Loading...
City Council Minutes 07-28-2008Council Minutes: 7/28/08 MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday July 28, 2008 - 7 p.m. Members Present: Clint Herbst, Wayne Mayer, Tom Perrault, Brian Stumpf and Susie Wojchouski. Members Absent: None 1. Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance Mayor Herbst called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. and declared a quorum present. The Pledge of Allegiance was said. 2A. Approve minutes of July 14, 2008 Regular Meeting. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 14, 2008 REGULAR MEETING. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED WITH WAYNE MAYER ABSTAINING. 2B. Approve minutes of July 14, 2008 Special Meeting -Human Resources Director BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 14, 2008 SPECIAL MEETING RELATING TO THE INTERVIEWS FOR HUMAN RESOURCE DIRECTOR. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED WITH WAYNE MAYER ABSTAINING. 2C. Approve minutes of July 15, 2008 Special Meeting -Economic Development Director SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JULY 15, 2008 SPECIAL MEETING RELATING TO INTERVIEWS FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR POSITION. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED WITH WAYNE MAYER AND BRIAN STUMPF ABSTAINING. 3. Consideration of adding items to the agenda. The following items were added to the agenda: 1) Discussion of animal control at the Police Commission meeting; 2) Complaint on motorcycle noise; 3) Storm damage repair on twin homes; 4) Update on Police Commission recommendation on False Alarm Ordinance; 5) Discussion of items on "Green Sheet". 4. Citizen comments, petitions. requests and concerns. No one spoke under citizens comments. 5. Consent Agenda: A. Consideration of ratifying hires and departures MCC and Streets. Recommendation: Ratify the hires/departures as identified. Council Minutes: 7/28/08 B. Consideration of approving one-day charitable gambling license for St. Michael-Albertville and Monticello Rotary Club. Recommendation: Adopt a resolution approving the issuance of a one-day charitable gambling license for a raffle for the St. Michael-Albertville Rotary Club on September 15, 2008 at the Monticello Country Club. Resolution #2008-60. C. Consideration of final acceptance and final payment for the Meadow Oaks and CSAH 39 Lift Stations and Forcemain Improvement Project, City Project No. 2003-02C. Recommendation: Accept the improvements and authorize final payment in the amount of $27,564.67 to Barbarossa & Sons, Inc. for the Meadow Oaks and CSAH 39 Lift Stations and Forcemain Improvement, Project No. 2003-02C. Resolution #2008-61. D. Consideration of final acceptance and final payment for the Realignment of Territorial Road, City Project No. 2005-21C. Recommendation: Accept the improvements and authorize final payment in the amount of $6,087.00 to Schluender Construction, Inc. for the Realignment of Territorial Road, City Project No. 2005-21 C contingent upon receipt of the final paper work. Resolution #2008-62 E. Consideration of approving revised capital asset policy. Recommendation: Approve the Capital Asset Policy as presented. F. Consideration of accepting contribution for National Night Out. Recommendation: Approve the contribution and authorize use of funds as specified. Resolution #2008-58. G. Consideration of approving a Non-DOT Drug and Alcohol Policy for City of Monticello employees. Recommendation: Approve the City's Drug Free Workplace, Drug and Alcohol Policy as submitted. H. Consideration of appointment to fill Economic Development Director position. Recommendation: Direct the City Administrator to offer the position of Economic Development Director to Megan Barnett. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI MOVED THE APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA WITH ITEMS #SD, #SE, #SG AND #SH REMOVED FOR DISCUSSION. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5-0 6. Consideration of items removed from the consent agenda for discussion. #SD Acceptance of Improvements for Realignment of Territorial Road, Project No. 2005-21 C. Clint Herbst asked who was responsible for installing the barricades on Territorial Road. Shibani Bison from WSB & Associates, Inc. stated that the agreement with the railroad required the City to put up "Road Closed" signs and install the barricades. The railroad company will remove the approaches to the tracks. The agreement states that the signs will stay but the barricades will be removed. CLINT HERBST MOVED TO ACCEPT THE IMPROVEMENTS AND AUTHORIZE FINAL PAYMENT OF $26,087.00 TO SCHLUENDER CONSTRUCTION, INC. FOR THE REALIGNMENT OF TERRITORIAL ROAD, CITY PROJECT NO. 2005-21 C CONTINGENT UPON RECEIPT OF THE FINAL PAPER WORK. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE 2 Council Minutes: 7/28/08 MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. #SE Capital Asset Policy. Brian Stumpf said while he thought the capital asset policy was an important policy he questioned how the useful life of an asset would be used. His concern was that if the useful life of an asset was shown as ten years, that department heads would assume that would be the time the asset would be replaced. He felt that assets maybe kept and utilized beyond the "useful life" identified in the policy. Tom Kelly, Finance Director, replied that the useful life was meant to be more for how an asset would be depreciated and not the length of time the asset would be retained. Tom Kelly said staff would try to provide an explanation in the policy that the useful life was for accounting purposes and not replacement purposes. Tom Perrault asked how they came up with $5,000 as the amount for a capital asset. Tom Kelly responded that was the amount used in the previous capital asset policy but that the Council could change the amount if it so desired. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO APPROVE THE CAPITAL ASSET POLICY. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5-0 #SG Non DOT Drug and Alcohol Policy: Wayne Mayer asked why the policy dealt with seasonal and temporary employees since those employees could be more easily dismissed if there was drug or alcohol abuse. He wondered why the City would put themselves through the expense of the pre- employment testing for seasonal and temporary employees. Kitty Baltos, MCC Director, responded that the push for this provision came from Public Works. Their view was that the seasonal and temporary employees are operating equipment such as mowers so drug or alcohol abuse by these employees could have a serious impact. Kitty Baltos felt having this policy in place would provide the City a means to nip potential drug and alcohol abuse. Clint Herbst felt the policy should be simplified by stating that the seasonal and temporary employees are subject to drug testing. City Attorney, Joel Jamnik said he had identified that this provision as being costly and perhaps unnecessary but it was included in the policy at the recommendation of the Public Works Department. Clint Herbst felt the policy should be set up so the City could test an employee based on suspicion. Wayne Mayer had a number of comments as follows: Page 1, II Scope -Wayne Mayer noted this states the policy applies to all finalists for seasonal or temporary employment in Public Works excluding clerical. He suggested taking out the terms seasonal and temporary. Kitty Baltos noted that all other Public Works employees are covered under the CDL testing policy. 2. Page 4, B 1:Pre-employment testing -Wayne Mayer suggested that "may require" be replaced with "requires" 3. Page 4, C2: Refusal to participate -Again Wayne Mayer suggested that "may result in withdrawal of a job offer" be replaced with "will result in withdrawal of a job offer. 4. Page 5, E1: Wayne Mayer felt the language relating to transferring an employee with a positive test should be taken out and replaced with language stating an employee would be temporarily suspended. He also questioned language used in section E1 because it would result in two tests for seasonal and temporary employees. Joel Jamnik responded that language should be retained as it complies with state statutes. 5. Page 6, F3: Wayne Mayer questioned why the test results would be kept separate from the employee's personnel file. Joel Jamnik replied that it was a statutory requirement. 3 Council Minutes: 7/28/08 6. Appendix A, Acknowledgment: Wayne Mayer felt that it should not be voluntary but mandatory. Joel Jamnik said if the City wants to do testing they have to have a policy. Wayne Mayer questioned why the policy applies to seasonal and temporary employees. Clint Herbst asked if the City could just have a policy that would state the City would test based on reasonable suspicion. Susie Wojchouski felt the testing was a worthwhile cost since these people are operating equipment and vehicles. Wayne Mayer and Clint Herbst felt the policy was appropriate for full-time personnel but questioned applying it to seasonal and temporary personnel. Kitty Baltos said that aspect of the policy was driven by Public Works. Clint Herbst questioned why seasonal employees would be operating heavy equipment instead of the full-time employees. Tom Perrault cautioned that the results of an accident could be costly to the City and that having a policy in place may offer the City some protection. Wayne Mayer did not feel the policy should be adopted as presented and felt it should go back to the Personnel Committee with the references to seasonal and temporary employees removed. WAYNE MAYER MOVED THAT STAFF MAKE CHANGES TO THE DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY AND SUBMIT IT TO THE PERSONNEL COMMITTEE. BRIAN STUMPF SECONDED THE MOTION WITH THE PROVISION THAT THE REVISED POLICY BE REVIEWED BY THE CITY ATTORNEY. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5-0 #SHAppointment to Economic Development Director: Wayne Mayer pulled this because he was out of state when the interviews were conducted. He questioned the statement in the agenda item that the Personnel Committee felt this applicant should move to the front line. Wayne Mayer felt maybe the City should step back and look at it. Wayne Mayer asked how many applicants there were and how many were interviewed. Staff indicated there were sixteen applications and six applicants were interviewed. The two candidates interviewed by the Council were based on staff's recommendation. Wayne Mayer expressed his concern about the actual amount of economic development experience the recommended candidate had. The Council discussed the applicants experience noting in her previous work experience she did not deal with TIF accounting or finance plans. Jeff O'Neill felt that even though the candidate did not have a lot of experience she did have enthusiasm and he felt she had potential that could develop into a proven track record. Jeff O'Neill said the consensus of the interview team was that this was a good candidate even though the other candidate had more experience. Wayne Mayer stated the City has a six month probationary policy and in this case he questioned whether six months would be enough time. Wayne Mayer asked if the City could extend the probationary period. Joel Jamnik stated that as part of an employment offer the City could extend the probationary period for this position. Wayne Mayer felt at least a one year probationary period should be required for this position He also questioned why there was nothing in the agenda item about possibly re-advertising for the position. Wayne Mayer felt that she has good references and might be well qualified to be an Assistant Economic Director but he was not sure she was qualified for the Economic Development Director position. Clint Herbst felt the potential was there but he was not adverse to setting a one year probationary period. Clint Herbst felt the two candidates interviewed had very different styles. He did not feel the City could delay too long in filling this position. 4 Council Minutes: 7/28/08 SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI MOVED TO OFFER THE POSITION OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR TO MEGAN BARNETT. Brain Stumpf asked if any consideration had been given to making this a contract position. Clint Herbst felt this position would have access to sensitive information and that is something that would be best handled by a staff person rather than a contract position. Tom Perrault wanted to have someone in the position who had more experience. He asked that the one year probationary period be included in the motion. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI AMENDED HER MOTION TO INCLUDE A ONE YEAR PROBATIONARY PERIOD FOR THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR POSITION. Brian Stumpf expressed some concern about if after one year if the employee is not developing as anticipated that they City could just let the individual go at that point. He stated that it seemed difficult to dismiss employees once they've been hired. Joel Jamnik said the City could dismiss the employee at that time. Tom Perrault asked when the position was advertised whether it included language about handling some administrative responsibilities which was something he felt was important. Jeff O'Neill thought inclusion of administrative responsibilities could change the pay scale. CLINT HERBST SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED WITH WAYNE MAYER AND TOM PERRAULT VOTING IN OPPOSITION. 3-2. 7. Public Hearing on Delinquent Utility Bills and certification to County Auditor. Mayor Herbst opened the public hearing on the delinquent utility amounts. There was no one present who spoke for or against the proposed assessment. Mayor Herbst then closed the public hearing. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO ADOPT THE ASSESSMENT ROLL FOR THE DELINQUENT CHARGES AS PRESENTED. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5-0. Resolution #2008-59 8. Consideration of accenting bids and awarding contract for fiber optic loop system City Engineer, Bruce Westby provided background information on the bids for the fiber optic loop. The fiber loop covers construction of 11.9 miles of fiber optics. Bruce Westby reviewed a drawing showing the fiber optics loop and the buffer area. The loop was designed to pick up the commercial and industrial areas which will help the City achieve economic goals. It will also serve municipal facilities such as City Hall, Public Works, DMV and MCC. Bruce Westby noted this project would provide only high speed data and not TV or telephone. The low bidder on the project was MP Nexlevel LLC from Maple Lake with a bid of $1,071,967.00 which was $80,000 less than the engineer's estimate. Spectrum Engineering, the City's engineer on this project, reviewed the bids received. The contractor is proposing construction would start on August 4, 2008 and would be completed by approximately the end of November although the construction schedule might be impacted the construction schedule for the head end building. The loop project proposed would not utilize revenue bonds but would be financed by the City reserve funds. The City's reserve funds would be paid back over time from the revenue from the operation of the system. The length of time for the pay back of reserves is not known. The project will also 5 Council Minutes: 7/28/08 require a construction inspector which is estimated to cost $52,800. A technician and sales representative will also be required. The cost for the employees is not included in the project cost. Clint Herbst asked Wayne Mayer at what point the voice and TV service can be added. Tom Kelly said the electronics for the voice and TV are not being put into the head end building. At a previous meeting the Council had directed staff to work with TDS and Clint Herbst asked for an update on that directive. Jeff O'Neill said they are waiting for a response back from TDS. Wayne Mayer had a question on the second low bid. Bruce Westby indicated the bidder had made an error in their math calculation. Susie Wojchouski asked if the project cost included running the fiber to the business site or just having it placed in the right of way. Bruce Westby said the project included drops to 200 of the 400 businesses. Brian Stumpf asked whether the City had sufficient reserves to fund the construction project. Tom Kelly said for this project there are sufficient reserves. Susie Wojchouski asked if the court rules that investments the City had made in the plans cannot come from the revenue bonds would the City still have enough reserves. Tom Kelly stated the subscribers would pay for operation of the system as well as building a reserve. Wayne Mayer stated the unfortunate thing is that the City told residents that monies would not come from city funds but now they must use city funds until the court makes a decision on the case. Wayne Mayer said it was the intention to do this project without dipping into the reserves. The reserves will be paid back with interest from the revenue bonds depending on the results of litigation. Susie Wojchouski said she would prefer the City did not proceed until the result of the pending litigation was known. Tom Perrault agreed that he was nervous about proceeding because of the pending litigation. WAYNE MAYER MOVED TO ACCEPT THE BIDS ON THE FIBER LOOP AND AWARD THE CONTRACT TO MP NEXLEVEL OF MAPLE LAKE, MN 1N THE AMOUNT OF $1,071,967.00. BRIAN STUMPF SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED WITH SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI VOTING OPPOSITION. 9. Consideration of accepting feasibility report and call for public hearing for street improvements to Kevin Longley Drive and Jerry Liefert Drive, City Proiect No. 2008-1OC. Bruce Westby provided background information on the scope of the project and the work proposed. The project covers the mill and overlay of Jerry Liefert Drive and Kevin Longley Drive. Although the Council had instructed staff to look at Hawthorne Place North that area was not proposed to be assessed since it was more of a groundwater and drainage issue and not something they would recommend assessing residents along the street to correct. However it is hoped that the improvements to Hawthorne Place will come back to the Council on August l la' and would be included as part of this project for bidding purposes. The estimated cost of the improvements is $270,675. 50% of the cost is proposed to be assessed and $125,000 for the project was budgeted in the Street Department budget. Any additional funds needed would come from the Street Reconstruction fund. This cost would be spread over approximately 86 lots. On the south side of Jerry Liefert Drive there is a number of townhomes and the Council needs to determine how those would be handled If each townhome unit is treated as a separate unit the cost per unit would be $1,573.69. On Kevin Longley Drive the cost per unit would be $1,255.62. Clint Herbst felt per residential unit would be the fairest way to assess the project. Tom Perrault stated that when you enter Jerry Liefert Drive in the area of the railroad tracks, there is 6 Council Minutes: 7/28/08 no curb and gutter and asked if any was going to be installed as part of this project. Bruce Westby replied that had been discussed but the City does not put curb and gutter within the county right of way. At the end of the right of way is the City's pathway so it did not seem feasible to put curb and gutter in north of the railroad tracks. Bruce Westby indicated that curb and gutter for this section if it was decided to install it would be around $2,500-$3,000 Susie Wojchouski asked if this was the first time the townhomes were assessed as individual units and staff indicated it was. She also asked about the condition of the pathway in that area and staff indicated it was in good shape. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO ACCEPT THE FEASIBILITY REPORT FOR KEVIN LONGLEY DRNE AND JERRY LIEFERT DRIVE AND CALL FOR A PUBLIC HEARING ON AUGUST 11, 2008 FOR CITY PROJECT N0.2008-1OC. SUSIE WOJCHOUSKI SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 10. Consideration of approving the purchase of a DMV staff vehicle. Finance Director Tom Kelly provided information on the need for the vehicle for daily runs that DMV provides as part of their courier service. These runs are currently conducted by employees using their own vehicle. Ann Johnson, Deputy Registrar Manager, presented information on the vehicle they were looking at and further explained the need for this vehicle in order to provide the services the DMV offers. Brian Stumpf felt since the Council directed the DMV staff to provide this service the City should provide them with a vehicle. He didn't feel with the schedule of runs the DMV had that there would be much opportunity for other departments to utilize the vehicle except on a limited basis. Since there wasn't any storage space for the vehicle Clint Herbst asked where it would be parked. Ann Johnson indicated it would be parked in the lot by the DMV building. Wayne Mayer argued that acquiring a vehicle compared to reimbursement of the employees for use of their personal vehicles was more costly. Based on the miles driven over the past eighteen months the monthly cost to the City was a little over $57/month. The vehicle cost is $12,000 and the City would also have to pay for gas, maintenance and insurance. He felt within 7-10 years the City would be asked to replace the vehicle. He did not feel this was fiscally prudent for the City. Brian Stumpf said he looks at the City purchasing the vehicle as the cost of the City doing business and Clint Herbst concurred. Wayne Mayer said he would rather be paying the $57+/month for reimbursing employees for the use of their vehicle. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF THE2008 FORD FOCUS FROM DENNY HECKER'S MONTICELLO FORD-DODGE AT A COST OF $12,517.00 PLUS SALES TAX AND LICENSE. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION BASED ON THE FACT THAT THE COURIER SERVICE WAS A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE AND THAT IT IS A VITAL PART OF THE DMV OPERATIONS. MOTION CARRIED WITH WAYNE MAYER VOTING IN OPPOSITION Added Items: Animal Control: Cathy Shuman gave a report on the discussion of animal control issues that took place at the July 23, 2008 Police Commission meeting. The Sheriff s Department will take calls on barking dogs during those times when the Animal Control Officer is not on duty or during those the times she is required to be at the pound. Cathy Shuman also felt there needs to be more done in public education as far as 7 Council Minutes: 7/28/08 procedures for handling dog complaints. Noise Complaint: The Mayor and Council had received a written complaint about violation of the noise ordinance by motorcycles. Clint Herbst felt this complaint should be forwarded to the Sheriff's Department with a request to crack down on this activity. It may also be something that should be discussed at a Police Commission meeting. Storm Damage to Twin homes: The Mayor had received a question about what the City could do with some twin homes that had received storm damage and the repairs that were done were not uniform on both units. This resulted in twin homes having different color siding or roofing on one unit than what was on the other unit. This was in the Rivermill development where the units are individually owned. The Council directed staff to look into this. It was suggested that efforts should be made to get the homeowners association to expend effort to get the homeowners to make the improvements and ensure the uniformity of the design of the development. False Alarm Ordinance: Brian Stumpf noted that this was discussed at the last Police Commission meeting. The Police Commission did not recommend charging for false alarms. They felt it was sufficient to update the fire alarm policy and not to charge back any false alarms for police response. Green Sheet: This is a brief informational document provided to the Council to keep them abreast of things that are taking place but do not require Council action. Susie Wojchouski brought up "Momentum Monticello" a proposal currently in the discussion stage. The proposal would focus on the effort to get bankers, realtors and others involved in getting people to look at the housing both new and foreclosed available in Monticello. It is envisioned as a "Parade of Homes" in the Monticello community only on a smaller scale. It is hoped that this event could be conducted some time in August. WWTPAward: Clint Herbst reported that the City of Monticello had received a reward from the Pollution Control Agency for the operations of the wastewater facility. 11. Consideration of approving payment of bills for July, 2008. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO APPROVE PAYMENT OF THE BILLS. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5-0. 12. Adiourn TOM PERRAULT MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:50 P.M. BRIAN STUMPF SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5-0 ~s sue., Recording Secretary 8