HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-27-2015 Council Work Session Meeting CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION July 27 , 2015
APPROVED
1 CITY OF LINO LAKES
2 MINUTES
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4 DATE July 27 , 2015
5 TIME STARTED 6 : 00 p . m .
6 TIME ENDED 6 : 30 p . m .
7 MEMBERS PRESENT Councilmember Stoesz , Kusterman ,
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 ; Brian Bourassa representing the City Engineer ; City Clerk Julie Bartell
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15 1 . Lino Lakes Ambassadors Program . Administrator Karlson noted that the city
16 has been contacted by the Lino Lakes Ambassadors Program regarding the possibility of
17 an annual donation from the city to support the program overall . The council touched on
18 the possibility of an annual donation during recent discussions about the program .
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20 Mayor Reinert noted that the recent one -time contribution from the city was specifically
21 to allow the program to update the float that they use to represent the city in the region .
22 Council Member Rafferty added that there was some discussion about securing storage
23 for the float , to protect it from the elements now that it is updated .
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25 Mayor Reinert said he wouldn ' t approve of having line items in the budget for specifics
26 for them but considering that this is a great program for the city , he be inclined to support
27 a single line overall contribution in the budget for this program , perhaps in the range of
28 $ 1 , 500 . The council concurred on the amount of $ 1 , 500 with a notation that it wouldn ' t
29 be appropriate for the city to fund a scholarship .
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31 2 . Review Regular Agenda of July 27 , 2015 .
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33 Item 3B — Consider Appointment of Finance Director - Administrator Karlson explained
34 that the process to fill the Finance Director position has been on a fast track . It ' s an
35 important position and he felt it should be filled as soon as possible . He reviewed the
36 hiring process that was used to bring forward his recommendation . The background
37 check on the recommended candidate is complete and there are no issues , however , a
38 report has not yet been received in writing . He is requesting council approval to hire
39 Sarah Cotton with a starting salary of Step 3 . Mayor Reinert said he thinks the hiring
40 should be contingent upon the final background information .
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42 The council discussed the terms of the employment , probationary period and salary steps .
43 Council Member Stoesz noted that the candidate also served as information technology
44 director in her current position ; can the city draw on that expertise `? Administrator
45 Karlson noted that the City receives its information technology assistance from Metro
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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION July 27 , 2015
APPROVED
46 iNet so there isn ' t the need . The council discussed the city ' s new financial software and
47 Mr . Karlson indicated that he is confident that Ms . Cotton will have no trouble mastering
48 the system .
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50 Item 3C — Amendment No . I of the Connectivity Services Agreement with Anoka County
51 — Administrator Karlson reviewed the terms of the city ' s agreement with Anoka County
52 for the county wide broadband fiber network . An amendment is proposed that extends
53 that agreement by five years .
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55 Council Member Stoesz suggested that five years is a long time and he suspects there will
56 be competition for the connectivity at some point during that period . Mr . Karlson said
57 that the city can change services during the contract term .
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59 Item 3D — Centennial Fire District ( CFD ) Fire Chief Hiring — Mayor Reinert , member of
60 the CFD Steering Committee that forwarded the recommendation to hire Harlan
61 Lundstrom , briefly reviewed the process used to consider candidates for this position . He
62 confirmed that Mr . Lundstrom is very qualified for the position . It is a requirement that
63 each member city ( of the CFD ) approve the hiring . He added that there is one issue
64 identified and that is that Mr . Lundstrom holds a fire chief position at a town near Ely ,
65 MN and he is required to be there each weekend .
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67 The meeting was adjourned at 6 : 28 p . m .
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69 These minutes were considered , corrected and approved at the regular Council meeting held on
70 August 10 , 2015 .
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75 Julianne rtell , City C rk Jeff Reinert , Mayor
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