Loading...
City Council Minutes 05-27-2008 SpecialMINUTES SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Tuesday May 27, 2008 - 5 p.m. Members Present: Clint Herbst, Wayne Mayer, Tom Perrault, Brian Stumpf and Susie Woj chouski Members Absent: None 1. Call to Order. Mayor Herbst called the meeting to order at 5 p.m. 2. Workshop on goal setting. City Administrator, Jeff O'Neill submitted an outline of current project saying the main goal is to lay the framework to see where staff time is being spent. Tom Kelly, Finance Director informed the Council as to where the City is standing as far as revenue and expenditures thus far in 2008 and how that compares to what was budgeted. He stated that not all of the pay equity impact would be felt until the end of May. Property tax is the main revenue source for the City and a major concern is the number of foreclosures and how that will impact property tax revenue. Tom Kelly also talked about the impact recent legislation will have on the City. The legislature is imposing levy limits on cities. The limits allow for up to a 3.9% increase in the levy amount due to inflation. Debt levies are outside the levy limit. For 2008 the City had levied $7,600,000. Allowing for the 3.9% inflation factor the 20091evy could be increased by approximately $300,000. In 2008 the City did not levy for debt service but used reserves to fund the debt service costs. This was approximately $1,000,000 of reserves that was used for debt service. Tom Kelly noted the legislature did provide for some type of utility transition aid which would be about $300,000. This utility transition aid is included in the levy limit calculations but is subtracted from the City's levy amount. The transition aid in 2010 would go up to $700,000. The question the City needs to determine when considering any new project is how the project is going to be funded. Jeff O'Neill reviewed the list of projects noting that the YMCA is still in the background as a project. The City and County are continuing to identify their options as far as purchasing the YMCA property over a period of time. A key focus is the budgeting process for 2009. Tom Kelly reviewed the calendar for budget activity. The basis of the budget is to link how the City spends its money to the goals for the community. The budget will deal with capital outlay improvements as well as city operations. Jeff O'Neill pointed out that the sign ordinance has taken precedence over updating of the zoning ordinance. Part of the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan called for completion and incorporation of the Transportation Plan as a chapter in the Comprehensive Plan. A workshop on the Transportation Plan is scheduled for June 9, 2008. There was a discussion on the impact of improvements on the TH 25 corridor and how property owners will be affected. As part of the Transportation Plan the City will look at a second freeway interchange as well as the alignment of School Boulevard in the YMCA area. Some staffing issues were brought up. Much of the economic development activity is on hold until the City fills the vacant Economic Development Director position. The City is also advertising for a Human Resources person. One of the first duties for that position will be the completion of the revisions to the personnel manual. Jeff O'Neill indicated the City will need to start searching for a new liquor store manager and a new Public Works Director will need to be on board in early October. Staff is also considering the hiring of a minute taker which could be an individual hired by the City or a contract position. Fiber optics was touched on lightly. There are many things happening with the project and staff felt this project was the top priority for this year. The Council was asked for feedback on what items on the list were most important for them to see accomplished. Wayne Mayer felt the right-of--way ordinance and the TH 25 corridor were top items but Wayne Mayer felt the immediate priority should be the response to the storm damage from over the weekend. Staff informed the Council of the press release that went out and the scheduled meeting with builders to go over permitting process and other building related procedures. Brian Stumpf felt with the storm damage response, the blight enforcement would have to take a back burner at least initially. Clint Herbst asked that staff provide the Council with information on any hail damage to City property or vehicles. Susie Wojchouski asked about the impact the storm damage will have on the building department. Gary Anderson responded that at this time not very many permits have been applied for. Most homeowners are waiting for the okay from the insurance company before looking to have the work done. He noted they are meeting with the builders on Wednesday morning to go over the permit process and the building staff is taking steps to expedite the process for the builders to minimize as much as possible any delays in getting permits. Gary Anderson expressed the concern about the pressure contractors exert on the homeowners. Homeowners need to be careful in selecting a contractor and not succumb to a contractor pressuring them to let his firm handle the damage. Clint Herbst asked about damage to foreclosed properties and if these properties are insured. Gary Anderson stated even foreclosed property is insured it is just more difficult to track down who is carrying the insurance. Additional discussion followed concerning the City's effort to ensure quality of work and timeliness of getting the storm damage repaired. Wayne Mayer suggested that each department list what their high ranking projects are. Brian Stumpf asked about the Natural Resources Inventory. Since a consultant firm will be doing most of the work on this there is not as much staff time involved. Tom Perrault felt the Sixth Street Sidewalk Project should not be considered until the Ruff property develops. He also felt the YMCA should be lower on the ranking. Brian Stumpf in reference to Ruff property stated he was of the understanding that the developer of the townhome project had pulled out. He felt staff should check on the status of the property as to whether there are delinquent taxes and also about the allegation of materials buried on the property. Clint Herbst agreed that the project ranking should be delegated to each department as they best know what the top priority for their department is. He felt it was too much for the City Administrator to handle as far identifying and ranking various projects. In addition by doing it by departments the City Council can see which departments are overloaded and whether projects can be assigned to other departments. By doing the projects by department the Council can see where the work load is being generated. Susie Wojchouski stated because of the economic times, the City needs to look at cutting back especially since it is predicted the bad economic times will continue for a couple of years. Clint Herbst didn't feel the City could give a set rate that the City could cut back but he did feel it should be noted what services are going to suffer as a result of cutbacks. Brian Stumpf said he would like to hear from those people who think the City is spending too much money because he would like to know what could be cut. There was a question on the number and cost of feasibility reports. Wayne Mayer and Brian Stumpf defended the use of feasibility reports as way of saving money for the City since it specifies the need and the estimated cost for a project. The Council also discussed contracting out certain work that is currently being performed by City staff. Jeff O'Neill stated when they go to department heads for the 2009 budget should staff be shooting fora 5% decrease. Clint Herbst brought up the budget as far as fuel costs. Street Superintendent Tom Moores indicated they had based their 2008 fuel budget on $2.80/gallon for diesel fuel and now the price is $4.75/gallon. It was suggested staff look at ways to save such as perhaps mowing less often or plowing the streets differently. Tom Moores brought up the equipment for Public Works noting the equipment is a very expensive item. He explained that for the last couple of years they have cut back the budget for equipment but they cannot continue to do that because they need to have a reserve built up for when equipment needs to be replaced. The Council discussed improvements for TH 25 from the freeway to across the river and MnDOT's involvement in the improvements. The TH 25 segment from Monticello to Big Lake should be considered in the overall transportation plan. Bruce Westby stated that MnDOT needs to be brought in at some point but first the communities have to decide what they are standing for and what they really need as far as improvements. He added that MnDOT is already involved in that the City is using their traffic model and MnDOT has attended several meetings regarding the TH 25 corridor. Bruce Westby said it is hoped to have a plan ready that they can take to the federal level this fall. Susie Wojchouski felt the more communities that were involved in this project the greater chance the project would have to get funding. Brian Stumpf said regardless of involvement of other communities the City needs to look at what Monticello needs. Clint Herbst asked if the bond on fiber optics had been awarded. Tom Kelly indicated that at this point that has not happened. Jeff O'Neill said plans and specifications for the improvements are proceeding. Brian Stumpf felt that staff time was getting too wrapped up in fiber optics resulting in staff time is being taken away from their regular duties. While he understands the need to move forward he doesn't want to see other things let go. The workshop closed at 6:35 p.m. Recording Secretary