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City Council Minutes 05-26-2009 SpecialSpecial Council Meeting Minutes: May 26, 2009 MINUTES SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Tuesday May 26, 2009 - 5 p.m. Members Present: Clint Herbst, Tom Perrault, Glen Posusta, Brian Stumpf and Susie Wojchouski Members Absent: None 1. Call to Order. The special meeting was called to order at 5 p.m. At that time the Council entered into a closed session to discuss the legal action relating to the fiber optic project. The closed session ended at 5:30 p.m. 2. Workshop on goal setting and impact of state budget cuts. City Administrator, Jeff O'Neill presented a list of projects and goals for the Council to consider in 2009 as well as a listing of the projects and goals established in 2008. The goal setting process will take place during the course of at least two workshops. This workshop is primarily to review the existing projects and goals providing a brief description of each project/goal. The Council and staff will then review and rank the projects and at the second workshop the projects and their ranking will be evaluated. Jeff O'Neill commented on various on-going projects such as traffic concerns relating to TH 25 and the fiber optics project. The slow down of the economy has impacted the City in many ways including the number and scope of projects the City can afford to undertake. In addition potential state revenue cuts to the City will further affect the City's ability to continue to provide service to its residents at the current level. Finance Director, Tom Kelly spoke in more detail on the possible state cuts and how it will affect the City. Governor Pawlenty and the legislature were unable to come up with a tax bill that both could agree to. At this point the governor is taking on the responsibility to make cuts to the state budget by the unallotment process. With the budget cuts already in place the Market Value Homestead credit for 2009 and 2010 has been decreased by $263,000. The City has made budget adjustments to account for the loss of this aid. However, Governor Pawlenty is still talking about additional cuts to local government aid including Taconite Aid. Tom Kelly felt it is possible that the governor could cut Local Utility Transition Aid as well. The Local Utility Transition Aid for Monticello is estimated at $360,000 in 2009 and $720,000 in 2010. The governor has also raised the possibility of delaying payment of state aid to the cities. It is hoped that within the next couples of weeks Monticello will know the scope of the proposed cuts. Jeff O'Neill said the City should have a good property tax increase coming in 2011 when the improvements to the Xcel facilities are added to the valuation. Tom Kelly stated that Xcel Energy has talked about the improvements but is uncertain how much of an impact they will have on the taxes especially since some of the improvements may be for pollution control and would be exempt. Tom Kelly said the timing of improvements and type of Special Council Meeting Minutes: May 26, 2009 improvements would have to be known before the City could determine the impact on valuation. Besides the potential cuts in state aids, Tom Kelly expressed his concern about building permit revenues. $529,000 was estimated for revenue in 2009 and through May only $86,000 in revenue has been generated from building permits. Jeff O'Neill stated many other communities have had to make significant changes as far as cutting staff and services. Tom Kelly noted that unlike most cities Monticello does not receive state aid. The worst case scenario would be if the state would cut all of Monticello's Local Utility Transition Aid. Tom Kelly also pointed out that the governor is firm on not giving in on the levy limits. The current levy limit is 3.9%. The levy limit for next year will be calculated based on what the City could have levied last year. He thought this would give Monticello approximately $60,000 more than last year. Brian Stumpf asked if unallotment cuts are made would the City be using their reserves to make up for it. Tom Kelly indicated the City would not want to deplete their reserves but did caution that if the City tries to balance their budget by deferring purchases and delaying projects it may cost more in the long run. For example if a street seal coating project is delayed for a longer period of time, the City may end up having to overlay or reconstruct the street which is a more costly project. The City has to weigh carefully what improvements or purchases can be delayed without having an adverse impact. Jeff O'Neill then listed future workshops that will be scheduled. In addition to the goal setting process, these workshops would include the audit, fiber optics, street lighting, transportation issues, facilities planning and the 2010 budget. Jeff O'Neill then read through the list of projects and goals and briefly described each. In discussion of the transportation plan, Brian Stumpf expressed his frustration with all the effort that was put into a transportation plan that will be obsolete in 5-7 years and with the fact that MnDOT will be doing nothing for 20-25 years on the transportation issues such as TH 25 and a second river crossing which have a significant impact on the city. Clint Herbst felt if the City identified sites for a second river crossing early enough, the City could keep that area open by picking up property when it becomes available. He felt it was necessary to do the planning for this type of improvement even though it may be some years away. The Council also talked about the facility plan for the wastewater treatment plant and the feasibility of a regional venture for treating the City's wastewater. The snow removal policy was also discussed and particularly snow removal from pathways. Street Superintendent Tom Moores indicated the core pathway routes for snow removal need to be identified and the public informed about what pathways will be cleared for use. Tom Moores also brought up a street issue that came about as a result of the City's annexation agreement. When the City annexes property from the township the abutting township road becomes the City's responsibility. He noted that some of these roads are deteriorating and will need work. Brian Stumpf suggested getting a list of those streets together so the Council can see the roads involved and determine a course of action. 2 Special Council Meeting Minutes: May 26, 2009 3. Adiourn. TOM PERRAULT MOVED TO ADJOURN AT 6:50 P.M. BRIAN STUMPF SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY Recording Secretary 3