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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/14/2010LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 1 of 4 December 14, 2010 Mayor Dains called the City Council meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. Councilors present: Mary Gaasch, Roxanne Grove, Denise Hawkinson, Lara Mac Lean, and Mayor Jeff Dains. Councilors absent: none. Staff present: Heather Butkowski, City Administrator; Jim Bownik, Assistant to the City Administrator. Mayor Dains asked for changes to the meeting agenda. Butkowski added a discussion regarding the snow accumulation, a claim from Waste Management for the dumpster used in the park, and a claim for the playground equipment. Mayor Dains added annual employee recognition. Councilor Gaasch moved to approve the agenda as amended. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Mac Lean moved to approve the November 23, 2010, City Council meeting minutes. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Councilor Hawkinson moved approval of the claims totaling $149,379.66. Councilor Gaasch seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mayor Dains asked if anyone in attendance wished to address the Council. No one present wished to do so. Cot Wilson, Executive Director of the North Suburban Cable Commission, updated the Council on a couple of key happenings at the Commission. She explained the city's cable franchise was up for renewal in 2013 which means negotiating will begin shortly. Wilson is following the franchise renewal processes in other states to determine the best course of action here. Mayor Dains volunteered for the franchise renewal committee. Mayor Dains also served on the building search committee that recently completed its work. The Cable Commission will be moving into the.building temporarily used as the Roseville Branch of the Ramsey County Library. Mayor Dains asked if councilors wished to remove items from the consent agenda. There being no one, Councilor Mac Lean moved the following consent agenda items: 2011 rental housing licenses, 2011 business licenses, and termination of the deputy clerk during her probationary period. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 2 of 4 Butkowski provided the Council and those present with an overview of the 2011 budget. The general fund budget balanced at $1,130,414; the budget is 2.8% smaller than in 2010. The proposed levy was $580,730 with $110,683 coming from fiscal disparities. The proposed levy increase is 1.57% resulting in a tax rate of 26.87%. Due to appreciating home values in Lauderdale, owners of a median valued home should anticipate a $147 tax increase, $11 of which is the city tax increase. Butkowski then broke down how tax dollars are spent by department. Mayor Dains opened the public hearing regarding the proposed 2011 budget and levy at 8:07 p.m. No one present addressed the Council. The public hearing was closed at 8:08 p.m. Councilor Mac Lean thanked staff for an easy to understand presentation. The Mayor said the City was heavily dependent on local government aid and operates leanly. He thanked the Council and staff for the work put into the budget process. Councilor Gaasch moved to adopt Resolution 121410A — A Resolution Levying Taxes for 2010 Payable in 2011 in the amount of $580,730. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. David Gardner, 2311 lone Street, addressed the Council. He would like to construct a walkway made from pavers which the current ordinance doesn't allow. Michael Keenan and Brian Nelson of Metro Blooms also addressed the Council. They reiterated the environmental benefits of pervious pavers and explained how to properly install them. Councilors and staff asked follow up questions. Gardner recognized how long ordinance revisions take so he asked the Council to allow him to install the pavers as a demonstration project. He requested an answer by March 3.1. Staff will follow up by seeing if a model ordinance regarding the use of pavers for sidewalks or driveways is available. Butkowski said Harvey Skow submitted a request seeking property tax relief for the easement area recently agreed to by the City and the Skows. The Council listened to Skow's request. The item died for lack of a motion. LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 3 of 4 Butkowski said staff proposed hiring four warming house attendants for the season. The two returning attendants would take most of the shifts with the two new attendants taking a shift or two per week to learn the ropes. Councilor Hawkinson moved to approve the warming house staff and pay them an hourly rate of $9.00.. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Butkowski noted that she updated the language in her previous employment agreement to reflect a continuation of her employment with the City. The only substantive change was a reflection of a step four pay increase with the fifth step taking effect in December 2011. Councilor Mac Lean moved to accept the updated employment agreement and approve the step four pay increase. Councilor Hawkinson seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. The Council discussed the four items added to the agenda. Butkowski said public works staff was still working on clearing snow from the weekend. Staff had been discussing "what if' scenarios for snow removal and parking should the City receive more snow soon. The Council will take up the issue at a special meeting if need be. The Council received a payment request for the dumpster used during the recent playground demolition project totaling $968.69. Councilor Mac Lean moved to approve the payment request from Waste Management for the park dumpster. Councilor Grove seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Butkowski said the playground equipment was installed before the snow fell but the ground was soft and the equipment used for installation created ruts that will need to be cleaned up in the spring in addition to making sure the wood fiber was spread appropriately. She recommended holding a $2,000 retainer until the work is completed in the spring. Councilor Grove moved to withhold $2,000 from MN/WI Playground until they correct the concerns noted in the memo in the spring. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Mayor Dains said the City would like to continue the tradition of giving staff an extra day off over the holidays in recognition of their work throughout the year. Councilor Mac Lean moved to give city staff a personal day between December 14 and the end of January to be taken with City Administrator approval. Councilor Gaasch seconded LAUDERDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES Lauderdale City Hall 1891 Walnut Street Lauderdale, MN 55113 Page 4 of 4 the motion and it passed unanimously. Butkowski reviewed the preliminary agenda for the next meeting, which included 2011 city council meeting schedule, 2011 fee schedule, 2011 depository and investment institutions, 2011 investment policy, 2011 committee appointments, 2011 designation of official newspaper, 2011 mayor pro tem, and TIF to project year 2002 debt service transfer. Mayor Dains explained the Council was moving into the work session. Work sessions are a continuation of the meetings but not aired on community television. Mayor Dains recapped the December 9 meeting with the business community. The meeting was organized to gather feedback on the concept of a municipal liquor store. Those in attendance. were in favor of the idea and felt somewhere along Larpenteur Avenue would make sense. The Council will take up the issue again in the new year by discussing whether to move ahead with market research on possible locations. There being no further business on the council agenda, Councilor Hawkinson moved to adjourn the meeting. Councilor Mac Lean seconded the motion and it carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, . t t Heather Butkowski City Administrator