HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.06.22 Work Session Minutes City of Farmington
City Council Work Session Minutes
June 6, 2022
1. Call to Order
Mayor Hoyt called the work session to order at 5:00 p.m.
Present: Hoyt, Bernhjelm, Lien, Porter, Wilson
Also Present: Lynn Gorski,City Administrator; Chris Regis, Finance Director;Gary Rutherford,
Police Chief;Jim Constantineau, Deputy Police Chief;Justin Elvestad, Fire Chief;
Kellee Omlid, Parks and Recreation Director; Peter Gilbertson, IT Director;Josh
Solinger, Liquor Operations Manager; Matt Blazer, Bolton &Menk; Cynthia
Muller,Administrative Assistant; Dirk Rotty, Planning Commission Chair; Casey
Wollschlager and Bryan Tucker, Summergate Development; Kara Hildreth,
Reporter
2. Approve Agenda
MOTION by Wilson, second by Porter to approve the agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED.
3. Discussion Items
a. Public Infrastructure Policy Discussion
Summergate is working to acquire the eastern side of the Donnelly parcel for the
proposed Meadowview Preserve Development. As part of this project, the city is
requiring that Summergate build 190th Street W to the creek, this is approximately
1,000 feet of roadway. Summergate is proposing to build 190th Street West up to
the entrance of their development, which is approximately 200 feet of roadway.
190th Street is on the north side of the development and is not constructed. Staff
asked Council to discuss past practice and requirements. Council can change the
requirements, but it sets a precedent and will affect future development.
Matt Blazer gave a history of 195th Street W. The construction costs to extend 195th
Street to Flagstaff were assessed to area property owners.
Regarding 190th Street W, it was not constructed by the Troyhill developer to the
edge of that development. The city will need to pay to complete this portion which
is segment 1. Summergate is willing to pay for half the road segments 2 and 3. The
city is requiring the developer to pay for 190th Street W all the way to the creek.
Current policy is the developer pays for all streets in the development. For example,
the city will pay for the Deerbrooke Path extension when it extends into Jim Bell
Park. Vita Attiva paid for the extension of Pilot Knob Road. This policy also applies
to utilities built all the way to the edge of the property line.
The options for 190th Street W are:
1. Build to the edge of the development
2. Developer pays for half the cost, but in the future the cost of construction will be
higher.
3. Do an assessment where the city will assess the cost to property owners in the
area similar to 190th Street W.
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June 6,2022
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Mr. Wollschlager noted there are three other accesses to the development. 190th
doesn't have to develop now. They will be doing the project in phases. The road is
half Donnelly property and half Devney property. The developer agreed to pay their
fair share of the road, but not all of it. They consider 190th Street to be off site.
The policy is to develop to the edge of the parcel boundaries. Council needed to
decide if we should continue with the policy whether they are collector roads or not,
and build to the edge of the property or should we assess area property owners. If
we stay with the policy, the developer will have to acquire the property from the
land owners. Chair Rotty noted the road through Troyhill should have been built at
the time of development. Mr. Wollschlager noted Vita Attiva need to extend Pilot
Knob for access to their development.
Council was concerned the southern access would not be approved as that is the
high point and across from Meadowview Elementary School access. The developer
stated the county is requiring a right-in/right-out at that access. The developer
anticipates the first phase to be 60 lots and covers the southern 40%of the
development. The next phase depends on how the development goes. It could be
three to four years before they reach 190th Street W. The budget for segments 2
and 3 of 190th Street W is$600,000.
Mayor Hoyt summarized the city builds segment 1. The developer puts segments 2
and 3 in escrow until development reaches 190th Street. If development crashes,
the city has the escrow and would add to it to build the road. Staff noted if we take
assessments to finish the road, what happens with the bridge over the creek?
Mayor Hoyt noted there would have to be a developer contribution for the
extension of the road. Chair Rotty recommended adding language to the
development contract if we go with option three. Matt Blazer cautioned the
assessment to property owners is for the road to be built in today's dollars. Mayor
Hoyt asked if council agreed to not hold funds is off the table. The city should
require half of the road cost in escrow and it comes out in phase three.
Councilmember Wilson clarified so the taxpayers are picking it up. He was not
comfortable with that. Councilmember Bernhjelm was not in favor of an escrow
policy. We need legal to weigh in. Staff will ask the city attorney:
- Determine if 190th Street is a collector road.
- Is access from 190th and 195th required if there are two access roads to the east.
Chair Rotty explained there are four accesses because Troyhill residents would not
want the traffic coming through their neighborhood. It needs a collector and we
need to look at the intersection at 195th Street.
Council agreed to stay with the existing policy.
b. New Software Proposal—Liquor Operations
Staff investigated a cloud-based point of sale system. If the city's server should go
down, liquor operations could be out of business for a few days. Staff
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June 6,2022
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recommended using RITE software and listed the many advantages to this program.
The cost is$18,700. Council asked that liquor operations funds be used to purchase
this software and will approve the purchase which is on the meeting agenda tonight.
c. 2023 Budget and Financial Plan Discussion
Staff presented a very preliminary and first request of items. The next step is to
meet with each department and drill down further. Department heads will be
involved as much as possible. The July 5 regular council meeting will be cancelled
and a budget work session will be held on July 11.
The 2023 budget is the second year that a concentrated effort is made to get a
dedicated funding source for general fund vehicles into the financial plan. The 2022
dollar amount was reduced to $375,000. The 2023 dollar amount at this point is
$550,000.
The transfers project tax levy sees an increase of$295,000 in 2023 over 2022
amounts. Increases are in fire capital assets, street maintenance, trail maintenance
and building maintenance. In addition, money is included to start to collect dollars
for the replacement of engine 1. Local Government Aid (LGA) dollars are included in
this item. The assumption is being made that our LGA dollars are going to be the
same as in 2022.
Existing and future debt includes funding for street projects for the years 2023—
2025. It also includes debt funding for the potential locker rooms at the arena and
for the police building expansion.
The city's solid waste operations ended as of December 31, 2021. The operation
had contributed to the general fund for human resource costs and administration
costs. These contributions will no longer be made beginning in 2023.
The park improvement fund CIP is added as a placeholder to create city council
discussion on a dedicated tax levy item to increase the funding for park
improvement projects. The parks improvement CIP includes a negative fund balance
beginning in 2028.
The draft budget includes:
- Two new positions in 2023 and 2024, and one new position in 2025 and 2026.
- A 2% increase in other revenues is used to account for increased income from
permits, etc.
- The amount used for fiscal disparities is increased by 1% per year.
- Increased human resources costs in terms of wages, cost of living adjustments
and benefit cost increases are assumed in the plan.
Large items affecting the 2023 budget are:
- First year collection for engine 1 replacement- $220,000
- Increase in annual pavement management funding-$25,000
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- Increase for vehicle CIP cash -$175,000
An option for the solid waste money, amounting to $1.9 million, is to put it in the
general fund to buy down the levy. However, staff suggested saving the solid waste
fund as long as we can and use it as needed. The current levy increase is at 14.4%.
Staff will work together as a team to prioritize cuts to reduce this amount.
The leasing of vehicles has reduced the amount by$150,000. Council suggested the
locker room improvements could be a fundraiser through the school district.
Council asked about the engine replacement and since we will bond for it, why
collect 2% each year? Staff explained the ladder certificate is built into the levy.
When it's paid off, the money is allocated to buy the next engine.
Council noted funds were approved for the Akin Road project, but now we are not
doing it. Staff recalled we talked about a mill and overlay and then a road
reconstruction at a cost of$2.2 million. We will roll the $160,000 set aside for the
project into next year to offset the project costs. Council asked what the$1.1
million in the storm water fund is for in 2027. Staff will review that item.
Council asked staff to take the last two years and show how the projects were
funded and what was done. They did not recall seeing a trail plan this year. Trails
for Mystic Meadows are going out for bid and also trails in Regetta Fields. These will
use up the fund.
Council noted the fund balance is going down and we don't want to sacrifice that for
our bond rating. Staff agreed to not let the fund balance get below 40%. Council
asked about the number to maintain the current tax capacity. If we stay as is it will
drop from 52%to 46%. Council was comfortable with a 4-6%tax increase.
4. Adjourn
MOTION by Porter, second by Wilson to adjourn at 6:45 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED.
Respectfully submitted,
Cynthia Muller
Cynthia Muller
Administrative Assistant