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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/04/1993 Council Minutes14 COUNCIL WORK SESSION AUGUST 4, 1993 CITY OF LINO LAKES COUNCIL MINUTES DATE : August 4, 1993. TIME STARTED : 5:00 P.M. TIME ENDED : 6:40 P.M. MEMBERSPRESENT: Neal, Kuether, Elliott, Bergeson MEMBERS ABSENT Mayor Reinert Staff Members present: Assistant to the Administrator, Dan Tesch; Economic Development Advisory Board Chairman, Brian Wessel; Public Works Director, Don Volk; City Administrator, Randy Schumacher and Clerk -Treasurer Marilyn Anderson. Casual Day Mr. Tesch explained that staff is considering making Fridays of each week "casual day". The uniform of the day would be khaki pants and a polo shirt with the City logo on it. "Casual Friday" would start as soon as the shirts arrive. All staff participating in "casual day" are expected to bring an item each Friday for the food shelf. There was no objection from the City Council. Review of City Tour Mr. Tesch explained that on Tuesday and Thursday of the last week of July, two (2) different groups of support staff toured the City. The purpose of the tour was to make all staff are familiar where such facilities as the water tower, lift stations, well houses, new subdivisions, City parks etc. are located and what each facility contains. This should aid the support staff in giving correct information to the public. Cable TV Legislation Update Mr. Tesch explained the new legislation affecting Cable TV. He noted that basic cost to subscribers may be affected and some cable equipment may be regulated. PAGE 1 1 1 15 COUNCIL WORK SESSION AUGUST 4, 1993 Council Member Neal asked if the City could buy the Cable TV service for the City. Mr. Tesch explained that this would be cost prohibitive. Mr. Schumacher noted that in 1984 Cable TV was deregulated. There was abuse by cable owners and costs skyrocketed. Congress received a great deal of pressure from the public and now the industry will be regulated again. Two (2) Year Dog Licenses Mr. Tesch explained that currently dogs are to be licensed annually and the licenses expire on January 1 of each year. Staff is proposing that the City Council enact a two (2) year dog license ordinance. The proposal includes the provision that each dog be license every two (2) years and the license renewal date would be the renewal date of the rabies vaccination. A dog owner would have 30 days after the expiration of the license to renew the license. Mr. Tesch also explained that since the licenses would be good for two (2) years, staff is proposing that the fee be changed to $5.00 for a neutered male or spayed female and $10.00 for all other dogs. Council Member Elliott noted that she had her dog vaccinated in April, 1993 and purchased her license at that time. She asked when she would have to relicense her dog. Mr. Tesch explained that she would not have to renew her dog license until April, 1995. Council Member Neal noted that there are no regulations for cats. He asked what happens when CSO Jeannie Kenow finds a bag of cats along a rural road. It was noted that she would transport them to the Anoka County Humane Society. More and more cat complaints are being received by staff and it may not be far in the future before the City Council will be asked to consider a cat ordinance. Charter Commission Request for Additional Dollars Mr. Schumacher explained that he, Mr. Schneider and Mr. Wessel have been attending some of the Charter Commission meetings because the Charter Commission is considering amendments to the Charter relative to commercial and industrial development; The Charter Commission is proposing to conduct a public meeting in September at the Rice Lake Elementary School to get the public involved and give Mr. Wessel an opportunity to explain the PAGE 2 16 COUNCIL WORK SESSION AUGUST 4, 1993 rationale for amending the City Charter. The problem is that the Charter Commission budget of $1,300.00 has been expended and some attorneys costs have been incurred but not paid. In addition the meeting at Rice Lake Elementary School will cost about $800.00. Mr. Wessel explained that he felt that the public meeting is an important meeting. He noted that a letter is being prepared by the Charter Commission to send to residents advising them of the meeting. Council Member Kuether said she felt that the public meeting is very important and will offer an opportunity to educate the tax payers regarding the City Charter. She noted the press can help let the citizens know when and where the meeting will be. Council Member Bergeson noted that the Charter Commission is considering inviting an individual from the League of Minnesota Cities to help with the program at the public meeting. However, since the City actually is the member of the League, the City Council should be giving their consent for the Charter Commission to invite the individual to attend and make the presentation. Council Member Kuether asked if the City Council will know what this individual will be presenting in advance of the meeting. Mr. Wessel explained that there will be a meeting prior to the public meeting to plan the public meeting. He said the meeting should be an open, rational meeting rather than individuals expressing the personal opinions. Mr. Schumacher told the City Council that the Charter Commission Chairman has asked Judge Gibbs to postpone announcing the new Charter Commission appointments until after this meeting. He noted that current Charter Commission members are very familiar with the issues and should follow through until a final decision is made to amend the Charter. The Charter Commission request for additional funding will be added to the August 9, 1993 Council agenda. Planning and Zoning Member Training Program Mr. Schumacher explained that this City is growing very fast and different problems have been surfacing. Because of some of the problems, it appears that all Planning and Zoning Board members should be experts. This is not possible, however, there are training classes available for new Board members and he suggested that when new members are appointed it may be wise to stipulate that training is required. The City would pay the fees which are usually about $50.00 per person. After discussing this issue, it was decided that a training requirement will be incorporated into PAGE 3 1 1 1 1 1 17 COUNCIL WORK SESSION AUGUST 4, 1993 the next appointment process. Joint Powers Agreement for Ambulance Service Mr. Schumacher noted that a group from Forest Lake, Wyoming, and Scandia are supporting the District Memorial Ambulance Service and have asked that this city participate in a Joint Powers Agreement. Fire Chief, Milo Bennett has given his opinion on the matter noting that this issue has become very emotional because of working relationships. Lino Lakes has three (3) options in this matter. The first is to enter into a Joint Powers Agreement and continue the ambulance service as it has been in the past. The second option is to join Healthspan's bid to purchase District Memorial Hospital and thereby become a part of Healthspan's ambulance service. The third option is to simply go to the Healthspan Ambulance Service. It was noted that District Memorial Hospital does collect a tax from Lino Lakes to support its services. There would be no such tax with Healthspan. Fire Chief Bennett explained that Centennial Fire Department works well with Healthspan because they serve the Circle Pines area. He also noted that the Fire Department depends totally on Healthspan to provide educational courses. He noted some of the controversy Healthspan has been involved in and how this might affect Lino Lakes if the City were to become a part of Healthspan. Fire Chief Bennett noted that one concern expressed by District Memorial Ambulance Service is that the City would lose control. He noted that most of the control of such services belongs to the State or Federal government and he asked what would the City want to control? Another issue raised by the persons supporting District Memorial Ambulance Service is response time. Fire Chief Bennett explained that Lino Lakes enjoys a very fast response time when the unit is in the City. However, there are times when the unit is either stationed at I35E and Highway 97 or on a call in the northern portion of the service area. He also noted that District Memorial Ambulance Service enjoys a lot of standby time. He noted the more standby time there is, the more costs the tax payers will have to cover. After further discussion on the matter, Fire Chief Bennett recommended that Lino Lakes not enter into the Joint Powers Agreement and suggested that this City join Healthspan. Council Member Neal said he has discussed the matter with John Lannon and PAGE 4 18 COUNCIL WORK SESSION AUGUST 4, 1993 he recommends that Lino Lakes contract with Healthspan. This could save the City $80,000.00 in taxes. Chief Bennett outlined how District Memorial Ambulance Service conducts an emergency transport. He also noted that District Memorial Ambulance Service personnel sleep at night when there are no calls. When a call comes in, these persons are sleepy. Whereas, Healthspan ambulances are ready to go. After further discussion, Mr. Schumacher explained that Mayor Reinert favors not doing anything at this time and wait to see what happens with the District Memorial Ambulance Service. He feels that the situation may sort itself out. 1994 City Budget Schedule Mr. Schumacher suggested that the City Council meet at the office of the City Auditor in White Bear Lake either August 25th or 26th to review the requests from various department heads. He also suggested that this meeting begin in the late afternoon and go into the evening. The meeting will be held on August 25, 1993 at 3:30 P.M. Hydrological Flood Study Mr. Schumacher noted that there is considerable interest in development in the Lilac Street, Fourth Avenue area and noted such potential projects as Behm's Century Farms and the proposed expansion of the Lino Air Park. He also noted that Mr. Alan Robinson continues to prod staff regarding the drainage problems in the area of his sod fields as well as the lack of proper water outlets from the area. Mr. Schneider has been working with the Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) staff regarding permits for the expansion of the Lino Air Park. The RCWD staff has proposed a Joint Powers Agreement in which they would perform a hydrological flood study and the City would contribute $7,500.00 toward the cost of the study. In addition, the RCWD has some maintenance funds and there is a good chance that some of these funds could be used to improve the drainage situation in the area. The $7,500.00 requested by RCWD would be funded by developers who want to work in the City. The cost of the study would be three (3) times higher if a consultant prepares it. Mr. Volk explained that he approved of the study because it will allow City staff to provide input for it. The study area will be almost all land west of Lake Drive and north of I35W. PAGE 5 1 1 1 19 COUNCIL WORK SESSION AUGUST 4, 1993 Mr. Schumacher noted that the Lino Lakes share of the cost would be funded from the Surface Water Management Fund and would be recovered from developers. Council Member Bergeson asked if approval of the Joint Powers Agreement would tie the City into a relationship forever with the RCWD. The answer was no. This item will be added to the August 9, 1993 City Council agenda. Deer Control Update, Baldwin Lake Area - Mr. Schumacher explained that no discharge of firearms is allowed west of Highway #49 and south of Lilac Street. However deer are causing a great deal of property damage in that area and there is rising concern regarding deer ticks. Mr. Schumacher has checked with Tim Wallace of the DNR and found that the deer tick concern is not the issue since deer ticks are carried by all animals. Damage to property is the important issue. Eliminating/controlling the deer is extremely costly and Mr. Schumacher outlined how the City of North Oaks is handling the situation. Mr. Schumacher explained that it is obvious that opening the area to deer hunting is out of the question because of the number of homes in the area. However, opening the Regional Park to deer hunting and increasing the bag limit could help. Mr. Volk explained how the City of Bloomington handles the deer problem in that area. Mr. Schumacher explained that staff will continue to work with the area residents to work out a solution and will keep the City Council updated. City Council Salaries Mr. Schumacher noted that a survey had been conducted to determine salary ranges for metro municipalities who are approximately the size of Lino Lakes and in the same phase of development. A copy of the survey was given to the City Council. The metro average salary is approximately $1,000.00 above what the Lino Lakes City Council members are receiving. Mr. Schumacher noted that this community is growing rapidly and there is a high demand on the City officials. A draft ordinance will be prepared for the August 9, 1993 City Council meeting which will more closely reflect the metro average salary. Mr. Schumacher noted that if the ordinance is adopted by the City Council salary increases would not be effective until January 1, 1994 after the upcoming municipal election. PAGE 6 20 COUNCIL WORK SESSION AUGUST 4, 1993 Lexington Parage - August 7, 1993 Mr. Schumacher noted that support staff have volunteered to enter a unit in the parade to represent the City. Mrs. Anderson explained the current plan is to highlight the growing City and staff will be dressed in shirts with the City logo. The Lino Lakes flag will be carried and a park vehicle pulling a tree spade will also carry some City officials. Mayor Reinert said he would be at the parade. Council Member Neal said he would also be there with a Lino Lakes squad car. Council Member Neal noted that the support staff is very excited about this event. August 9, 1993 City Council Agenda All items on the proposed agenda were discussed. The campaign contribution ordinance has been updated and will be on the agenda. Council Member Neal noted that the new "power" car is working well and 58 citations have been written in less than a month. Police Chief Search Mr. Schumacher explained that applications for the position are no longer being taken. Larry Thompson, Public Management Consultants, has talked to every Council member to determine their philosophy regarding a new chief of police. There were 50 application and 23 candidates plus five (5) reserves are being interviewed and tested. Mr. Schumacher noted that the field of candidates contained: - 6 persons who are currently Chief of Police in their current department - 6 second line supervisors - 11 first line supervisors The six (6) Chief of Police candidates and six (6) of the second line supervisors have at least 20 years supervisory experience. Another 11 candidates have 15 or more years supervisory experience. Seventy five percent of the candidates have Bachelors Degrees. All 23 candidates being interviewed meet the desired standards. .. Mr. Schumacher explained that the field of candidates will be narrowed to three (3) or four (4) and they will be interviewed by the City Council. Saturday, September 11, 1993 appears to be the PAGE 7 1 1 1 .21 COUNCIL WORK SESSION AUGUST 4, 1993 best day for the interviews. If all goes as planned, the City Council could select a new Chief of Police at the September 13, 1993 City Council meeting. A video tape regarding the testing of police officer candidates was shown to the City Council. The video tape is produced by Minnesota Police Recruitment Systems (MPRS) who specializes in recruiting police officers for particular cities. The work session was adjourned at 6:40 P.M. These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at the regular Council meeting held on September 13, 1993. afi1yn V Anderson, Clerk -Treasurer PAGE 8 Vernon F. Mayor Reinert,