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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 [12] Dec 07 December 7, 2015 Page 1 of 5 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, December 7, 2015 at 6:00 PM in the St. Joseph City Hall, opening the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilors: Dale Wick, Matt Killam, Renee Symanietz. Administrator Judy Weyrens. Members Absent: Bob Loso Citv Representatives: City Engineer Randy Sabart, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Public Works Director Terry Thene, Police Chief Joei Klein. Others Present: Charles Kern, Logan Gruber, Kyle Roach, Lloyd Bruemmer, Tom Klein, Jodi Teich, Mark Brommenschenkl. Public Comments Chuck Kern, American Legion: Kern approached the Council stating he is in favor of an increase in the liquor license fees,just not in the amounts proposed. Kern noted that the Legion is a small organization with a small source of income and won't be able to absorb the 23% increase in fees. Kern asked that a more reasonable increase be instituted. Oath of Office: Schultz administered the Oath of Patrol Officer to Celeste Walz and Daniel Pfannenstein. Both Walz and Pfannenstein will join the Police Department as part time patrol officers. Agenda Approval: Wick made a motion to approve the agenda adding item 10c, Government Center and item 11a Coalition Resolution; seconded by Symanietr and passed unanimously by those present. Consent Apenda: Symanietz made a motion to approve the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously by those present. a. Minutes -approved the minutes of November 16, 2015 b. Bills Payable-approved payment of check numbers 049923-049985, Payroll EFT #001132-001136 and Accounts Payables EFT#001713-001714. c. Labor Agreements—authorized the Mayor and Administrator to execute the Agreement regarding reduction of aggregate value (insurance)for both bargaining units, AFSSCME and LELS. d. 2016 Meeting Calendar—adopted the 2016 meeting calendar as presented. e. Transfers—authorized transfers for the 2015 financial year. f. Liquor License—issued the malt liquor, cigarette and amusement licenses for the license period January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016. g. Treasurer's Report—Accepted the November 2015 Treasurer's Report. h. Police Vehicle—authorized the execution of the lease agreement for the 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe Patrol Vehicle at a cost of$705.74 per month. Truth in Taxation Hearing—2016 General Fund Budaet: Schultz opened the Truth in Taxation hearing. Finance Director Bartlett stated state statute requires the final budget and levy be certified by December 28tn. The final levy cannot be higher than the Preliminary 2016 Levy that was set on September 21, 2015. Bartlett noted that the Council and staff have reviewed the budget. Bartlett provided the budget timeline which began in June 2015 with general discussions. In September 2015, the Preliminary Budget/Levy was adopted and in December 2015, the City Council will adopt the final 2016 Budget/Levy and Fee Schedule. Bartlett stated the long term objectives taken from Council discussions include: maintaining high quality services and financial stability, improve infrastructure, increase tax base, minimize tax increases, improve recreational activities, walkability within the city, new/improve Government/Police facilities, gain December 7, 2015 Page2of5 efficiencies, and continue discussions on revitalization. The proposed final levy shows a net tax capacity increase of 3.79% and the tax rate will increase 2.084%. The result will be an increase of$2.19 on a home valued at$150,000 and $16.07 increase per month on a $500,000 business. The proposed budget does include a full-time Community Development Director, par-time staff for recreation in the community c nter, public works seasonal employees for the community center. The half- time police center and EDA int�rn have been removed. Weyrens clarified that since the preliminary budget was certified, the budget was reduced approximately $ 33,000. The reductions included buying down the budget$ 10,000 from excess revenues from 2015 and the balance from reduced personnel costs based on labor negotiations and the new position starting in March. Wick made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute resolution 2015-037 Adopting the Final 2015, Collectible 2016 Tax Levy and Approving Final 2016 Budgets and Capital Improvement Plans. The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously by those present. Public Hearinq—2016 Proqosed Liquor License Fee Schedule: Schultz opened the public hearing for the proposed 2016 Fee Schedule and the Proposed Liquor License Increases. Chuck Kern approached the Council again to ask for a lesser increase in the liquor license fees as it is a large increase to absorb for such a small organization. As no one else present wished to speak, Schultz closed the public hearing. Weyrens stated that the Council can do a tiered increase over 3 years if they would like to have a more gradual increase. Wck agreed stating that the fees have not been increased since 2002. Killam stated he would like to have the increases staggered, rising $300 each year. Killam made a motion to approve the proposed 2016 liquor fees with the following tiered schedule in place for on-sale liquor licenses: $2,600 in 2016; $2,900 in 2017; $3,100 in 2018.The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously by those present. Proposed 2016 General Fee Schedule: Weyrens stated that changes made to the fee schedule are highlighted in yellow. In addition to the liquor license fee increases other notable changes to the fee schedule include the following: conduit debt fee, fire hall and community center rental fees, rental license fees, bulk water, wac/sac fees, utility rates, and building permit fees. Weyens stated she received a letter of support from Jane D Austin from the Builders Association regarding the changes in the fee schedule. The letter noted her appreciation that the fees did not increase substantially. Wick made a motion to adopt the 2016 Fee Schedule.The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously by those present. Utilitv Rate Studv: Bartlett introduced Carl Brown, president of gettinggreatrates.com, who provided an analysis report of the water and sewer rates. Brown stated that both utility revenues are significantly too low to cover all operating and debt payment costs. Therefore, overall rates should be increased and rates should be reconstructed. Brown added that the City's situation is not unusual when it comes to other cities he has analyzed. Brown noted that the line charges for the services are based on a very similar scale to what he typically recommends therefore those do not need to be changed. The unit charges are what need to be changed in order to cash flow the system. The main driver to increase the rates is debt service. The sewer fund is the one that needs the most attention and will see the biggest increase in rates. Once the peak increase in 2018 is reached, then the increases will be minimal. There are no other options on debt service, it has to be paid, and therefore rates will need to be increased. December 7, 2015 Page 3 of 5 Brown proposed a model with substantial unit charge rate increases for both water and sewer that will replace the subsidies that are now coming from other funding sources. The proposed increased fees will fund the utilities adequately. Brown stated that increasing the rates will substantially increase the amount of revenues coming in. Unit charges are proposed to increase from $461,049 in 2015 to$707,297 in 2016. Brown stated that he does not know the national average for water and sewer bills, but from his experience it is typically about 1% of the annual household income. The report proposes a water rate increase from the current$ 3.45 to$5.09 per 1,000 gallons. Brown stated the water rate increase can be split over a three year period and then increased yearly based on inflation. Brown stated that staff has indicated that the City will incur a number of sewer improvements in the near future, and a larger increase will be needed. Because sewer is a larger expense, the reserve balance for sewer needs to be higher than the water reserve balance. Currently sewer reserves are less than water. Brown's report proposes an increase in the sewer unit charge from the current$2.95 to$7.82 per 1,000 gallons. If the City wanted to split the initial increase, the only issue would be missing the additional revenue that would be gained by implementing the initial larger increase. The affordability rate for current sewer charges is .67%. The recommended rates bring the affordability rate to 1.34%which is higher than the national average of 1%. Wick questioned whether residents are paying double as in paying for things in the now and for items in the future. Brown stated that is the case as it is normal to have large amounts of debt. It is up to the City on whether they want to raise the rates to get work towards becoming current, or to continue to have large amounts of debt in the years to come. Schultz questioned if St. Joseph is in good shape compared to the rest of the state. Brown stated there are a lot of water and sewer systems that are in the same situation. Weyrens added that in St. Joseph's case, the City was hit with large added expenses that the City thought was a part of the maintenance agreement with St. Cloud. St. Joseph is not alone with this frustration as all participating cities of the St. Cloud Wastewater System are dealing with the same issue resulting in higher rates. Schultz questioned whether the cost will continue to increase steadily after the initial peak increase. Brown stated that due to inflation, the rates will continue to increase. Brown concluded that any further questions can be filtered through Bartlett to relay to Brown if need be. SunShare. Solar Proposal: Kyle Roach, SunShare approached the Council stating that previous discussions have included the possibility of the City becoming a solar subscriber. Since then, staff requested SunShare consider building a solar garden in the City of St. Joseph on the land next to the new water treatment facility. The land would be leased to SunShare and the City would receive the subscriber credits at a better rate and also benefit from lease revenue for the land over the next 25 years. Roach noted that another garden is being built in 2016 in Cold Spring. SunShare is capped at 1 megawatt which can be built on 5-7 acres.An area of concern could be the wetlands to the west. Roach stated that if there is capacity within the Cold Spring garden, then they would like to have the City within that capacity. Only a portion of it can be commercial and the rest have to be residentia{. Wick requested additional information regarding layout and footprints of the garden.Thene questioned whether the entire property would be used. Roach stated he will be in contact with Thene and Sabart regarding the land and the future wells on the property. General consensus of the Council was to move forward with option 2 for pricing to obtain the terms and conditions with those figures and estimates. City Engineer Reports Minnesota St W/Countv Road 2 turn back: Sabart stated when County Road 2 was relocated, Stearns County requested the City agree to accept CR2 for MSA purposes so that the County could get MSA for the new CR 2 as they could not claim MSA for the same road. The City had concerns at that time as West December 7, 2015 Page 4 of 5 MN ST was in need of maintenance and it was the opinion of the City that before the road was turned over, the County should update the road or minimally contribute towards a future payment. The County agreed to negotiate in good faith the compensation that would accompany the turn back. Discussions with the County have been held regarding compensation. The City was recently offered $75,000 as compensation to which staff did not agree with. Staff requested the City be compensated based on the pro rates share of useful life. Sabart stated from the City's perspective, the costs would be around $300,000. Stearns County Engineer, Jodi Teich:Teich approached the Council stating the County swallowed a lot of costs with the realignment of CR2. Teich added the County was under the impression that the City would be taking the road back after CR2 was complete. Teich stated that she cannot get to the$300,000 as they cannot cut any other projects. Teich added that she could possibly come up with $20,000 additional, but that is all. In addition to the monetary sum, Teich offered removing the turn back of CR 134, leaving it a County Road. Schultz questioned if the City is making a bad decision fiscally if they accept the terms of the County. Sabart stated he would be more concerned if the road was in dire need of repair. Additionally, the turn back of CR 134 is a larger issue for the City and having the County remove it from their list would be of great benefit to the City. General consensus of the Council is to move forward with the offer from the County of$95,000 and the removal of the turn back of CR 134. Field Street: Sabart stated the feasibility report for the Field Street Improvements was presented to the Council at the December 3`d meeting. In the packet is the resolution calling for a public hearing on January 4th, 2016 at 6:30 PM. The second process that should be initiated is authorizing the appraisal process for the needed right of way. Schultz made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute resolution 2015-036 Ordering the Public Improvement Hearing for the proposed construction of Field Street on January 4, 2016 at 6:30 PM.The motion was seconded by Wick and passed unanimously by those present. Weyrens stated that the appraisals will be paid for by MSA funds with a local appraiser doing the work and SEH will be the liaison between the appraiser and the City. Administrator Reports Human Riqhts:Weyrens reported that the five year Joint Powers Agreement expires at the end of 2015. The State of MN has agreed to continue the office in St. Cloud but they will not pay the expenses for the Joint Powers Board.The costs for St. Joseph would be$283 for 2016. Symanietz made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute the Joint Powers Agreement for participation in the Regional Human Rights Office.The motion was seconded by Wick. Discussion: Schultz noted that there were supposed to be no costs for the Regional Human Rights Office if the office were to remain in St. Cloud.Wick added that there are reports that should come back to the City and nothing has been received for quite some time. Ayes: Symanietz,Wick Nays: Schultr, Killam Motion Faited: 2:2 Labor Aareement—LELS: Weyrens reported LELS has tentatively agreed to the labor agree for the contract years 2016-2017. The proposed contract increase the HSA contribution $250.00/Family and $ 100/Single(annual contribution for both years)and increase wages 2.5%for 2016 and 2.75%for 2017. December 7, 2015 Page 5 of 5 Wick made a motion authorizing the Mayor and Administrator to execute the Labor Agreement between the City of St. Joseph and LELS for the contract years 2016-2017.The motion was seconded by Symanietr and passed unanimously by those present. Government Center:Weyrens reported she received a call from Tom Peck regarding the status of the government center design. Initially, the design was approved for$20,000; however the cost is looking at being closer to $30,000. Schultz made a motion authorizing an additional $10,000 to HMA as the architect of the government center design.The motion was seconded by Symanietz and passed unanimously by those present. Mayor Reports Coalition Resolution: Schultz reported the Coalition of Greater MN Cities has come forward with a request for the City to adopt a resolution to support and refund the LGA at a higher level than what has previously be funded.The resolution will come forward at the next Council meeting. Schultz reported on the following: • The Transportation Commissioner was in town last week.The need for transportation is outweighing the funding. • Progress in Motion meeting will be held on December 9�h at th� Kelly Inn in St. Cloud. All the State Legislatures were invited to talk about local needs and funding. • December 9th, the St.Joseph Chamber of Commerce is having their year-end celebration at the Gorecki Center from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM. At the January meeting, Schultz will be reporting on the yearly review on what has been happening in the City. Adiourn: Wick made a motion to adjourn at 8:50 PM; seconded by Killam and passed unanimously by those present. d y��� J d W ns d inistrator THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK