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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_04Jul14 CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS COUNCIL MINUTES July 14, 2004 Mayor Sue Gehrz called the regular Council meeting to order. PRESENT: Mayor Gehrz, Council members Laura Kuettel, Peter Lindstrom and Richard Talbot Also present: City Administrator Heather Worthington, Parks and Public Works Director Bill Maertz and Deputy Clerk Mary Shea Kodluboy ABSENT: Council member Robert Lamb, with prior notice COMMUNITY FORUM: There was no commentary from the audience. PRESENTATIONS: None Scheduled APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Council minutes dated June 21, 2004 were unanimously approved as submitted. Council member Kuettel asked Mayor Gehrz for an update regarding the 800 MHz system. Mayor Gehrz said the County Board authorized the County Manager to begin a design process for a facility that could accommodate all dispatch for Ramsey County. The backbone for the system, the towers and leases, is moving ahead. An implementation kickoff event was held last Thursday that was mostly for first responders. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None Scheduled CONSENT AGENDA: Kuettel moved approval of the Consent Agenda, as outlined below. The motion was unanimously approved. General Disbursements through July 9, 2004: $ 54,193.08 Payroll (06/15/04-06/30/04): $ 15,639.45 Final payout to Bill Maertz (salary, vac & sick leave) $ 4,755.81 2. Appointment of Kimberly Kuhens to the Parks Commission 3 Approval of third partial pay estimate to Jay Brothers, Inc., in the amount of $68,858.23, for the 2004 Curtiss Field Pond improvements project. Council member Kuettel commented that she has known Kimberly and her family for eleven years and is very excited to see Kimberly involved in City government. Her older sister is a coach for the Parks and Recreation Department too. She said she wanted to give a special thank you to Parks Commissioner Patrick Dolan for approaching Kimberly with this opportunity. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -2- July 14, 2004 POLICY AGENDA: Proposed ordinance providing for the addition of rental storage space as an Interim Use in B-3 Zone Mayor Gehrz said this policy agenda item is being continued to the August 11, 2004 Council meeting, at the request of TIES, the applicant. She met with the applicant earlier in the day and he requested more time to prepare. This date is still well within the 120-day time period. Consideration of engineering RFP Administrator Worthington said that the City’s long-time city engineer, Terry Maurer, is contracting full-time with the City of Elk River for engineering services. As such, it is a prudent time to review our consultant contract with H.R. Green and open our contract to requests for proposal from other engineering firms. In addition to sending RFP’s to a number of firms, staff is recommending that an open call for RFP be placed on the League of Minnesota Cities website to ensure that we are drawing from the widest possible pool for this consulting contract. The timeline for the process is: RFP submitted by September 30 Interviews throughout October Consideration of finalists in November Contract awarded as of January 1, 2005 The City’s current contract with Howard R Green runs through December 31, 2004. Council member Lindstrom said that although Howard R. Green is doing a fantastic job, it makes sense to go out for RFP. It is good practice to make sure the City is getting the most and biggest bang for the buck. A brief discussion followed. Kuettel moved that staff be authorized to prepare an RFP for engineering services and distribute same, as outlined in the staff report. The motion was unanimously approved. Consideration of a welcome packet for new residents Mayor Gehrz said that with the projected opening of the new senior apartment building in early September, the City will need to distribute new resident information to the tenants. This is also an opportunity to promote the City’s business community. Mayor Gehrz said that coupons and other information would be solicited from the business community for inclusion in a “welcome packet” for new residents on the SE Corner. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -3- July 14, 2004 Consideration of a welcome packet for new residents (continued) Mayor Gehrz said that a quantity of the packets would be available in the management office of the new building. The City would provide the envelopes and put together the packets, while the business community would provide enough copies of their material for 200 packets. In addition, the City would include relevant City information, such as the new resident booklet. She commented that would be nice to spend a little more for nice envelopes and it would be fun to have a different kind of falcon that is a little more cheerful. The current falcon is a bit stark. Council member Kuettel said that sometimes things need to be updated. Hopefully, we will have people from Falcon Heights moving to this development. Council member Lindstrom said that as president of the Falcon Heights/Lauderdale Lions Club, he received a letter from the City of Lauderdale inviting the Lions to advertise in their City directory. He suggested that Falcon Heights consider inviting its business community to advertise on the back flap of the packet envelopes or in the new resident booklet. Council member Talbot said he has been waiting for five years to update the falcon. It is so 70’s looking. Talbot moved that Mayor Gehrz and Administrator Worthington be authorized to send a letter to all of the City’s licensed businesses requesting material for a “welcome packet” for new residents. Mayor Gehrz and Administrator Worthington are also authorized to redesign the falcon. The motion was unanimously approved. Step increase and title change for Ann Davy, Recreation Coordinator Administrator Worthington said the City hired Ann Davy on January 29, 2004 as Recreation Coordinator. Bill Maertz conducted a performance evaluation of Ann before he left on June 30th, and concluded that her work to date has been exemplary. He praised Ann for her strong work ethic, innovations in recreation programming, and excellent interpersonal skills. Additionally, Ann has taken on the City newsletter, designed the recreation brochure, and spearheaded a number of projects that show her versatility and considerable talents. Ann has already taken on more responsibilities and duties; however, with Bill’s departure, Ann was approached with an additional list of duties involving parks. These functions have been separated out from Bill’s old job description, and are more appropriate to Ann’s everyday duties and responsibilities. She recommended adding the following to Ann’s duties, and increasing her hours from 15% to 33% time to reflect these additional duties: Parks capital planning Playground maintenance scheduling and inspections (with Public Works Director) FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -4- July 14, 2004 Step increase and title change for Ann Davy, Recreation Coordinator (continued) Park and Recreation Commission staff liaison Rink Coordination and scheduling (Colin Callahan to continue as Rink Supervisor) Volunteer coordination (Boy and Girl Scouts, youth groups, school groups) Schedule coordination for park rentals (with Public Works Director and Deputy Clerk) Administrator Worthington said a title change commensurate with the new duties was appropriate and she recommended changing Ann’s title from Recreation Coordinator, to Parks and Recreation Supervisor. She also recommended a 5% step increase for the end of her probationary appointment. Ann will be eligible for an additional step at one year and at 18 months. Lindstrom moved approval of the additional duties for Ann Davy, a change in her title, and a 5% step increase marking the end of her probationary appointment with the City of Falcon Heights. The motion was unanimously approved. REPORTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS: None INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Council members Talbot and Kuettel reminded the viewing audience that the City’s annual ice cream social will be held at Community Park on Thursday, July 29, 2004, from 6 PM-8 PM. Council member Talbot also asked for an update about the reconstruction of Curtiss Field. Administrator Worthington said the reconstruction is pretty much on schedule. Some seeding has been done around the pond slopes. Trees will be planted toward the latter part of July. The only holdup is that the ideal time to plant grass is past. The concrete work is pretty much done. The section of Iowa Avenue that was removed earlier will be replaced within the next week. The park building will be reroofed within the next week or so. Installation of fencing along the property line will occur in the next few weeks and everything pretty much completed by mid-August. Council member Lindstrom commented that the pond drains much quicker now. Administrator Worthington said the sinkhole was probably related to a fire hydrant leakage problem. The sinkhole at Maple Knoll was the result of a previous water main leak that had washed out underneath the street. The third sinkhole was caused by a catch basin structure. Mayor Gehrz said that sweet corn is available now at the Farmer’s Market, which is held every Tuesday morning, from 8 AM-noon, in Twin Cities Co-op’s rear parking lot, Larpenteur and Prior. The City Council is in the process of holding a series of budget workshops in preparation for 2005. Some discussions have been held about the capital budget and upcoming discussions will be about the operating budget. She invited the viewing audience to contact the City Council and City Hall with ideas and input regarding the budget. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -5- July 14, 2004 INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS (continued) Mayor Gehrz said that three CERT teams have been trained and are now moving into the continuing education phase of the program. There will be a terrorism training this month, a communication training in August, a table top exercise in September and a major simulated disaster training in October. Administrator Worthington said that four candidates for the Public Works Director position were interviewed earlier in the day. She hopes to have a final candidate for Council consideration at the July 28 Council meeting. The regular City Council meeting was adjourned at 7:40 PM. Respectfully submitted, Mary Shea Kodluboy Deputy Clerk