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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12.06.21 Work Session Minutes City of Farmington City Council Work Session Minutes December 6, 2021 1. Call to Order Mayor Hoyt called the work session to order at 5:00 p.m. Present: Hoyt, Bernhjelm, Porter, Wilson Also Present: David McKnight, City Administrator; Lynn Gorski,Assistant City Administrator; Chris Regis, Finance Director;Justin Elvestad, Fire Chief, Kellee Omlid, Parks and Recreation Director; Katy Gehler, City Engineer/Public Works Director; Peter Gilbertson, IT Director; Cynthia Muller,Administrative Assistant 2. Approve Agenda MOTION by Bernhjelm, second by Porter to approve the agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. Discussion Items a. Installation Standards of Fiber Optic in Right-of-Way Fiber optic companies have been inquiring about the standards of installations within Farmington. One particular company installs fiber optic 18—24" down. Statute requires installation be 36-48" down on a case-by-case basis. Staff asked for council input before permits are issued. This company would not do dual maintenance and would be crossing under the streets several times. The more splitters installed,the less bandwith. Other companies do dual maintenance down both sides of the streets rather than crossing the street. This company would like to install fiber throughout the entire city, but is asking for a give by crossing the streets. They are proposing a number of crossings. Going under roads causes issues in the future with street maintenance or reconstruction. Other companies follow the state standards. Mayor Hoyt noted there is a reason why cable is laid at 36". IT Director Gilbertson noted this company would be doing the entire city at once. Other companies do it by neighborhood. Councilmember Porter stated this needs no further discussion. Shortcuts never work. Councilmember Bernhjelm agreed. Mayor Hoyt was not in favor of compromising on depth or dual maintenance. Staff will refer to state statute as our ordinance defers to the statute. Mayor Hoyt asked staff to see what peer cities are doing and add any necessary items to our ordinance. b. 2022 Referendum Discussion The city is planning to hold a referendum in November 2022 to acquire the funds to start building the Jim Bell Park and Preserve. To prepare for the referendum,the park master plan needs to be updated. The current master plan is from 2007 and needs to be updated before the November 2022 referendum. Staff proposes Hoisington Koegler (HKGI) lead the committee. Staff would select 10 to 14 residents from various groups in the community. A Park and Rec Commission member and a school district member would serve as an ex-officio. City Councii Work Session December 6,2021 Page 2 A survey would be conducted in February with the timing of The Currents being mailed to residents so there would be a paper copy and an online survey. The survey would only include Farmington residents. It would be very short and ask— what do you want and how much are you willing to spend. The referendum question needs to be completed by August 8, 2022, to be on the November ballot. Councilmember Bernhjelm asked if there was a way to verify if it is an actual Farmington address and if they are 18 years of age or older. Councilmember Porter requested the survey inquire about the demographics of those taking the survey in order to have a broad representation and to better understand the results. Staff is able to add those questions. Results would be ready in March. There will be a forced rank option to indicate what they want. A 3D rendering is important to sell it and also to obtain grants. We can reduce the cost by scaling back on the consultant presence. HKGI is proposing a cost of$55,000- $68,500 to prepare the master plan. HKGI would prepare the master plan and if it's approved, the city would contract out for construction. Mayor Hoyt stated once the cost is set,then we can determine funding options. Councilmember Wilson asked if this will be more of a destination for recreation or a community center. Director Omlid stated that will be based on the survey. The Park and Rec Commission would like to see something for everyone. Mayor Hoyt would like to see the city improve on what we have and add what we don't have. Staff has reached out to sports groups with no response. Councilmember Bernhjelm stated it comes down to how we sell it. How it helps businesses. There is a difference between underwriting and sponsoring. The city needs to underwrite the project. Staff will form the committee and bring it to the next meeting along with meeting dates. c. City Council Vacancy Councilmember Pearson has submitted her resignation effective November 16, 2021. The remaining term for this position runs through December 31, 2022. The council has the option to appoint someone, do nothing and wait until the November 22 election or hold a special election. Councilmember Porter would prefer to leave the seat vacant or bring in someone with council experience due to the learning curve. Councilmember Bernhjelm wanted to fill the seat now. This gives the person a good chance to learn and hopefully they will run in November. Councilmember Wilson was in the middle. We are hand selecting and could be biased. There are a couple people from the past that might want to come back and he would prefer the strength of previous service. Then we can allow the residents to vote in November. Mayor Hoyt stated this is an opportunity for someone who wants to do the work. Is four councilmembers a good representation? We have a pool of finalists from 12 months ago. He would like to bring in previous elected members. Filling with applications gives someone a head start over other candidates. Councilmember Bernhjelm will be out in February, so we would only have three councilmembers. Councilmember Porter suggested we could go with the runner up from 12 months ago. Mayor Hoyt suggested bringing in City Council Work Session December 6,2021 Page 3 three from 12 months ago first, then go to previous elected pool. After further discussion, it was decided to open it to the public and accept applications. The posting will go out this week. It will include the meeting and work session schedule, committee assignments, etc. Meeting attendance will be noted as a priority. Applications will be due December 22, 2021. Council will review all applications and reduce the number to five. Interviews will be conducted on January 10 and the appointment will be made on January 18, 2022. 4. City Administrator Update a. Set Date for the 2022 City Council Retreat It was decided to set the City Council retreat for January 21 at 11 am. Last year goals were set for two years. Council will look at the current priorities, where we are now and bring the new person up to speed. b. Annual City Council Wage Review The current salary for the Mayor is $8,040 and councilmembers$7,020. Any change would be effective after the next election, so January 2023. The last salary change was in 2009. Councilmember Bernhjelm was in favor of increasing the salaries. Councilmembers Porter and Wilson asked staff to do a comparison with other cities. Mayor Hoyt felt the Mayor's salary should be the same as the councilmembers. Councilmember Bernhjelm suggested adding to the ordinance that every certain number of years there is an increase. Mayor Hoyt added subject to current council approval. c. Rolloff Discussion The city has 12 to 15 rolloffs for businesses and residents. As we are getting out of the solid waste business, staff recommends getting out of the rolloff business also. Residents and businesses can get these from other private businesses. Councilmembers agreed and staff will advise businesses these are no longer available from the city. d. City Administrator Update Covid numbers are up a little among city staff. There is a code enforcement issue in the industrial park that council may hear about at the meeting tonight under citizen comments. The issue will be resolved as soon as possible. Board and commission interviews will be held next Monday. Mayor Hoyt stated at the last broadband meeting, the group decided to go out for RFP. There has been a lack of attendance at broadband meetings. He is not sure about the future of the Dakota Broadband Committee. 5. Adjourn MOTION by Wilson, second by Bernhjelm to adjourn at 6:24 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. City Council Work Session December 6,2021 Page 4 Respectfully submitted, Cynthia .Aluller Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant