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City Council Minutes 12-13-1993MINUTES REGULAR. MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Monday, December 13, 1993 - 7 p.m. Members Present: Ken Maus, Shirley Anderson, Brad Fyle, Clint Herbst, Patty Olsen Members Absent: None 2. Consideration of approval of minutes of the regular meeting held November 22, 1993, and the special meeting held December 6, 1993. After discussion, a motion was made by Brad Fyle and seconded by Shirley Anderson to approve both sets of minutes as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. 4. Public Hearing --Adoption of 1994 budget, and consideration of a resolution setting the 1994 tax levy. Mayor Maus opened the public hearing. Rick Wolfsteller summarized the budget document. In his review, he informed Council that due to the increase in the number of building permits, it may be necessary to hire a building inspection official on a part- time basis to supplement services provided by existing staff. Wolfsteller explained that the cost of additional staff will be offset by additional building permit revenues; therefore, there will be no impact on the 1994 budget. There being no comments from the public, Mayor Maus closed the public hearing. Clint Herbst made a motion to limit the increase to 3.5% instead of 5% as proposed in the budget. Administrator Wolfsteller asked Herbst what items should be cut. Herbst indicated that all of the remaining dollars for capital improvements in the park budget could be cut ($20,000), and there are various items in the budget that could be cut in order to get to the 3.5% level. Ken Maus noted that this is the third time that the budget levy has been discussed; and at this point, proposals to lower the budget and the levy to 3.5% should be accompanied by a list of specific items that should be removed. Page 1 Council Minutes - 12/13/93 Brad Fyle indicated that he can understand Herbst's desire to keep the budget at 3.5%; but at the same time, he notes that the Council has always kept a fine pencil on the budget and that the additional 1 1/2% is necessary to accommodate the growth that Monticello has been seeing. Motion died for lack of a second. After discussion, a motion was made by Brad Fyle and seconded by Patty Olsen to adopt a resolution setting the 1994 tax levy at $2,652,527. Voting in favor: Ken Maus, Shirley Anderson, Brad Fyle, Patty Olsen. Opposed: Clint Herbst. SEE RESOLUTION 93-45. 5. Consideration of a request for an open burning permit - Monticello Country Club. After discussion, a motion was made by Clint Herbst and seconded by Shirley Anderson to grant the open burning permit based on the finding that the request met the minimum requirements of the ordinance and it is not feasible to have the debris removed by other methods. Motion carried unanimously. 6. Consideration of salary schedule adjustments for 1994. Rick Wolfsteller noted various factors that the City Council should take into account as they consider this matter. In his discussion, he noted that in 1993 the salary schedule increase was less than inflation. He also noted that when the comparable worth study was originally amended and adopted in 1991, it was recommended by the consultant that the step and grade system be adopted to include 7 steps in each grade. At that time, Council eliminated the top step for each position, thereby reducing Monticello's schedule by 4% as compared to salary schedules of comparable cities. He noted that communities such as Big Lake, Buffalo, Elk River, Maple Grove, and Plymouth were granted pay increases of 3% to 4% in 1993, while Monticello was at 2.5%. Finally, in order to remain in compliance with the comparable worth law, the City Council needs to be concerned with keeping union personnel on the same level as non-union personnel within our pay system. Wolfsteller noted that in 1993, the union pay scale went up 3% while non-union went up 2.5%. This had the effect of removing the pay schedule from compliance with the comparable worth law. In his report, Wolfsteller noted that Council would have to agree that City employees are doing a good job and deserve to be treated fairly in terms of cost -of -living adjustments. The City has good experienced staff and is being continually asked to increase their productivity to keep up with the growth Page 2 Council Minutes - 12/13/93 demand we are experiencing. He noted that overall he hears very few complaints about City services and City staff performance, and he believes that Council needs to be aware of this and recognize the efforts put in by staff when considering cost -of -living adjustments. Clint Herbst indicated that we shouldn't let the difference between the union scale and the non-union scale have a big impact on our decision making. Ken Maus reminded Council that the item for consideration is a cost -of -living adjustment. If Council has any problems or questions regarding the individual pay scale for certain classes of employees, then this should be handled as a separate item. Reducing the cost -of -living increase at a point less than inflation is a back -door approach to reducing salaries. Using this approach would not be proper. After discussion, a motion was made by Clint Herbst and seconded by Shirley Anderson to grant a 3.5% cost -of -living increase. Patty Olsen indicated that in her profession she deals with other cities all the time, and she's always impressed with the professionalism that she finds at Monticello City Hall as compared to other cities. She indicated that it is important for the City's pay schedule to be competitive with other communities. Ken Maus indicated that the difference between a 3.5% and 3.8% is not that significant. It was his view that 3.8% would be more appropriate, as it is reflective of the actual cost -of -living increase. Voting in favor of the motion: Clint Herbst, Shirley Anderson, Brad Fyle. Opposed: Patty Olsen, Ken Maus. 7. Consideration of proposal for facilities plan for the Monticello Wastewater Treatment Plant. John Simola reported that the City is now at the 14th year of a 20 -year design life expectancy for the wastewater treatment plant. PSG has recommended that an engineering firm be engaged to conduct a detailed facilities study and to evaluate the options, including cost estimates. Some items that may also be studied are extensive evaluation of the need for additional odor control facilities and the possibility of building an additional or alternative plant at a new site. City staff has discussed the proposed facilities plan as recommended by PSG with OSM. OSM has expanded its wastewater treatment staff since the design and building of the City of Monticello's facility, and given the opportunity would propose to do our facilities plan through an integrated team approach with the firm Rieke, Carroll, and Muller Associates (RCM). Page 3 Council Minutes - 12/13/93 This team approach could be of benefit to Monticello, as OSM has extensive knowledge of the city of Monticello, its infrastructure system, history, and growth patterns, while RCM brings extensive knowledge in the area of wastewater treatment and design. Simola reported that OSM has given us a not -to -exceed price of $44,900 for the facilities plan. In addition, they've provided an option of studying alternative sites for a new or additional plant at a cost of $2,500, and additional extensive study for foul air and odor control at a cost of $2,500. At this point in the meeting, Ed DeLaforest described the teaming arrangement between OSM and RCM. John Peterson of OSM reviewed the goals and objectives of the study. Larry Anderson of RCM discussed some of the technical issues that the plan will address. Assistant Administrator O'Neill mentioned that the timing of the facilities planning effort coincides with the need to update the comprehensive plan. Information obtained with the comprehensive plan update will be very valuable to the facilities plan. Council discussion focused on whether or not to study the potential of moving the wastewater treatment site to another location and whether or not to evaluate the need for additional odor control facilities. After discussion, a motion was made by Brad Fyle and seconded by Shirley Anderson to authorize preparation of a facilities plan utilizing the team approach from OSM and RCM, including the base plan, the alternative site study, and the odor control study, for a total cost of $49,900. Motion carried unanimously. 8. Consideration of City membership and endorsement of the Economic Development Partnership of Wright County, Inc. Economic Development Director, 011ie Koropchak, outlined some of the pro's and con's associated with membership in the Economic Development Partnership. Clint Herbst indicated that Monticello is lucky to have an Economic Development Director. It was his view that we will not benefit from participating in the partnership and could potentially lose an industry to another community because of our participation. Ken Maus disagreed. He noted that we could potentially lose legitimate contacts by not participating in the partnership. If we believe in ourselves, if we believe that Monticello has a lot to offer industry, then we should be confident in participating in this program. Page 4 Council Minutes - 12/13/93 011ie Koropchak noted that participation in this partnership is another way of marketing Monticello and becoming part of a larger network. The more businesses that find out about Monticello, the better chance we have to increase the number of industries in town. Brad Fyle stated that the small towns in Wright County will gain the most benefit from this program. He noted that he would be more willing to participate in the program if each city paid the same amount to participate rather than the current fee schedule, which is based on population. Rick Wolfsteller noted that the City could participate on a trial basis. If it appears that there is no benefit to the City in participating, then we could always back out at some point in the future. Ken Maus indicated that he thought the fee structure was fair, as the cities that have the most resources are likely to benefit the most from the program. After discussion, a motion. was made by Brad Fyle and seconded by Patty Olsen to become a member of the Economic Development Partnership of Wright County under the condition that the Industrial Development Committee contribute $500 toward the membership fee. Voting in favor: Brad Fyle, Patty Olsen, Ken Maus. Opposed: Shirley Anderson, Clint Herbst. Council was informed that 011ie Koropchak may have an opportunity to serve on the Board of the Economic Development Partnership. After discussion, it was the consensus to allow Koropchak to serve on the Board as proposed. 9. Consideration of accepting responsibility for administration of the rules developed pursuant to the Wetland Conservation Act of 1991. Assistant Administrator O'Neill requested that Council consider accepting responsibility for administering the rules and regulations associated with administering the 1991 Wetland Conservation Act. On January 1, 1994, the rules developed pursuant to the Wetland Act of 1991 will take effect. Under these rules, the local government unit responsible for administering the rules is either the county or the city in which the wetlands in question are located. O'Neill noted that Council has two alternatives for administering the rules. The first alternative would be to accept responsibility for administering the rules. The second alternative would be to delegate the responsibility to the Wright County Soil and Water Conservation District. Page 5 10. 11. 12. Council Minutes - 12/13/93 O'Neill went on to review the pro's and con's of each alternative. Delegating the responsibility to the Soil and Water Conservation District will generally be more efficient, whereas accepting direct responsibility and not delegating the responsibilities provides the City with local control. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Patty Olsen to accept responsibility for administration of the rules developed under the Wetland Conservation Act. Voting in favor: Shirley Anderson, Ken Maus, Clint Herbst, Patty Olsen. Opposed: Brad Fyle. Consideration of change order #1 and ordering of an assessment hearing for City of Monticello Project 93-13C, Monticello Ford storm sewer. John Simola provided an update to Council on the status of the project. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Clint Herbst to approve change order #1 for the pipe type configuration change in the amount of $1,008 and to call for an assessment hearing on project 93-13C for January 10, 1994, based upon the amount to be assessed of $39,481.35. Motion carried unanimously. SEE RESOLUTION 93-46. Review of preliminary concepts for establishing a storm sewer funding program and consideration of authorizing City staff to implement the program. Assistant Administrator O'Neill reviewed various trunk storm sewer projects that need to be undertaken in the next few years, along with the description of some of the problems that we're facing with regard to funding. He outlined a proposed funding plan for financing trunk storm sewers, which includes establishment of an access charge. Council went on to review the proposed funding program. As a result of the discussion, City Council requested that staff provide additional information regarding specific impact to various properties as a result of the program, and Clint Herbst and Patty Olsen volunteered to participate in a staff/ Council committee for the purpose of reviewing this item and defining issues further. Consideration of fund transfers for 1993. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Clint Herbst to approve fund transfers as proposed. Motion carried unanimously. Page 6 Council Minutes - 12/13/93 13. Consideration of bills for the month of December. After discussion, a motion was made by Shirley Anderson and seconded by Clint Herbst to approve payment of bills as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. �r Jeff O'Neill Assistant Administrator Page 7