HomeMy WebLinkAbout04.20.09 Council Minutes
70-
COUNCIL MINUTES
REGULAR
APRIL 20, 2009
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:
Audience:
Larson, Donnelly, Fogarty, Wilson
May
Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator;
Robin Roland, Finance Director; Randy Distad, Parks and
Recreation Director; Lee Smick, City Planner; Tony Wippler,
Assistant City Planner; Randy Petrofske, Liquor Operations
Manager; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant
Justine Jacobson, Ann Anderson, Jody Dion, Brandon Dion, Tim
Thompson, Beve Preece, Steve Fenlon
4. APPROVE AGENDA
Councilmember Fogarty moved item 12a) Ice Arena Update to Roundtable.
Councilmember Wilson moved item 12b) Approve Broadband Participation to the
Consent Agenda, he also wanted to make a comment on item 7f) Accept Resignation
Planning Commission, he pulled item 7g) Authorize Signature of CD A's Redevelopment
Incentive Grant Agreement for discussion. City Administrator Herlofsky moved item 7d)
Accept Donation Fire Department to Sa), he also added a supplemental item 7i) Out of
State Conferences Policy Amendment.
MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION
CARRIED.
5. ANNOUNCEMENTS
a) Adopt Resolution - Accept Donation - Fire Department
Minnesota Energy Resources Company and the Fire Relief Association donated
four gas detectors to the Fire Department. Ann Carlon, Minnesota Energy
Resources Company and Jay Clinkscales, Fire Relief Association presented the
donation. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to adopt RESOLUTION
R18-09 accepting donation. APIF, MOTION CARRIED.
6. CITIZEN COMMENTS
Ms. Annette Kuyper, 20530 Dyers Pass, had several announcements regarding the
Warrior to Citizen campaign. Last Saturday they hosted their first military mother and
grandmother luncheon at the Church of the Advent. They honored 40 mothers and
grandmothers. This Saturday they are partnering with the Minnesota National Guard to
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 2
host a Congregational Care Conference. Warrior to Citizen is bringing together all the
churches in the southern metro area at the Shepherd of the Valley Church in Apple
Valley from 9:00 - 2:00. They will learn how to develop military ministries and support
military families within their community. Cost is $10 including lunch. May 9 is the
military family picnic at the Dakota County Fairgrounds. This will be hosted by Frontier
and the VFW with a luncheon. There will be 50 gopher athletes coming to host a sports
camp, University of Minnesota art students will help the children make sports pendants,
there will be 30 resource tables from the deployment cycle support team, there will be an
obstacle course and climbing wall. All military families are invited and they should
register through the website. The event is free to military families. On June 13,
Minnesota will be honoring Vietnam veterans at the State Capital. The Warrior to
Citizen campaign will be taking local veterans by bus to the State Capital to be honored
at a welcome home ceremony. They are asking all Farmington residents to line the
streets of Farmington when the bus comes home and have a huge community parade to
welcome our veterans home. There will be more to come on this event. Vietnam
veterans should contact the Warrior to Citizen campaign and register to be on the bus. A
route will be posted and there will be a police escort and patriot guard escort. She gave
Council a copy of the 2008 Annual Report from the Minnesota National Guard.
Farmington is highlighted as the first Yellow Ribbon City in Minnesota. City
Administrator Herlofsky noted we are getting closer to getting the Yellow Ribbon signs
on the entrances to the City.
Ms. Justin Jacobson, 3319 213th Street W, and Ann Anderson, 2688 200th Street E, stated
the National Day of Prayer was established by federal law in 1952. It was amended in
1988 designating the first Thursday in Mayas the official National Day of Prayer. An
event will be held at Rambling River Park on May 7, and invited Council to attend.
There will be representatives from various local churches.
Mr. Bruce Matzdorff, 5393 203rd Street W, invited everyone to the 2009 Mayoral Ball. It
will be a black and white ball held at the Grand Hall, on April 25. There will be food,
photos taken by Heikkila Studios and entertainment. The black and white theme is casual
to formal. Tickets are $50 and proceeds go to CEEF.
7. CONSENT AGENDA
MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to approve the Consent Agenda as follows:
a) Approved Council Minutes (4/6/09 Regular) (4/8/09 Workshop) (4/13/09
Workshop)
b) Received Information Quarterly Building Permit Report - Building Inspections
c) Approved License for Utility to Cross Protected Waters - Natural Resources
d) Received Information March 2009 Financial Report - Finance
e) Accepted Resignation Planning Commission - Administration
Councilmember Wilson noted a long standing commission member, Ben Barker
is resigning from the Planning Commission. He has provided a tremendous
amount of time and service to the community and it is appreciated. Mayor Larson
also worked with Mr. Barker on the Planning Commission and noted he is a team
player and appreciated working with him.
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 3
g) Approved Bills
h) Approved Broadband Participation - Administration
i) Received Information Out of State Conferences Policy Amendment -
Administration
APIF, MOTION CARRIED.
1) Authorize Signature of CDA's Redevelopment Incentive Grant Agreement -
Planning
The CDA awarded the City a grant for $7,500 for a Natural Resources Inventory
and Management Plan. It is a matching grant. This inventory will provide field
study information on habitat, plant species, groves of trees, anything with natural
resources. In the past when development has occurred the City has been
reactionary to our natural resources and we have lost significant groves of trees.
This will allow staff to benchmark and provide policies so when development
does occur we have policies in place that will protect those natural resources so
they remain vital to our community. The matching funding has not been
identified, but staff is continuing to look for outside funds. The source of
matching funds will need to be identified at the time staff requests a
reimbursement from the CDA. Councilmember Wilson noted this inventory will
not dictate what we decide to do. Staff stated the information from this inventory
would only be a recommendation. It would be up to the Planning Commission
and Council whether they feel those recommendations are reasonable. This could
help developers make their projects more efficient. MOTION by Wilson, second
by Fogarty to accept the Redevelopment Incentive Grant in the amount of $7,500
from the Dakota County Community Development Agency. APIF, MOTION
CARRIED.
8. PUBLIC HEARINGS
9. AWARD OF CONTRACT
10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS
a) Quarterly Liquor Operations Report - Liquor Operations
Liquor Operations Manager Petrofske presented the first quarter sales report for
the downtown and Pilot Knob stores.
b) Approve 2030 Comprehensive Plan - 2008 Update - Planning
The 2030 Comprehensive Plan has been approved by the Met Council with a few
modifications. City Planner Smick gave an overview of when the process started
in 2007. In the visioning sessions, the most common issues in the 2030 plan were
similar to those in the 2020 plan. The results of the visioning sessions include:
- Downtown development and redevelopment
- Transportation system
- Develop within the existing MUSA
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 4
- Commercial and industrial growth
- Pay attention to natural resources
- Pay attention to quality control growth
The Council agreed to a population in 2030 of 32,000 people, a household
forecast of 12,500 and a net density of 3.5. In 2010 the City estimated the
population would be 22,300, the Met Council wanted it changed to 20,500. As of
April 1, 2007, the Met Council's certified population for Farmington is 18,589.
The comp plan will be reviewed every 2-3 years. There is a 3-4 year supply of
vacant lots. The allocated MUSA is 914 acres. The City will meet the affordable
housing requirement of 492 units by adding 210 acres of new medium and high
density residential. This could be a potential of 1,260 affordable units. The City
will request MUSA for 106 acres of commercial, 316 acres of industrial, and
1,053 acres for residential coming from Fairhill.
Councilmember Fogarty was concerned with the difference in population with the
Met Council. She asked if the City would miss out on any triggers at 25,000.
Staff was also hesitant with this information, however, as long as the population is
above 20,000 we would not miss out on anything. There would be a change in
2012 when the census results come out. MOTION by Wilson, second by Fogarty
to adopt RESOLUTION R19-09 approving the final document of the 2030
Comprehensive Plan - 2008 update. APIF, MOTION CARRIED.
c) Approve Agreements for Completing Rambling River Center Construction
Project Work - Parks and Recreation
Significant progress has been made on demolition and it is at the point where
improvements can begin. Quotes have been received for the fire alarm and
sprinkler system. The low quote was from Summit Fire for $40,745; the estimate
was $98,000. This also includes an alternate for monitoring ofthe alarm system.
A quote for electrical work was received from Helm Electric for $4,300 and the
estimate was $5,000. Quotes for the card reader access system were also
solicited. This would be the same system as other City buildings, but allows for a
separate access for renting the facility. Alternates were for updating the existing
doors, panic bars and hardware. The base quote for the card reader system was
$14,917 and was estimated at $10,000. With the alternates, the quote was
$27,791. Because of the AMAG system, there were only two companies who
offered this system. The low quote was from VTI who also provided the system
for other City buildings. For these three items the estimate was $115,000 and bid
amounts came in at $72,836 which is $42,164 less than the estimate. Staff asked
for approval for the agreements with Summit Fire in the amount of $40,745 for
the fire alarm and sprinkler system and monitoring, Helm Electric for $4,300 for
disconnection and relocation of outlets and switches, and with VTI Security in the
amount of $27,791 for installation of the card reader access system, new entrance
doors, electric auto handicap door operator, panic bars and hardware.
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 5
Councilmember Wilson noted the card reader system was $18,000 over and asked
if we budgeted too low and if we can go to other vendors. Parks and Recreation
Director Distad explained we wanted to get alternates from VTI so they could tie
their system into the doors. The doors are very old and for security of the
building it makes sense to replace them at the same time as the card reader access
system. Councilmember Wilson asked if we are using a type of card reader
system that is so unique we cannot get a more competitive quote. Staff agreed the
AMAG system is very unique, but that is what is used in our other buildings.
Councilmember Fogarty asked if we could re-bid the doors. Staff suggested using
VTI for the card reader access system and look elsewhere for the doors, panic
bars and auto entry doors. If we cannot get a better price, then we still have this
quote. Councilmember Fogarty asked if the monitoring system was part of the
bid. Staff explained the fire alarm system is connected with the sprinkler system
so the company has people on duty 24/7 for monitoring. It was one of the
alternates, not part of the base bid. The monitoring is for ten years.
MOTION by Wilson, second by Fogarty to approve the bids except the optional
doors and direct staff to research this and bring back to Council. APIF,
MOTION CARRIED.
d) Set Public Hearing - Issuance of Bonds St. Francis Health Services of Morris
- Finance
St. Francis Health Services of Morris has asked the City to act as issuer of bonds
for an expansion project at the Trinity Care Center. The bonds would not exceed
$3.75 million. As a non-profit corporation, St. Francis is able to use the City to
issue tax-exempt debt. The Council was asked to approve holding a public
hearing on May 18,2009. There is no budget impact to the City. St. Francis
Health Services is responsible for the payment and interest on the bonds.
Councilmember Fogarty confirmed this does not count against the City's capacity
to issue bonds. Finance Director Roland stated they do, but the City will not be
issuing any other bonds this year and the debt limit has been raised, so this is not a
problem.
Mr. Steve Fenlon representing St. Francis, stated this debt does not appear on the
financial statements of the City and does not apply to any debt limits imposed on
the City. As far as the non-profit agency, it reduces the cost to borrow by a third.
The original bonds approved six years ago are not being refinanced, just the
improvement taxable debt from 2007.
MOTION by Fogarty, second by Donnelly to adopt RESOLUTION R20-09
calling for a public hearing on and considering giving approval to the issuance of
health care facilities revenue obligations under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 469.
APIF, MOTION CARRIED.
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 6
e) Approve City Administrator Employment Agreement - Councilmemhers
Fogarty and Donnelly
Councilmembers Fogarty and Donnelly negotiated an Employment Agreement
with City Administrator Herlofsky. Councilmember Wilson noted the agreement
does not have a defined time period with a conclusion date. Councilmember
Fogarty stated they followed the same format as the previous contract.
Councilmember Wilson asked if that component is normally in a City
Employment Agreement for an at-will employee. City Attorney Jamnik stated
there is generally not a termination date in the contracts. This is contract is
consistent with that format. It would be the exception to have definite 2,3,4 year
term at which point the Council did not renew it, the contract would expire and
the employment relationship would end. It would be unusual to have this in the
contract and he did not recommend it.
Mayor Larson stated it was his understanding there would be a 360 review before
the contract was issued. Councilmember Fogarty stated in the Weekly Update
from the City Administrator here is a list of raters to be discussed under
Roundtable. City Administrator contracts are dealt with separately from a
performance review because a City Administrator position is very strongly
influenced and controlled by local politics. If the contract was completely reliant
on reviews, one or two people could completely submarine a review while
everyone else is completely happy. City Administrator Herlofsky did ask
Councilmembers Fogarty and Donnelly to enter into negotiations with him as
early as last October; so Council has put this on hold for six months already.
Because we have delayed doing our work, it has now come in conjunction with
his review which is more of a coincidence. Mayor Larson asked when the review
would be done and what would it affect. Councilmember Fogarty stated it
dictates where and how Council wants the City Administrator performing. If he is
not doing what Council would like, we need to redirect him or discuss whether to
keep him on. This would not be an amendment to the Employment Agreement.
The review is done at the annual anniversary of being hired. This is only his
second contract and there has not been a City Administrator here long enough in
recent history to re-negotiate a contract. Mayor Larson felt it seems with years
two and three there should be some goals associated with that for the raise. With
or without the review, if it is not an amendment to this agreement how does that
take place? City Attorney Jamnik stated the initial agreement was drafted that
salary range adjustments would occur at the same time as adjustments were made
for other employees. As far as goals, the City is consistent with other cities in that
the performance goals have never been integrated into the Employment
Agreement with any of the Administrators. They have always been separate.
When Council identifies goals for the short and long term, the Administrator is
held to that standard of performance. If Council is unhappy with it, you can
always sever the agreement to terminate the relationship. You can also give
direction as far as change. The advantage to having a three year term is there is
some certainty of what the outlay would be for the Council as well as the
employee. That has been something the City has used with this relationship that
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 7
is different from previous relationships and it has stabilized it. It has been easier
for Council to deal with the evaluation separate from what we have done in the
past where it was sometimes done at the same time.
Mayor Larson stated if we do the 360 review and attach some goals, and they are
or are not met then we look at the contract. City Attorney Jamnik replied you can
say you are not happy with the situation and look at the contract again. You
would not set goals for two or three years out; they would be reviewed annually
either in a retreat or in a separate meeting with the Administrator. They would
not be integrated into the agreement. Mayor Larson noted the accrual rate for
personal leave days being increased from 16 to 24 hours per month seemed
excessive. Councilmember Fogarty stated something the City Administrator does
not have, that most do have, is a car allowance, deferred comp payments and he
pays health insurance the same as any other employee. Traditionally these things
are completely covered for City Administrators. They took into account that he is
not compensated for and he was more interested in more leave time to spend with
his family as that was more important to him than a car allowance or insurance
benefits. Councilmember Donnelly stated it was a way to offset shortcomings in
other areas.
Councilmember Wilson noted the City Attorney referred to a three year term and
asked ifthere was another term. City Attorney Jamnik stated that was a projected
schedule of increases from 2010 through 2012. Councilmember Wilson stated
Councilmember Fogarty is correct that this item was assigned to both of them last
fall as neither one would be up for election. He felt it would be fair to have a new
Councilmember involved in the discussions as there were divided opinions around
the budget. In fairness to the City Administrator, Councilmember Wilson had
strong disagreements with how the Park and Rec budget went last year and was
not sure he would have been as objective with this agreement at that time. In the
bigger picture it was better to wait until after the election and wait until this year.
As it relates to timeframe, he was not so quick to blame the entire Council as we
did talk about the goals and assigned Councilmembers Fogarty and Donnelly to
look at this in February. We are coming up to a time period where we do not
have another meeting until early May and that is around the time the current
contract expires. He agrees with some of the points raised by Mayor Larson. For
the benefit of the City Administrator, Councilmember Wilson felt they need to
give him a good strategic plan for him to work with and carry that out. The
agreement does say at least once annually in advance of the budget adoption we
would do an evaluation. He could not approve a contract without at least doing a
review so Council can give him feedback as to where we think he is at and
provide some strategic structure for him. We need to have a strategic work plan;
perhaps not a document, but a framework that gives him more freedom to work
with and give him some tools. We have the ability to do that in the contract. He
does not anticipate a negative review, but we do have to be honest. If the majority
of Council has some concerns it would look silly for the Council to pass a
contract and then go back and do a review before some things are identified. He
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 8
does not anticipate any major concerns, but there could be issues out there.
Councilmember Wilson suggested tabling this for a limited period of time, and do
the review by mid-May and have this done by the first part of June.
Mayor Larson noted the agreement stated a reduction of the Administrator's
salary or other financial benefits shall be deemed to be a termination under the
terms of the contract. He noted Council just reduced the hours and pay for City
employees. Does this include the reduction for the budget? City Attorney Jamnik
replied no, if you reduced the Administrator's salary or benefits, it would
constitute a termination. Mayor Larson stated we just asked City employees to
take a 3% reduction and the City Administrator is included in that. City Attorney
Jamnik stated if it is contemplated in a reduction from what is in the agreement,
you change and actually reduce the salary amount specified, it would constitute a
reduction and that is a common provision in all contracts. Mayor Larson stated
ultimately there is a reduction in pay this year and there could be next year. City
Attorney Jamnik stated you would have to negotiate that at that time.
Councilmember Fogarty stated to be technical if Council approves the contract
tonight, it does not matter because the contract is not up until May 1. This
contract says he will not take any pay increases in 2009, but he is taking a
reduction the same as everyone else.
Councilmember Donnelly stated it is odd the review and the contract are different,
but if we are not happy with his job performance, the relationship will not
continue. He did not see the need to tie approval of the contract to his
performance. We will do the review, give recommendations, and come up with a
strategic plan we want him to follow. Those are the guidelines as to how he
should do his job.
Mayor Larson would rather wait for the full Council to vote on this, so he would
support tabling this until we have a full Council. Councilmember Fogarty stated
if the majority of Council wants to table this, she wanted to pick a specific date.
She had a long conversation with Councilmember May and went over the
numbers. She had not reviewed the contract yet, but had no initial concerns. She
knew this was coming to vote tonight and did not ask anyone to pull it and did not
ask for any further information. Mayor Larson still wanted to table this so the full
Council could vote on this. He did not mean to disrespect the City Administrator
as he does a good job. Items like this that come to Council on Thursday with a
meeting on Monday, he would like to table them for one meeting to think about it
and collect our thoughts for more than three days. Councilmember Fogarty stated
rather than tabling it, if you would like more time, it would be more appropriate to
have it sent out ahead of time for review. Tabling items would make excessive
meeting time. Mayor Larson recommended tabling this agreement.
Councilmember Wilson stated it is standard that we receive different contracts for
the union or Police Department and they will be on the agenda without a review
period. If we are going to do this, we should not single out the City Administrator
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 9
contract. Tabling items gets to be too many procedures. Mayor Larson was not
only talking about employee agreements, but anything that has a substantial
financial number to it.
Councilmember Donnelly was not in favor of tabling it. There were three
changes to the contract; the salary, personal leave accrual, and increasing the cell
phone allowance from $25 to $45 per month. It is a four-page contract and there
are three changes. If Councilmember May was opposed to this, she would have
let us know.
Mayor Larson asked if everyone was comfortable with the personal leave
changing from 16 to 24 hours per month as we asked everyone to cut back and
this seems like an added benefit in hard times. Councilmember Wilson stated in
fairness to the work that Councilmembers Donnelly and Fogarty did, he did not
want to get into discussing specific components. He supported the idea of tabling
the agreement and liked the idea of having the full Council present.
MOTION by Wilson, second by Larson to table approval of the agreement until
the May 18, 2009, Council meeting and direct City Attorney Jamnik to
expeditiously send the Council a 360 review consistent with previous discussion.
Voting for: Larson, Fogarty, Wilson. Voting against: Donnelly. MOTION
CARRIED. When voting, Councilmember Fogarty stated she did not want the
motion to fail because it would be extremely insulting and she had the opinion
that if she called this for a roll it would fail for lack of majority. She will vote
yes, but wanted it understood she respected what other Councilmembers are
saying, but knowing these two things are not related and cannot be tied together it
is political to wait; it is not functional. This is a political move and not a
functional move. We cannot build the review into the contract.
11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
12. NEW BUSINESS
13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE
a) Council Workshop Schedule -Administration
The next workshop is May II, 2009, to discuss design standards with other
commissions. There is a budget strategy session in June and a park tour in
August.
b) Dew Days - Administration
In prior years Council has authorized the City Administrator to work with various
groups on this event to make sure things are accomplished. City Administrator
Herlofsky wanted to confirm with Council that if there are some events that
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 10
require assistance, that he be authorized to determine what they will be. Council
agreed with staff supporting this community event.
c) ADAAA, FMLA Training - Human Resources
On Tuesday, May 5, from 9:00 - 11 :00 there will be training for FMLA, workers
comp, etc. for supervisors and managers. Council is welcome to attend. This is a
joint project with Apple Valley. It will be taped for Council if they want to see it
at a different time.
d) Highland Circle Information - Administration
Council received historic information on Highland Circle. Staff has spent a great
deal of time assisting the neighborhood. If Council would like something else,
they should advise staff. Mayor Larson looked at the area and it seems some of
the problems are created by the homeowners by driving off the end of the road,
through the ditches, and parking in the center circle. The problems would not be
near as bad if people stayed on the road. The City Administrator and City
Engineer spent an evening with the residents and there has been some turnover in
the neighborhood. All have different views of the situation.
e) Ice Arena Update - Administration
Councilmember Fogarty noted there is a request to contact architect and
engineering firms for proposals on the ice arena. She and Mayor Larson have
been meeting with the hockey association to discuss the future of the ice arena.
Staff has provided more information and she has also met with Superintendent
Meeks, John Summers the Athletic Director and Tim Burke, School Board
member. Both Mr. Summers and Mr. Burke have agreed to come to the meetings
at the request of the hockey association. She felt this request for proposals may
be premature as the school representatives would like to be more up to date. She
was not entirely sure about option 2 in the construction study guidelines because
of the economic development Council has stressed. Someone was in recently
who discussed commercial development and one thing they said was the location
ofthe high school could be critical to commercial development in the community.
When the high school was built on Flagstaff, the comment was made it was not
the school district's responsibility to do economic development. While
Councilmember Fogarty agreed the school's primary goal is to education the
children, it is Council's necessity to create economic development and she would
not like to expand that campus as a first option. It would be a further down
option. She would like to keep the ice arena in the downtown area and continue
to work on economic development through projects like this. She will request this
be put back on the agenda at a future time.
Councilmember Fogarty: Regarding the review for the City Administrator, Council
was provided with a list of raters and she was comfortable with those people. At one
point she recalled having four or five community members on the list such as someone
from the Downtown Business Association, the Rotary, someone who works with the City
Administrator on a regular basis. Council agreed with adding three community members.
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 11
The Met Council appointed Wendy Wulffto the vacant seat for District 16.
Councilmember Fogarty suggested taking a new approach to looking at the budget and
arrange a one-day retreat to firm up what the Council's goals are and as we work through
the budget process being able to take from the budget and highlight how our budget is
showing our goals. The first step starts at the dias and for the five Councilmembers to be
able to come together and say these are our goals and we agree on them. They could start
by reviewing the goals in the front of the agenda. It is incumbent on the Council to do
their homework before they layout expectations for the City Administrator. We are not
being fair if we are vague or on different pages. Staff cannot meet five different
expectations and be successful. We need to have a unanimous voice as we go into this
budget.
Councilmember Wilson: City Administrator Herlofsky and Finance Director Roland
work very hard to present the budget to Council and when Council is asked for a number
without some backing behind it, it creates a dynamic that could be improved.
He noted Council was informed of the United States Air Force band coming next
Monday and asked where they would be. City Administrator Herlofsky stated it is at the
current high school and Council has been invited by the school district. Unfortunately it
conflicts with the EDA meeting.
Regarding the item in the City Administrator's Employment Agreement increasing
annual leave from 16 to 24 hours per month, he suggested Councilmembers Fogarty and
Donnelly discuss with the City Administrator specific to the salary numbers. He was
hoping to the best of the City Administrator's understanding are the percentages of
change in the agreement going to be consistent with what he might be thinking for the
rest of staff for the next couple years, even though that may be a difficult thing to predict.
Councilmember Fogarty replied the numbers reflect roughly 2.75% which is less than
what management received. It is lower than contracts given to the rest of staff.
Councilmember Donnelly: Regarding the City Administrator's agreement he asked
what was done in the past and was told they have not done this for a long time so there is
no precedent. Unfortunately, it is a political process. The performance and the whole
thing has become political. Councilmember Fogarty thanked Councilmember Donnelly
as he was the best person to work on this as he has been through re-negotiations with
contracts and has a very good grasp on how to deal with them and how they function.
Parks and Recreation
Director Distad: Reminded Council of the Arbor Day celebration on April
24, at 10 a.m. at Evergreen Knoll Park. The Annual Park and Pond Clean-up Day is
Saturday, May 2, from 9 - 11 a.m. with Earth and Arbor Day celebration to follow at
Rambling River Park.
Council Minutes (Regular)
April 20, 2009
Page 12
Mayor Larson: He attended the 2009 Partners in Education celebration
with the school district at the American Legion. It was a good event and encouraged
everyone to participate next year.
At last Friday's Mayor/Managers meeting, the Mayor of Eagan challenged all Dakota
County Mayors to put teams together for their annual cancer event; ours being Ramble
and Amble. He asked Council to join him and he will recruit City staff to put together a
big team and raise a lot of money for the American Cancer Society and see if we can beat
the other cities in Dakota County.
He participated in the CEEF Easter Carnival last weekend. The turnout was incredible.
Everyone had a good time and he was very impressed on how it was run. He thanked
Maribeth Vanderbeck and Dolly Newberg for their hard work.
The Dakota County Technical College is having a free job seekers training Tuesdays -
Thursdays at the college from 2 - 4 p.m.
Curbside clean-up days started last weekend. In the next few weekends, watch out for
slow moving vehicles.
14. ADJOURN
MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to adjourn at 9:05 p.m. APIF, MOTION
CARRIED.
Respectfully submitted,
C~:h?~
/
v
Cynthia Muller
Executive Assistant