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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000 [03] Mar 02 Page 3701 March 2, 2000 I City of St Joseph City Council Meeting 03/02100, 7:00 PM 1. Call to Order. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met on Thursday, February 3, 2000 at 7:00 p.m. in the St. Joseph City Hall. Members Present: Mayor Kenneth J. Hiemenz, Bob Loso, Mary Niedenfuer, Ken Twit, and Cory Ehlert and Clerk-Administrator Cari Schmidt and Deputy Clerk Judy Weyrens Others Present: Steve Streng, Art Reber. 2. Approve Agenda: Hiemenz stated that there is one item to be added to the agenda. The County has requested that the Council approve a resolution relating to 133 reconstruction and the parking. Loso also requested that that Council talk about lifting the parking ban. Loso made a motion to approve the agenda with the additions, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. ~ Consent Agenda a. Application for payment - Cummins (generators) b. End of Probationary Status for Paul Schley Niedenfuer made a motion to approve the consent agenda, seconded by Loso. The motion passed unanimously. I 4. Approve Minutes - February 17 Council Meeting - Hiemenz pointed out a motion in the minutes that state Ehlert made the motion and also seconded it. SchmiC t stated she would correct the mistake. -Niedenfuer stated that in her report about CORE and the student liaison, that the colleges will be starting off with two students and not just one. Loso made a motion to approve the minutes of February 17, 2000, seconded by Niedenfuer. i The motion passed unanimously. (Twit abstained) I 5. Bills Payable and OvertimelCallouts - Loso made a motion to approve the bills 27978 through 28050, seconded by Niedenfuer. The motion passed unanimously. Niedenfuer made a motion to accept the overtime and callouts, seconded by Twit. The motion passed unanimously. I 6. Public Comments on the Agenda - There.were no public comments t~ the agenda. 1. Resolution on 133 - Hiemenz reported that steams County has requested that the Council Pass a no parking resolution for 133. state Aid specifications require that a resolution restricting parking is required when the proposed widths will not accommodate parking on both sides and Federal and State Aid monies are being used to fund the project.' The proposed widths for County Road 133 between County Road 134 and the north, City limits are two 3.6 meter (12ft) driving lanes, one 4.26 meter (13.78 ft) center lane and two 1.89 meter (6ft.) shoulders. The resolution establishes that the City shall ban the parking 'of motor vehicles on both sides of County Road 133 between County Road 134 and t/1enorth City limits at aU times. Hiemenz also reported that the County has asked for his signature on the plans for 133. Hiemenz would like Joe Bettendorf and John Scherer to review the plans before he signs them. Loso made a motion to approlie the resolution banning parking on both sides of County Road 133 between County Road 134 and the north City Limifs and to approve the 133 plans subject to review by the City Attorney and City Engitieer. Twit seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. _. 8. Parking Ban - Twit suggested that the Council leave the ban in place as it's hard to say if Page 3702 Man:h 2,2000 this weather will last. Loso suggested that the ban only be enforced when it snows and the plows have to come out. Loso stated that perhaps this policy should be in place all winter, but maybe that is a discussion for another time. Twit made a motion to leave the parking ban in place with the understanding that the police will only ticket when it snows and the streets must be plowed. Loso seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. I 9. Personnel Manual -Schmidt stated that the two items that were left for discussion were the overtime/compensation time policy and sick leave. The Council spent considerable time discussing the effects if hours away from work for jury duty, scheduled vacation or paid sick leave are not computed in hours worked when computing overtime. The City attomey suggested the following language be added to the personnel policy: "Hours away from work for jury duty, scheduled vacation or paid sick time will not be computed in hours worked for the purpose of computing eligibility for overtime pay." The Council adopted this language at the last meeting this was discussed. Schmidt stated that the suggestion made by the City Attorney's office regarding sick leave was for cost savings only. They suggested that the City does not need to allow the employees to bank such a large amount. The employees currently can bank up to 720 hours. They accrue 8 hours each month. Schmidt stated that there is no legal requirement that they must change this provision. In addition, the City has a lot of employees that have worked for the City many years with the understanding that they were building up their time. It seems unfair to take that away from them now. Ehlert agreed stating that any change that should only apply to new employees and the rest would essentially be "grand-fathered in." Twit stated that the employees that have already reached 720 should be allowed to keep those hours but that the new policy should apply to the other employees. Perhaps there should be a future date-"a sunset" to the current policy. I Twit suggested that the Council review the current policy and come up with suggestions for changes that can be discussed at an upcoming meeting, instead of reviewing it now. Schmidt stated that as far as the overtime issue goes there is a need to clarify what is scheduled overtime and what is a "callout." The weekend shifts are si:heduled a month in advance sò it seems reasonable that they would be considered scheduled overtime. Snowplowing is a different story. Dick tells the guys at 4-5:00 that they need to come in that night to plow. There is no advance waming. Schmidt stated that this time should be paid at time and a half regardless of how many hours have already been worked during the week. Twit stated that he agrees with that, but that this time should not be counted as part of the rest of the week for computing overtime_ Schmidt stated that legally it has to be counted as hours worked, but that some discussion can take place regarding the amount of time that is needed for the night time work. The Council previously discussed wanting the employees to only do the bare minimum during the night time hours and spend their normal shift finishing up. Schmidt stated that she would discuss this issue with the public works employees to see what can be done during the day. She stated that it's likely that they are just being thorough and trying to get as much done as possible while all of the cars are off the streets. However, there might be some things that could be done during the day instead. Schmidt stated that she would report back to the Council on this item at a later date. 10. Mayors Report - Hiemenz reported on a Habitat for Humanity program that would be interesting to implement in St. Joseph. Ehlert agreed and asked Schmidt to speak with the EDA Director to see if something like this could be put into place with new developments in St. Joseph. Hiemenz reported that there is another meeting with Ed Abrams from the MTC scheduled for the 28th at 10:00 AM to review the survey that was done regarding potentia! bus service. I I I I \ Page 3703 March 2, 2000 Hiemenz also reported that the SL Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce has requested that the City of St. Joseph join. Hiemenz asked Schmidt if she would call Teresa Bohnen and have her come to an upcoming meeting regarding this possible membership. Hiemenz -attended a Steams County hearing regarding the feedlot setbacks. Hiemenz also attended a name dedication ceremony for the st. Cloud Area Economic Development Partnership. They will now be known only as "the Partnership." Hiemenz reported that he spoke to Boy Scout Pack 84 about what the Mayor does in St. Joseph. ì Hiemenz reported that he met with St. Cloud Mayor Meyer about the sewer negotiations. They will be putting together a proposal that they would like the City to approve before the st. Cloud City Council sees it. This would help the City avoid some of the problems that Sartell ran into. Hiemenz addressed the complaint that Fred Reber submitted to the City. Reber is complaining that water is running into his yard due to the lack of landscaping on the south end of his property in Pondview 5. Hiemenz asked Schmidt to bring it to the attention of the City Engineer. 11. Council Reports - Twit reported that he would be gone on vacation until the 12'". Ehlert reporteó that he read in the paper that the funds that were raised for the events center are now going to St. Cloud State University. He stated that a lot of hard work was putting into raising those funds and he is a little disturbed that it is going to one institution. He stated that he feels robbed. Hiemenz agreed and stated thaNhe other communities are getting the short end of the stick. The funds are only there because we all worked together _ Hiemenz reported that on that same note that he and Schmidt attended a meeting regarding the possibility of the sales tax issue coming up again. St. Cloud state will be conducting a phone survey to see what the general response to this would be. Loso had nothing to report. Niedenfuer reported that the Healthy Communities Partnership group attended their final training in Wadena. It was a very beneficial training and the group is looking forward to putting the new skills they leamed to work in st. Joseph. 13. Clerk/Administrator Report - Schmidt reminded the Council of some upcoming meetings. She also added that the HCP group will now be meeting on a regular basis on the second Monday of the month from 5:30-7:00. The meetings will also be televised. ' 14. Closed Session: Hiemenz stated that at this time, the Council would adjoum to closed session fo a discussion of the Police Chief candidate selection. At 9:45 PM the Council reconvened. Hiemenz reported that the Council picked a candidate to begin negotiations with for the position. 15. Adjourn _ Loso made a motion to adjourn at 9:50 PM, seconded by Ehlert. The motion passed unanimously. I Respectfully Submitted, c.;:s Jv-vf Cari Schmidt Clerk/Administrator City of Sl Joseph