02-12-2025 Workshop Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP MEETING CITY COUNCIL LITTLE CANADA, MINNESOTA FEBRUARY 12, 2025 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a workshop meeting of the City Council of Little Canada, Minnesota was convened on the 12th day of February, 2025 in the Council Chamber of the City Center located at 515 Little Canada Road in said City. Mayor Tom Fischer called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and the following members of the City Council were present at roll call: ROLL CALL: In attendance were Mayor Fischer, City Council Members Gutierrez, Kwapick, Miller, and Malone. Absent: None. ALSO PRESENT: City Administrator Chris Heineman, Community Development Director Ben Harrington, Public Works Director Bill Dircks, Finance Director Sam Magureanu and City Clerk/HR Manager Heidi Heller. REVIEW NEW JOB DESCRIPTIONS FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC WORKS AND ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENTS The Community Development Director explained that the city is planning for a few staffing transitions within the Community Development Department. He stated that staff believes that hiring a full-time, dedicated Permit Technician will provide long-term benefits as this position would only focus on permitting and building department processes. He explained that the Community Development Department is managing a wide array of projects, including zoning code amendments, corridor planning, and an upcoming Comprehensive Planning process and these initiatives demand significant staff time and focus. He stated that hiring a Permit Technician would allow for more effective administrative support, enabling leadership to prioritize strategic planning efforts without compromising day-to-day operations. The Community Development Director explained that a Permit Technician position would take on some of the duties and responsibilities that currently fall on the Customer Service Specialist. He stated that this rearrangement will allow the Customer Service Specialist to be more active in general customer service, triaging resident/customer inquiries, and assisting the City Clerk with administrative matters and city licensing. The Community Development Director reported that the City Council has already included $38,850 in the 2025 budget for a new part-time front desk administrative position, but by utilizing this budget allocation towards the hiring of a Building Permit Technician, the remaining 2025 budget impact is estimated at approximately $20,000. The cost for this budgetary impact could potentially be supplemented by a combination of building permit fees and fees from our shared services contract with Falcon Heights. City staff is also exploring the possibility of expanding the shared services agreement with St. Anthony Village to further defray these costs. There was Council consensus of support to add a full-time Building Permit Technician position. The Public Works Director reported that there are currently four active employees in the Public Works Department which includes the Streets and Fleet Supervisor, two PW Maintenance I