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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_03Dec10CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS COUNCIL MINUTES December 10, 2003 Mayor Gehrz convened the regular Council meeting at 7:00 PM. PRESENT: Mayor Sue Gehrz, Council members Laura Kuettel, Robert Lamb, Peter Lindstrom and Richard Talbot Also present: City Administrator Heather Worthington, Finance Director Roland Olson, Parks/Public Works Director Bill Maertz, Deputy Clerk Mary Shea Kodluboy, Parks Commission Chairperson Chuck Long, and Falcon Heights/Lauderdale Lions Club President John Anderson COMMUNITY FORUM: There was no commentary from the audience. PRESENTATION: Donation from the Falcon Heights/Lauderdale Lions Club for playground equipment at Community Park Mr. John Anderson, President of the Falcon Heights/Lauderdale Lions Club, presented a check for $3,000 to Chuck Long, Parks Commission Chair, and said that this contribution is for the purchase of new playground equipment at Community Park. He reminded the viewing audience that the money is raised through the Lions Club’s annual Christmas tree sales at Community Park. Parks Commission Chair Long accepted the check for $3,000 on behalf of the City and thanked the Lions Club for their generous contribution. He said the new playground equipment will replace the current structure that has outlived its useful life. The Lions Club has supported the City’s parks and recreation programs and has provided funds for the new picnic shelter, the gate and the iron fencing. Council member Talbot thanked the people who take the time to write and submit grant applications on behalf of the City. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The November 26, 2003 and December 8, 2003 Council meeting minutes will be available for Council consideration at the January 7, 2004 Council meeting. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None Scheduled CONSENT AGENDA: Kuettel moved approval of the Consent Agenda, as outlined below. The motion was unanimously approved. 1. General Disbursements through December 5, 2003: $ 33,345.14 2. Payroll (11/15/03-11/30/03): $ 11,569.20 FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -2- December 10, 2003 CONSENT AGENDA (continued) 3. Liquor Licenses – Ciatti’s, J’s Liquor and Pizza Hut. Approvals contingent upon the City’s receipt of all necessary paperwork, insurance and fees by December 31, 2003. 4. Increase Budget Line Items in the Community Development Fund 5. Establish the budget line items of the Special Revenue Fund CERT/CCC 6. Increase Budget Line Items in the Special Revenue Fund 204 POLICY AGENDA: Consideration of Resolution 03-24 Adopting the 2003 Property Tax Levy of $874,338 Mayor Gehrz explained to the viewing audience that the City’s Truth in Taxation hearing was held on Monday evening, December 8, and Administrator Worthington and Finance Director Olson had made presentations. There was one resident in attendance that wanted to learn more about the process. The levy and budget being proposed for 2004 are the culmination of more than six months of work on the part of the City Council and staff. Administrator Worthington introduced Finance Director Olson and said that on Monday evening Council member Lamb had a question about property tax increases/decreases. Finance Director Olson utilized the overhead projector to give an overview of the proposed levy and budget for 2004, and describe the major factors that affect property taxes for residential, apartment buildings and commercial/industrial. Administrator Worthington commented that the only item that the City has control over is the tax levy, the spending. Mayor Gehrz explained, for the benefit of the viewing audience, that the basis for the discussion is that the City did not increase the taxes from 2003 to 2004. The intent was to use other resources to maintain current City services. The City kept the levy the same but some properties are seeing a slight increase in their property taxes to be paid in 2004. The question being asked is why is that? Finance Director Olson has explained the combination of factors. RESOLUTION 2003-24 Talbot moved adoption of Resolution 2003-24 approving the property tax levy for 2004 in the amount of $874,338. The motion was unanimously approved. Council member Kuettel said that staff and the City Council have worked long and hard on the budget and have tried to be as creative as possible. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -3- December 10, 2003 Consideration of Resolution 03-25 Adopting the 2004 Budget Mayor Gehrz said that the City lost $100,000 of Local Government Aid in 2003 and will lose $100,000 in 2004. This money helps the City pay for services that are mandated by the State. To handle the loss, the City decided to transfer approximately $135,000 from reserves and created a Reserve Policy. Council member Lindstrom said the City has lost Local Government Aid but has also lost tens of thousands of dollars in State tax. For a number of years, cities have had to pay sales tax on their purchases. That adds up to quite a bit of money. Council member Talbot said that in December, it seems like such a quick, simple thing, but the City Council and staff started working on the budget in June, 2003. Mayor Gehrz said that this year, the State Fair started to assist with paying for some of the policing costs. The City has applied for and received grants, and will continue to develop new sources. She invited anyone with ideas that are legal to let the City know about them. RESOLUTION 2003-25 Lamb moved adoption of Resolution 2003-25 approving the 2004 budget in the amount of $1,429,919. The motion was unanimously approved. Purchase of 10 SCBA Units for Fire Department Administrator Worthington said that in mid-2003, the City received a grant in the amount of $12,904.02 for the purchase of ten (10) Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), with the requirement that the City purchase at least $18,000 worth of equipment in order to receive the grant. The cost per SCBA was estimated at $1,800 for the purpose of that grant, based on information Ramsey County obtained. The Fire Department needs to replace 10 units at this time. When the City bid out the SCBA’s, however, the per-unit cost was almost twice that amount, $3,295.00. The City’s participation in the original grant would have been $6,000; the participation amount would now be almost $20,045.98. If the City does not apply to the County to use this grant by December 31, 2003, the City will lose the money. Staff has been exploring all other options, including replacing our SCBA with a high-pressure system (we now have low-pressure SCBA), and obtaining other price quotes. The units we are considering are the lowest price we can get, but these units are not part of Saint Paul’s Joint Purchasing Master Contract, unfortunately, as Saint Paul has converted to a high-pressure system. If we were to purchase high-pressure units, we would need to convert our entire SCBA group over to high-pressure for safety reasons, and replace our cascade system (which is used for filling the tanks). FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -4- December 10, 2003 Purchase of 10 SCBA Units for Fire Department (continued) Administrator Worthington said this would exceed the amount we would pay for the low-pressure SCBA we are hoping to replace at this time (approximately $37,500 for the SCBA and $5,000 for the cascade system, for a total of $42,500). For this reason, staff is recommending that we purchase 10 low-pressure SCBA units at a cost of $3,295.00, for a total of $32,950.00, minus the $12,904.02 grant, for a final total of $20,045.98. Staff also considered purchasing fewer units; however, the rate of return on the City’s investments is at less than 2% at this time, and the price increase in SCBA units has been close to 5% per year in the last several years. For this reason, it makes sense to replace those ten units now, rather than replace them at a rate of one or two per year for the next five years. The purchase of these units will be funded out of the Public Safety Capital fund, and the City will not be replacing any more SCBAs until 2007. A brief discussion followed. Kuettel moved approval of the expenditure of $20,045.98 for the purchase of ten SCBA, and application to the County for the grant in the amount of $12,904.02. The motion was unanimously approved. Establishment of NE Quadrant Traffic Task Force Administrator Worthington said that in mid-2003, during the public hearing on the new Dino’s restaurant site plan, several neighbors in the Crawford/Arona area expressed concern about the amount of cut-through traffic and the speed of that traffic on local, residential streets. At that time, the Planning Commission suggested that a task force be developed to meet, discuss and research these issues. Staff mailed out invitations to residents in the NE Quadrant on July 16, soliciting members for the task force. Positive responses were received from the following residents and business owners in the area interested in serving on the Task Force: Nina Semmelroth Wendy Noble Jeanette Pasek Thomas McClellan Doug Bossard Rachel Berger Don Sobania Jason Adamidis (representing Dino’s) Cap Hanson Administrator Worthington said that after the first meeting, staff will report back to the Council on the Task Force’s recommendations for moving forward, and establish a policy to guide future requests for traffic studies. Council member Lindstrom asked what the projected timeframe will be and Administrator Worthington projected it will be a six to eight month process. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -5- December 10, 2003 Establishment of NE Quadrant Traffic Task Force (continued) Council member Talbot said that traffic is a hot issue and it isn’t something that is easily resolved overnight. He endorsed the formation of a Traffic Task Force. Lindstrom moved approval of the establishment of the NE Quadrant Traffic Task Force, and endorsement of the roster. The motion was unanimously approved. Technology Upgrades Due to the Conversion of the City’s Computer Network Administrator Worthington said the City is in the process of converting its computer network over to Roseville’s network. As part of the conversion, there are several workstations that either need to be upgraded or replaced because the hardware will not support the network program that Roseville uses. Roseville will make new computers available to us at their contract price, and used computers for a nominal fee. In addition, we will be able to purchase software upgrades for some existing computers under their contract arrangement. The following workstations will be updated, or replaced: Department: Public Works 1 new, 1 used $1,200 Planning 1 new $1,100 Finance 1 new $1,000 Recreation 1 used $100 Forestry 1 used $100 Administration 3 upgrades $1,353 Total $4,853 While this amount does not exceed the Administrator’s expenditure limit, it is very close, so staff wanted to get Council approval on this expenditure. The funds for this expenditure will be taken from the 2003 CIP allocation under General Capital for Computer Replacement in the amount of $4,000, and $853 from the GIS line item in the General Capital portion of the budget. The increased functionality, and network services will also be provided to our GIS efforts, so this is a logical funding source for this expenditure. A brief discussion followed. Kuettel moved approval of the expenditure of $4,853 for the replacement and upgrade of computer equipment due to the conversion of the City’s computer network. The motion was unanimously approved. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -6- December 10, 2003 REPORTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS: Council member Kuettel said that the 1-day immunization program offered at Twin City Co-ops earlier in the day was very popular. Normally they get about 70 people and this year they had over 600. She said there is an article in this week’s issue of the Roseville Review about Rolf Leary, a resident of Falcon Heights, who participated in the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition. His design, a 4” high hand blown glass tear drop on a wooden base, has a panel for personal memorials and can be lighted from below. The TearDrops can be purchased through the Hamline United Methodist Church and Blomberg Pharmacy. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Council member Lamb said the Twin Cities has experienced its first big snow of the snow of the season. He asked Falcon Heights residents to make an effort to shovel around fire hydrants and take a couple of extra minutes to shovel their sidewalks. Council member Talbot said that there has been talk about connecting with neighbors. Be neighborly. Be a friend. See if anyone on your block needs help. Maybe the kid down the block needs a job. He thanked the Lions Club for their $3,000 gift and suggested that residents buy a Christmas tree from them. Council member Lindstrom said that he also wanted to thank the Lions Club. It’s great to know that the money raised in the community goes back into the community. Mayor Gehrz reminded everyone that the Council meetings’ schedule for January, 2004, will be different. The Council held two meetings this week, with tonight’s meeting being the last one for December. Because of the gap between now and the regularly scheduled meeting on January 14, it was decided to hold the first January Council meeting on January 7 and the second meeting on January 28. She read a thank you note from Patrick Norris, a St. Paul resident employed by Hermes Floral, who participated in the second series of CERT trainings just completed. There were 21 graduates and she hopes they will be able to attend the first Council meeting in January. On Saturday, December 6, twelve people participated in a CPR training program offered by the Neighborhood Commission. She said that she hopes everyone has a safe and happy holiday season. Administrator Worthington reminded the cable audience that the City doesn’t declare snow emergencies. When there is a snowfall of 2”, vehicles are to be moved off the streets until they are plowed curb to curb. She asked people to shovel their sidewalks, particularly for the benefit of elderly and children. Even if you live in rental housing, please shovel your sidewalks. Council member Talbot said that people need to keep their vehicles off the streets if it continues to snow. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -7- December 10, 2003 The regular City Council meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM. Respectfully submitted, Mary Shea Kodluboy Deputy Clerk