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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-13-83 CCMLAEE.ELMO CITY COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 13, 1983 Mayor Eder called the meeting to order at 7;10 p.m. in the City Hall. COUNCILLORS PRESENT; Dunn, Fraser and Mazzara City Administrator Pat Klaers,.consultant Whittaker, and Marilyn Banister were also present. 1. Agenda - M/S/P Fraser�Dunn to approve the Agenda as;written. 2.. JANE ROAD FEASIBILITY STUDY - M/S Dunn/Eder to adopt Resolution 83-60 ordering a Feasibility study for the improvements to Jane Road North, west of Jamaca Ave., as petitioned by the adjacent property owners; and to order a public hearing on the Feasibility of the Project October 4, 19:83, at 7:15 p.m. ° Dunn said all of the people in the area want the street to be improved this way; so, the City should at least determine the feasi- bility of making these improvements. ° Fraser cannot support the motion because it does not make sense to spend money on something completely undesireable. Residents often object to a project''s cost but approve of the project once it is complete. ° Dunn said it is a dead-end street, the people are willing to live with this level of improvement, and if it proves to be a poor invest- ment, the people will have to pay to correct it; so he supports the petition. Jane Road, which this will meet with, is only 22 feet wide; so this won't be an abrupt change in the road. ° Fraser reiterated her opposition to spending more City money on a study for a substandard and unsafe street. Eder asked Whittaker if the residents had agreed to pay for the original cost estimate for improvements. Whittaker said he would check. 'Dunn - while we don't want people designing the street, we should have engineer review the feasibiliyt of improving the city street as the residents have requested to see if it is feasible. ° Mazzara - Will the Engineer just design a street to meet the pe- tition or will he evaluate it a report back. Whittaker said he will evaluate it and report back. Vote: 3-1 (Fraser opposed). 3. 1984 PAY PLAN - the Council agreed to defer this item until late in the meeting so that they might discuss the Maintenance Department CIP with the Foreman, who was present. 4. CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (CIP). - Whittaker and Dave Wisdorf summarized the comments made in the Sept. 1 Memo on the proposed revisions to the Maintenance Dept. CIP. *Dunn asked for an economic study to justify the purchase of a large front-end loader. 'Eder asked if this would eliminate the need for the present back -hoe loader. Wisdorf said it would not. Back -hoe is needed for water main breaks and connections, ditch cleaning and snow removal in some areas of the City. He said the grader would probably be the least useful of the 3 pieces as the miles of gravel road diminish. LAKE ELMO COUNCIL MINUTES 9/13/83 page 3 °Fraser - We should look at this in the future. Any sexual di.scri- mina`ti-n should be addressed and job content for all employees addressed. MIST Fraser/Mazzara tp the pay ranges and 19,84 wage. rates for the first five pos:iti'gns= in the pay plan, °Dunn - I still have some reservations=about those wages.. Think the raises. should be limited to 4a.. °Whittaker explained' that 4%. only accounted for inflation in 1983. Employees were promised step increases along with cost -of -living adjustments. Employees were often hired at,3.ow wages with the as- surance. that they would progress. through .the Pay Plan over four years. City saved money ini'ti.'ally and rewardq performance and competence later. 'Eder - w'th.declining inflation and more employees nearing the top of the pay range, raises will level out soon.. °Mazzara, - while he, agrees the City must keep and reward competent people, tiie. Council also has to be accountable to the public. He wants to be fair; and has no problem with the proposed wages for the first five poalti=ons. °Fraser - Fiscal responsibility comes from two directions, Hare to be careful and prudent with tax money.,,. be caref__1 how we spend it. Also have to let the public know they have to expect to pay for what they get. As long &a she ha3 lived in the City, the public has had a bargain for their money. If we pay- too little for equipment or staff, we are. apt to spend a lot more ;replacing it or attracting new people. °Whittaker - public should understand that Lake Elmo does not now and will not in 1984 pay any employee more than the going rate for any employee. Our public works people are either at or below union scale. Our secretarial people are also in line. Our Building in- spector and Foreman are being paid less than either of their predeces- sors would be today. These employees also collect very little over- time, which is not the case in all other cities. He thinks the City has been.very thrifty and responsible. Vote: 3-1 (:Dunn voting no as raises will exceed 4% ceiling.) °Whittak.er explained the policies behind the pay plan steps at the request of the Mayor. M/S/P Fraser/Mazzara to accept the recommendation of the Personnel Committee with respect•to the City Administratots position. $28,600 will be used for budget purposes. The actual salary as of Jan. 1, 1984, will be determined after Mr. Klaers completes the probationary period. *Whittaker explained his Sept. 9 MEIClO on the revised pay ranges for the Code Enforcement Officer (Building Inspector) and Maintenance Foreman. 'Eder - favor some increase for Building Inspector._and Foreman.!Offered the following motion for discussion, Felt suggested raises were a little too high. M/S Eder/'Fraser to establish a range of $21,500 to $25,500, with a mid -point of $24,000 for the Code Enforcement Officer; and a range of $22,000 to $26,000, with a mid -point of $24,500 for the Foreman; with 1984 salaries of $24,000 and $24,500 respectively. LAKE ELMO COUNCIL MINUTESF 9:/13/83 Page 4 ( MISI Dunn�Fraser to amend the motion to take each position separately, taking the Code Enforcement Officer first. Carried 3-1 with Eder voting against the motion, 'Dunn - believes we ought to split the difference between the request for $25,000 and the present salary of $21,5,00 for the Code Enforcement Officer. Mazzara/Fraser - would like to stay with the origindl^amount, Vote, 3-1 (Dunn voting No), for the Code Enforcement Officer Pay range and 1984 salary, in the Mayor's motion, Carried. Vote: 3-1 (Dunn voting No} for the Maintenance Foreman Pay range and 1984 salary, in the Mayor's motion. Carried. 5. 1984 PRELIMINARY BUDGET - Whittaker reviewed the Preliminary Budget and his comments page by page with the Council. °Eder - let's consider purchasing phones in 1984. 'Dunn - are we spending a lot of our rescue dollars on service to non-residents. If so, can we charge for the service. Whittaker will check into this. Eder - can we reduce the amount budgeted for Watershed expenses. Whittaker said we couldy but that we collect all of this from the Watershed. Council agreed to reduce this expenditure to $1,000 and include that figure plus 15% in the revenue. °Eder - should we reduce clean-up days budget as we have..not used it. 'Whittaker - two clean-up days were budgeted. Perhaps, we could reduce it a little, $1,000. °Dunn - does not favor buying voting machines. Would like to cut election expenses. 'Whittaker - the machines will pay for themselves in two elections and res.ihlt in less election expense thereafter. 'Eder - change Accounting on page 5 to AUDIT. 'Whittaker reiterated his concerns and comments about Fire Department compensation and the City contribution to the General Fund (bonus) of the Fire Department Relief Association"s Pension Fund. The Council took this under advisement. The Council agreed that the amounts dictated by the CIPs for the Fire Department and Maintenance Department should be put into the respective reserves and not combined into the Maintenance Equipment Reserve. If the Council agrees to purchase the Loader after Committee meetings, the Fire reserve could be transferred into the Maintenance reserve at that time. 'Eder - we need to generate more revenue for animal control. It should help pay more of the cost. 'Whittaker explained that the Park Reserve might have to be limited to the 1983 amount in 19.84 as projected revenues, without the LAWCON grant, will not support the CIP proposed when the LAWCON application was. made. 'Banister explained the final pages of the budget document, which support the budget presentation. The staff invited Council questions and comments for the Sept. 20 meeting. Final budget consideration will b.e on October 4. M/S/'P Dunn, Fraser to adjourn at 9:38 p.m. Resolutions 83-60 - Call of Public Hearing & Ordering Feasibility Study for Proposed Improvements to Sane Road N. R-83-60 RESOLUTION CITY OF LAKE ELMO WASHINGTON COUNTY, MINNESOTA A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR A PUBLIC HEARING AND ORDERING A FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS TO J'ANE ROAD NORTH. WHEREAS, it is,proposed to improve Jane Road North from Jamaca Avenue North to the west end of Jane Road North to assess the benefited property for all or a portion of the cost of the improvement pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 429; and WHEREAS, it was originally proposed that this improvement consist of a thirty-two (32) foot street and this proposal has been rejected by the City Council.; and WIIEREAS, it is now proposed by the abutting property owners that the improvement be for a twenty --two (22) foot wide street; NOW, THEREFORE, :BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Lake Elmo as follows: 1.. The proposed improvement referred to as Improvements to Jane Road North is hereby referred to Toltz, King, Duvall, Anderson & Associates, Inc.., the City Engineers, for study and they are instructed to report to the City Council by advising the Council in a preliminary way.as to whether this latest proposed improvement is feasible and whether it should best be made as proposed or in connection with some other improvement together with, the estimated cost: of the improvement as recommended. Adopted by the City Council of the City of Lake Elmo this 13th day of September, 1983. A/C h.. L.h MaynardE�r, Mayor' ATTEST: Patrick D. Klaers, City Administrator