04-01-2013 Council Work Session Minutes

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION April 1 , 2013 APPROVED 135 be important to understand priorities before reductions are considered . The mayor said 136 that he ' d like to keep drilling down on all areas of the budget . A session to discuss 137 priorities will be scheduled . 138 139 7 . City Communications Plan — Police Chief Swenson introduced the proposed 140 Communication Plan and Social Media Policy that will ensure consistency and help to 141 establish and maintain appropriate social media use . The Plan is clear in establishing 142 types of communications and how they will be handled as well as instituting a " stoplight " 143 method that establishes the urgency of communications . 144 145 Council Member Stoesz asked if city council notices could be posted on Facebook and 146 Chief Swenson remarked that consideration of your audience is an important element of 147 any post . Mayor Reinert suggested that the council could have a role in this , perhaps in 148 getting the word out to encourage citizens to tell the city how they best receive 149 communications . 150 151 8 . Community Survey — Administrator Karlson noted that the idea of a community 152 survey was raised by the council recently . He has asked a company that specializes in 153 surveys , Decision Resources , for an informational estimate . He recalled that the city of 154 Coon Rapids did a sixty question survey at a cost of about $ 16 , 000 . If the city were to 155 contract for a survey , it would most likely be funded through the general fund 156 contingency . 157 158 The mayor wondered how surveys are done now since many people don ' t have home 159 phones . Mr . Karlson suggested that cell phone contact would be included as well as land 160 lines . 161 162 The council discussed timing . Council Member O ' Donnell remarked that it is still early 163 in this year so there is uncertainty about what else could be vying for the contingency 164 funding ; it may be best to discuss this type of service later in the year . Mayor Reinert 165 concurred and asked staff to return with this matter in a few months ; also the next 166 discussion should include information on how a survey could reach people without land 167 lines . 168 169 9 . Bald Eagle/Elmcrest Corridor — Council Member Roeser indicated that he requested 170 this discussion and he has included some information in the packet showing Bald Eagle 171 Boulevard . There are pictures of the roadway that is in really bad condition . He wants to 172 start a discussion about how the city could be involved in fixing the road . Perhaps 173 something like funding a paving project through the watershed district or shared costs 174 with another city , or even state Legacy funds . The council has heard about a WSB 175 service that helps look for grant funds ; maybe that ' s an avenue . The city administrator if there ' s interest and have WSB put together a 176 could contact the City of Hugo and see 177 ball park figure for improvements that don ' t include sewer and water . 178 179 Review Regular Agenda of April 8 , 2013 — The council reviewed the meeting packet . 4