HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020 [05] May 26 Work SessionMay 26, 2020
Page 1 of 1
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in workshop
session on Monday, May 26, 2020 at 6:00 PM at the St. Joseph Government Center.
Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz. Councilors Anne Buckvold, Brian Theisen, Bob Loso, Troy
Goracke. Administrator Kris Ambuehl.
City Representatives Present: Police Chief Dwight Pfannenstein, Public Works Director Terry Thene,
Finance Director Lori Bartlett, Community Development Director Therese Haffner, City Clerk Kayla Klein,
City Engineer Randy Sabart
City Hall/Facilities Reopening: Council discussed the reopening of City Hall. The initial plan was for
opening on June 1st; however, other area cities are opening on June 15th.
Buckvold was concerned that reopening facilities may cause spikes in COVID and asked whether the St.
Cloud Hospital had enough capacity to accommodate.
Staff recommended and Council agreed to reopen facilities on June 15th.
Refuse/Clean Up Day: The spring clean up saw enforcement of the 4x4x4 junk restrictions. The refuse
contract is up at the end of 2020 and the city will publish and RFP. The council discussed what the
options could be for cleanup days and directed staff to have those conversations with the refuse hauler
for the fall. Staff recommended keeping it the same for the fall cleanup and then decide what to put on the
RFP at the end of the year.
Remote Meeting Access: The cost to have and electronic platform for meetings will be about $8,000.
Quotes will be brought to the Council for approval on June 1st.
Street Project Priorities Bartlett presented the digital budget book. This would allow residents to view the
budget in a more detailed way. The program also downloads all census data. The cost is $7,000 annually.
Buckvold was supportive of the idea as residents will be able to easily access budget information.
Some questions raised included: how much time will staff save? Is there a cap on licenses given to the
City? Is there a cost for each additional license? How much are maintenance/support costs? Will the
annual fee increase yearly?
Bartlett will get the answers to those questions and it will come before the Council on June 1st.
Staff began reviewing the capital and operational budget requests for 2021. Staff’s request is to have the
council discuss priority of 2021 and 2022 projects.
Projects to be completed in 2021 include Northland Area Street Overlay, East Park Phase 1 but only if its
in the bonding bill, and the 18th Avenue SE Improvements. Projects for 2022 include the monument signs
and street overlays.
Theisen asked what should be done with the MN Streetscape Project. The project needs to be dialed
back and then there is the potential to complete this year. Projects in 2020 are being pushed to 2021 to
better align with the project bid seasons.
Adjourn: Schultz made a motion to adjourn at 7:57 PM; seconded by Goracke and passed
unanimously.
Kris Ambuehl
City Administrator
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK