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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011 [01] Jan 20January 20, 2011 Page 1 of 4 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 7:OOPM in the St. Joseph City Hall, opening the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance Members Present Mayor Rick Schultz, Commissioners Dale Wick, Renee Symanietz, Steve Frank, Bob Loso and City Administrator Judy Weyrens City Representatives Present City Engineer Randy Sabart, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Public Works Director Terry Thene and Police Chief Pete Jansky Others Present Margy Hughes, Ellen Wahlstrom, Herman Gangl _Approval of the Agenda Loso made a motion to approve the agenda with the following addition: Add 3a Public Comments The motion was seconded by Frank and passed unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENTS Ellen Wahlstrom, 409 a Avenue NE, approached the Council to question the status of the Assessment Policy. Frank stated that, from a Council standpoint, they are still working on this and it will be brought back. Weyrens stated that staff has been working on making some changes and it will be brought back along with some samples from other cities as well. Consent Agenda Symanietz made a motion to approve the consent agenda as follows: a. Minutes —Approve the minutes of January 6, 2011. b. Bills Payable — Approve check numbers 043686- 043756 and EFT numbers 000496- 00501 and 000525 - 000526. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously December 2010 and 4 th Quarter 2010 Treasurer's Report Bartlett reported that the numbers presented are the cash balances as of December 31 and do not include any audit entries that will be made. The final numbers will be available when the audit is presented in late May /early June. Bartlett advised the Council that, with respect to the City's cash position, the rate of return has decreased from 3.52% in 2009 to 2.82% in 2010. She added that a greater amount of cash has been invested in the local banks as they are offering a higher rate of return than the Treasury. According to Bartlett, there was a substantial decrease in cash from 2009 to 2010, which was due to an assessment that was paid off in 2009 and the bond payment was not made until 2010. In short, she stated that the City's cash position represents 12.1 months of the year's expenditures. Bartlett advised the Council that the General Fund spent down 102% of the 2010 budget and received 102% of the revenue budget. She added that these are not the final numbers as the accruals have not yet been booked. According to Bartlett, this fund shows that it overspent and she stated that that is due to transferring the capital budget to the General Equipment Fund. The Enterprise Fund shows expenses being greater than the revenues. She stated that that is due to the fact that 11 months worth of expenses have been accrued; however, only 10 months of utility usage has been billed. She also stated that the sewer revenue is lower due to the fact that St. Ben's has not yet been billed for their 2010 usage. Bartlett added that there is one large expenditure that has not yet been booked and that is depreciation. Bartlett stated that, previously, the Council requested an update on the Water Fund. She reported that the Water Fund shows cash balance of $405,837. That includes transfers for the 2005 and 2006 debt payments due in 2010. After the transfer, the water hook up fund has a balance of $714. She stated that the water rate study anticipates 85 units to be collected in 2011 to cover the debt costs. Loso stated that he does not foresee the City collecting 85 units; rather he foresees maybe 30 for 2011. He questioned what happens if the City does not collect the 85 as anticipated. Bartlett stated that funds could be transferred from other funds. January 20, 2011 Page 2 of 4 Frank reported that he recently read an article which talked about municipalities being hit hard. Bartlett stated that the City is receiving a lower rate of return on investments purchased; however, bonds rates are lower than a typical bond rate. Frank added that he heard of a program though the League of MN Cities to help with snow removal once all funds are exhausted. Weyrens replied that the Insurance Trust has a program whereby a City facing an unplanned large expenditure can apply for funding assistance for up to a five year period. The funding is a loan and is paid back with the annual premium. The maximum term for the loan is five years and interest is not charged if the loan is paid back within three years. She added that he City has not utilized this program. Symanietz made a motion to accept the financial reports as presented. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously. Meeting Agendas and Formats Weyrens stated that there has been considerable discussion on the format of the agenda and staff is looking for some direction as to what the Council wants. Schultz stated that he recently attended the Leadership Conference at which several mayors compared notes on how their City's meetings are conducted. He suggested to staff that a new business section be added to allow for items to be brought up for discussion, although no action or public comments can be taken. Loso stated that this was done in the past and it was removed from the agenda due to the fact that old business was not being resolved. Frank suggested that if an item is not resolved after a certain period of time, it be dropped. Frank stated that he has some concerns with the consent agenda and what types of items are consent. He stated that the consent agenda should be for routine, non controversial issues. In the memo to the Council, Weyrens stated that "the consent agenda items are defined as those items that require little if any discussion and /or one of the following circumstances: the matter has been discussed previously by the Council, or an action that has been approved unanimously by the Planning Commission and recommended by that body for adoption by the City Council ". Frank stated that he does not agree with that definition. For example, he stated that the Labor Contract, which was approved as consent at the last meeting, should not have been a consent item. If an item is discussed at a closed meeting and the Council comes to consensus; that does not automatically mean that it is a consent item. Wick advised Frank that the Council has discussed this in the past and agreed with the definition. Loso advised Frank and the other councilors that if they do not agree with an item being placed on the consent agenda, it can be pulled for discussion. With respect to Schultz's request to add a section for New Business, Wick stated that he does not feel that this is a good decision. That could lead to a possible situation in which a developer may come to the Council and get an informal consensus and then need to make changes once their information is submitted. He stated that this could lead to many other issues for the City. Loso stated that if an item is discussed, but not on the agenda, people may get upset for not having the opportunity to hear or discuss the issue. Schultz questioned Weyrens as to how the Council can add items to the agenda. Weyrens stated that they should submit their request to her a minimum of one week prior. If there is any background material, that should be submitted as well so it can be distributed. Weyrens suggested adding a new item on the agenda entitled "Discussion Items" under which the Council can discuss these types of items. Sidewalk Snow Removal Weyrens stated the Council has received several emails requesting that the snow be removed from the walking trail at Kleinfelter Park. In the past, the Council decided not to clear the trail. Loso stated that when the trail was built, there was an agreement that the trail would be cleared for the walkers. Weyrens agreed and advised the Council that the process changed in 2003. Staff is now asking the Council how they want this handled. Frank stated that he would like staff to consider the trail along CR121 to Kennedy, the trail along Callaway to CR121 as well as the Kleinfelter Trail. In the past, a resident adjacent to Kleinfelter was clearing the trail, but it has become too cumbersome. According to Frank, there are some areas in town that he feels should not be cleared, such as the business district. Thene advised the Council that they have been clearing the trail along CR121 when there is time; however, it is not a priority. Frank suggested that the Park Board review this request and bring back a January 20, 2011 Page 3 of 4 recommendation to the City Council. Loso added that we have had more snow this year than in the past ten years. Loso made a motion to authorize staff to clear the snow from the Kleinfelter Walking Trail one time, awaiting Park Board review and recommendation. The motion was seconded by Wick. Discussion: Weyrens advised the Council that a map will be distributed to the Park Board members and will be made available on Monday evening. The motion passed unanimously MAYOR REPORTS Newly Elected Officials Conference Schultz reported that he attended the Newly Elected Officials Conference. At the conference, he was speaking with the Mayor of Cohasset who stated that he has a water tower that they would like to sell. He stated that they had approximately 200 homes that were experiencing bad water pressure, but now they are unable to pay for the tower. It has been up for approximately 1 '/Z years. APO Executive Committee Schultz advised the Council that he attended the APO Executive Meeting at which they were advised that money is being allocated for the intersection of 33 Street and 15 Street as well as Hwy 15 and CR2 [Rice] in Benton County. Stearns County Municipal League Meeting Schultz reported that he, along with Council member Symanietz, attended the Stearns County Municipal League Meeting. There was an attorney present and they discussed litigation and the removal of paper publications for meetings. Symanietz added that going paperless will save the City a lot of money. COUNCIL REPORTS SYMANIETZ — No Report WICK — Wick advised the Council that the EDA will meet next week on the 26 LOSO — No Report FRANK Police /Fire Issues Frank stated that he recently read about a City in NJ in which they have been forced to lay off half of their Police and Fire Departments. He wondered what other cities are doing to avoid adding or removing staff. Other cities have changed their policies to no longer deal with issues such as gas drive - offs, shoplifting, some civil actions and minor fender benders. According to Frank, this is the future, if the cuts keep coming. ADMINISTRATOR REPORTS Legislative Priorities Weyrens presented the Council with a joint resolution supporting legislative priorities for the greater St. Cloud Area. The area Mayors and Administrators met in December to review the 2010 list of priorities and prepare the joint list for 2011. The resolution is similar to 2010 with the following changes: • State Mandate Relief — requesting sunseting of all mandates until the nexus can be proven. • Sales Tax Exemption for all public purchases • PELRA Reform • Bonding Request for Regional Parks & Trails Weyrens stated that not every City will agree to every issue; however the area cities are looking to come to a consensus as to which issues are important for the area. January 20, 2011 Page 4 of 4 Loso made a motion to authorize the Mayor and Administrator to execute the Joint Resolution of Legislative Priorities. The motion was seconded by Symanietz. Discussion: Frank stated that it would be better if this list was a little more realistic. Most of the items will not happen, even in good economic times. He added that he does not support Eminent Domain due to the fact that he has issues with private land being taken for another private use. Wick assured Frank that the Eminent Domain clause only pertains to the use of eminent domain for public infrastructure. Wick agreed with Frank that many of these items will not happen; however, if one doesn't ask it won't happen. Symanietz added that she is happy to see the addition the bonding request for regional parks and trails. With ridership down 21 % from what was projected, Frank questioned the push for Northstar. The motion passed unanimously. Special Meeting Weyrens reminded the Council of the meeting to be held at 5PM on January 25. The Council will discuss the Cable Commission and Facility Planning. Laserfiche Weyrens advised the Council that she recently attended the Laserfiche Conference. Laserfiche is an International Company and there were approximately 1,400 attendees and 150 workshops. She plans to change how items are placed on the website. She also added that St. Joseph could apply for an award for use of the Laserfiche Program. Frank suggested that a FAQ section be added to the website to show viewers how to access the information. Council Workshop The Council Workshop will be held on March 4 from 8AM to 2PM with the location yet to be determined. She asked the Council to get her a list of items that they would like to address. Cable Commission Frank thanked the Cable Commission for improving the microphones so that people can hear what is being said. Adjourn Symanietz made a motion to adjourn at 7:55PM; seconded by Loso and passed unanimously. Judy e�s Ad nistrator