HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWkspMin 1-5-11
Falcon Heights Council Workshop Minutes January 5, 2011 Members present: Mayor Lindstrom, Council members Long, Harris, Gosline and Mercer-Taylor Others present: Administrator Justin
Miller, University of Minnesota Law Students, Professor Prentiss Cox, Human Rights Commissioner Gwen Willems University of Minnesota Law School Project – Municipal Renewable Energy Financing
Options Students from the law school presented their report, which focused on three areas of potential city involvement – city financing (revolving loan fund, rebates and/or credits),
city as aggregator of resources and gaining economies of scale for individual purchases, and assessing a fee or tax on energy usage in the city. The council discussed all options and
directed the students to further investigate a revolving loan program and a “groupon” style program where the city would act as an intermediary for residents to purchase energy efficient
improvements for their households. The students indicated that they would return in April with with a final report. Domestic Partner Registry Program Miller indicated that the human
rights commission had been approached about creating a domestic partner registry program in Falcon Heights, but that they wanted some direction from the city council before moving ahead.
After some discussion about the merits and drawbacks of such a program, the council directed the human rights commission to further investigate how to implement such a program in Falcon
Heights. Specifically they would like to see examples of ordinances in other cities and specific ways in which these registries provide a benefit to those who apply for one. Police Contract
Renewal Discussion Miller reminded the council that the current police contract with St. Anthony expires at the end of 2011 and a new contract would begin to be negotiated in the coming
months. There was general satisfaction with how the contract and arrangement with St. Anthony has been going, but the council encouraged Administrator Miller to aggressively negotiate
terms on future contracts to protect taxpayer interests as much as possible. The workshop concluded at 8:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Justin Miller City Administrator