. After the decision he will honor it but this is not our finest hour. Mistakes have been made along the way. Votes will be cast and we will move forward. Thanked the residents for attending the meeting. Mayor Larson thanked residents for attending. Having a full city council chambers says a lot about the chief. There have been times where he has made me mad. He is not in favor of this agreement and thanked the chief for his work. Residents asked the city council to take more time before making this decision. Motion by Bartholomay, second by Craig, to approve the separation agreement between the City of Farmington and Brian Lindquist. Motion passed 3-2. Ayes-Bartholomay, Craig and Bernhjelm. Nays-Larson and Donnelly. Chief Lindquist addressed those in attendance and shared that as a police officer he treats everyone equally. He asked people not to go down the road of where their emotions may take them. He is thankful for everyone who reached out and enjoyed his 20 years serving the community. He will not tarnish his badge because of this issue. There are 23 officers and three support staff who watch over 23,000 residents. We have the best officers around. August 20, 2018 Minutes -7- 13. City Council Roundtable Donnelly-Thought it was a sad night for Farmington. Bartholomay-Thought it was a sad night. We could have done better and not attacked others. Wendlandt-Streaming of the meeting tonight was down at times. Full video will be available on the city website. Larson-Sad day for Farmington. We must move forward together. Encouraged residents to shop local. Adjourn Motion by Bartholomay, second by Craig, to adjourn the meeting at 8:54 p.m. APIF, motion carried. Respectfully Submitted David McKnight, City Administrator August 20, 2018 Minutes -8-