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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.04.24March 4", 2024 Page 1 of 3 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the ,City Council for the City of St. Joseph met in regular session on Monday, March 4t", 2024, at 6:OOPM in ,the St. Joseph Government Center. Members Present: Mayor Rick Schultz, Councilmembers Kevin Kluesner, Bob Loso, Kelly Beniek Absent: Adam Scepaniak City Representatives Present: ,:City Administrator David Murphy, Public Works Director Ryan Wensmann, Community Development Director Nate Keller, City Engineer Randy Sabart, Police Chief Dwight Pfannenstein, City Clerk Kayla Klein, Finance Director Lori Bartlett, City Attorney Sue Dege Public. Comments: None. Approve Agenda: Loso motioned to approve the agenda; seconded by Kluesner and passed unanimously. Consent Agenda Kluesner made a motion to approve the consent agenda; seconded by Schultz. Schultz pulled item d. for discussion. The motion to approve consent agenda items a. -.c. passed unanimously. Consent Agenda: a. Minutes — Requested Action: Approve the minutes of February 20, 2024 b. Bills Payable — Requested Action: Approve Check Numbers 61587-61640, Payroll & Account Payable EFT #3275-3294; Regular Pay Period 4. c. Plow Truck Purchase — Requested Action: Approve the purchase of a plow truck from the City of Apple Valley in the amount of $65,000.00. Requested "tion- Hire a graRt write farS400 00 fe apply for the PEAAA. Q-5,15- grant te rN�^,.vc o +ho f d- arim t radios. Schultz shared the League of MN Cities has a new program that assists cities with hiring grant writers. He suggested checking into the resources available from the LMC. They may be more cost effective than what has been proposed. After discussion between staff and council, consensus was to explore the services available from the LMC if time allows. if time is of the essence in applying for the grant, the Fire Department may pursue hiring the proposed grant writer. Loso motioned to approve item d. with the stipulation that the Fire Department exercises due diligence by checking to see if utilizing LMC services would be cost effective versus hiring the grant writer that has been proposed; seconded by Schultz and passed unanimously. Kinetic. Jason Wood: Jason Wood from Kinetic provided the council with an update of campaign and > fundraising efforts for the Community Center. Jason informed the council his intent is to hold one on one meetings with council members within the coming week. Municipal Dispensary: City Administrator David Murphy asked the council if they would be in favor of staff spending time researching municipal dispensaries. Murphy shared some of the caveats: • State law authorizes cities to operate municipal cannabis retail stores. • Cannabis is still illegal under federal law. • There is a working group of a few dozen cities in MN exploring the idea of a, municipal dispensary. • The League of MN Cities has shared there are no known municipal dispensaries currently. • The League of MN Cities Insurance Board has not authorized coverage of municipal dispensaries due to the uncertain status of federal law. After discussion, the council gave staff authorization to continue following the MN cities who are exploring municipal dispensaries. Council also suggested staff work on an ordinance that would put a moratorium on dispensaries until January 1st, 2025. March 41", 2024 Page 2 of 3 St Joseph Township Fire Contract Amendment: City Administrator David Murphy shared that staff is looking for feedback from the council regarding the most recent draft of the contract. St. Joseph Township is also reviewing the most recent draft of the contract. The city attorney has reviewed and approved the contract based on form and content. The contract calls for a buyout of the township's interest in equipment and property. If the city and township agree on the contract, it will be brought back at a future meeting for council action. Loso feels the operational costs for the city will increase and the city will need to plan accordingly. Loso, Kluesner and Beniek all agree that the contract length of 10 years may be a bit long. Lexipol Policy Subscription St Joseph Police Department: Police Chief Dwight Pfannenstein shared on February 6th of this year the MN Post board conducted an on -site audit. One of the talking points of the audit was that the current version of the police policy manual has references back to 2003. It was suggested that our policy manual be updated before the next audit in 3 years. The Lexipol subscription would keep up with changing state mandates without taking away staff time to research nor would we have the legal expense of having to utilize the city attorney. Additionally, Sartell, Waite Park and Stearns County subscribe to Lexipol, a subscription would provide policy consistency between departments as our officers provide mutual aid to those departments. Council and staff discussed funding for this year and next year. Finance Director Lori Bartlett informed the council that there are funds available for this year; next year the subscription will be added as a new line item. Schultz asked who would have access to the subscription. Pfannenstein replied there will be different user and admin levels. Kluesner made a motion to approve the Lexipol Policy Subscription; seconded by Beniek and passed unanimously. Promotion of Utility Worker: Public Works Director Ryan Wensmann informed the council that since the recent resignation of Randy Torborg, another vacancy became available in the utility department. Per the union contract, the position was posted internally. Mike Johnson, who has been a maintenance worker since 2003, was the only applicant for the position. Wensmann shared Johnson is fully qualified for the position and supports the promotion of Mike Johnson. Johnson's promotion will create a second opening in the maintenance department. Seventeen applications were received for the maintenance worker position, both openings will be filled using the applications that have been received. Schultz made a motion to approve the promotion of Michael Johnson (MJ) to Utility Worker Position Grade 6, step 7 effective March 5th, 2024; seconded by Beniek and passed unanimously. Engineer Reports: City Engineer Randy Sabart provided the council an update on the County Road 133/Elm Street E Roundabout Improvement Project. Friday, March 1st Stearns County, and their consultant on the project shared the almost completed drawings which Sabart went over with the council. Sabart reminded the council the project is not slated to begin until after the CO RD 75 bridge project is completed. Department Reports: Community Development Director Nate Keller shared he is continuing to follow the many zoning and land use bills being addressed during the legislative session. Housing is a priority for the legislature this session. Keller will be creating a summary with potential impacts they may have and share it with the council. Wensmann asked the council for direction. He was asked by the Winterwalk Committee if they could leave the lights on the trees until next year and only remove the extension cords. The council's consensus was to have the lights taken down. March 4"', 2024 Page 3 of 3 Mayor and Council Reports/Updates: Tracy Morrison and Tom Emmer's office sent out the community funding project request. These are congressional spending dollars. We applied last year; it got promoted but did not get funded. Schulz would like to apply again this year to request funding for the sewer main extension. The League of MN Cities Day on the Hill is March 7th. Schultz is planning to meet with the legislators. Schultz spoke with CSB/SJU's, President Bruess, Ph. D about the newly installed flashing crosswalk signage on CR 121. The student senate had funds available and worked with the County on getting the signage installed. Councilmember Beniek shared that she is looking forward to talking about the possibility of a CO RD 75 pedestrian bridge at an upcoming work session. She explained it is needed due to the rapidly growing businesses in that area of the city. Councilmember Loso asked if parking restrictions can be lifted until November 1st and suggested the winter parking ordinances be revised. Council and staff supported lifting the winter parking restrictions effective immediately. Adiourn: Kluesner made a motion to adjourn at 7:16PM; seconded by Beniek and passed unanimously. 4KayKlein City Clerk