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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_04Jul28CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS COUNCIL MINUTES July 28, 2004 Mayor Sue Gehrz called the regular Council meeting to order. PRESENT: Mayor Gehrz, Council members Laura Kuettel, Robert Lamb, Peter Lindstrom and Richard Talbot Also present: City Administrator Heather Worthington, Deputy Clerk Mary Shea Kodluboy and Terre Heiser/Roseville IT Department COMMUNITY FORUM: Mayor Gehrz said that Colton Graham, a Falcon Heights resident, contacted the City with a request to make a presentation to the City Council regarding his Eagle Scout project. The agendas and packets were already prepared and distributed, so Colton was invited to do his presentation during the Community Forum portion of this evening’s meeting. Colton Graham, a Boy Scout with Troop 904, said that he is working toward becoming an Eagle Scout. He contacted Bill Maertz, the City’s Parks and Public Works Director and they decided upon a prairie planting project in Community Park. On May 22, Colton and friends planted about 500 prairie plants provided by the City. Some of the prairie plant species were: Prairie grasses, daisies, and sky blue aster. They also removed the equivalent of six bags of weeds from the park. Colton showed photographs of the project to the City Council. In response to a question from Mayor Gehrz about applying this experience to other parts of his life, Colton said it will help if he becomes a boss in a big business. Colton said that he feels really proud that he helped the community. Mayor Gehrz presented Colton with a City pin and told him how proud she and the City Council were of his accomplishments. PRESENTATIONS: None Scheduled APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The Council minutes dated June 23, 2004 and July 14, 2004 were unanimously approved as submitted. 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 23, 2004: $ 239,945.07 Payroll (07/01/04-07/15/04): $ 14,559.79 2. Approval of Reciprocal Fire Service Agreement with the Capitol City Mutual Aid Association FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -2- July 28, 2004 POLICY AGENDA: Consideration of an IP Telephony System Administrator Worthington said that in1997, the City purchased the current phone system, manufactured by Inter-Tel. This system has begun to show signs of its age, and has become increasingly expensive to maintain. Staff began discussions with the City of Roseville last year regarding the installation of a new IP Telephony system, which would operate over the fiber network that has been installed between most of the communities in Northern Ramsey County. Because this system does not rely on land-lines for communication, it costs approximately $5,000 less to operate each year. Staff prepared an analysis of the IP Telephony system, and found that the capital costs associated with this installation could be recovered in approximately 24 months of service due to the savings represented in toll charges on the existing phone system. In the 2004 CIP Budget, $8,000 was allocated for the replacement of the City’s phone system. The total capital cost of this installation is estimated at $9,980, with an estimated cost of $7,500 per year in operating costs. The current system cost the City $16,790, and costs an estimated $11,199 per year to operate. Since we will begin saving money immediately on this change-over, staff estimates that the additional $1,980 over the budgeted amount can be recouped on toll charges, which would amount to approximately $3,300 over a four-month period. This system will be quite a bit cheaper and permits the City to have redundancy because of a wider range of feeders that will be available. The sound quality and reliability are excellent. It can be expanded up to 40 direct dial lines and will be E-911 capable. The software will be continually upgraded. The disadvantage: The City’s phone numbers will have to be changed but the switchover will occur about nine months before the new phone books come out. Mayor Gehrz asked Mr. Terre Heiser, Roseville IT Department, to give a brief overview of the IT Telephony System and he did so. Council member Kuettel asked if there are occasions when fiber optic lines go down. Mr. Heiser said that a good portion of the optic fiber in the area is aerial and maintained by Comcast. Nothing of this nature has happened in four years. Council member Lamb asked about hardware ownership. Mr. Heiser said that all of the stations and analog adapter premises equipment will belong to Falcon Heights. Roseville owns the servers and the software licensing. Council member Lamb asked who owns the router and Mr. Heiser said Falcon Heights does. It was purchased about four years ago. Anything in the building belongs to Falcon Heights. Council member Lamb asked when the transfer will occur and Administrator Worthington said that is yet to be determined. The new phone number will be 651-792-7600. Mr. Heiser said the project isn’t very difficult and the labor is covered in the current joint powers agreement. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -3- July 28, 2004 Consideration of an IP Telephony System Council member Lamb asked if there is potential to run a pay phone off this network. Mr. Heiser said that IP can run off any type of medium. Council member Lamb said he thought the City would be very interested in this at some point, particularly for the City’s parks. Mr. Heiser said the City of North St. Paul opened its new City Hall on June 29. There are three call processor backup sites: Roseville, CTV Studios and North St. Paul. The system could support over 15,000 devices and right now it supports 400. Roseville has joint powers agreements with ten other cities. Council member Lindstrom said that one of the big disadvantages that he has read about is that you can call 911 but they can’t see your address. What makes this system different? Mr. Heiser said that when Roseville installed the system in October, 2003, it spent money for an emergency responder. This system has Enhanced 911, which is a requirement now. It is a software service that lets you program and configure any way you want. When the Roseville IT Department did its first analysis two years ago, the analysis identified what people wanted and the number one priority was business continuity. They looked at business processes and tried to put a plan in place that provides continuity. Council member Talbot asked about vulnerabilities. Mr. Heiser said they looked at risks and the cost value of risks. There are always vulnerabilities. They have been running their system for about nine months and it is working quite well. There was a brief discussion about remote site survivability. Lamb moved approval of the Service Addendum with the City of Roseville/Information Technology Department and installation of the IP Telephony system. The motion was unanimously approved. Hire Greg Hoag as Director of Public Works Administrator Worthington said the Council is being asked to approve the hire of Greg Hoag as the Director of Public Works. This position was recently vacated when Bill Maertz was hired as the new Parks Director for the City of Elk River. The position was advertised in the Pioneer Press and on the League of Cities website. There were 11 applicants for the position and the top five candidates were interviewed by a panel made up of Mayor Gehrz, Administrator Worthington, Bill Maertz, and Employment Consultant Lisa Lynn. The panel was unanimous in its recommendation to hire Greg. Greg comes to Falcon Heights from the City of Little Canada, where he has been the Park Maintenance Supervisor for 10 years. Greg is active in professional organizations, such as the Minnesota Turf Manager’s Association, and Minnesota Park Supervisor’s Association. He will be available to begin on August 16th. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -4- July 28, 2004 Hire Greg Hoag as Director of Public Works (continued) Administrator Worthington said the City will start Greg at a yearly salary of $52,500, with eligibility for step increases at 6 and 18 months. This is a non-exempt position, so Greg will also be eligible for overtime or compensatory time, depending on his preference. Greg will receive three weeks of vacation, and eligibility for city insurance, the ICMA 457 retirement plan (defined contribution), and tuition reimbursement up to $2,000 per year. Greg Hoag said he is very pleased to come to Falcon Heights as the new Public Works Director and is looking forward to the new challenges. He said that he worked for Falcon Heights about ten years ago as an ice rink attendant. Mayor Gehrz said the City has spent a lot of time and effort trying to make sure it is as well prepared for disasters as it can be. Greg is a volunteer firefighter for Roseville and has gone through the HazMat training. His experience and training with the Roseville Fire Department will help a great deal. Kuettel moved approval of the hire of Greg Hoag as Director of Public Works, effective August 16, 2004, at a starting salary of $52,500, with eligibility for step increases at 6 and 18 months. This is a non-exempt position, so Greg will also be eligible for overtime or compensatory time, depending on his preference. Greg will receive three weeks of vacation, be eligible for City insurance, the ICMA 457 retirement plan (defined contribution), and tuition reimbursement up to $2,000 per year. The motion was unanimously approved. . REPORTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS: None INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Council member Kuettel reminded the viewing audience that the City’s annual Ice Cream Social will be held on Thursday evening, July 29, 6-8 PM, at Community Park. Ice cream treats will be served by the Falcon Heights/Lauderdale Lions Club and there are rumors that she and Mayor Gehrz may be in the dunk tank. It will be a great time to meet people from the community. Mayor Gehrz reminded people to bring money. They will have to buy tickets to have the privilege of dunking people. The money that is raised goes for park scholarships and projects. Council member Lindstrom thanked Colton Graham for putting in the great plants. Council member Talbot reminded residents who live around the SE Corner and Curtiss Field projects to change their air conditioning/furnace filters more frequently because of the dust the projects generate. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -5- July 28, 2004 INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS (continued) Council member Talbot said he received a call from a resident with questions about the 2005 local government aid distribution formula and the temporary fix that Governor Pawlenty announced he would make. He asked Administrator Worthington if she could give the viewing audience some background information on this. Administrator Worthington said the problem was caused by a legislative mathematical formula error that wasn’t corrected by the 2004 Legislature. Bigger cities would have been most affected. Governor Pawlenty announced he will certify the 2005 LGA distribution based on legislative intent. Mayor Gehrz said that Tuesday, August 3, is National Night Out and to date, there are six block parties taking place in Falcon Heights that night. If residents are planning to have a block party, call City Hall and let staff know. Colored paper is also available at City Hall for block party invitations. Wednesday evening, August 4, 6:30 PM, the City Council will be having a second budget workshop, with primary focus on the general operating budget of the City. The public is welcome to participate. She said everyone received a lot of calls about the Polaris event at the State Fair. The noise impact was pretty horrendous. Because the grandstand is under construction, the bands were placed on Machinery Hill. She talked with Jerry Hammer, Director of the State Fair, about this and there will be meetings scheduled for businesses and residents to talk with State Fair officials about what they are experiencing. Mr. Hammer said they would never again put a band on Machinery Hill. Administrator Worthington said the Solid Waste Commission has not completed its study and will be bringing its recommendations to the City Council in early fall—September. She said there has been an increase in thefts and 90% of them are occurring in unlocked garages, homes and automobiles. She reminded the viewing audience to lock their garages, garage access doors, homes and automobiles, and to not leave anything within view in vehicles. Don’t take your security for granted. Council member Talbot said that residents should call 911 if they see anything unusual or that concerns them. The regular City Council meeting was adjourned at 8:05 PM. Respectfully, Mary Shea Kodluboy Deputy Clerk