HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-26-2012 Council Minutes (2) CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION November 26, 2012
APPROVED
CITY OF LINO LAKES
2 MINUTES
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4 DATE : November 26, 2012
5 TIME STARTED : 5:30 p.m.
6 TIME ENDED : 6:30 p.m.
7 MEMBERS PRESENT : Council Member Stoesz, O'Donnell,
8 Rafferty, Roeser and Mayor Reinert
9 MEMBERS ABSENT : None
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12 Staff members present: City Administrator Jeff Karlson; Public Safety Director John
13 Swenson; Community Development Director Michael Grochala; City Engineer Jason
14 Wedel; City Clerk Julie Bartell
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16 1. Records Technician Position—Public Safety Director Swenson noted that this matter
17 appears on the Council Consent Agenda. The Police Department has been involved in a
18 hiring process and has two top individuals that will be interviewed again after background
19 is complete. Hiring for this position would fill a vacancy that is an authorized position in
20 the current and proposed budget. When Council Member Rafferty asked where the new
21 hire would fall on the salary scale for this position, Chief Swenson explained that it
22 would depend on qualification including experience.
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24 2. Assessment Services—Contract with Anoka County—Administrator Karlson noted
�-- 25 that consideration of this contract is on the regular agenda for this evening. It was
26 postponed from the last council meeting to allow time for staff to research other options.
27 He has provided information on three methods used by cities. The first is to hire an in-
28 house assessor as is done in thirteen cities in the metro area(average salary is over
29 $100,000). The budget for Anoka County Services is $129,000 and his estimate for in-
30 house, all inclusive of salary, benefits, equipment, etc, would be in the range of$130,000.
31 There are four cities in Anoka County that contract with a private firm for assessment
32 services. A negative for that scenario is quality control—service levels go up and down
33 and can impact quality (an article is attached to the staff report). He added that it would
34 take a year to implement a new contract. He recommends that the city remain with
35 Anoka County for the five year period.
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37 Council Member Stoesz indicated that he also has done research on what services are
38 available. Although he hasn't finalized his research enough to fully answer the question
39 of why cities utilize the county, he is comfortable staying with Anoka County with the
40 information received. Council Member Roeser concurred that continuation of the current
41 services with staff that knows the city appears to be the best option.
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43 3. Review Regular Council Agenda - The council reviewed the agenda and questions
44 were posed as follows:
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1
CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION November 26,2012
APPROVED
46 Item 3C—2013 City Fee Schedule Ordinance—Charges that were deemed to be
47 obsolete by staff were questioned and an additional suggestion offered by a council
48 member to make the city code book, city charter and environmental handbook available
49 under the per page cost.
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51 Mayor Reinert touched on the subject of excessive information requests. Sometimes the
52 impact of such requests is costly (legal or consultant response). He'd like a discussion
53 clarifying how those type of services are handled and costs involved. The goal isn't to
54 refuse information but to offer it in the most efficient form.
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56 Council Member Stoesz noted the charges for vehicle lock out services provided by the
57 Police Department. He is interested in hearing from the Police Chief the type and
58 frequency of those services and the cost to the city.
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60 Not on Printed Agenda - Council Member Rafferty noted in the area of Lake Drive and
61 Main Street there is road construction. Some of the roadway, particularly south on Lake
62 Drive, appears to be poorly done (not smooth). Is that a finished roadway? Community
63 Development Director Grochala explained staff did notice the finish and has spoken to
64 Anoka County about it. It appears they are satisfied with product and that portion of the
65 project was done at their cost. City Engineer Wedel added that the roadway was actually
66 done as a crack and seat project in that area, meaning that the concrete underlayment is
67 actually cracked and asphalt laid over it. The end project isn't always as smooth as with
68 other techniques. Mr. Wedel suggested that although a less smooth service may appear to
69 be poor work, it doesn't reflect quality at all but is really just a ridability issue. Removing
70 all the concrete to avoid the crack and seat would be very costly.
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72 Council Member Roeser asked if staff has made progress on the council's request to get
73 information added to the city website on the progress of the two signal projects. Mr.
74 Wedel responded that staff is working on that.
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76 Council Member Roeser noted that the council will soon be considering appointments to
77 advisory boards and commissions. He wonders if current conditions in the city call for
78 the number of advisory boards that exist. Mayor Reinert explained that he has been
79 involved with the city during much busier times and has seen the valuable contribution
80 those boards make.
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82 The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
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84 These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at the regular Council meeting held on
85 December 10, 2012.
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90 u is e Bartell, City lerk Jef ' - ert, Mayor
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