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City Council Minutes 10-12-2009 SpecialMINUTES SPECIAL MEETING — MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday, October 12, 2009 — 5:30 p.m. Present: Clint Herbst, Tom Perrault, Glen Posusta, Brian Stumpf, Susie Wojchouslci Absent: None 1. Call to Order The Special Council Meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. 2. Workshop — Capital Improvement Plan Tom Kelly gave an overview of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) document. He did note that the entry for farm land purchase for Waste Water Treatment Plant sludge needs to have the year changed. Tom Kelly noted that the largest item in the capital budget would be the proposed street reconstruction for 2010. He would propose that the project be bonded to spread the cost out for up to 20 years with the interest rates so low. Brian Stumpf asked if bonds are used to fund this project, would the City also bond for a project three years from now. Tom Kelly said that would most likely be the case dependent on the interest rates and project being proposed. Tom Kelly explained that the remaining items in the CIP are based on input from staff and contains capital items that are needed for city operations. It is the intent to build a trust with Council that purchases recommended by staff are based on the best possible price and quality that match needs. The CIP document can serve as a tool to guide Council and staff on priorities and direction for capital purchases. Clint Herbst noted that the CIP document looks very good and wanted to know how it would be kept up to date. Tom Kelly explained that this would be updated annually so it always contains at least five years of information. Susie Wojchouslci asked about grave restoration. Tom Pawelk explained that many of the stones need to be restored as they are quite old and not in good shape. Clint Herbst asked how staff felt about the CIP final product. Tom Moores explained that this was the first year that staff worked with the priority setting method and did not have all of the information to start with. He noted that some of the ratings may not reflect department head outcomes exactly but it should be a good tool to work with. 3. 2010 Budget update Jeff O'Neill led off with a thank you to Tom Kelly for his work on the budget. He noted a variety of areas looked at in terms of budget reductions and possible service impacts. Council approved a preliminary levy of $7,750,000 and emphasized their desire to lessen the amount of reserves recommended to balance the budget. Tom Kelly noted some of the changes he is proposing, many of them being in areas of equipment purchases, some repair and maintenance Special Council Minutes — October 12, 2009 Page 1 items, and some affecting salaries and benefits. He noted that he had shifted some equipment purchases to the Capital Revolving fund which has a healthy reserve, which is not designated specifically at this time. Some reserves would be used in Shade Tree fund and Monticello Community Center fund as well as a transfer from the Liquor Store to balance out Library and Street Reconstruction funds. Brian Stumpf questioned why the Library program costs were being cut if they were being added from reserves. Tom Kelly explained that program costs are being lowered and the balance of their budget would come from reserves. Susie Wojchouski commented that it is difficult to cut Library program costs when the Library use is growing so much. She noted that the Great River Regional Library does not have any money to provide funding as they have just built anew library building in St Cloud. Several other Council members stated that they feel the City may have to cut back on the programming for now. Glen Posusta asked about the reduction in gas for the MCC. Tom Kelly noted that is for natural gas which they feel will be reduced for next year. Glen Posusta asked why the Parks Department is replacing the trailer that is used to haul the skid loader. Tom Pawelk noted that it does not meet MNDOT requirements, and they could be subject to a fine if stopped while using it. Glen Posusta asked about the remodeling budget for Public Works. Bob Paschke noted that the proposed updates are to meet OSHA standards. Susie Wojchouski asked about process for determining health insurance rates. Tom Kelly explained that City had switched from Blue Cross /Blue Shield to Health Partners a year ago and greatly reduced costs. It was anticipated that costs could increase 10% but it was held to 5% for health insurance which will decrease the budget. Susie Wojchouski recommended that City look into alternative plans such as an Health Savings Account and also check what other cities are doing for employee insurance benefits. Susie Wojchouski also asked Kitty about the corrosion on the natural gas pipes in the acid storage area. Kitty assured her that it is being monitored. Susie Wojchouski asked if the City could save money if we eliminated Christmas tree pickup and leaf pickup. Bob Paschke pointed out that there is only a cost for picking up the leaves and not for the disposal. Tom Moores explained that city employees pick up the Christmas trees and there is no cost for disposal. Glen Posusta asked why trees are not chipped instead of dumped out of town. Tom Moores explained that it is very time consuming to chip all the Christmas trees and they have worked out a good arrangement which costs less than chipping. Consensus seems to be to leave the pickups as they are. Jeff O'Neill summarized discussion and noted that city staff will be looking at mowing policy to try to save costs in that area. He also noted that some TIF districts may be decertified which could increase the taxable value for the City. There is a likelihood that assessed values may increase next year. Although the Transition Aid for the Xcel Plant did not materialize as originally anticipated, it should not go any lower next year and the City could possibly see an increase in valuation for the plant. He also noted a number of other possibilities for next year that could increase revenues. He explained that the City is looking at redevelopment and building fees to see if changes should be made in those areas. Glen Posusta noted that he had spoken with Developer Shawn Weinand who suggested that the City be careful about offering incentives to large developments, such as Fleet Farm. Jeff O'Neill noted that he had talked to Special Council Minutes — October 12, 2009 Page 2 a neighboring city that is not lowering fees in this area as they do not feel this would be a good practice. Jeff O'Neill discussed building activity and balance in building staff. Management is looking at possibly utilizing the Building Tech to assist with some of the Deputy Clerk duties to supplement the needs in this area such as filing and records retention. Jeff O'Neill also commented on the Bertram Chain of Lakes project and future funding that will be needed. Council will need to take a hard look at that project. Clint Herbst commented that he does not think that the levy necessarily needs to be lowered further, but he does not necessarily agree with all of the recommendations in the budget update. He feels that Council needs to take a close look at the document in deciding what the final recommendation will be for the budget. Susie Wojchouski asked why the City has such a high levy compared to other cities. Clint Herbst and Jeff O'Neill explained the impact of Xcel Energy on a historical basis over the years with Xcel carrying the majority of the tax burden. When the State changed the valuation formula, this created a negative effect on cities with power plants creating a higher tax impact on other property classes. Tom Perrault asked about the amounts of salaries compared to benefits in the City Hall budget. Tom Kelly explained that both full -time and part -time salaries are eligible for PERA and this is calculated in those budget.lines. 4. Adjournment BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO ADJOURN THE SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING AT 6:35 P.M. TOM PERRAULT SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 5 -0. Recorder: Catherine M Shuman Approved: October 26, 2009 , Q Attest: Special Council Minutes — October 12, 2009 Page 3