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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_04May19 CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS COUNCIL MINUTES May 19, 2004 Mayor Gehrz called the regular Council meeting to order. 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 and Deputy Clerk Mary Shea Kodluboy City Auditors Jennifer Thienes and Matt Mayer, Kern DeWenter Viere, Ltd. COMMUNITY FORUM: There was no commentary from the audience. PRESENTATIONS: CERT Graduation and Presentation—Mayor Gehrz Mayor Gehrz introduced the City’s third CERT team. She said twelve people completed the CERT training program consisting of seven training sessions, each three hours in length. They learned about different kinds of disasters, fire suppression, medical triage, etc., and will be able to assist their families, neighbors and perhaps the Fire Department, in the event of an emergency. She presented each of the graduates in attendance with a CERT pin and patch: Frank Meah Laura Kuettel Karl Mueller Kathy Riewe Nancy Nelson, Falcon Eights Elementary School Marjorie Zimmer Paul Charest, Falcon Heights Elementary School Roger Aiken Four graduates were unable to be in attendance this evening: Dan Treadwell, Dan Greising, Pat Boom and Dave Jensen. Mayor Gehrz also thanked the three trainers: Dan Johnson-Powers, Kris Grangaard and Gretel Keene. She said that, to date, a total of 37 people have completed the training program, or nearly 1% of the City’s population. This summer, the three groups will be doing some terrorism practice responses and outdoor simulated disasters. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Kuettel moved approval of the April 28 and May 5, 2004 Council minutes, as presented. The motion was unanimously approved. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None Scheduled FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -2- May 19, 2004 CONSENT AGENDA: Talbot moved approval of the Consent Agenda, as outlined below. The motion was unanimously approved. General Disbursements through May 14, 2004: $ 113,096.58 Payroll (05/01/04-05/15/04): $ 12,121.09 Approval of the restated and amended bylaws of the Fire Relief Association 3. Appointment of new firefighters to the Fire Department: Jason Douvier Jonathan Stuart Anton Fehrenback Scott Tesch Michael Knox Marco Valdez 2003 CAFR Presentation Presentation of City’s 2003 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report by Jennifer Thienes and Matt Mayer, Kern DeWenter, Viere, Ltd. City auditors Jennifer Thienes and Matt Mayer, Kern DeWenter, Viere, Ltd., presented the City’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for 2003 and the Memorandum on Financial Analysis, Accounting Policies and Procedures, and Internal Control. A brief question and answer period followed. Council member Kuettel asked about car allowance and mileage reimbursement. Mr. Mayer said that this year the State Auditor’s office instructed auditors to look at mileage reimbursement and lawful purpose expenditures. Mayor Gehrz said the City had been giving the City Administrator $35.00/month as a car allowance and reimbursing her for any trip mileage incurred. The City will now go with straight mileage reimbursement. The current Federal reimbursement rate is 37.5 cents/mile. Council member Lindstrom asked how you put a dollar amount on streets. Mr. Mayer said that Finance Director Olson went back to 1981, looked at all of the street improvements, accounted for every mile of street in the City and established a historical cost. Council member Talbot said that recently the City approved several turn backs. How will they be reflected? Mr. Mayer said they will be reflected as assets. Council member Talbot asked about open meeting law insurance and Administrator Worthington explained the importance of carrying that insurance as a protection for the City. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -3- May 19, 2004 Presentation of City’s 2003 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report by Jennifer Thienes and Matt Mayer, Kern DeWenter, Viere, Ltd. (continued) Mayor Gehrz asked why this year’s audit required more time. Mr. Mayer said there is a new auditing standard, #99-Fraud and Detection of Fraud. There is more required testing and some surprise testing. He thinks this is a good standard. Kuettel moved acceptance of the 2003 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the City of Falcon Heights and the motion was unanimously approved. Mayor Gehrz said that the City, for the thirteenth year in a row, has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its comprehensive annual financial report from the National Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. The City is also being recognized for its third year of participation under GASB Statement 34. The significant thing for the community to know is that the City wants to make sure its budgets are understandable to people. The City’s financial management practices are considered to be outstanding and every effort is made to develop financial materials that are easy to understand. She commented that the certificate is a real monument to the outstanding work that Roland does. Without his work, the City would not receive this. Presentation from the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD) Mr. Michael McLean, Mosquito Control District’s Public Information Officer said that the MMCD is a special taxing district funded through property taxes. They are an arm of County government, with a County Commissioner from each participating County serving on their governing board. Their central office is located at 2099 University Avenue West, Saint Paul. Their phone number, which is answered by a live person, is 651-645-9149 and their web site address is MMCD.org. Staff contacts for this area are: Carla Mitchell, north of Larpenteur, and Jim Schmidt, south of Larpenteur. He gave a brief description of MMCD’s responsibilities with regard to mosquitoes, biting gnats, black flies, etc. They also map the distribution of ticks, rodents and West Nile virus activity. There are about 50,000 catch basins in the metro area and about 10% of them hold water all the time. These catch basins are treated three times a year with a granule that lasts for 30 days. Council member Lindstrom asked how many mosquitoes can come out of a tire. Mr. McLean said there can be 50-100 per cup of water. An area the size of a soccer field can produce a million mosquitoes. He said the MMCD encourages people to clean up the junk around their neighborhood. The MMCD will pick up old tires and take them for free. Council member Lamb asked what the community can do to help with this problem. Mr. McLean said they encourage people to look around their yards and neighborhood. Remove anything that holds water. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -4- May 19, 2004 Presentation from the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD) (continued) Council member Kuettel asked if residents are contributing to the problem with water gardening. Mr. McLean said that water gardens are a good idea. The key is if water is standing for more than a week. Sometimes people get a little carried away with a bobcat so water doesn’t infiltrate. Over time the garden gets waterlogged and needs to be cleaned out and replanted periodically. Mosquitoes kill more people than any other animal, with malaria being the main killer. Council member Talbot asked about the life span of a mosquito and Mr. McLean said it is two to four weeks, depending upon the species. Mr. McLean also answered questions from several Boy Scouts who were in attendance. MSRA Back to the 50’s Weekend Proclamation Mayor Gehrz said that over the last year, City businesses and residents have been expressing more concerns about the MSRA’s “Back to the 50’s Weekend”. The 55,000-65,000 people who come to watch are the ones causing the problems. Administrator Worthington said she sent an e-mail to the MSRA contact person outlining the City’s concerns and the projected signage costs, which will be about $600.00. MSRA has been asked to pay for the signage. MSRA wants to work with the City to educate the people who come to their event. Council member Lindstrom indicated he has no problem with the proclamation that MSRA has asked for, but he would like to make one change in the wording, and that is to eliminate the words Falcon Heights from the paragraph claiming a financial impact of millions of dollars. Lindstrom moved adoption of the proclamation declaring June 17-20, 2004 as “Back to the 50’s Weekend” in Falcon Heights, with elimination of the words Falcon Heights from the paragraph claiming a financial impact of millions of dollars. The motion was unanimously approved. REPORTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS: Council member Lamb said the Solid Waste Commission will be holding a public meeting on Thursday evening, 7:00 PM, at City Hall, to give information on the current status of the study they are doing about refuse collection. Everyone is more than welcome to attend. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS: Council member Talbot reminded the viewing audience living in the vicinity of Curtiss Field to read the periodic mailings from the City about the improvements being made to that park. FALCON HEIGHTS CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -5- May 19, 2004 INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS (continued) Council member Talbot asked when people will be able to use Curtiss Field again and Administrator Worthington said the work will be materially completed by mid-July. Council member Talbot reminded residents that if they have old tires they want to dispose of, they can call the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District at 651-645-9149 and they will pick them up. The MMCD does this to help reduce breeding areas for mosquitoes. Council member Lindstrom said that over the last three to four years, the City and the Saint Anthony Police Department has given away free gun locks. There is another supply available at City Hall and they are for guns, not bike locks or cabinet locks. Mayor Gehrz said that Ramsey County suburban communities have been concerned about the possible loss of the courthouse in Maplewood, but the courthouse will be relocated to a new building in Maplewood. She thanked Administrator Worthington, who assisted in the early discussions about this, and the Ramsey County Commissioners. Mayor Gehrz said that during the storm on May 9, the Police Department, the Fire Department, Heather, Dave and Colin were out and helping wherever they could. She thanked everyone who worked so hard that night. For the benefit of the viewing audience, she read a letter of appreciation from a resident, and it is outlined below. “On Sunday, May 9, 2004, after the storm rolled through the northern suburbs, a neighbor notified me that a large boulevard tree was uprooted and leaning toward my house. Being concerned and not really knowing what to do, I called the police department. They responded and immediately called the fire department. Within minutes I had the police, fire department and city staff at the scene reviewing the situation. Their quick and competent action saved me a tremendous amount of damage, expense and grief. By 11:30 the same evening, a tree service had the tree down and hauled away. This letter is to commend and thank the police and fire departments, Precision Tree Service, and especially Heather Worthington and Dave Tretsven. Heather and Dave handled the crisis in a very professional and friendly manner. I was very impressed and proud to be a Falcon Heights resident.” Pattie Rhein Administrator Worthington said she wanted to thank the Fire Department, who was called out twice that night and worked for about six hours. There were a couple of big trees that fell on roadways and had to be removed. The regular City Council meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM. Respectfully submitted, Mary Shea Kodluboy Deputy Clerk