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2011-12-20 City Council minutesMendota Heights City Council December 20, 2011 Page 1 CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY STATE OF MINNESOTA Minutes of the Regular Meeting Held Tuesday, December 20, 2011 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the regular meeting of the City Council, City of Mendota Heights, Minnesota was held at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, Minnesota. Mayor Krebsbach called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The following members were present: Councilmembers Duggan, Povolny, Petschel and Vitelli. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council, the audience, and staff recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Krebsbach presented the agenda for adoption. Councilmember Duggan moved adoption of the agenda. Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Councilmember Duggan requested an important point made during the Lemay Lake Road Reconstruction Project Public Hearing section be added to read the city's interest rate on property assessments is six percent over time. However, should a resident decide to take out a loan from a financial institution for less than the six percent assessment interest rate and pay the assessment in full, they can do so. Councilmember Duggan also made a correction to the Lemay Lake Road reconstruction project public hearing in that Councilmember Povolny seconded the motion, not Vitelli as recorded in the minutes. Councilmember Petschel moved approval of the minutes as requested of the regular meeting held on December 6, 2011. Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Mendota Heights City Council December 20, 2011 Page 2 Mayor Krebsbach presented the consent calendar and explained the procedure for discussion and approval. Councilmember Duggan moved approval of the consent calendar as presented and authorization for execution of any necessary documents contained therein; pulling items A) Acknowledgement of the December 13, 2011 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes and G) Authorization to Execute a Purchase Order for a Speed Monitoring Cart a. Acknowledgement of the December 13, 2011 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes b. Acknowledgement of the November 2011 Treasurer's Report c. Acknowledgement of the October 2011 Fire Department Report d. Approval of a Fence Permit for 2540 Executive Drive e. Adoption of "RESOLUTION APPROVING AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO THE CONTRACT FOR WATER SERVICE BETWEEN THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND THE CITY OF MENDOTA AND THE CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS," and adoption of a "RESOLUTION APPROVING AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO THE CONTRACT FOR WATER SERVICE BETWEEN THE BOARD OF COMIVIISSIONERS AND THE CITY_ OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS" f. Adoption of "RESOLUTION DEFINING FIREMEN'S RELIEF ASSOCIATION ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION" g. Authorization to Execute a Purchase Order for a Speed Monitoring Cart h. Authorization of Increase in Allowable Vacation Leave Balance — LELS and Teamsters i. Acknowledgement of the Retirement of Richard Gill j. Adoption of the 2012 Employee Position Placement/Pay Classification Plan k. Approve the Contractors List 1. Approve the Claims List Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 A) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE DECEMBER 13, 2011 PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES Councilmember Vitelli requested that in reading the Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting minutes it seems clear to him that the council needs to give some attention to the staff support provided to that commission. The council needs to make sure that during the parks meeting attention is given to the request. Mayor Krebsbach concurred with Councilmember Vitelli's comments. Councilmember Vitelli moved to Acknowledge the December 13, 2011 Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Minutes. Councilmember Duggan seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 Mendota Heights City Council December 20, 2011 Page 3 G) AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE A PURCHASE ORDER FOR A SPEED MONITORING CART Mayor Krebsbach commented that the need for a speed - monitoring cart was brought to the council's attention over the summer. However, it should be made clear that this is an emergency management asset and council will need to define this type of asset into the ordinances. Councilmember Vitelli asked Acting City Administrator John Mazzitello where the added cost would be coining from because $12,000 was planned in the budget and the recommendation is for a $17,000 speed cart. Mr. Mazzitello replied that he went through the 2011 budget with the finance director and it is believed that the city can pull the additional funds from the remnants of the Police Department's budget for 2011, if council should choose not to expend this out of the general fund. Mayor Krebsbach asked what the difference was between the two carts. Mr. Mazzitello replied that the more expensive cart, which is the preferred option by both Engineering and the Police Department, does all of the functions of the speed cart that was approved by council with one difference; the display board has the capability of posting messages. The reason this is preferable is because if there is an emergency situation, natural disaster, or a crime scene the cart can be posted in a right -of -way saying the road is closed and directing traffic to a detour — rather than just having something that shows speed. There would be more flexibility and staff could incorporate it into the emergency management protocols. Councilmember Duggan commented that this would also be an excellent usage for the fire department for posting of signage for their open house events, etc. Mayor Krebsbach replied that this is being defined as an emergency management asset and will not be used for signage. Even though the sign would not be flashing, it would open up the whole sign ordinance as far as not allowing digital signage, flashing or not. However, the Fire Department could use the cart as an emergency management asset as would the Police Department. Councilmember Duggan asked if council wanted to consider that there are constant advances in technology and in three years time there could be a much better piece of equipment available. Mayor Krebsbach stated that the council had originally talked about only displaying the speed. Now there is something before the council that is $5,000 more that can communicate in an emergency situation. Councilinember Petschel stated that council discussed early on that this would not just have the capability of indicating speed but would also be able to do traffic counts so that, in terms of enforcement, the city would not waste precious police time trying to enforce the speed where there is not a problem. It was meant to be a smart piece of equipment and was meant to save money because currently staff has to do all of the traffic counts. This would perform the traffic counts and be able to develop trends. When asked to comment, Chief of Police Michael Aschenbrener stated that the primary intention of the cart would be for speed count, as a speed trailer, or for emergency management use. He would be fine if the ordinance were defined to allow something different; however, the primary purpose of purchasing this piece of equipment is to put it out — whether it is actively showing speeds, counting speeds, or whether it is just sitting on the side of the road looking like it is counting traffic, the purpose in having it Mendota Heights City Council December 20, 2011 Page 4 is to have it out and reporting data back to staff for a variety of different reasons. Option A was chosen by a unanimous decision by staff including Chief Aschenbrener. Councilmember Povolny commented that there are two options, one with a two -line message board and one with a three -line message board. He then asked if the letter heights change from one option to the other. Chief Aschenbrener replied that the three -line message board jumps ten inches in height so the letters are almost the same size as on a full size messaging board — as would be seen when MnDOT puts signs on the sides of their roads. Councilmember Povolny then asked if the speed signs would be 30 inches tall. Chief Aschenbrener replied that there would be multiple configurations available for the messaging board. Councilmember Vitelli moved to approve and give Authorization to Execute a Purchase Order for a Speed Monitoring Cart with the full understanding that it is to be used for the speed count, etc. but in terms of messaging it is for emergency management communication only. Councilmember Duggan seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 PRESENTATIONS It SLOAL CHAIRMAN AIRPORT •' RELATIONS COMMISSION Mr. David Sloan, Chairman of the Airport Relations Commission stated that the Airport Relations Commission (ARC) is chartered to do two basic things: 1. Evaluate the operations at the airport and advise the council and the community as to what is happening regarding current operations, especially night time operations 2. Stay in touch with what is going on and what is being planned for the future at the airport Mr. Sloan shared an overview of what the ARC accomplished over the past year. He also explained what tasks each member on the commission is mainly responsible for. Mr. Sloan explained how the data that is gleaned from the airport and other different venues is compiled into information and how that information is useful Mr. Sloan introduced three of the commissioners, who were present to support him in his presentation. Councilmembers expressed their appreciation of all of the work the ARC does on behalf of the city and the residents. Various questions were asked and answered in regards to the charts shared by Mr. Sloan. PUBLIC COMMENTS There were no public comments Mendota Heights City Council December 20, 2011 Page 5 UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A) APPROVAL OF THE RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM CONTRACT (CONTINUED) City Clerk Sandie Thone introduced Ms. Stacy Kaiser, IT Manager who was asked by council to be in attendance for this presentation. Mayor Krebsbach commented that Ms. Kaiser reported to council via a confidential memo the security information they requested. Clerk Thone gave a brief presentation that addressed councils' questions and concerns from the previous meeting giving them a real but simplistic overview of the system. Council received a more detailed version in their packet. Clerk Thone explained that the city should be in compliance with both the State Records Retention Laws and with Data Practices Act. There are four types of information in data practices: • Public • Private • Confidential • Protected/Non- Public Mayor Krebsbach asked Clerk Thone to explain so the public would be aware, what of their documents would be considered a `public record' and accessible via the website. Clerk Thone replied that the city's data practices document outlines all records from the categorization system. Any record that is considered a public record could, if chosen to do so, be added to the public portal in this system. For example, a petition would be a public record and could be put into the public access portion of the system. In Minnesota, all records are considered public unless they are deemed as one of the other three categories per the Data Practices Act. Any information shared in a public forum would be considered a public record. City Attorney Tami Diehm stated that all information received by the city is deemed to be public information unless it falls within one of the exceptions listed in the Data Practices Act. The information that the city has now is already public data, for the most part. Currently, if someone would want access to it they would need to come in and fill out a form, which is provided to either the chief or to the city clerk who would produce that data for them. The goal with this system would be that certain parts of that public data would be available online so it would not need to be reproduced. It would be up to the council to determine how much of that public data would be available online versus requiring people to fill out a request fonn. Clerk Thone concurred that even if a document or data is deemed public it does not have to be available online. Parameters can be set where certain data can only be available if a form is filled out and submitted. That data would still be considered as public it just would not be available online. Clerk Thone continued by explaining that, for instance, if someone wanted to pull the decision of a particular planning case, they could do a keyword search under the planning case subject or number and all of the supporting documentation would be available at once. Mendota Heights City Council December 20, 2011 Page 6 Councilmember Povolny asked if someone were to do a search for something that was confidential or protected, would the search result come up saying that the document was confidential or protected. Clerk Thone replied that it would not come up as a result at all because it would not be online. The search would not find it. Councilmember Petschel asked Chief Aschenbrener, in terms of his routine accident reports, would residents be able to retrieve that online or would they need to come in and fill out a request form. Chief Aschenbrener answered that the Police Department is in the process of moving to mapping software that would bring up certain information. Most of their public information would be posted on a map on their website. Traffic accident information, in the form of an accident report, is not public data. Even though the Police Department would create that record, they would not be the holder of that record, as it would be transferred to the state. Clerk Thone continued her presentation by explaining the time and money savings, increased public service levels, and working smarter opportunities this system would provide. She also addressed council's questions and concerns in regards to redundancies and backups. These redundancies and backups would be in compliance with the state's emergency records law. Multiple questions were asked and answered in regards to training and the cost thereof. Overview of Benefits: ® Enhance service responsiveness and accuracy ® Improves capacity and efficiency to comply with Data Practices Act and MN Records Retention ® This technology has been implemented successfully by others, providing a framework and techniques that will assist in the transition Clerk Thone reviewed the 5 -year cost analysis, with discussion, and questions responded to; including what is received each year for the maintenance costs. Councilmember Vitelli stated that he met with Clerk Thone and Chief Aschenbrener after the last council meeting and he was quite impressed with all of the homework that had been done. He had been concerned about the categorization of the data to make sure it was properly classified; however, the document shared by Clerk Thone was the state statute that defines what would be done. It is thorough, it defines what data is in each category, and it actually suggests how each item is to be classified and labeled. Councilmember Vitelli expressed his support and appreciation of the work that has been done. Mayor Krebsbach recommended that Councilmember Vitelli review the contract before it comes to the council for approval. Councilmember Vitelli in turn stated that the person most qualified is Councilmember Povolny. Councilmember Povolny agreed to review the contract. Councilmember Vitelli moved Approval of the Purchase of the Records Management System with Councilmember Povolny Reviewing the Contract Before its Execution. Councilmember Duggan seconded the motion. Councilmember Duggan mentioned that the contract talks about a `records management review committee' and recommended that this committee include Councilmember Povolny as the Mendota Heights City Council December 20, 2011 Page 7 Councilmember Representative. Councilmember Povolny expressed his agreement to serve on the committee in that role. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 B) ADOPTION OF "RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SANITARY SEWER RATES BEGINNING IN THE 1sT QUARTER OF 2012" Public Works Director John Mazzitello explained this is a proposal from the city staff to adjust the sanitary sewer rates for the calendar year of 2012. The last time the rates were raised was for calendar year 2010; they were not raised for calendar year 2011. Mr. Mazzitello drew the council's attention to a table they received titled Sanitary Sewer Utility Budget and Fund Balance 2004 to 2011. He then shared a visual graph of the numbers in that table that showed the expenses tracked over time and the revenues. The Sanitary Sewer Utility Fund is a self - sustaining entity that is funded by the sewer bills that are paid every quarter. A large part of the fund is used to pay the Met Council and the remainder is used for internal costs for operating the sanitary sewer system — cleaning contracts, lining contracts, televising, etc. Overtime, the revenues had been far below the expenses, which justified the increase in 2010 and brought revenues close to expenses. Revenues and expenses were virtually even in 2011; however, without a rate increase expenses will exceed revenues in 2012 and the fund will operate in a deficit. The proposal before the council was to adjust the quarterly sanitary sewer rate by 10 percent for 2012, which would bring the city into an operating surplus situation, avoiding the deficit. This would raise the residential base rate from $50 per quarter to $55 per quarter. Broken out per month, the increase is less than $2 per month. Finance Director Kristen Schabacker explained that the city went from 1994 to 2010 without raising rates. When the fund started in 1994 there was a significant cash balance, and by not raising those rates as the expenses were increasing, the cash balance was depleted. The desire now is to do an annual review to keep up with the Met Council charges. The city's cost from 2011 to 2012 increased by 8.83 percent. In 2011 the city paid the Met Council $921,000 for sewer. In 2012 the city will pay just over $1M, an increase of almost $80,000. By raising the rates, the city could cover those costs. Councilmember Vitelli suggested that a note be included with the sewer bill informing the residents that the increase in rates is due to the increase that is imposed on the city by the Metropolitan Council; and include that explanation each time the rates are increased because the costs in the city are basically staying level. He would also like to know why the Met Council's costs are going up by 6 percent to 8 percent, but did not want to ask staff to request that information. Councilmember Duggan offered the possible explanation that the Met Council probably expanded more rapidly in anticipation of future growth; and did not anticipate the downturn in business. So they extended themselves in anticipation of growth, which did not happen and therefore the anticipated income did not happen, but they still need to cover their costs. Also, the Met Council has been told by the federal government to make some changes. Mr. Mazzitello, in response to Councilmember Vitelli's suggestion to include a note in the sewer bill, stated that there is another billing at the current sewer rate that will go out in January for the fourth Mendota Heights City Council December 20, 2011 Page 8 quarter of 2011. In that bill, staff will notify the residents of the rate increase they will see in April and, if approved, the April bill will have the rate increase. Staff will include as much explanation in the bills as they possibly can. Mayor Krebsbach asked for clarification and confirmation that the city is controlling costs — this increase is not because of city costs. Mr. Mazzitello replied that from 2008 through 2010, the city costs actually went down with a very slight increase in 2011 and that number is remaining relatively flat for 2012. The sanitary sewer utility fund is reviewed every year. When it was analyzed for calendar year 2011 it was projected that the fund would still operate in a surplus, albeit a very small surplus. Therefore, there was not a rate change proposed for 2011. In 2012, it is projected that the city would operate in a deficit, which is the reason for the proposed $5 per quarter increase. Councilmember Povolny moved Adoption of "RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SANITARY SEWER RATES BEGINNING IN THE 1ST QUARTER OF 2012" Councilmember Vitelli seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 COUNCIL COMNMNTS Councilmember Vitelli stated that it has been a pleasure to work with everyone this year. Councilmember Petschel commented that the council members receive a report from Chief ? Aschenbrener each week about criminal activity in the city, and one of his recurring themes is mail theft. His advice to residents is to not put up the flag on their mailboxes when they have mail to be picked up. She also commented on and thanked the residents for how beautiful the city looks for the holiday season. Councilmember Povolny stated that he has very much enjoyed his first year on the council and working with everyone. Councilmember Duggan thanked the staff, Police Department, Fire Department and everyone for the great work they do everyday. Councilmember Duggan did express concern about the last council meeting. He felt that pragmatism has trumped principle and people in Mendota Heights. When principles are let go, it does not take long for other principles to disappear and for inequities to set in and get justified. He felt that the residents at Lemay were not treated fairly, he has agonized over this, and he is unhappy with the decision he made — which was his decision and he is only speaking for himself — which was to vote in favor of things, was a wrong decision on his part and he regrets that. He will try to do better in the future, try to keep principles in front of himself, because he does work for the people of the City of Mendota Heights. He does not work for the mayor nor for staff, he works for the people and when he loses that he is losing a most important and sacred thing. Mendota Heights City Council December 20, 2011 Page 9 Mayor Krebsbach thanked her fellow council; they are a very hard working and dedicated group who do their best. None of their decisions are made lightly and they always weigh in on behalf of the city. This is a new council who had a challenging beginning, however they are all on the same team, have gone through some major changes that normally new councils do not face, and she is very proud of this council. CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS AN ASSESSMENT APPEAL Mayor Krebsbach stated that, pursuant to Minnesota Statute 13D.05, subdivision 3(b) council is going into closed session to discuss an assessment appeal. Councilmember Duggan moved to adjourn to Closed Session to Discuss an Assessment Appeal. Councilmember Petschel seconded the motion. Ayes: 5 Nays: 0 CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS AN ASSESSMENT APPEAL Present at the closed session to discuss an assessment appeal were Mayor Krebsbach, Councilmembers Duggan, Povolny, Petschel and Vitelli, Interim City Administrator Mazzitello, Incoming City Administrator Miller, Assistant City Engineer Ruzek and City Attorney Diehm. 01-1004110-4011 Mayor Krebsbach adjourned the meeting at 9:17 p.m. Mayor ATTEST: -1&JW f Sandie Thone City Clerk Krebsbach