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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSIONSeptember 3, 2013 <br />DRAFT <br />Mayor Reinert suggested that there is a trend and the city shouldpossiblyrespond,buthe <br />181 <br />wants to have all the available information and knowledge before making a move. <br />182 <br />Council Member O’Donnell added that the city should make sure that the lessees are <br />183 <br />aware of the city’s discussions. He also received assurance that the revenue loss is being <br />184 <br />properlyconsideredin the coming budget. Council Member Stoesz suggested that lease <br />185 <br />agreements could be negotiated to include cell phone costs for the city. <br />186 <br />187 <br />Mr. DeGardner will put together additional information and the council will continue to <br />188 <br />study the matter. <br />189 <br />190 <br />7.Salt Storage Shelter Project– <br />Public Services Director DeGardner and Streets <br />191 <br />Supervisor Tim Payne reviewed the staff report that explains how the city currently stores <br />192 <br />its salt mixture in a stockpile (not a best case scenario). The Public Works Department is <br />193 <br />transitioning to move away from a salt/sand mixture for streets to salt brine. Equipment <br />194 <br />is being adapted for this change. Since the City doesn’t have a salt brine production unit, <br />195 <br />the solution was obtained from the City of Centerville. The City, along with other <br />196 <br />municipalities in the area, received grant dollars from the Rice Creek Watershed District <br />197 <br />to assist in reducing chloride on streets (that runs off to area waters).Staff plans to <br />198 <br />continue integrating the brine anti-icing methods into the city’s winter maintenance <br />199 <br />operations. Thisproactive approach will assist in reducing chlorides, reducing the <br />200 <br />amount of necessary plowing and more complete removal of snow. Staff is now <br />201 <br />proposing a partnership with Anoka County to construct a Salt Storage Shelter at the <br />202 <br />city’s public works facility. The City’s portion of the costs is proposed to come from the <br />203 <br />Building and Facilities Fund. The council concurred that staff should move ahead with <br />204 <br />the project, noting the possibility of providing salt to Centerville. <br />205 <br />206 <br />8.Upgrade of Financial Software <br />–Finance Director Rolek explained that the City <br />207 <br />has been discussing an upgrade and putting money aside for some time. The current <br />208 <br />software is functional but cannot be updated. He noted that staff has been looking at <br />209 <br />software possibilities and he reviewed the process used to get to a recommendation (a <br />210 <br />score card). The costs are presented in his report. The recommendation presented is the <br />211 <br />system believed to best fit the city’s needs. <br />212 <br />213 <br />The council discussed the number of users, both finance staff and others that would be <br />214 <br />“casual” users. Council Member Stoesz asked if there will be a guarantee, if the city <br />215 <br />chooses the cloud application that it will not be moved off shore and Mr. Rolek <br />216 <br />responded that he’d have to check further on that question. Council Member Roeser <br />217 <br />asked about what other cities are using and also if there are possibilities to save on a <br />218 <br />different system or by going through the network (MetroInet). Council Member Rafferty <br />219 <br />asked how long the system will last (Mr. Rolek said at least ten years) and about <br />220 <br />applications that may not be needed. The council discussed system costsand possibilities <br />221 <br />for economies. Council Member O’Donnell recognized thatMr. Rolek’s research and <br />222 <br />recommendation is comprehensive and appropriate; he would urge that negotiations occur <br />223 <br />where that is appropriate for the contract. <br />224 <br />225 <br />5 <br /> <br />