City Council Minutes 11-16-2000 SpecialMINUTES
WOI2KSHnP MEETING - MnNTICELLO CITY COLINCIL
'Thursday, November I6, 2000 - 1:30 p.>tn.
Members Present: Roger I3clsaas, Roger Carlson, Clint Herbst, Brian St(nttpl`and Br(-ce
} 111L'Ik:I1.
Members Absent: None
Sta1`f Present: City Administrator, Rick Wolfsteller; Deputy City Administrator, .leff
O'Neill; Public Wol"ks Dil"ector, .Iohn Simola; C"ity Ltlginecr. I;rct Weiss,
Comrnurlity Center Director, Kitty Hallos
Mayor Belsaas called the workshop 111ecting to order at 5:4.5 p.rn. and declared a quorum present.
The purpose of the meeting was to review anci finalize the 2001 budget and tax levy and to discuss and
IOl"I11LIlate an a55e5Snlellt p()Ilcy I()r 5tI'eel I'ec()115lrllctlOn.
City Administrator, Rick Wollsteller sulllmari~ed the changes made in the buclgct since the last hudgct
workshop. "The prilllary revision was to include $29,200 which would allow for adding Lour Vlore
lours of police coverage starting in ,luly. The other area ofchangc was to reallocate the expenses and
revenues fro111 the Monticello Co111111unity Center operating budget to the city hall, senior citi~erl centel"
and National Guard portions of the buildin4~. The reallocation did not change any tax levy
I-cquil'cnlents. 1-)e notes} that the proposed levy of $5,067,142 would he an increase oI~ $ X28,000 or 6.9°/u
over what was collected in 20(.)0. Rick Wolfsteller indicated that based on information he had 1"eceived
from the Wright County Assessor's oftice, there is an increase in tax capacity value li-o111 $11,085,761
to $11,641,4 i 1.
The Council looked at the following areas as possible changes to the budget:
Law Enforcement - "I'hc preliminary budget was increased by $29,200 to allow for an additional tour
hours of police coverage to be added Mid-year. 'l'he Council Illdlcaled thilt the additional $29,200
WOllld l"C111a1n 111 tho' bLldgct.
C~on~munity Education -The preliminary budget did not include funding the $17,500 contribution to
the COI11111L1Illty edLlGatloll 1)I'Ogl'aI11. I)uallc (iatCS frOr11 M011tICeIIO COllllll(llllly EdllCat1011 Was pl'esellt
and explained to the Council that funding for their su-11mer programs comes solely from the City and
the school district and fees collected from the programs. The Council Felt that the programs offered by
community education wel"e available to residents in the entire school district which is comprised of
all or parts of the cities of Monticello and C)tsego and Monticello, Maple Lake and Silver Creek
"I"ownships and that all the entities should participate in the funding of the programs. When the City
initially contributed to the lluldirlg, the City did not have other programs and facilities for youth that
they wer"e supporting. "C"hc City now funds the parks and trails system and the community center. ~l'hc
Council indicated that they were in support of the program but Ielt that. it should be supported by all the
Council Minutes - 1 1/16/00
clltities who utilised it. The Council ena)tu'aged Mr. Gates to go before the otllcr entities and request
tiulding. The consensus o1'thc Council was that the City world colnnlit to fielding at least _50% ol~the
requested $] 7,500. The Council also stated that if a formula was arrived at by all the entities involved
that WOIIId s}711t the IUndlllg based on market. value, population or some other proportionate basis, the
City would Lund then- portion.
YM(ryA Detached Worker Program - "I'hc $7,500 contribution request was not funded in the
prclinlinary budget. Karen "I,rondsen and 131-ian Burns representing the YMC/1 were present anti
requested the ("ouncll l0 COllsldel• C011t111LlCCl full Chllg of tllc CICtaClled woI-ker proglam. They explained
the program and the people it serves. 'l~he ('ouncil noted that this 1-egt.test was similar to that ol'the
cornrnunity cducatioll program in that it was for a program that served residents from a Ilunlber of
conlnlunitics but was receiving tII1a11C1a1 511pp01"t Only tl"Onl tilt City ol`Monticello. The Council
ellcour•aged the YMCA to g0 t0 llle Ol}lel' COI11111L1111t1CS t11at also pal"tlClpate in the program and req(lest
their financial support. The Council determined that the City would budget funds to cover 50% ol`the
budget 1•equest of $7,500.
(central Minnesota Initiative Fund - Rcprescrltativcs from the Central Minnesota Initiative Fulld had
spoken earlier to the (.'ouncil about support tilt the program which provides grants and loans to various
businesses ill Wright (.'ounctty. ~1~11c Central Minnesota Initiative Fund was requesting the city to
. COnslder a COlltl"IhLltl011 Ot $2,000. lLhrr C~OLI11Cll delerlllllled nOt l0 111c1Lldt; tills regLlCSt 111 tI1C 2O0l
budget.
)Rivers of Hope - `l,his agency provides services Ior victims of domestic violence and Was 1-equesting a
C011t1'1bLltloll Ot $~, X78 WI71c11 Was based Oll llle I111I17be1' Of 1nC11VIdLlalS sCl"VCd Ill MOnt1CtII0. ~I Ile
Council decided not. to fund this req(.test.
Bike Park/Ramps -Kitty Balton indicated that in pl-clinlinary discussions with Tru-Ride the cost Ior a
small bike park would be ~:Ippro~imately $_55,00(.) for the ramp only. In addition there would be the
cost of a 4' x 6' concl-ete pad over the entire r~:lmp area and fencing for the ramp area. The lencing
should be compatible with that of the skate park. Kitty I3altos noted that a cheaper but probably less
desirable option would be a dirt track on the vacant lot adjacent to the hiscle property. "I'he price
estimate for the larger bike park was $64,000. The Council discussed the possibility ol'getting grant
funds, appro~:iching local organi~atioll and groups }laving charitable gambling funds allci establishing
other types ot` I`und raisers to come up with some of the cost for constructing a bike pal'k. The Council
felt they should f'(md approximately $40.000 with the idea that the balance could be I•aised by ot}lcl-
sources. If~the City would proceed with this it would be tllc only facility like it in this aI•ea. Based on
the tlsc and revenue generated by the skate park, the 1`eeling was that this type of facility should he
self=supporting.
MC'P C~ontrihution - Rick Woltstcllcr indicated that there is $15,000 ill the budget for funding the
MCI'. l_,ast yeal• in the budget dcliberatiolls the Council indicated that they would be reducing the
annual contl•ibutioll to the MCP. 'i~hc 2000 budget allotted $25,000 for the MCI' alld the 2001 budget
dropped this to $15,000. There was discussion on how long to continue funding for the MC;P and the
. Council Mimltes - 11 / 16/00
future oI` the group. "Che Council decided to leave the $15,000 budgeted and review i'u11dil1g again
next year.
Rlck W0listeller sllggesled that $90,000 In the Caplla] c/Llllay ILII1d fOI' fllIldlIlg the aCgL11s1t10I1 0f
industrial park land could he used as a p~)ssible source oI` lundirlg for some of the items discussed.
There was discussion on the amount of funds that HIZA had arlcl whether any ol` those could be used.
Roger Carlson llldlcatCC1 t11at based 011 prCllnllnal'y lnf0l"111at1011, it may he possible that a proposal
woLlld come up where the 1-IItA would need all their funding sources io support the developn1e11t and
Roger Carlson didn't feel the city should be looking at using the HR11 lilnds.
Kick Wolfstcllcr cautioned the Council on the reserve funds. I Ie stated the perception is that there is
honey in the reserve fund. However, a good portion of the money is committed for specific uses and
the balance of the reserve fund is needed to fLU1d operations tlntil the city receives state aid and tax
settlements in July. Clint Herbst suggested that the EDA money since it is designated for revolving
fond loans is unallocated and should he considered. It Was also pointed out that initially transfers from
the liquor store were made to the EDA and the l~,I)A could be paying some of the transfer back.
"l,he Council tabled fiu"thcr discussion of the budget to consider the assessment policy.
City Engineer, Bret Weiss presented infornlatior7 which outlined the city's current asscss111ent politics
alld SLU11171aC17eCt assess111ent politics used by other cornrnunities. Clint Herbst stated his position that
ally r7CW COI1StrllCtlOll s1lOLlld bC fully asSCSSCd bLlt any replacement of existing bii(ul7inous or curb and
gutter should he fielded through general taxes.
The City Engineer submitted iI1 map form a street inventory which designated the ages of the streets
within the city. There is apploximately 19.90 miles o1'city streets and 15.96 miles of these streets arc
20 years or older. Streets that are ?0 years or older are ill the eI1d Oi tllell' dcslgn IIfC alld WOtlld nCCd tl~
he reconstructed within the near futtu"e. Bret Weiss provided examples of street design and costs. If
the City is going to fund street 117aintenance through the ad valorem taxes an estimate of the cost for
the replacement and maintenance of the streets woLlld h~.lve to be detcl'nlincd. In initial estimates, the
City 1/rlgincer projected that to reconstrLct existing streets with curb and gutter would he
approximately $7,516,800. To reconstruct stl"eets that currently do not 11avc curb and gutte-" would he
$3,177,00. This would be a total of $10,693,850 for reconstruction. In addition overlay and sealcoat
costs for streets would he an additional $1,000,000+. If the city was going to enlhark on a progran]
when; the reconstruction work for just the core streets would be spread out over seven years, based on
the engineer's preliminary estimates, the city would have to generate approximately $1,300,000 each
year in taxes to cover the cost. of the work.. Rick. Wolfsteller presented some information that showed
what the impact would he on a residence with a market. value of $11.5,000 and a business with a market
value of $100,000 if the city would levy for the streets.
In the past the city has normally bonded for street illlprovel11eI1tS and assessed back the cost to the
bcllefitting property owners. If the city would go to a tax levy, they may not be able to bond for these
improvements since bond regulations require that ZO`% of tllc cost to be assessed. If the city cannot
Council Mimltes - 1 1/16/00
. bond for the street in)provel]]ents, tl]el] a reserve would need to be set ul? so that funds would be in
place t0 COVCI" t11L' COI1stCLlCtloll GOSts as tllcy OCCIlI'. I1 t11L Clty WOlll(1 go the route of levying for street
improvemcr]ts through ad valorem taxes, the first year the Icvy anlld appear on the taxes would be tllc
vcar 2002.
In addition to recol]struction of existing city streets, the City Engineer ~u]d Public Works Director also
presented cost estimates for new street projects such as Fallon Avenue, CSAH 18 interchange and 7`''
Street improvements. The Councll also has t0 COnslder 110W t0 llllld the Clly S Share oI the proposed
project. to improve CSAI [ 7S from Washington Street to Otter Cre(;k. 7~he Council discussed at 1e11~th
how much revenue would need to be generated in 2002 to cover the city"s expel]ditLU-es Ior street
improvenlcnts. 'I"hc (.'ouncil discussed whether to begin with a smaller levy amount and build up to
an arnou]]t that would equal the $1, X00,000 needed to ILIIId tl]e a111111a1 4'Stllllatcd StCCCt COnStI"L1CtIDI1
cost or to initially levy the Dull ~uno(u]t needed. The Council also discussed whetl]cr sol]]c ol~tl]e street.
projects could even be delayed until the city would be able to levy for the improvement.
Rick Wolf'steller stated that at the present time there are no levy limits and it is possible that this could
change. if that happens then the qty's ability to Icvy the necessary amounts needed Ior the street
Col]SlI'LI(:t1011 Wol.lld be hal]]perf'Ci. I lle Mayor asked about the bonded il]debiedness of the city and
whether as bond 15SLIes al"e CCtICCCi If tl]el"e Would be funds the city could utilise for the street
construction progral~]. Kick Wolfstcllcr responded that most of the sn]aller bond issues would be
retired within five year or so but the two remaining issues were large o-]es covering the wastewater
trCatlllcllt plant a11ci tl]e col]]n]u]]ity cel]ter and run aroul]d 18 years.
Mayor Bclsaas askccl that .101117 51111o1a provide a list oFthc street projects aI]ci tl]eir estimated cost to be
i]]clude(i in the next ~:~genda packet. The City Administrator was requested to provide information on
the OutSta11C11I1g b011C1L'Cl 111debtCdllCSS. The COLInCII felt that there needs to be an educ~:ltion process Ior
the 1-csidents as f~lr as the city's proposal to Icvy fol- street improvemel]ts rather than assessing them and
the general feeling ol~the Co(Incil was that the iir'st yeal•°s levy al11ow1t should gcnel-ate at least
$000,000.
The Council then addressed the projects that wel-e considered at the Novenlbcr 1 i`~' electing,
specifically the CSAH 75 Improven]ent, Project No. 98-17C. In I'eviewing the project, the (:ouncil
cietermined that there were three properties that were al~lected, ~l~hcse properties which initially were
proposed to receive an assessment should not be charged since it Was not new colstruction but.
replacement.
l~he Council went back to the budget discussiol]. The Council di]-ected that in making final budget
changes, no further use of tllc reserves should he made and that liquor store funds, or other sources
should be considered.
BRIAN STiJMPF MOVED TO ADJOiJRN A~I' 8: ~0. ROU1=:K C'ARI.SON SECONDED THE
MOT[(-)N. M(=)"LION CARI~IEI) t_JNANIMOi1SL~Y.
IZecording Secretary
d