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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/22/1994 Council Minutes1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION OCTOBER 22, 1994 MINUTES LINO LAKES CITY COUNCIL DATE: OCTOBER 22, 1994 TIME STARTED: 9:06 A.M. TIME ENDED: 12:40 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Reinert, Neal, Kuether, Elliott, Bergeson MEMBERS ABSENT: None OTHERS PRESENT: R. Schumacher, Al Ross 1. Capital Facility Study, John Bergeson Mr. Bergeson presented the October 1994 City of Lino Lakes Facilities Study Update for the Council's consideration. He explained that the Winsor/Faricy study conducted in 1989 was updated, with additional potential sites identified for city facilities. Mr. Bergeson said it was apparent the city needs more space, and sites are becoming scarce. Mr. Bergeson outlined the important points in the update: 1. Winsor/Faricy projected the population to reach 14,000 by 2004. The city has already reached 13,000. The city's growth was double the projection. 2. The Winsor/Faricy study compared the average amount of staff of municipalities the size of Lino Lakes with the amount of space per employee and projected the city currently needs 74,742 square feet, and will need 81,950 square feet by 2004. The city currently has 19,771 existing square feet. Assistant City Administrator Dan Tesch coordinated the update of the Winsor/Faricy study and based his assumptions on a fully developed city with a population of 25,000 by the year 2009. With those assumptions the city will conservatively need 61,681 square feet of facility space by 1999, and 68,295 square feet by 2009. 3. The Winsor/Faricy study recommended three sites: a) the existing Main Street site; b) the Lino Industrial site; and c) Birch Street and Highway 49. The updated study includes: a) Lake Drive south of I -35W; b) Birch Street and Centerville Road; c) I -35E corridor; d) Ash Street Sports Complex; and e) Lake Drive north of 1-35W. '2141 COUNCIL WORK SESSION OCTOBER 22, 1994 4. The total cost of 68,000 square feet of facilities, without land or furnishings, is estimated to be $5 million, based on an assumed cost of $100/square foot for office and public space, and $50/square foot for garages and storage. Mr. Reinert said he considered $100/square foot low, because of state mandated requirements. Mr. Bergeson introduced the results of a staff mini -survey which indicated a strong preference to see city hall combined with other facilities. The opinions differ on what those other facilities should be. Lake Drive/south of I -35W and Birch Street/Hwy. 49 tied for first place for location preference. A combined city hall, police and public works was first choice of respondents. Ms. Kuether noted that maintenance would be cheaper if all city departments were under one roof. Mr. Bergeson informed the Council that the Centennial School Superintendent has proposed that the school district offices be located in the new city hall. The school district needs approximately 10,000 square feet of space for about 10 years. As school enrollment decreases, the district would return to space within a school building, and the city could take over the vacated space. Mr. Bergeson said this was worth exploring if a mutually beneficial agreement could be reached. Mr. Bergeson added that Mary LaForest, economic development assistant, is working on a study on the concept of creating a downtown as part of coursework for a class she is taking. The results of the study can be useful in evaluating the town center concept for municipal facilities. During discussion of the facilities study Mr. Reinert said combining city facilities into a campus -like setting could be an anchor for other facilities, such as a community center. He added he hoped the city would build high quality facilities, because it would be here for many years, and would be an element of community pride. He said his first preference is a campus setting on Birch Street, with public works located at another site. Mr. Schumacher said it was critical to focus on land, which would amount to approximately 6 percent of the project cost. Ms. Elliott stated her preference was Birch Street and Centerville Road because of potential growth of the area. Ms. Kuether said she felt a Birch Street/Hwy. 49 location would take good land off the tax rolls. She said she preferred something centrally located, anywhere north of Lilac Street that was not residential or commercial. Mr. Schumacher said a city facility near the correctional facility would project a different image than a facility located elsewhere. Other possible sites discussed were the Cardinal Farm, Lake Drive, behind Fina Mart, with an entrance road from Lake Drive, and behind Rehbein's on 77th Street near Schwans. Mr. Reinert suggested city hall might attract commercial businesses. Ms. Kuether said the Council needed input from Brian Wessel. Members agreed to focus on sites, cost for purchase of a site, and how the city would pay for it. 1 1 1 1 COUNCIL WORK SESSION OCTOBER 22, 1994 Mr. Bergeson noted this study is just a start in the capital improvement plan. He estimated it would cost another $1 million for land and furnishings. Mr. Reinert estimated 40 acres of land would cost $300,000. Mr. Schumacher pointed out that space has become a serious issue at city hall. He said there is a variety of funding sources for a new facility, and he will identify sites and examine the financial options, based on the premise the city would build in 3-5 years. Council members agreed they were not willing to use eminent domain to obtain a site; they had enough options without resorting to that. A meeting was set for Nov. 12 at 9 a.m. to further address the site issue. 2. Administration/Staff Communication, Bergeson, Kuether Mr. Reinert explained that Ms. Kuether and Mr. Bergeson had met with Darrell Schneider and Don Volk before they left the city, and they indicated there was a lack of communication with the city administrator. Mr. Reinert said he believed the relationship of the Mayor, City Council and staff is misunderstood. According to the city charter, the mayor's position is ceremonial and defines no administrative responsibility. The City Council is responsible for administration of the city, and for the job description of the city administrator, who is the chief administrative officer of the organization. Mr. Reinert said it was his opinion that Mr. Schneider's decision to leave was based on an opportunity to move where he had built a home and had family, although he also had concerns about personal liability. He told Mr. Reinert the city engineer position was a good one for the city. Mr. Reinert said he felt Mr. Volk was unhappy, and perhaps the Council was at fault for not tracking the problems more closely after the reorganization of positions. Mr. Bergeson said he and Ms. Kuether talked to several staff members, and from those discussions they had concerns about morale. It is their understanding that key people are looking for new positions. The city lost two of its best staff members, and should find ways to avoid losing more. Mr. Bergeson said the City Council has no way to evaluate the city administrator, and a system needs to be put in place. He added that since the Council has little day-to-day knowledge of staff activity, the evaluation could include both Council and staff feedback. A professional may be needed to establish an evaluation process. Ms. Kuether added that she felt the low morale was evident in all departments. Mr. Bergeson said Mr. Schumacher needs to make an effort to turn morale around. He suggested regular meetings with key people. Mr. Reinert said the council needs to deal with these problems together, and that Mr. Kuether and Mr. Bergeson should share with the other Council members who they talked to and what they learned. The charter is specific about how the Council administers and members have an obligation 2I • : ( COUNCIL WORK SESSION OCTOBER 22, 1994to share the information. Ms. Kuether said Mr. Schneider had indicated that he hadn't wanted to leave the city when he did. Mr. Volk was unhappy about department reorganization, and felt his longevity should have counted more than it did. Mr. Bergeson said that in summary he identified the morale issue as a lack of communication, feedback, respect and appreciation. Ms. Elliott said Mr. Schumacher has detailed his process for feedback and evaluations, and she thinks the problem stems from the union issue. Setting up the union has reached a stalemate and everybody is looking for someone to blame. Progress in negotiations will help the morale issue. Ms. Kuether said from the people she talked to, she believes the morale problem went beyond the supervisors. Mr. Bergeson added that if other people are looking for new jobs, it would be irresponsible for the Council to ignore it. Mr. Reinert said he believes departments heads sometimes have difficulty assessing what decisions should be made on their own. When a job gets more complex than what they are used to, Mr. Schumacher needs to communicate better with them. Mr. Neal added that most of the people he talks to are happy. Mr. Reinert said the Council must honor the system. If there is a problem, staff should go to the department head, and the department head should solve the problem if possible. The department head should come to the Council. Mr. Neal suggested employees be given a questionnaire to fill out when they leave. Mr. Schumacher said he agreed there are morale problems, and any system can always use improving. Lino Lakes was experiencing growth, transitions and systems changes, and was becoming more of a business that required more accountability. These changes are hard on employees. Mr. Schumacher said the union issues are causing infighting among employees. When the union was certified he hired a professional negotiator to maintain his working relationship with employees. He said he stands by his evaluation of the reorganization that was approved by the Council, and it's time to look to the positive things going on in the city. He added that he already meets monthly with department heads. Mr. Neal said Lino Lakes is behind other cities in wages. Mr. Bergeson said the union issue was going to make it difficult to hire new employees because they won't know what their salary will be. Mr. Schumacher said that employees have told him something must be done. They are now set for arbitration. Mr. Bergeson explained how Bethel College hired a company that performed an evaluation among employees that kept local personalities out of the process, and this might work for the city administrator evaluation. Mr. Reinert directed Mr. Schumacher COUNCIL WORK SESSION OCTOBER 22, 1994 1 1 1 1 to bring his job description to the next work session. Mr. Schumacher said he would look at the issues and bring back some options to address. These minutes were considered, corrected and approved at a regular Council meeting held on Monday, December 12, 1994. Mary La rest, Vernon F. Reinert, Economic Development Assistant Mayor