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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMin_08Dec10Falcon Heights City Council Minutes December 10, 2008 Members present: Mayor Lindstrom, Council members Harris, Kuettel, Long and Mercer-Taylor, Administrator Miller, Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk Kreuser. Mayor Lindstrom called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The minutes of the November 12 and December 1 council minutes were approved as submitted. Consent Agenda: The following six items were moved for approval by Council member Kuettel. The motion passed unanimously. 1. General disbursements through 11/22/08: $35,076.62 and 12/4/08: $74,830.60 Payroll through 11/15/08: $16,848.19 and 11/30/08: $14,988.12 2. City License Renewals - 2009 3. Revised 2007 Pay Equity Report 4. Change of funding source for the 2008 General Fund transfer 5. New Mileage Reimbursement rate for 2009 6. Petition for vacation of Walk 4 to 1742 Tatum Street Policy Agenda: Adoption of 2009 Tax Levy and Budget Administrator Miller summarized the actions of the council to date. He said there is a special levy included for 2009 to pay for debt, and said the city is worried about the status of its LGA for 2009 due to the economy. The council looked at some expenditure cuts and new revenue sources for the 2009 budget, and Miller said that the enterprise and special revenue funds are increasing in 2009. Both the water and sewer charges are increasing slightly as well. Finally, he stated the budget this year would include a management letter, a change from 2008’s budget that explains the situation and rationale for budget items in 2009. He asked the council to adopt the resolution of the tax levy, followed by the resolution adopting the budget. Council member Kuettel said the council has been working on the budget for 2009 for about six months and applauded the staff for really being conservative with the budget. Mayor Lindstrom said he was approached by a neighboring city and was proud to say the levy was reasonable and the city is heading the right direction. Council member Harris asked about the unallotment of LGA. Miller replied the city gets two payments from the state, with the second payment coming after Christmas. The amount would be $155,000 for Falcon Heights but with the state’s deficit, there is talk that LGA and MVHC would be cut or eliminated. Currently there is 20% of the city’s revenue due to LGA, so about 10% of the City of Falcon Heights’ revenue for the year with two weeks left to spare in the year could be lost. The city would likely have to dip into reserves to cover it. In 2009, the city is slated to get $475,000 in LGA. If it is cut, the council will have to look at the budget for next year with a hard eye to make up the shortfall. Council member Mercer-Taylor said there are no service cuts that would affect the residents, but do affect the staff. In the future, it would affect the core services for residents. Kuettel added that the city and councilors are in contact with the legislature and they are aware of the city’s situation with limited tax base. Miller added the legislature made it doubly hard since there were levy limits placed on cities for 2009, so the lost LGA revenue cannot be made up for by taxes. Council member Harris moved to adopt resolution 08-14. The motion passed unanimously. Council member Harris moved to adopt 08-15. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Resolution 08-17 to Eliminate a Portion of 2009 debt levy on General Obligation Debt Administrator Miller stated the city could choose to use reserves or special levy for debt. $28,000 is left to pay out of reserves, and the remainder of $96,000 would be levied. The debt was incurred for the ’99 street bonds. Council member Kuettel moved to adopt 08-17. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Increase in Uniform Parking Fee Administrator Miller summarized that with the new budget, the city is looking for additional revenue sources. The current parking fee has not been raised since at least 1993. Police Chief Ohl said the force issues about 500 tickets per year, many during the State Fair from out-of-town guests. This would apply to any parking – snow emergency, illegally parked, any routine violations. Mayor Lindstrom stated that he has seen cars towed during the Fair as well. Council member Mercer-Taylor noted this is keeping up with other cities. Council member Mercer-Taylor moved to adopt ordinance 08-05. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Ordinance Authorizing Charges for Fire Department Response to Vehicle Accidents Administrator Miller said the fire department responds to about two vehicle accidents per month, and the city does incur costs for responding to these. State law does allow cities to collect the costs for these types of events. The fee is billed to the driver’s insurance company. If it is not paid, it allows the city to assess against property taxes for those who live in Falcon Heights, and send to collections those who do not live in the city. The city responds to about 24 accidents a year and it would bring in about $8400 per year. Mayor Lindstrom stated the charge is very close to what it actually costs the city to respond through wages, trucks, and materials. Mercer-Taylor asked if the fee is levied per vehicle. Miller replied it was. Long added other cities are doing this, and it allows Falcon Heights to keep up with other cities. He moved to adopt 08-06. The motion passed unanimously. 5. Resolution 08-18 Ordering the Feasibility Report for the 2009 Pavement Management Program Administrator Miller said that each year the city engineer performs a function that rates the city’s streets. Routine maintenance is important to avoid big repairs in the future. Prior Ave, Maple Knoll Drive, Garden, and Fry were identified as needing repair. Staff thought initially the repairs could be put off for a year; however, the water utility needs to get in and fix the water mains. The city would like work on the street once. In addition, the bidding environment for next year will benefit the city due to the current economic times. The engineer’s estimate is $245,000 for the project and about 40% is assessable to property owners. The rest, the city could use state MSA funds for. The plan approval would allow for estimates, engineering, and more research on the project. After it comes back, that is when the plan would go to council to send to bid. Mercer-Taylor asked about the assessment per home. Miller said there is no information on that yet. There have been calls about the water mains, the condition of the street is not good in that neighborhood, and there have been calls about that as well. Long asked about the state aid for the project. Since it comes through the gas tax, he asked if it could not be approved for the project. Miller said the money is approved statutorily, and we have money in that account. Council member Kuettel moved to approve 08-18. The motion passed unanimously. Resolution 08-19 to adopt 2009 Fee Schedule Administrator Miller said the highlights are included in the 2009 fee schedule, and the city looks at it every year in order to avoid big increases every few years, and in order to stay competitive with other cities. He said there are some increases for permit fees, room rental fees, false alarm fees for police calls, enterprise and special revenue fees are also included. Some new fees include the vehicle accident fees, rental licensing, and room fees for hobby groups that the city houses for meetings. There is an appeal process for addressing the city council to request free use. Mercer-Taylor asked about the fees for the parks. Miller replied those are comparable to other cities. Long moved to adopt 08-19. The motion passed unanimously. Information/Announcements: Mercer-Taylor said she would attend the sustainability meeting tomorrow night of students at the U. She would keep an eye out for any good ideas to bring back to city hall. Harris wished everyone happy holidays at the last meeting of the year. Kuettel echoed. Long announced Friday Dec 19 is the craft class at city hall with a holiday theme. The schedule for 2009 is online. There are lots of holiday recreation classes scheduled for this month, so check out the website. Rinks will open on Dec 22. Warming house at Community Park, FHE, Curtiss Field and a rink at Grove Park – check online for times and dates. Thanks to PW for the flooding. Winterfest is Jan. 25 from 1-4 at Community Park with horse rides, bonfire, and games. In 2009 the parks commission has two openings, and the applications are available online. Mayor Lindstrom congratulated The Source for being named the best game store by City Pages. In ’02, they were named the best game store in the nation. He said that more and more he is hearing that Falcon Heights is being recognized due to that store. Mayor Lindstrom adjourned the meeting at 7:47 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Stacey Kreuser Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk