HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWkspMin 10-5-11Falcon Heights Council Workshop Minutes
September 7, 2011
St. Paul Campus Sustainability Tour - 5:00 pm
Members present: Mayor Lindstrom, Council members Long and Mercer - Taylor
Members absent: Councilmembers Harris and Gosline
Others present: University of Minnesota Personnel
Councilmember Mercer - Taylor led the group on a tour of the Nice Ride Bike Sharing
program as well as other projects on the St. Paul Campus including the Cornercopia
and the Sarita Wetland project.
Workshop - 6:30 pm
Members present: Mayor Lindstrom, Council members Long, Harris, Gosline and
Mercer - Taylor
Members absent: None
Others present: Robert Long, Dale Grundberg, Finance Director Roland Olson, and
Assistant to the City Administrator Michelle Tesser
City Hall Solar Panel Discussion
Miller and Bob Long presented the newest financial projections, which show a
maximum payback period of 12 years. Energy Alternatives is guaranteeing that the
panels will produce at least $4,110 in energy each year, and with this information in
hand a payback period can now be calculated. The council had questions about
warranties and insurance, and Miller agreed to work with Energy Alternatives to
provide answers to these questions.
2012 Special Revenue and Debt Service Budget Review
Miller went over each budget area and then turned to Tesser to provide more detailed
participation information regarding parks and recreation programming. The council
suggested new programming ideas and encouraged staff to continue to monitor fee
levels for all programs.
GASB 54 Discussion
Olson presented the background on why this new accounting standard is required and
went through how it would change the way the city's fund balances are reported in the
annual audit. Olson also discussed staff's recommended fund balance policy. The
council agreed with the changes and staff noted that a formal action would be
submitted to the council in the coming weeks.
The workshop concluded at 8:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Justin Miller
City Administrator