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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Packets - 2003/02/10 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA Monday, February 10, 2003 7:00 p.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL: Linke, Quick, Marty, Stigney, Gunn 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 4. PUBLIC INPUT: Citizens may speak to issues not on tonight’s agenda. Before speaking, please give your full name and address for the minutes. Also, please limit your comments to three minutes. 5. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS A. Resolution 5950 Appointing City Commission Members 6. JUST AND CORRECT CLAIMS 7. CONSENT AGENDA A. Licenses for Approval B. Resolution No. 5939 Approving the Purchase of a Replacement Dump Truck C. Resolution No. 5940 Approving the 2003 Seasonal Public Works Positions D. Resolution No. 5941 Approving the 2003 Seasonal Golf Course Positions E. Resolution No. 5946 Establishing the YMCA Advisory Executive Committee F. Resolution No. 5949 Authorizing the Disposal of Obsolete Computer Equipment G. Resolution No. 5951 Granting a One-Day Charitable Gambling Permit to the New Brighton/Mounds View Rotary 8. COUNCIL BUSINESS A. 2003 Street Improvement Project Issues B. Resolution 5942 Awarding the Construction Contract for the Water Tower Rehabilitation Project C. Resolution 5943 Amending Personnel Manual to Establish a Sick Leave Donation Policy D. Resolution 5944 Rescinding Resolution 5555 Governing City Administrator Duties and Staff Communication E. Resolution 5945 Eliminating the Human Resources Committee F. Discuss Options for Filling the City Administrator Vacancy (verbal report) G. Resolution 5948 Authorizing Purchase of Voice Recognition Software Program and Necessary Computer Hardware Upgrades Utilizing LLEBG Grant Funds City of Mounds View City Council Agenda February 10, 2003 Page 2 9. REPORTS A. No Parking Request, East side of Greenfield Avenue, south of County Road I 10. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. January 27, 2003 City Council Minutes 11. CLOSED SESSION TO DISCUSS LABOR ISSUES 12. Next Council Work Session: Monday, March 3, 2003 Next Council Meeting: Monday, February 24, 2003 13. ADJOURNMENT Item No.07A Type of Business: CA WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Mayor and City Council From: Barb Benesch Item Title/Subject: CONTRACTOR LICENSES FOR APPROVAL Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Please consider the following contractor licenses for approval. All contractor licenses will expire on December 31, 2003. All applicants have submitted appropriate fees and proof of insurance. Those companies that are “new” include applicants that have never been licensed with the City or they may have been licensed with the City in the past, but were not licensed in 2002. Those companies renewing their license were licensed, at a minimum, in the year 2002. The type of license they are applying for follows the company name. All Cities Sign & Crane, Inc.- Sign – New Minnesota Roadways Co. – Asphalt – Renewal Schad Tracy Signs – Sign - New Staff Recommendation: Approve license applications as requested. Item No. 7B Type of Business: CA WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Greg Lee, Director of Public Works Item Title/Subject: Resolution No. 5939 Approving the Purchase of a Replacement Dump Truck Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Background: In 1988, the City purchased a Ford L-8000 Series Dump Truck. This Dump Truck has been used to perform many routine Public Works duties such as snow removal, ice control, hauling of material and debris, street maintenance activities such as asphalt paving, and towing equipment trailers. The City has a practice of replacing dump trucks on a fifteen-year cycle. Many, if not most, municipalities and other government agencies have chosen shorter life cycles for dump trucks, typically 10 to 12 years. Staff will be reviewing the increased service and repair costs and the decreased trade-in value experienced in the last three years to determine the most cost effective life cycle. Given the age and increased maintenance necessary, this truck is no longer cost effective and has therefore reached the end of its economically useful life cycle. This dump truck was scheduled for replacement in 2003 and monies have been allocated in the 2003 budget for its replacement. Staff is recommending that the truck be traded in and replaced with a similar truck with similar equipment and options. Ford no longer produces the 8000 series truck; they have been replaced with Sterling brand trucks. These can be purchased under state contract, foregoing the requirement of acquiring addition bids. A 2003 Sterling brand dump truck can be purchased from Boyer Ford under state contract for $53,427.00. Tax, license, and transfer fees would cost an additional $3,509.26. The existing 1988 truck is currently in a usable condition and retains a salvage value due to the City’s extensive maintenance program. The trade-in amount offered by Boyer Ford is $12,500.00. In addition to the truck itself, additional equipment and options are necessary to fully utilize truck. These include: a dump body, front plow, wing plow, snow plowing light package, and controls. These options can also be purchased under state contract, again foregoing the requirement of acquiring additional bids. These items can be purchased and installed by J-Craft Company under state contract for $48,813.00. Tax would cost an additional $3,172.85. A summary of the proposed truck replacement is as follows: • 2003 Sterling Dump Truck $53,427.00 • Tax, License, and Transfer Fees $ 3,509.26 Subtotal $56,936.26 • Equipment and Options $48,813.00 (dump body, plows, lights, controls, etc) • Tax, License, and Transfer Fees $ 3,172.85 Subtotal $51,985.85 • Dump Truck and Equipment Total $108,922.11 • Trade-In of 1988 Truck ($12,500.00) TOTAL $96,422.11 The 2003 General Fund, Snow and Ice Department, Vehicle Account (Account 100-4472-7040) has $125,000.00 budgeted for this dump truck purchase. Recommendation: Staff recommends that the City Council approve the purchase of a 2003 Sterling Dump Truck under state contract and award a contract to Boyer Ford in the amount of $56,936.26 for the purchase of this truck, including tax, license, and transfer fees. Staff also recommends that the City Council approve the purchase of equipment and options for the 2003 Sterling Dump Truck including a dump body, plows, lights, and controls under state contract and award a contract to J-Craft Company in the amount of $51,985.85 for the purchase and installation of these items including tax. Finally, Staff recommends that the City Council approve the trade-in of the 1988 Ford 8000 Series Dump Truck to Boyer Ford at a credited value of $12,500.00. Including tax, license, and transfer fees, this represents a final net City cost of $96,422.11 to replace the 1988 dump truck. Respectfully Submitted, Greg Lee, Director of Public Works RESOLUTION NO. 5939 APPROVING THE PURCHASE OF A REPLACEMENT DUMP TRUCK CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA WHEREAS, the City Council previously approved the purchase of a 1988 Ford 8000 Series Dump Truck; and WHEREAS, said dump truck has been in use for fifteen years and has reached its economically useful life; and WHEREAS, Ford no longer produces the 8000 series truck, they have been replaced with Sterling brand trucks; and WHEREAS, a 2003 Sterling brand dump truck can be purchased from Boyer Ford under state contract for $53,427.00. Tax, license, and transfer fees would cost an additional $3,509.26; and WHEREAS, the existing 1988 truck retains a salvage value and a trade-in amount offered by Boyer Ford is $12,500.00; and WHEREAS, additional equipment and options such as a dump body, front plow, wing plow, snow plowing light package, and controls are necessary to fully utilize truck; and WHEREAS, said equipment and options can also be purchased under state contract and installed for $48,813.00 by J-Craft Company. Tax would cost an additional $3,172.85; and WHEREAS, the 2003 General Fund, Snow and Ice Department, Vehicle account, (Account 100-4472-7040) has $125,000.00 budgeted for this dump truck purchase; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Mounds View, Ramsey County, Minnesota as follows: 1. The purchase of a 2003 Sterling Dump Truck under state contract is approved. 2. A contract to Boyer Ford in the amount of $56,936.26 for the purchase of said truck, including tax, license, and transfer fees is awarded. 3. The purchase of equipment and options for the 2003 Sterling Dump Truck including a dump body, plows, lights, and controls under state contract is approved. 4. A contract to J-Craft Company in the amount of $51,985.85 for the purchase and installation of said equipment and options is awarded. 5. The trade-in of the 1988 Ford 8000 Series Dump Truck to Boyer Ford at a credited value of $12,500.00 is approved. 6. Including tax, license, and transfer fees, this represents a final net City cost of $96,422.11 to replace the 1988 dump truck. Adopted this 10th day of February 2003. ______________________________ Jerry Linke, Mayor (ATTEST) _______________________________ James Ericson Interim City Clerk/Administrator (SEAL) Item No. 7C Type of Business: CA WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Greg Lee, Director of Public Works Item Title/Subject: Resolution No. 5940 Approving the 2003 Seasonal Public Works Positions Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Background On March 26, 2001 the City Council adopted Resolution No. 5546 that describes the procedure for hiring Seasonal Employees. This resolution requires that the City Council approve all seasonal positions. Discussion Annually the City Council has approved the hiring of seasonal Public Works positions. Resolution No. 5546 requires that approval take place six weeks prior to actual hire of seasonal employees; therefore, this is typically done in January or February. Seasonal Employees benefit the City by providing labor services that are relatively less expensive and are available during periods of greater labor demand. In return, Seasonal Employees benefit from the skills and work ethics they learn on the job. As a result, the employees, the City, Citizens, and taxpayers all benefit from this program. Historically, there are three time periods throughout the year when the City Council approves the seasonal positions in the Public Works Department: Summer Seasonal Employees – There are a total of ten (10) positions, five (5) in Public Works and five (5) in the Parks Division. Duties include general Public Works and parks maintenance duties. The employees generally are employed for about three months in the summer – mid to late May to mid to late August. Fall Seasonal Employee – This is only one seasonal position. Historically, a summer position was extended to cover duties performed in the fall. Staff recommends that this seasonal position be designated as a completely separate position with a separate contract. Duties include fall activities such as leaf clean up and providing assistance to both Public Works and Parks in year-end maintenance activities. This position would start approximately in late August and run until the end of November. Winter Seasonal Employee - This is only one seasonal position and was previously referred to as the Ice Rink Maintenance position. The main duty of this position is to service and maintain the City’s ice rinks and warming houses. This position typically runs from December to February of the following year. For the 2002 season, the new hires started at the hourly rate of $9.50/hr with the possibility of advancing to $10.00/hr after one month of satisfactory performance. Returning seasonal workers were compensated at $10.25/hr. Due to the low number of applicants applying for these positions in 2002 (13 applicants for 10 positions), Staff is recommending that new hires start at the hourly rate of $9.75/hr with the possibility of advancing to $10.25/hr after one month of satisfactory performance. Returning seasonal workers would be compensated at $10.50/hr. This represents a 2.5% average overall increase over previous 2002 rates. Each summer position will work 40 hours per week. The Fall and Ice Rink positions may also work 40 hours per week, however hours may be fewer. All seasonal positions will remain on staff for a period no longer than six months. Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Council approve the 2003 Seasonal Public Works Positions. Respectfully Submitted, Greg Lee, Director of Public Works RESOLUTION NO. 5940 APPROVING THE 2003 SEASONAL PUBLIC WORKS POSITIONS CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA WHEREAS, Resolution No. 5546 requires that seasonal positions must be approved by the Mounds View City Council; and WHEREAS, Seasonal Employees benefit the City by providing labor services that are relatively less expensive and are available during periods of greater labor; and WHEREAS, the City of Mounds View Public Works Department does have a need to hire seasonal employees; and WHEREAS, the Public Works Department is recommending that seasonal positions be approved for three periods throughout 2003; and WHEREAS, said periods are: Summer, Fall, and Winter; and WHEREAS, this resolution is consistent with the requirements in Resolution No. 5546; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Mounds View, Ramsey County, Minnesota as follows: 1. The 2003 Summer Seasonal Public Works Positions are approved – a total of ten (10) positions. These positions would start in approximately mid to late May 2003 and terminate in mid to late August 2003. 2. The 2003 Fall Seasonal Public Works Position is approved - a total of one (1) position. This position would start approximately in mid to late August 2003 and terminate near the end of November 2003. 3. The 2003 W inter Seasonal Public Works Position is approved - a total of one (1) position. This position would start approximately in early December 2003 and terminate near the end of February 2004. 4. All Public Works seasonal positions will be filled, with new hires starting at the hourly rate of $9.75/hr with the possibility of advancing to $10.25/hr after one month of satisfactory performance. Returning seasonal workers will be compensated at rate of $10.50/hr. 5. Each position will work forty (40) hours per week; however the Fall and Winter positions may work less than forty (40) hours per week. 6. All Public Works seasonal positions will remain on staff for a period no longer than six months. Adopted this 10th day of February 2003. ______________________________ Jerry Linke, Mayor (ATTEST) _______________________________ James Ericson Interim City Clerk/Administrator (SEAL) Item No. 07D Type of Business: CA WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Mary Burg, Golf Course Manager Item Title/Subject: Resolution No. 5941 Approving the 2003 Seasonal Public Works Positions Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Background On March 26, 2001 the City Council adopted Resolution No. 5546 that describes the procedure for hiring Seasonal Employees. This resolution requires that the City Council approve all seasonal positions. Discussion Annually the City Council has approved the hiring of seasonal Golf Course positions. Resolution No. 5546 requires that approval take place six weeks prior to actual hire of seasonal employees; therefore, this is typically done in January or February. Historically, golf course seasonal staff has been hired as shown on the attachment Exhibit after which time the City Council approves the seasonal positions. The seasonal staff will work a variety of flexible schedules to meet the needs of the golf operation. These positions may work less than described on Exhibit A, and will not exceed the 2003 budget. This represents a 2.5% average overall increase over previous 2002 rates. Recommendation: Staff recommends that the Council approve the 2003 Seasonal Public Works Positions. Respectfully Submitted, Mary Burg, Golf Course Manager RESOLUTION NO. 5941 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA Approving Golf Course 2003 Seasonal Positions WHEREAS, the City of Mounds View Golf Course does have a need to hire seasonal employees, and WHEREAS, this is consistent with Resolution 5546, which states that the seasonal positions must be approved by the Mounds View city Council. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mounds View City Council does hereby approve the seasonal positions, wages and employment dates for the Golf Course as listed in Exhibit A. Adopted this 10th day of February 2003. ATTEST: Jerry Linke, Mayor SEAL James Ericson, Interim City Administrator RESOLUTION 5941 Approving Golf Course Seasonal Positions EXHIBIT A Position Wage Start Date End Date Hours/wk Tech (1) $11.00-13.00 Mar 1 Aug 30 30-40 Tech (2) $11.00-13.00 Apr 1 Sept 30 30-40 Tech (1) $8.50-10.00 Apr 1 Sept 30 30-40 Tech (2) $8.50-10.00 May 1 Oct 31 20-30 Tech (2) $8.50-10.00 Jun 1 Sept 15 15-30 Tech (1) $6.50-7.50 May 1 Oct 31 30-40 Tech (2) $6.50-7.50 April 15 Oct 15 15-20 Beverage Cart (6) $6.50-7.50 Apr 1 Sept 30 15-20 Clubhouse Sup (1) $11.00-13.00 Apr 1 Sept 30 15-40 Clubhouse (3) $8.50-10.00 May 1 Oct 31 15-30 Clubhouse (3) $8.50-10.00 Apr 1 Sept 30 15-30 Clubhouse (3) $6.50-7.50 May 1 Oct 31 15-30 Range Picker (8) $6.50-7.50 Apr 1 Sept 30 15-30 Item No: 7E Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Type of Business: CA City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, Acting City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Consideration of Resolution 5946 Establishing the YMCA Advisory Executive Committee Introduction: The YMCA operates the City’s park and recreation programs and manages the Community Center per an Agreement between the YMCA and the City, beginning in 1999. The Agreement indicates that the City would create an advisory executive committee to help foster communication and with the intent to improve services. Discussion: The City Council met with Ms. Pat Riemersma, District Vice President for the Northwest YMCA at the February 3, 2003 worksession, at which time staff was directed to formally create the advisory committee. Councilmembers Sherry Gunn and Rob Marty volunteered to serve on this committee, which will also include YMCA staff, the City Administrator, the Finance Director and a representative from the Parks and Recreation Commission. Recommendation: Consider and adopt Resolution 5946 establishing the YMCA Advisory Executive Committee as indicated in the Agreement between the City and the YMCA. _____________________________________ James Ericson Interim City Clerk/Administrator Attachments: 1 Resolution 5946 RESOLUTION NO. 5946 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING THE YMCA EXECUTIVE ADVISORY COMMITTEE WHEREAS, The City of Mounds View entered into an agreement with the Northwest YMCA in 1999 to provide park and recreation programming services for the community and to manage the City’s Community Center; and, WHEREAS, the Agreement indicates that an executive advisory committee be established to make recommendations to the City Council regarding the YMCA’s operation of the Community Center; and, WHEREAS, the Committee would also serve to foster communication between the City and the YMCA with the ultimate goal of improving the services offered at the Community Center; and, WHEREAS, the Committee is to be comprised of the following positions: • The Center’s Managers • The Executive Director of the Northwest Family YMCA • The City Administrator • The City’s Finance Director • A Representative from the Parks and Recreation Commission • Two City Councilmembers WHEREAS, the Committee shall meet twice per year, or more often if determined necessary by the Committee. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mounds View City Council does hereby authorize the formation of the YMCA Executive Advisory Committee to be comprised of the above-mentioned representatives and that the Committee shall meet at least twice per year or more frequently if necessary. Adopted this 10th day of February, 2003 _______________________________ Jerry Linke, Mayor (ATTEST) _______________________________ James Ericson Interim City Clerk / City Administrator (SEAL) Item No. 7F Type of Business: CA WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Jim Hess, Engineering/Information Services Technician Item Title/Subject: Resolution 5949 Authorizing the Disposal of Obsolete Computer Equipment Date of Meeting: February 10, 2003 The City has a quantity of computer equipment that is either broken or is so old that it is obsolete and unusable. All of the equipment was purchased between 1988 and 1995 with the exceptions of one fax machine and one PC purchased in 1998. The staff recommends disposing of this equipment since it is not operational and is taking up scarce storage space. Included on the list are 13 monitors, 12 personal computers, 13 keyboards, 12 printers, and 3 fax machines. These items can’t just be thrown away. They contain some toxic substances and state law requires that they be sent to a qualified recycler. There are several available and they all charge about the same. We estimate the cost to be between $100 and $200. Respectfully Submitted, Jim Hess RESOLUTION NO. 5949 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA AUTHORIZING THE DISPOSAL OF OBSOLETE COMPUTER EQUIPMENT WHEREAS, the City has accumulated a numerous collection of worn out and obsolete computer equipment; and WHEREAS, the equipment has no value and is taking up scarce storage space; and WHEREAS, staff recommends the disposal of this equipment with a licensed recycling firm. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Mounds View that the computer equipment listed below shall be disposed of with a licensed recycler: 13 monitors 12 personal computers 13 keyboards 12 printers 3 fax machines. Adopted this 10th day of February 2003. Jerry Linke, Mayor ATTEST: James Ericson, Interim City Administrator SEAL Item No. 8A Type of Business: CB WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Greg Lee, Director of Public Works Item Title/Subject: 2003 Street Improvement Project Issues Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Background: On October 21, 2002 the City Council authorized the preparation of a preliminary engineering report to determine the need for repairs, scope of work, estimated costs, and feasibility of conducting a street improvement project. The street segments being evaluated and considered for this project are identified as those that are north of County Road H2 and southwest of County Road 10 (except for those street segments that have been recently upgraded or are County Roads. These include: Pleasant View Drive, Spring Lake Road, Silver Lake Road, Long Lake Road, and Country Road I). The preliminary engineering report will be submitted to City Council for consideration in late February or early March. Should the Council wish to proceed with this project, a neighborhood meeting will be held early this spring. Affected property owners will be notified of the meeting directly by mail. Discussion: There are three general issues that will need to be addressed as part of this project:  Assessment Policy  Street Standards  Storm Water introduction into the sanitary sewer system Assessment Policy To finance a neighborhood street major maintenance project most cities rely on assessment of the benefited properties to finance a portion of the project. However, there are State Law requirements that govern various aspects of assigning assessments: 2 • The amount of assessment assigned to a particular property cannot exceed the increase value that property receives as a result of the street major maintenance project (or any public improvement project). • All properties that have the same land use zone are assigned assessments using the same methodology. • The amount of the assessment assigned to a particular property cannot be based on the value of that property. Given these guidelines, cities are then left to develop their own methodology and policies of assigning assessments. These often vary greatly depending on the rationale they elect to use. The City of Mounds View‘s current assessment policy as it relates to this project would require that the amount of the assessment for a particular property be based on a front foot basis. Other methods used by cities include: based on the area of the benefited property, based partially on frontage footage and partly on the area of the benefited property, based on the square footage of the primary structure on that property, etc. In many cases, after the methodology is selected, many cities then reduce the amount of the assessment by only applying a percentage of the total project cost. In Mounds View’s case, the amount of the assessment is based on 100% of the actual cost of the project, then divided on a front footage basis not to exceed $14.62 per front foot (this maximum amount is adjusted annually in accordance with the Engineering News Record -ENR). When developing street assessment policies, the paramount objective is to identify the City’s plan as it relates to street major maintenance projects. Although a formal statement or resolution has not been given by the Council on this matter, some Council members have indicated to some degree that: A. We should treat all properties fairly. B. We should apply maintenance strategies at the proper time and to the proper streets so as to minimize the overall cost to the City and increase the overall benefit to the residents. C. We should develop a street program that is supported by the public and can be supported financially by the City. A. We should treat all properties fairly. Land value appraisal studies have indicated that all properties benefit approximately the same amount from a neighborhood street major maintenance project with roughly similar lot sizes and similar housing stock. This would indicate that the City should assess equal amounts to all residential properties within a project area. Case in point: assume two $150,000 homes in a project area. One house sits on a corner lot, the other is at the end of a cul-de-sac. According to a benefit appraisal, both properties would receive the same benefit; however, under the 3 City’s current assessment policy, the first house would be assessed much more than the second. Staff recommends that Council consider an assessment policy that assigns a portion of the project cost equally to all similar benefited properties. B. We should apply maintenance strategies at the proper time and to the proper streets so as to minimize the overall cost to the City and increase the overall benefit to the residents. The general maintenance strategy of a roadway segment would be to apply a surface treatment at around the 5th year of the pavements life cycle, then perform a mill and overlay around the 15th to 20 year, then finally reconstruct in year 35 to 40 - generally. The goal of this strategy is to apply the correct maintenance technique at the proper time so as to minimize overall costs. Based on the structure of the City’s current assessment policy, a property owner would be assessed the same amount for a mill and overlay project as they would for a total reconstruction project. Given the choice, property owners may not support an inexpensive mill and overlay project that would cost effectively extend the life of their street and opt to wait for a far more expensive reconstruction project. Staff recommends that Council consider an assessment policy that assigns amounts to be assessed based on the total project cost and NOT on a fixed amount. C. We should develop a street program that is supported by the public and can be supported financially by the City. This is an objective that many cities seem to spend much time researching and fine-tuning. Many, if not most, cities assign public improvement assessment amounts base on a percentage of the total project cost. It then becomes a question as to what that percentage should be. In terms of a neighborhood street major maintenance project, the percent range which is assessed by cities in the metro area to residential properties is 10% to 75% of the total project cost. The majority falls in the range of 25% to 50%. For comparison purposes, the proposed assessment for the County Road H2 Project is 13.3 % of the total project cost. The objective is to select a percentage that is low enough to make the proposed projects appealing to the property owners. However, they need to be large enough to sustain a long-term street maintenance program. The feasibility report for the 2003 Street Improvement Project will have a mock assessment role included that will be based on the City’s current assessment policy. Staff will then take this mock assessment role, which is basically a spread sheet, and add columns with varying percentage rates to illustrate impacts on actual properties with an actual project. If directed by Council, Staff can also perform a financial 4 analysis to determine the long-term impacts the assessment percentage may have on the City’s bonding capacity. Staff recommends that Council consider an assessment policy that assigns a percentage of the total project cost to the benefited property. The percentage will need to be determined at a future date. Attached, as Exhibit A, is a draft roadway major maintenance financing policy. This policy can be used to foster discussion on developing an assessment policy. Street Standards Another issue that will need to be addressed with the 2003 Street Improvement Project is – “What is / should be a standard city street?” Some may correctly argue that there doesn’t need to be a “city standard”. However, at least for this project, the City Council will need to approve the standard street segment. The two main components in developing a street segment from an aesthetics standpoint are: 1) the width of the street and; 2) the guttering system. Width of Street The street widths of the segments included in the 2003 Street Improvement Project are: STREET LOCATION WIDTH (entire paved surface) Hillview East of Gloria Circle 31.0’ Gloria Circle Between Hillview & cul-de-sac 29.0’ Groveland Between Hwy 10 & Oakwood Rd 28.3’ Groveland Between Oakwood Rd & Co Rd I 29.3’ Groveland Between Co. Rd I & Bronson 28.8’ Groveland Between Co. Rd I & Bronson 28.6’ Groveland Between Co. Rd I & Bronson 28.7’ Knollwood Between Oakwood Rd & Co Rd I 29.4’ Knollwood Between Oakwood Rd & Co Rd I 29.3’ Knollwood Between Co Rd I & Bronson 28.5’ Knollwood Between Co Rd I & Bronson 28.6’ Knollwood Between Bronson & Co Rd H2 29.4’ Knollwood Between Bronson & Co Rd H2 29.8’ Knollwood F-F Curb at new radius @ Co Rd H2 29.8’ Oakwood West of Knollwood Dr 29.0’ Oakwood Between Knollwood & Groveland 29.1’ Bronson Between Pleasant View & Spring Lk Rd 28.8’ Bronson Between Spring Lk Rd & Knollwood 28.7’ Bronson Between Knollwood & Groveland 28.6’ Bronson Between Groveland & Silver Lk Rd 29.2’ The measurements include the total width of the existing paved surface. Two sets of measurements are involved in street widths: Face-to-Face (F-F) and Back–to-Back (B-B). Face-to-Face refers to the face of the curb on one side to the face of the curb on the other side. It is used in discussions dealing with the “drivable” portion of the street. Back-to-Back (B-B) refers to the back of the curb 5 on one side to the back of the curb on the other side. It is used in discussions dealing with the total impermeable surface of the street. This is the width agencies such as the watershed district will be interested in. From functional, engineering, and public safety perspectives, local residential streets that allow for parking on both sides should have a minimum width of drivable surface of 26 to 28 feet. In a worst-case scenario, this will allow for two 8-foot parking lanes on each side of the road and still provide a minimal 10-to 12- foot one–way driving lane for emergency and other vehicles. With regard to widening the street, Staff suspects that trying to maximize the street width may be difficult from a standpoint of obtaining permits from other government agencies such as the Watershed District. The Watershed will likely contend that the City is increasing the impervious surface and thus increasing runoff from this area. In the end, the Watershed may not issue a permit or they may require very elaborate and expensive techniques to address the additional runoff. In addition, a need has not been demonstrated for widening streets in the project area. What are the residential street widths in other cities? Spring Lake Park used 32- foot wide roadways in their six-year street replacement program, Blaine uses 27- foot wide streets for new development, and Woodbury uses 29 feet. Staff recommends that Council consider a street width standard of 28 feet, measured from face of curb to face of curb for the 2003 Street Improvement Project. Street Guttering System Much discussion has pertained to whether the 2003 Street Improvement Project should provide concrete curb and gutter. There seems to be a general indication from the City Council that concrete curb and gutter would be preferred. The question that remains, however, is if the additional cost of the concrete curb and gutter is cost effective when compared to the benefits. The preliminary feasibility report will contain data that will hopefully assist in addressing this issue. The report will contain cost estimates for a concrete curb and gutter and compare these costs to a bituminous curb. At this time Staff is not looking for direction from the City Council as to whether concrete curb and gutter should be part of this project. This will be presented at a later date, once all the data is available. Storm Water introduction into the Sanitary Sewer System The issue of storm water being discharged into the City’s Sanitary Sewer System has been discussed on several occasions in the past several years. The City has 6 an ordinance that restricts the discharge of storm water into the City’s Municipal Sewer System: CHAPTER 907: MUNICIPAL SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM Section 907.06: STORM WATER: It shall be unlawful to discharge or cause to be discharged into the Municipal sewer system, either directly or indirectly, any roof, storm, surface or ground water of any type or kind or water discharged from any air conditioning unit or system. (1988 Code §71.07) However, in spite of this ordinance, the City suspects that there are numerous properties that continue to have unlawful connections to the sanitary sewer system. The Metropolitan Council Environmental Services charges the City for the use of the regional trunk sewer system based on the volume of flow the City contributes to it. In 2002, the City started to experience a dramatic increase in the sewer flow volumes, as much as 30% over the amount from just one-year prior. To understand the magnitude and significance of this increase consider: In 2002, the City paid $641,199.00 to Metropolitan Council Environmental Services. A 30% increase then represents an additional cost of over $192,000. In addition to the increased cost to the City, storm water discharge into the City sanitary sewer system also increases to probability that the system will flood and overload to such an extent as to cause significant and grave damage to the properties of a large number of City residents. In addition to other damage, flooding and overloading creates a hazard to health. What is the cause of the increased sewer flow? Staff suspects it is a direct result of inflow and infiltration of storm water into the system – otherwise known as I & I. Inflow is the direct discharge of storm water into the sewer system; infiltration is seeping into the system via cracks and openings. In the last few years, the Public Works Department has developed two programs to help address the infiltration problem. One program includes the televising of the entire sanitary sewer system, then developing a maintenance program whereby problem areas such as major leaking joints and cracks are sealed using and pipe slip lining system. Another program is to replace sewer manhole covers that allow storm water to seep in. Infiltration will always be present to some degree; however with the steps that have been implemented in recent years, there is little more the City can do at this time that would be cost effective to further address infiltration. Inflow, on the other hand, is a problem that Staff believes needs to addressed. 7 With the increased precipitation in 2002, groundwater levels have risen higher than historical levels. Homes that unlawfully have their sump pumps connected to the sanitary sewer system then contribute much higher volumes of flow. The prohibition of discharge of storm water to the City’s sanitary sewer system was added to the City Code in 1988. Since most of the homes in Mounds View were constructed prior to the date, there are no records of how sump pumps, floor drains, or roof drains are connected. The best, and perhaps the only, way to determine if there is an unlawful discharge of storm water is to inspect the plumbing of each property. Staff recommends that the City Council consider an addition to the City’s Ordinance (See EXHIBIT B). This is a draft Section 907.06 of the City Code. Subdivisions 1 through 9 were added. The changes would implement a program to have all City properties inspected to confirm that there is no unlawful discharge into the sewer system. In the event that a property wishes not to allow the City to perform an inspection, a surcharge would be added to their quarterly utility bill. Example program: • Adopt a revised ordinance. • Hire an inspector for a period of two years. • Inform residents of the revised ordinance. • Give property owners about 18months to rectify any unlawful discharges. • Include financial incentives, if the Council chooses. • Property owners contact inspector to schedule inspection during the first 18 months • After 18 months, a surcharge will be added to the utility bill of all non- inspected property. This is simple a concept program and draft ordinance intended to foster discussion with the City Council. The 2003 Street Improvement Project was the catalyst for looking into possible ways to address the storm water inflow problem. The thought was that if there are known properties currently discharging sump pump water into the sanitary sewer, perhaps with the 2003 Street Improvement Project the City should look at providing a storm sewer lead (service) into which properties can connect. This would be a PVC pipe which connect into the City’s storm sewer system. It would run a few feet below grade and several feet behind the curb. The street project will proceed independent of the proposed storm water discharge elimination program. Staff and the City engineering consultant will review sewer tapes to identify potential problem areas. Staff will also direct-mail a questionnaire to properties in the street project area to see if more problem areas can be determined. Armed with this information, storm sewer lead would be added to the project where feasible. 8 Recommendation: In summary, it is recommended the Council:  Consider an assessment policy that assigns a portion of the project cost equally to all similar benefited properties  Consider an assessment policy that assigns amounts to be assessed based on the total project cost and NOT on a fixed amount.  Consider an assessment policy that assigns a percentage of the total project cost to the benefited property. The percentage will need to be determined at a future date.  Consider a street width standard of 28 feet wide measured face of curb to face of curb for the 2003 Street Improvement Project.  At this time Staff is not looking for direction from the City Council as to whether concrete curb and gutter should be part of this project. This will be presented at a later date, once all the data is available.  Consider an addition to the City’s Ordinance to develop a program to ensure there are no unlawful discharges into the sewer system. Respectfully Submitted, Greg Lee, Director of Public Works 9 EXHIBIT A ROADWAY MAJOR MAINTENANCE FINANCING POLICY DRAFT: FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES The following policy sets forth guidelines for the financing of roadway major maintenance projects. I. DEFINITIONS A. Benefited Property: Property with frontage (rear, side, or front) along a roadway will be considered to receive benefit from any major maintenance projects. In the low-density residential lots, only those properties with front frontage will be considered to receive benefit. B. Major Maintenance: For the purpose of this policy, major maintenance will consist of overlays, partial or total reconstruction together with other associated infrastructure repairs, reconstruction, and construction. C. Minor Maintenance: For the purpose of this policy, minor maintenance shall consist of pothole patching, crack sealing, seal coating and minor skin overlays. Funding of these maintenance activities are not addressed as part of this major maintenance policy. D. Project Cost: Included in the improvement cost to be assessed shall be the roadway major maintenance activity cost, lateral storm sewer, sanitary sewer, and water main costs, engineering, administrative, legal, easement acquisition, and fiscal costs incurred to implement the improvements. E. Roadway Classification: Roadway classification will be determined in accordance with the comprehensive transportation plan previously adopted by the City Council. II. COST ALLOCATION The total project cost for major maintenance is to be allocated in accordance with the policy. Excluding rural unplatted properties, it is the intention of this policy to allocate cost on a project basis rather than on a street-by-street or block-by-block basis. A. Urban Residential Streets Streets, Curb and Gutter Repairs 10 1. Urban/Low-Density Residential Lots a. For major maintenance reconstruction of streets 32 feet or less in width, XX% percent of the project cost will be assessed to the area benefited on a per residential lot basis. For purpose of this assessment policy the benefited residential lots will be residential lots having front yard frontages along the roadways being maintained. b. For major maintenance of streets wider than 32 feet, the per residential lot cost will be based on the average project cost of maintaining a 28 feet wide street within the municipal urban service area. c. Vacant Lots. Vacant and unplatted residential properties having frontage on the streets having major maintenance performed will be assessed based upon the number of potential lots into which the property could be subdivided. For purposes of this policy, the number of potential lots will be determined by the smallest lot allowed by zoning ordinances within the area of the improvements. 2. Commercial, Retail, Tax Exempt, Institutional, and Medium and High- Density Residential a. Commercial, retail, tax exempt, institutional and medium and high- density multi-residential frontages will be assessed actual project costs according to the following table based on the lineal footage of streets being maintained adjacent to front, side, or rear lot sides. For individually owned multi-family structures, this cost will be divided equally between the individual units. % of Cost Land Use Type Assessed Retail/Commercial XXX% Non-Profit/Tax Exempt XX% Medium and High-Density Residential XX% Low-Density Residential XX% 1 1 Based on standard 28 ' residential streets. b. Unplatted or vacant commercial, retail, tax exempt, institutional medium and high-density residential properties will be assessed as described above based upon the land use allowed by the ordinance. 3. Public Property. Regardless of the roadway classification, public property will be assessed in accordance with the above residential street 11 policy for low-density residential lots. The assessment will be allocated on an equivalent front foot basis over the entire frontage. For the purpose of this policy, the equivalent front foot will be determined by dividing the frontage by the average residential lot frontage within the construction area. B. Commercial Roadways Streets, Curb and Gutter 1. Commercial, retail, tax exempt, institutional, medium and high-density residential frontages will be assessed actual project costs according to the following table based on the lineal footage of streets receiving major maintenance adjacent to front, side, or rear lot sides. For individually owned multi-family structures, this cost will be divided equally between the individual units. % of Cost Land Use Type Assessed Retail/Commercial XXX% Non-Profit/Tax Exempt XX% Medium and High-Density Residential XX% Low-Density Residential XX% 1 1 Based on standard 28' residential streets. 2. Unplatted or vacant commercial, retail, tax exempt, institutional and multi-family residential properties will be assessed as described above based upon the land use allowed by the ordinance. C. Urban Minor Arterial/Major Collector Streets, Curb and Gutter 1. Commercial, retail, tax-exempt institutional and multi-family residential frontages will be assessed actual project costs according to the following table based on the lineal footage of streets receiving major maintenance adjacent to front, side, or rear lot sides. For individually owned multi- family structures, this cost will be divided equally between the individual units. % of Cost Land Use Type Assessed Commercial XX% Non-Profit/Tax Exempt Property XX% Multi-Family XX% Residential XX% 1 1 Based on standard 28' residential street. 12 2. Unplatted or vacant commercial, retail, tax exempt, institutional, medium and high-density residential properties will be assessed as described above based upon the land use allowed by the ordinance. III. ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE REPAIRS Storm Sewer, Sanitary Sewer, Water main, Sidewalks, and Curb and Gutter: 1. The cost of lateral storm, and sidewalk / pathway, and Curb and Gutter improvements, maintenance, new, and reconstruction within the area where streets are receiving major maintenance will be included in the project cost to be assessed at the same rate as the street portion. 2. The cost of lateral sanitary sewer and water main maintenance and reconstruction within the area where streets are receiving major maintenance will be included in the project cost to be assessed at the same rate as the street portion. 3. The total cost of new lateral sanitary sewer and water main construction will be assessed against the properties receiving sanitary sewer and water service by the new construction. IV. FINANCING A. The cost of the major maintenance and related utility improvements will be assessed over a period not to exceed 15 years. B. The project costs not funded by assessments will be funded from general city revenues. The City Council may specify other funding sources if they are available and their expenditure is specifically authorized by the Council. C. The assessment rate will be based on the project cost including the rate of interest on bonds sold to finance the project. No surcharge shall be placed upon the interest rate. Adopted: Date XX, 2003 13 EXHIBIT B DRAFT: FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES CHAPTER 907 MUNICIPAL SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM SECTION: 907.01: System Established 907.02: Connection with System Required 907.03: Permit Requirements 907.04: Construction Requirements 907.05: Prohibited Discharges; Interceptors 907.06: Storm Water 907.07: Industrial Wastes 907.08: Preliminary Treatment Facilities 907.09: Control Manhole 907.10: Right of Entry 907.11: Measurements and Tests 907.12: Tampering with System Prohibited 907.13: Maintenance and Repairs 907.14: Sewer Use Rates and Billing 907.15: Violation of Provisions 907.06: STORM WATER: It shall be unlawful to discharge or cause to be discharged into the Municipal sewer system, either directly or indirectly, any roof, storm, surface or ground water of any type or kind or water discharged from any air conditioning unit or system. (1988 Code §71.07) Subd. 1. Purpose: In adopting this ordinance, the City Council finds that the discharge of water from any roof, surface, ground, sump pump, footing tile or other natural precipitation into the City sewerage system will and has on occasions in the past, flooded and overloaded the sewerage system to such an extent as to cause significant and grave damage to the property of large numbers of City residents. Such damage is caused by the backup of sewage into the living quarters of residents, an increase in sewage treatment costs, and in addition to other damage creates a hazard to health. The City Council, therefore, finds it essential to the maintenance of health and to minimize sewage treatment costs and damage to property that the provisions of this ordinance be strictly enforced to avoid emergencies in the future. 14 Subd. 2. Definition and Method: No water from any roof, surface, ground, sump pump, footing tile, or other natural precipitation shall be discharged into the sanitary sewerage system. Dwellings and other buildings and structures which require, because of the infiltration of water into basements, crawl spaces and the like, a sump pump system to discharge excess water, shall have a permanently installed discharge line which shall not at any time discharge water into the sanitary sewerage system. A permanent installation shall be one which provides for year-around discharge capability to either the outside of the dwelling, building or structure, or is connected to the City storm sewer system or discharges to a drainage easement. It shall consist of a rigid discharge line, without valving or quick connections for altering the path of discharge. Subd. 3. Disconnection: Before DATE, 2003, any person, firm or corporation having roof, surface, ground, sump pump, or footing tile now connected and/or discharging into the sanitary system shall disconnect and / or remove same. Any disconnects or openings in the sanitary sewer shall be closed or repaired in an effective, workmanlike manner, as approved by the City Building Inspector. Subd. 4. Inspection: Every person owning improved real estate that discharges into the City’s sanitary sewer system shall allow an employee of the City of Mounds View or their designated representative to inspect the building to confirm that there is no sump pump or other prohibited discharge in to the sanitary sewer system. In lieu of having the City inspect their property, any person may furnish a certificate certifying that their property is in and will remain in compliance with this ordinance. Any person refusing to allow their property to be inspected or refusing to furnish a certificate within fourteen (14) days of the date City employee(s) or their designated representatives are denied admittance to the property, shall become subject to the surcharge hereinafter provided for. Any property found to violate this ordinance shall make the necessary changes to comply with the Ordinance and furnish proof of the changes to the City by Date X, 2003 Subd. 5. Future Inspections: At any future time, if the City has reason to suspect that an illegal connection may exist on a premises, the owner, by written notice shall comply with the provisions of subdivision 4 above. Subd. 6. Incentive: There are a number of methods to dispose of sump pump effluent. The City’s recommended solution is to pump the water into a cistern. Any property which has an existing illegal connection may apply for City financial assistance by requesting a City inspector to verify the illegal connection, have the repair completion verified and submit a receipt for labor and/or materials (self-help labor rate valued at $40). Upon verification of the corrective action and costs, the City will remit to the property owner one-half of the cost to correct the illegal connection to a maximum of $XXX (The City of Fridley used $450) per installation. The property owner may petition the City to abate the problem and assess the property owner the 15 cost for the corrective work over a 3-year period. This incentive program is in effect until DATE X, 200XX. Subd. 7. Surcharge: A surcharge of $XXX per quarter (The City of Fridley used $300) is hereby imposed and added to every sewer billing mailed on and after DATE X, 2003 to property owners that are not in compliance with this ordinance. The surcharge shall be added for the entire quarter until the property is in compliance. Subd. 8. Penalties: Any violation of this chapter is a misdemeanor and is subject to penalties provided for such violations under provision of Chapter XXX of this code. Subd. 9. Effective Date: This ordinance shall be effective from, and after its adoption and publication as provided by City Charter. Item No. 8B Type of Business: CB WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Greg Lee, Director of Public Works Item Title/Subject: Water Tower Rehabilitation Project Resolution No. 5942 Awarding the Construction Contract Award Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Background: On January 13, 2003 City Council adopted Resolution No. 5932 approving the plans and specifications and establishing a bid date for the Water Tower Rehabilitation Project. Bids for the Water Tower Rehabilitation Project were received at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 6, 2003 at City Hall. Copies of the bid tabulation for the received bids are available upon request. Discussion: The Water Tower Rehabilitation Project includes; minor interior structural repairs, interior wet coating including surface preparation and coating application, interior dry coating spot surface preparation and paint application as recommended, exterior coating system including a complete power wash and spot surface preparation and touch up paint application as prescribed. The engineers estimate for this project is $43,000.00. Bid Review - A total of four (4) bids were received for this project. The low bid of $52,100.00 was submitted by Champion Coatings Incorporated of Lakeville Minnesota. A bid bond for five percent (5%) of the bid amount was included with the bid. The bid has been reviewed and found to be in order. A complete bid summary is as follows: Champion Coatings $52,100.00 Maguire Iron $88,315.00 TMI Coatings $53,700.00 Utility Service $84,840.00 The 2003 Enterprise Fund, Water Infrastructure and Equipment Maintenance Department, Repairs Account (Account 700-4823-5150) has $40,000.00 budgeted for this maintenance project. This account will therefore show a budget overrun. Funds budgeted in the contingency account of the Water Infrastructure and Equipment Maintenance Department will be used to finance the overrun. Recommendation: It is recommended the Council adopt the attached resolution awarding the construction contract to Champion Coatings Incorporated for the Water Tower Rehabilitation Project in the amount of $52,100.00. Respectfully Submitted, Greg Lee, Director of Public Works RESOLUTION NO. 5942 AWARDING THE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR THE WATER TOWER REHABILITATION PROJECT AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CITY ADMINISTRATOR TO SIGN SAID CONTRACT CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution No. 5932 adopted by the City Council on January 13, 2003 sealed bids were received and tabulated on February 6, 2003, at 10:00 a.m. for the Water Tower Rehabilitation Project; and WHEREAS, the low responsive and responsible bid was received from Champion Coatings Incorporated at their bid price of $52,100.00; and WHEREAS, the 2003 Enterprise Fund, Water Infrastructure and Equipment Maintenance Department, Repairs Account (Account 700-4823-5150) has $40,000.00 budgeted for this maintenance project. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Mounds View, Ramsey County, Minnesota as follows: 1. That the bid of Champion Coatings Incorporated in the amount of $52,100.00 for the Water Tower Rehabilitation Project is the lowest responsive bid. 2. That a contract to perform said work is awarded to Champion Coatings Incorporated and that the Mayor and City Administrator are hereby authorized and directed to enter into a contract with said bidder. 3. The Public Works Department is authorized and directed to return the deposit made for said bids, except the deposit of the successful bidder, which shall be retained until a contract has been signed. Adopted this 10th day of February 2003. ______________________________ Jerry Linke, Mayor (ATTEST) _______________________________ James Ericson Interim City Clerk/Administrator (SEAL) Item No: 8C Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Type of Business: CB WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Mike Sommer, Chief of Police Item Title/Subject: Use of Sick Leave per LELS Collective Bargaining Agreement Date of Report: February 10, 2003 Background: In December 2002 a Mounds View Police Officer was injured while off duty. The injury required surgery to the officer’s arm. The surgery was completed in January and will necessitate a recovery time in excess of the officer’s available sick leave, vacation and comp time balances. The officer has now exhausted his available leave. Article 21 of the Law Enforcement Labor Services labor agreement for the City of Mounds View states: “An employee may borrow up to thirty days of sick leave with the approval of and under conditions set out by the EMPLOYER.” Fellow officers on the Police Department would like to donate their sick leave to the injured officer’s balance to ensure the injured officer will continue to receive wages while he is recovering from surgery and unable to return to work. Discussion: This issue was discussed at the January 3, 2003 City Council work session. Currently, the city does not have a policy to regulate the administration of this procedure. Other cities and counties surveyed were found to have procedures in place allowing fellow employees to donate sick leave to fellow employees under specific circumstances. Some of these arrangements allow for the donation of sick leave to employees cross departmentally, with the rate of pay transfer adjusted accordingly. The Mounds View police officer in question has been on the department about two years, and consequently has not accumulated much leave time. The officer estimates he will require approximately 30 more days of recovery time prior to returning to duty. The city’s benefit package does not include short or long-term disability insurance for employees. A policy allowing the donation and transfer of sick leave would accomplish some degree of short and long-term disability protection for employees. Since Mounds View is a small city with relatively few employees, a policy allowing transfer of sick leave may be best suited to include all city employees rather than only the police department. Based on past history and experience, the need to utilize this policy will be rare. If used, sick leave would be transferred to the recipient at the donor’s rate of pay. The benefit for the program would be considerable for an employee suffering an illness or injury, or with an immediate family member suffering from a qualifying injury or illness, and when all leave time the affected employee had available has been depleted. Recommendation: Staff recommends the Mounds View City Council adopt the attached policy allowing for the transfer of sick leave from fellow employees wishing to donate sick leave to employees who have Sick leave transfer policy Page 2 depleted all other available leave time, for circumstances allowing the use of sick time under Section 3.35, Paragraph “C” of the City’s Personnel Manual. Proposed Sick Leave Donation Policy per Resolution 5943: D. Sick Leave Donation Upon approval of the City Administrator, city employees may transfer sick leave to another employee who is eligible to utilize sick leave under the conditions set forth in Section 3.35, Paragraph C “USE,” when all other available leave time has been depleted, and the following conditions are met: • The proposed recipient wants to participate. • No employee will be able to receive more than thirty days of donated sick leave in a twelve-month period without the approval of the City Administrator. • Employees may only donate sick leave if the donating employee will have a remaining balance of at least forty hours of sick leave remaining after the donation. • The value of the donated sick leave will be prorated, and credited to the recipient at the donor’s rate of pay. The recipient may only receive thirty days of donated sick leave after the value of the donated sick leave has been calculated and adjusted to the recipient’s rate of pay. • If the recipient separates from city employment before using all donated sick leave, the remaining donated sick leave may not be converted to severance pay, and will be credited back to the donor. • Donation of sick leave by city employees will be completely voluntary. No city employee shall pressure or otherwise attempt to influence another city employee to donate sick leave. Sick leave transfer policy Page 3 RESOLUTION 5943 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING DONATION OF SICK LEAVE TO COWORKERS WHEREAS, a police officer employed by the City was injured while off-duty, and the injury required surgery to the officer’s arm resulting in an extended recovery time, and; WHEREAS, the officer in question has depleted all available sick leave, vacation and comp time, and; WHEREAS, article 21 of the Law Enforcement Labor Services labor contract for the City states: “An employee may borrow up to thirty days of sick leave with the approval of and under circumstances set out by the Employer,” and; WHEREAS, the City does not have a policy in place for the administration of this procedure, and; WHEREAS, the Mounds View City Council has directed staff to develop a policy amending the personnel manual to allow for donation of sick leave to fellow employees when all other available leave time has been depleted, and; WHEREAS, the establishment of this policy would be added as paragraph “D” to section 3.35 of the personnel manual, which addresses Sick Leave. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mounds View City Council does hereby authorize adoption of the attached policy as approved or amended by the Council. Adopted this 10th day of February, 2003. ______________________________ Jerry Linke, Mayor Attest ______________________________ Jim Ericson, Acting City Clerk/Administrator (Seal) Item No: 8D Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Type of Business: CB City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, Acting City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Consideration of Resolution 5944 Rescinding Resolution 5555 Governing City Administrator Duties and Staff Communication Introduction: The City Council adopted Resolution 5555 on April 9, 2001. The intent of the resolution was to reaffirm the hierarchy of communication and to reaffirm the duties and expectations of the City Administrator as spelled out in the City Charter. Discussion: The City Council discussed this issue on February 3, 2003, and as a result, there was direction to place this on the agenda for tonight’s meeting to consider rescinding the resolution. Recommendation: Consider Resolution 5944, a resolution rescinding Resolution 5555. _____________________________________ James Ericson Interim City Clerk/Administrator Attachments: 1. Resolution 5555 2. Resolution 5944 RESOLUTION NO. 5555 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION CONCERNING ADMINISTRATION OF CITY AFFAIRS AND REAFFIRMING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE CITY CLERK-ADMINISTRATOR WHEREAS, the City of Mounds View conducted a retreat with the City Council and City staff concerning various City of Mounds View issues; and WHEREAS, the relationship between the City Council and the City Clerk- Administrator in the City was discussed; and WHEREAS, the City Council has concluded that it is in the best interest of the City to have clearly defined supervisory responsibilities; and WHEREAS, the City Council does hereby reaffirm that all Department Directors shall be supervised directly and exclusively by the City Clerk-Administrator; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to reaffirm the scope of duties and responsibilities of the City Clerk-Administrator pursuant to the Mounds View City Charter; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to clarify and set forth its understanding of the administration of City affairs and the scope of duties and responsibilities of the City Clerk- Administrator for the City of Mounds View. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the City Council of the City of Mounds View, after thorough review and consideration of the City’s Charter and past practices concerning the administration of City affairs, reaffirms that the City Clerk- Administrator for the City of Mounds View, with such duties as set forth in Chapter 6 of the Mounds View City Charter, shall be the administrative officer of the City appointed by the Council to supervise the administration of the City pursuant to the City Charter and Council action. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, the City Council of the City of Mounds View does hereby reaffirm its direction to the City Clerk-Administrator to supervise its Department Directors and direct its Department Directors to report directly to the City Clerk-Administrator in performing the day-to-day business of the City, as directed by the majority of the City Council. Res. 5555 Page 2 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, the City Council of the City of Mounds View establishes the policy that all communication between City staff and Department Directors shall be forwarded to the City Council through the City Clerk- Administrator who is acting as the chief administrative officer of the City. Such a policy reflects the procedures for the administration of City affairs as set forth in Chapter 6 of the Mounds View City Charter, as well as the intended administrative procedures desired by the City Council. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED THAT, the City Council of the City of Mounds View states that this adopted policy is a reaffirmation of the responsibilities and duties set forth in the Mounds View City Charter and the desires of the City Council, and that any policies of the City or City Code provisions in conflict with such intent of the Council, shall be reviewed and modified to reflect the resolve of the City Council. Adopted this 9th day of April, 2001. Attest: ________________________________ Richard Sonterre, Mayor (SEAL) _____________________________ Kathleen Miller, City Clerk-Administrator Motion By: Gary Quick Second By: Roger Stigney Sontere: Aye Quick: Aye Stigney: Aye Marty: Aye Thomas: Aye RESOLUTION NO. 5944 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION RESCINDING RESOLUTION 5555 GOVERNING CITY ADMINISTRATOR DUTIES AND STAFF COMMUNICATION WHEREAS, the Mounds View City Council adopted Resolution 5555 on April 9, 2001; and, WHEREAS, Resolution 5555 is a resolution concerning the administration of City affairs and the relationship between the City Administrator and the City Council; and, WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council do not agree with past interpretations of the resolution; and, WHEREAS, Resolution 5555 in part restates and references sections of the Mounds View City Charter; and, WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council prefer to let the City Charter speak for itself and no longer feel the need for such a resolution. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and the City Council do hereby rescind and repeal Resolution 5555 and direct that the Resolution be forever marked as such in the official City records. Adopted this 10th day of February, 2003. _____________________________ Jerry Linke, Mayor Attest: ___________________________ James Ericson, Interim City Administrator SEAL Item No: 8E Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Type of Business: CB City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, Acting City Administrator Item Title/Subject: Consideration of Resolution 5945 authorizing the Elimination of the Human Resources Committee Introduction: The City Council has directed staff to draft a resolution to eliminate the Human Resources Committee. Background: The Human Resources Committee was established by the City Council with the adoption of Resolution 5498, December 11, 2000. The Committee is comprised of the City Administrator, the Assistant City Administrator, two members of the City Council and the Department Head from the affected department. Recommendation: Review and consider Resolution 5945, a resolution eliminating the Human Resources Committee. _____________________________________ James Ericson Interim City Clerk/Administrator Attachments: 1. Res. 5945 RESOLUTION NO. 5945 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION ELIMINATING THE HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE WHEREAS, The Human Resources Committee was established by the City Council on December 11, 2000 with the adoption of Resolution 5498; and, WHEREAS, The City Council no longer believes the Committee serves a valuable purpose and function. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Mounds View does hereby eliminate the Human Resources Committee. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the original resolution of approval, Resolution 5498, shall be Repealed and marked as such in the official City records. Adopted this 10th day of February, 2003 _______________________________ Jerry Linke, Mayor (ATTEST) _______________________________ James Ericson Interim City Clerk / City Administrator (SEAL) Item No: 8G Meeting Date: February 10, 2003 Type of Business:CB WK: Work Session; PH: Public Hearing; CA: Consent Agenda; CB: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Mike Sommer, Police Chief Item Title/Subject: Purchase of Voice Recognition Software Program and Required Computer Upgrades Using LLEBG Grant Funds Date of Report: February 10, 2003 Background: On March 1, 2001 the Mounds View Police Department was awarded a Local Law Enforcement Block Grant. The monies from this grant can be used to purchase equipment which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the police department. The total amount of the grant was $12,159.00, which included the required match amount by the city of $1,216.00. On April 24, 2001, $4,382.41 of the available grant funds were expended to purchase video equipment that is used to view and print still photos from surveillance cameras installed at numerous retail and business locations throughout the city. Under the terms of the grant, all funds must be expended within two years of the award. Currently there is $7,776.59 of unexpended funds, which must be used prior to February 28, 2003, or they will be subject to forfeiture. Discussion: Staff has been assessing the needs of the department in an attempt to identify an area where this funding could be utilized to improve its efficiency or effectiveness. One area that could appreciate significant benefit for the department would the acquisition of voice recognition software and the necessary computer upgrades required to run the program. Voice Recognition software allows the user to generate text in any windows based word processing program. If used in conjunction with digital voice recorders, Voice Recognition could greatly aid investigators and others in generating lengthy narrative reports and victim/witness statements and suspect confessions. Voice Recognition may also be useful in helping to avoid repetitive stress and carpel tunnel related injuries. Two local vendors of Voice Recognition products were contacted and invited out to demonstrate their products. The first product viewed, which is called “Via Voice” by IBM, was not seen as a user-friendly program, and did not appear it would be the best product for our department. The second product demonstrated was called “Dragon-Naturally Speaking.” This product appeared very easy to use and navigate, and it also offered a Public Safety version, which recognized many more words and terminology used in law enforcement. Under the proposal from BMS-Integrated Office Technologies, who is the company offering the Dragon-Naturally Speaking program, the police department would license six users within the department. In order to meet the computer specs necessary to run the program, two desktop computers would be replaced utilizing grant funds, and one laptop computer would be purchased, which could be used at other workstations or in the field by investigators or others. Handheld digital voice recorders with addition memory capability would be used in conjunction with the voice recognition software to perform automatic downloads into the computer program from field initiated recordings. The grant funds may also be used to cover any related and necessary training for the program. The necessary desktop computer upgrades can be purchased in-house through the state bid at a lower price than that quoted by BMS-Integrated Office Technologies. The laptop computer quoted by BMS is slightly less that what we have available through the state bid, and would be purchased as part of the proposal through BMS. The cost of the total proposed purchase exceeds the available LLEBG funds by a small amount, and would result in a cost to the city of $142.41, plus some additional tax. This additional amount would come from the police equipment fund #100 4200 7030. Recommendation: Staff recommends authorization to expend the remaining LLEBG Grant funds of $7,776.59, plus approximately $142.00 additional department funds, to purchase a Voice Recognition Software Program, digital voice recorders with expanded memory, a portable “pro-mike”, necessary training, required computer upgrades, and an additional laptop computer. The cost breakdown would be as follows: BMS Products Six (6) User Licenses @ $449.00/each $2,694.00 Two (2) Persons Trained for 4 hours @ $125.00/per hour $500.00 Three (3) Digital Handheld Voice Recorders @ $299.00/each $897.00 Six (6) Additional 8mb Memory Sticks for Recorders @ $20.00/each $120.00 One (1) Portable SM Pro-Mike for direct computer dictation $199.00 One (1) Toshiba Laptop computer $1,650.00 (Includes Tax) $6,060.00 In-House Purchase (State Bid) One (1) Compaq Desktop Computer w/monitor $1,000.00 One (1) Compaq Desktop Computer w/o monitor $859.00 (Does NOT Include Tax) $1,859.00 Total Cost of Proposal (Not including tax for in-house purchases): $7,919.00 Respectfully submitted by: Mike Sommer Chief of Police Cost/Benefit Analysis For a Police Chief w ith an annual salary of $70,000 Spending 1 hour/day responding to e-mail: Cut that time by 50% - save ½ hour/day @ $33.65/hr. = $16.82/day X 5 days/wk. X 47 wks/yr = $3,953.88/yr.(savings) If the Chief only used it for e-mail, the system would pay for itself in about 1 month (24 work days). For a Detective with an annual salary of $50,000. Preparing 3 –1/2 to 1 page documents by keyboarding, At 15 minutes per document – 45 minutes per day Cut that time by 50% - save 1/3 hour/day @ $24.04 = $8/day X 5 days/wk. X 47 wks/yr = $1,880/yr. (savings) If the detective only used it for 3 documents/day by talking directly into a computer, the system would pay for itself in about 1 1/2 months (33 work days). If the detective were to use a digital recorder (and did the correcting himself or herself), the system would pay for itself in about 2 1/2 months (45 work days). For a Detective with an annual salary of $50,000. Dictating for two hours/day, which then is transcribed by transcriptionist (with an annual salary of $24,000) for 2.5 hours: Cut the transcriptionist time to .5 hours (only correcting with speech recognition) – save 2 hours/day @ $11.54 = $23.08/day X 5 days X 47 wks/yr = $5,423.80/yr. If the detective only used it for 2 hours/day (whether dictating directly into computer or into digital recorder), the system would pay for itself in about 1 1/2 months (35 work days). For a Transcriptionist with an RSI Injury. One local company calculated that the average cost of an RSI injury was $30,000. OSHA found the average to be $27,700. With speech recognition, RSI injuries for transcriptionist staff can be totally prevented at a cost of less than $800/staff member. You can put 37 staff members on speech recognition for the cost of one RSI case. For the staff where the injury is already present, that staff member can be made productive NOW (no more down time) at cost of less than $800. (How much has a temporary replacement already cost you?) For an employee with this disability, Dragon is definitely a “reasonable accommodation” under the ADA. RESOLUTION 5948 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXPENDITURE OF REMAINING LLEBG GRANT FUNDS FOR THE PURCHASE OF VOICE RECOGNITION SOFTWARE, PERIFERAL EQUIPMENT AND NECESSARY COMPUTERS AND UPGRADES WHEREAS, the Mounds View Police Department was awarded $12,159.00 on March 1, 2001 under a Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG); and, WHEREAS, the award may be used for the purchase of equipment which will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the police department; and, WHEREAS, to date $4,382.41 of the funds have been expended to purchase video viewing and printing equipment; and, WHEREAS, the remaining funds of $7,776.59 must be spent by February 28, 2003 under the original terms of the grant; and, WHEREAS, staff has investigated several possibilities for use of these funds and has determined that the acquisition of a voice recognition program would greatly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the department; and, WHEREAS, in addition to the software program, peripheral equipment, digital voice recorders with extra memory, training, and additional computers will be needed to extract the most benefit from the voice recognition program; and, WHEREAS, the proposed cost of the complete program, equipment and training come to a total amount of about $7,919.00; and, WHEREAS, the balance of the cost for this purchase or approximately $142.00 will be paid from the police equipment fund; and, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Mounds View City Council does hereby authorize staff to expend the remaining LLEBG Funds of $7,776.59, plus additional monies of approximately $142.00 from the department equipment fund, for the purchase of a Voice Recognition Program for six users, digital voice recorders, additional memory, training, a portable microphone, a desktop computer w/monitor, a desktop computer w/o monitor, and a laptop computer. Adopted this 10th day of February, 2003. _______________________________ Jerry Linke, Mayor ATTEST _______________________________ James Ericson, Acting City Clerk / Administrator (SEAL) PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW CITY COUNCIL 1 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW 2 RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA 3 4 Regular Meeting 5 January 27, 2003 6 Mounds View City Hall 7 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 8 7:04 P.M. 9 10 11 1. MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER 12 13 2. ROLL CALL: Linke, Quick, Marty, Stigney, and Gunn 14 15 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 16 17 A. Monday, January 27, 2003 City Council Agenda. 18 19 Mayor Linke indicated he would introduce the new Police Chief before beginning Item 5. 20 21 MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Stigney. To Approve the January 27, 2003, City Council Agenda as 22 Amended. 23 24 Ayes - 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 25 26 4. PUBLIC INPUT 27 28 None. 29 30 5. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS 31 32 Mayor Linke introduced Police Chief Mike Sommer. 33 34 A. Presentation by Senator Betzold and Representative Connie Bernardy 35 36 Senator Betzold addressed Council and thanked residents of the City for the opportunity to 37 represent them. He then provided information concerning redistricting and told Council he 38 would like to give them information on what he thinks will happen during session and then 39 would be back after session to go over what actually did happen. 40 41 Senator Betzold indicated the budget is dominating the session this year and indicated that the 42 Senate has passed its version of the budget bill and the House is working on its version this 43 evening. 44 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 2 Senator Betzold indicated there is a projected $4.5 billion deficit for the next year’s budget that 1 needs to be resolved. 2 3 Representative Bernardy addressed Council and indicated it is a pleasure to represent Mounds 4 View. She then invited residents to contact her at any time at her home number of 763/571-0015 5 or at the capital or by email at rep.connie.bernardy@house.mn 6 7 Representative Bernardy said she thinks it is important to get public input concerning the 8 proposed changes to the budget and invited residents to attend a DFL House Caucus at Stillwater 9 City Hall on January 29, 2003. 10 11 Representative Bernardy indicated that since the late 1990’s there have been $11 billion in tax 12 cuts, $3 billion being rebates and the other $8 billion being permanent tax cuts to income and 13 property tax. She then said that there is now a deficit and a need to figure out what can be cut 14 while still maintaining services. She further commented that local government aid is proposed to 15 be cut and that would really impact property owners in Mounds View. 16 17 Mayor Linke commented that the City has already set its budget based on promised local 18 government aid amounts and will be half way through the budget year before receiving the 19 payments. He then said that a cut to local government aid would really impact Mounds View. 20 He further commented that it would be much easier if the City budget cycle and the state’s could 21 coincide. 22 23 Mayor Linke commented that it would be preferable if the City, because it is all built out, could 24 use its MSA funding for all roads within the City without penalty and asked the Senator and 25 Representative to consider that request. 26 27 Council Member Stigney asked whether there was any likelihood that the legislature would 28 consider removing the sales tax from cities during this session. 29 30 Senator Betzold explained that the sales tax was added back in 1991/1992 during another deficit 31 year in lieu of cutting local government aid. He then commented that there have been surplus 32 years since then and no one has shown an interest in removing it so it is not likely during a deficit 33 year. 34 35 Mayor Linke recommended educating residents to start a grassroots movement to get that 36 removed when there is a surplus again. 37 38 Council Member Marty said he wanted to let the Representative and Senator know of a couple of 39 issues important to Mounds View. The first is the redevelopment of County Highway 10 and the 40 second is the soundwall in the northeast corner of the City. He then asked for any help they 41 could offer with those two issues. 42 43 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 3 Representative Bernardy indicated she has looked into the soundwall and then said she was able 1 to help Coon Rapids get a soundwall and will do what she can for the residents of Mounds View 2 on the matter. 3 4 Council Member Quick asked if the rules could be changed as the way he understands it if you 5 have a road and you add a lane you are entitled to a sound wall but if you take a road that lead 6 nowhere and attach to it a new road and quadruple the traffic there is no provision for a 7 soundwall and that is ridiculous. 8 9 Representative Bernardy said she thought working to change the policy was a good suggestion. 10 11 Senator Betzold commented that they would do what they could but MNDOT has always been a 12 bureaucracy unto itself and they are difficult to work with. 13 14 Representative Bernardy indicated she holds out hope because she was able to assist with a 15 soundwall on 610. 16 17 Mayor Linke asked them to do whatever they could to save local government aid. 18 19 Senator Betzold commented that at the end of December then Governor-elect Pawlenty had 20 suggested to Governor Ventura to hold back on local government aid but he did not because it 21 would have caused immediate issues with cities. He then said that he thinks you could expect he 22 would propose that again as he indicated that he does not want to touch classrooms and taking 23 that off the table means cutting everything else by 30%. He further commented that wherever the 24 cuts come they would be deep and noticeable. 25 26 Representative Bernardy indicated that adult basic education was cut 10% but in real terms it was 27 mid-year for them and that meant significant staff cuts and a much bigger impact to the program. 28 29 Senator Betzold indicated that they have made serious cuts in state agencies as well as the 30 legislature. The Senate has made drastic cuts, there are no pages and support staff was cut. He 31 further commented that stopping everything the state would do would still result in a $3 billion 32 deficit. 33 34 B. Resolution 5921, a Resolution of Appreciation for Rich Sonterre 35 36 Mayor Linke indicated Council passed a Resolution at the last meeting but had inadvertently 37 forgotten to invite the recipients to the meeting. 38 39 Mayor Linke read Resolution 5921, a Resolution of Appreciation for Rich Sonterre previously 40 approved by Council and presented the plaque to Mr. Sonterre. 41 42 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 4 C. Resolution 5922, a Resolution of Appreciation for Barbara Thomas 1 2 Mayor Linke read Resolution 5922, a Resolution of Appreciation for Barbara Thomas previously 3 approved by Council and presented the plaque to Ms. Thomas. 4 5 D. Resolution 5907, a Resolution of Appreciation for Carol Mueller 6 7 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated this Resolution was put together by Jeremiah 8 Anderson on behalf of Ms. Mueller who is active in the Mounds View/New Brighton Property 9 Manager’s Coalition. 10 11 Mayor Linke read Resolution 5907, a Resolution of Appreciation for Carol Mueller. 12 13 MOTION/SECOND: Linke/Gunn. To Approve Resolution 5907, a Resolution of Appreciation 14 for Carol Mueller. 15 16 Ms. Mueller thanked the City for its support of the program. 17 18 Council Member Marty thanked Staff for the report as he was not aware that so much work had 19 been done. 20 21 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 22 23 E. Resolution 5938, a Resolution of Appreciation for Tim Brennan 24 25 Mayor Linke read Resolution 5938, a Resolution of Appreciation for Tim Brennan. 26 27 MOTION/SECOND: Linke/Marty. To Approve Resolution 5938, a Resolution of Appreciation 28 for Tim Brennan. 29 30 Mayor Linke expressed his thanks for the work done over the course of the 18 months Deputy 31 Chief Brennan served as Interim Police Chief. 32 33 Deputy Chief Brennan indicated he could not have been as successful without the support of 34 Linda Meyer and Cathy Bednar in his office and thanked them for their support. He then thanked 35 his wife, Lynette, and said that without her support he would not have been able to do it. 36 37 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 38 39 F. Resolution 5933, a Resolution Appointing Michael Schnur to Fill a Vacancy 40 in the Water Division of Public Works. 41 42 Interim City Administrator Ericson read Resolution 5933, a Resolution Appointing Michael 43 Schnur to Fill a Vacancy in the Water Division of Public Works. 44 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 5 MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Gunn. To Approve Resolution 5933, a Resolution Appointing 1 Michael Schnur to Fill a Vacancy in the Water Division of Public Works. 2 3 Public Works Director Lee indicated this would be a lateral move. 4 5 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 6 7 6. JUST AND CORRECT CLAIMS 8 9 Council Member Marty indicated he had discussed several items with the Finance Director prior 10 to the meeting but asked if Check 110168 would be removed. 11 12 Finance Director Hansen indicated that when he had realized that Check 110168 amounted to a 13 contract for web site services he intended to hold the check until Staff could come to Council for 14 approval. 15 16 Council Member Stigney indicated he was not aware of the proposal for web site services. 17 18 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated the matter would be brought to a Council work 19 session for discussion. 20 21 Mayor Linke indicated he intended to repay the City for the North Metro Mayor’s meeting he 22 attended in December, as he was not yet serving as an elected official. 23 24 MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Gunn. To Approve Just and Correct Claims as amended to delete 25 Check Number 110168. 26 27 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 28 29 7. CONSENT AGENDA 30 31 A. Licenses for Approval 32 33 MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Stigney. To Approve Consent Agenda Item A as Presented. 34 35 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 36 37 B. Resolution 5934, a Resolution Approving the Acceptance and Final Payment of the 38 Edgewood Middle School Regional Pond 39 40 MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Gunn. To Approve Consent Agenda Item B as Presented. 41 42 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 43 44 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 6 8. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1 2 A. Resolution 5935, a Resolution Approving a Supplemental Letter Agreement 3 with SEH for Work. 4 5 Public Works Director Lee indicated that Resolution 5935 would authorize SEH to provide an 6 environmental, space needs, and an overall efficiency survey for City Hall with the goal being to 7 rehabilitate City Hall. He then indicated that Staff recommends funding the work through the 8 City’s special project fund with the cost of the work estimated at $9,800. 9 10 Mayor Linke indicated he would like to see the laundry list of ideas prioritized so that there is not 11 engineering time spent on items the City does not intend to do at this time. 12 13 Public Works Director Lee indicated that the scope of the project has been prioritized in that the 14 last item SEH would look at would be the laundry list of ideas. He further explained that the 15 main scope is to do a physical evaluation and the second would be to evaluate how the space is 16 being used and the third and final item would be to evaluate the laundry list of ideas. 17 18 Council Member Stigney indicated he would prefer if the list were prioritized and shortened 19 before it went to the engineers. He further commented that he felt that City Staff should be able 20 to take care of some of the issues rather than hiring an outside consultant. 21 22 Council Member Gunn asked when something like this was last done. 23 24 Council Member Quick explained there was a space study done when the addition was done. 25 26 Council Member Gunn indicated she felt it needed to be done but would like to have the list 27 prioritized first. 28 29 MOTION/SECOND: Quick/Gunn. To Waive the Reading and Approve Resolution 5935, a 30 Resolution Approving a Supplemental Letter Agreement with SEH for Work. 31 32 City Attorney Riggs asked that the Resolution be corrected to read that the Mayor and the Interim 33 City Administrator are authorized not the Public Works Director. 34 35 MOTION/SECOND: Stigney. To Postpone. 36 37 The Motion failed for lack of a second. 38 39 Ayes – 4 Nays – 1(Stigney) Motion carried. 40 41 B. Resolution 5936, a Resolution Approving a Supplemental Letter Agreement 42 with SEH for Work Associated with the County Road H Pathway Project 43 from Edgewood Drive to the Western City Limits. 44 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 7 Public Works Director Lee reviewed with Council the options for the path and indicated the next 1 step would be to finalize the feasibility study and develop plans and specifications for the project. 2 He then indicated that Staff had met with SEH and the engineering fees for these services are 3 estimated at $21,350 to be derived from the City’s special projects fund. 4 5 MOTION/SECOND: Quick/Gunn. To Waive the Reading and Approve Resolution 5936, a 6 Resolution Approving a Supplemental Letter Agreement with SEH for Work Associated with the 7 County Road H Pathway Project from Edgewood Drive to the Western City Limits. 8 9 City Attorney Riggs asked that the Resolution be corrected to read that the Mayor and the Interim 10 City Administrator are authorized not the Public Works Director. 11 12 Council Member Stigney indicated the EDA had discussed using TIF funds to fund trailways. 13 14 Public Works Director Lee indicated that Staff had recommended that the monies come from the 15 special project funds but TIF or grants could be used to assist with funding the project. 16 17 Council Member Marty indicated he agreed that residents should not be assessed for the pathway. 18 He then said that he heard from some residents that they do not want a sidewalk in their yard and 19 then asked that the narrowest pathway possible be used to make it seem less imposing. He 20 further commented that he would like the width to accommodate City equipment so that the City 21 could be responsible for clearing the sidewalk and not the residents. 22 23 Council Member Quick asked if all sidewalks are cleared by public works. 24 25 Public Works Director Lee indicated that they are. 26 27 Council Member Quick asked what the width of the sidewalk along Long Lake Road was and 28 commented that a little wider would be better because there are sometimes issues with passing 29 others on the sidewalk. He then commented that he did not see an issue with putting in the 30 sidewalk as it is within the City’s right-of-way and is not on private property. 31 32 Council Member Quick asked if some residents have things in the right-of-way. 33 34 Public Works Director Lee indicated that there are some residents with things in the right-of-35 way. 36 37 Mayor Linke asked why bituminous was not recommended until the 8-foot width. 38 39 Public Works Director Lee indicated it was due to construction methods as the narrowest paver is 40 8 feet. 41 42 Council Member Quick indicated he wanted the trail done right the first time so it does not have 43 to be redone. 44 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 8 Mayor Linke asked Staff to provide information concerning the lifespan of concrete versus the 1 bituminous for Council consideration. 2 3 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 4 5 C. Resolution 5909, a Resolution Authorizing a Contract with Sprint for Long 6 Distance Telephone Services 7 8 Finance Director Hansen explained that the City has an issue of overbilling with MCI WorldCom 9 through its QWEST bill. He then explained that various Staff members have attempted to 10 resolve the matter over the course of the last eight months and the amount in dispute is in excess 11 of $4,000. 12 13 Finance Director Hansen indicated he would like to switch to long distance service through 14 Sprint but pointed out that may cause an issue and make it more difficult to resolve the 15 overbilling issue with MCI. 16 17 Council Member Marty recommended asking the City Attorney to write a letter to MCI 18 indicating the amount in dispute and asking for resolution. 19 20 Council agreed to direct the City Attorney to send a letter to MCI. 21 22 Council Member Stigney indicated he was concerned with switching to Sprint while there are 23 outstanding charges and said he would prefer to wait and see if the Attorney’s letter receives a 24 response. 25 26 Finance Director Hansen indicated that the City has not paid the bill and QWEST has started to 27 make rumblings that they are not happy about it and could stop local service. 28 29 Council Member Stigney indicated he thought that there would be a legal obligation to provide 30 service if the account is in dispute. 31 32 Mayor Linke recommended paying what the City feels it owes and notifying them that the rest of 33 the bill is in dispute. 34 35 Finance Director Hansen explained that the amount actually owed would be less than 10% of the 36 $4,000. 37 38 MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Stigney. To Direct Staff to Determine the Amount Owed and 39 Provide that Information to the City Attorney and Direct the City Attorney to Send a Letter to 40 MCI Indicating the Amount in Dispute and Asking that the Matter be Corrected. 41 42 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 43 44 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 9 D. Resolution 5937, a Resolution Adopting the 2003 Capital Projects Funds 1 Budgets 2 3 Finance Director Hansen indicated the City began working on the capital improvement plans last 4 fall and this Council picked upon that at the January work session. He then indicated that the 5 Resolution before Council deals with the projects discussed at the last work session and they are 6 proposed for 2003. 7 8 Council Member Marty asked when the skate park would be coming to Council for discussion. 9 10 Public Works Director Lee indicated that the Park and Recreation Committee set a neighborhood 11 meeting date of March 6, 2003, at 6:30 at the Community Center to gather public information on 12 the proposed skate park. He then said that the information would be presented to Council at a 13 work session following that date. 14 15 Council Member Quick asked Staff what neighborhood would be notified of the meeting. 16 17 Public Works Director Lee clarified that there would be City-wide advertising and promotion of 18 the meeting in order to gather input from as many residents as possible. He then indicated it 19 would be advertised in The Bulletin and The Focus as well as on the website and in Mounds 20 View Matters. 21 22 Council Member Quick indicated he did not feel there was a need for a parking lot at Hillview. 23 24 MOTION/SECOND: Quick/Marty. To Waive the Reading and Approve Resolution 5937, a 25 Resolution Adopting the 2003 Capital Projects Funds Budgets with the Removal of the Parking 26 Lot at Hillview and the Addition of those Funds to the Trailways Budget. 27 28 Finance Director Hansen indicated the City Council could spend special projects funds or park 29 dedication funds for anything for the parks and, since there is relatively little money in park 30 dedication Staff proposed to fund trailways with the special projects fund. 31 32 Council Member Stigney commented that the Resolution establishes funds paying for these 33 projects and he is not comfortable using the special projects funds when it is possible to use TIF 34 funds. 35 36 Council Member Marty asked how much money was in the TIF pool for this year. 37 38 Finance Director Hansen indicated this is the lowest year for TIF with District 1 having a deficit 39 of roughly between $1 and $2 million covered by an internal loan. Districts 2 and 3 have 40 positive cash balances but will bottom out next year. He then said that, if Council wishes to take 41 money from TIF for trailways, it is possible to do so. 42 43 Mayor Linke indicated that could be done at the time of the project and then commented that the 44 City also needs to complete a five-year plan for capital projects per the City’s Charter. 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 10 1 Council Member Marty indicated he wanted to make sure there were enough funds in the TIF 2 pool to be used for trailways. 3 4 Council Member Stigney asked if the internal borrowing was from the TIF pool. 5 6 Finance Director Hansen indicated the borrowing that has been underway for several years is a 7 loan to TIF District 1 from the Community Fund. 8 9 Council Member Stigney suggested a change to the resolution to include language to indicate that 10 the funding sources are tentative. 11 12 The Motioner and seconder accepted the friendly amendment. 13 14 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 15 16 E. Consideration of Ordinance 709, an Emergency Interim Ordinance 17 Regulating the Presence and Citing of Pawn Shops and Related 18 Establishments Within the City of Mounds View 19 20 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated this Ordinance is in response to the realization that 21 the City’s Code is deficient concerning pawnshops. He then indicated the emergency ordinance 22 is allowed and consistent with state statutes and the City’s charter and would put a moratorium in 23 place and provide the City with time to review and draft regulation governing pawnshops. 24 25 Council Member Marty indicated the state statutes say that an emergency ordinance is to fulfill 26 the City’s obligation to adequately protect public health, safety and welfare. He then asked how 27 this ordinance relates to public heath, safety and welfare. 28 29 City Attorney Riggs indicated that the City can protect the planning process and that protects the 30 health, safety and welfare of residents. He then said that the City has the right to do this and that 31 right comes out of the state statutes. 32 33 MOTION/SECOND: Stigney/Gunn. To Waive the Reading, and Approve Ordinance 709, an 34 Emergency Interim Ordinance Regulating the Presence and Citing of Pawnshops and Related 35 Establishments Within the City of Mounds View. 36 37 ROLL CALL: Gunn/Stigney/Quick/Marty/Linke 38 39 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 40 41 F. Resolution 5927 Authorizing the Purchase of Audio Equipment for the 42 Banquet Center 43 44 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 11 Finance Director Hansen indicated that Mr. Bradley had attempted to obtain other quotes and 1 was only able to obtain one additional quote that, even though requested to do so, did not break 2 down the equipment and labor costs. 3 4 MOTION/SECOND: Gunn/Quick. To Waive the Reading and Approve Resolution 5927, a 5 Resolution Authorizing the Purchase of Audio Equipment for the Banquet Center. 6 7 Council Member Marty indicated he felt three quotes were needed. 8 9 Mayor Linke clarified that Mr. Bradley had attempted to get three quotes by going to more than 10 three vendors and that would meet the requirements of the purchasing policy. 11 12 City Attorney Riggs indicated that Mr. Bradley made a good faith effort to obtain three quotes. 13 14 Council Member Stigney indicated he had raised questions as to what type of system this would 15 be and does not see any further information on the equipment provided. He then asked if the 16 proposal is to have three separate zones as he does not feel the equipment proposed will do that. 17 18 Mr. Bradley indicated the contractor knows that the requirements are the ability to use separate 19 microphones in all three rooms. 20 21 Council Member Stigney said he did not think it was going to work with the equipment listed. 22 He then said he feels the Community Center “is being taken to the cleaners.” 23 24 Mr. Bradley indicated he would be more than happy to contact other vendors and asked for 25 recommendations for contacts. 26 27 Council Member Stigney indicated he would provide a list of names to contact concerning the 28 audio system. 29 30 Mr. Bradley indicated he went to the original contractor as they are the ones that did the original 31 system and the alarm and video systems. 32 33 Mayor Linke indicated that if the City does not use the current contractor, there are issues with 34 the warranty. 35 36 Council Member Stigney said he feels the City is being asked to pay nearly twice as much as it 37 should cost. He then said he would strongly suggest that more itemized quotes be obtained. 38 39 Mayor Linke indicated that he would like a proposed schematic for the wiring and then an as 40 finished schematic to assist with future renovations and enable Staff to know what is over there. 41 42 Council Member Marty indicated that Council Member Stigney had asked for a schematic at the 43 last meeting. 44 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 12 Council Member Stigney indicated he did not think the equipment would handle what Mr. 1 Bradley was asking for and asked that the contractor verify in writing that the system to be 2 installed will do what Mr. Bradley has proposed. 3 4 MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Stigney. To Table Resolution 5927 for Further Information. 5 6 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 7 8 G. Finance Department Quarterly Report 9 10 Mayor Linke indicated there was a lot of information in the report and said he would need more 11 time to review it before asking questions. 12 13 Council Member Marty indicated that if MSA reimbursement had not been sought he would like 14 to ask Staff to do so. 15 16 Finance Director Hansen indicated that the fund had a positive balance at the end of 1999 but 17 reimbursements have not been sought in recent years and the account will have a cash deficit. He 18 then indicated that Staff has been working with SEH in an attempt to seek reimbursement. 19 20 Mayor Linke commented that he feels SEH should be told that unless they begin seeking 21 reimbursements payments to them would be withheld. 22 23 Public Works Director Lee indicated he related that information to them. 24 25 Council Member Marty commented he wants the reimbursement sought immediately so that the 26 funds are not lost with the current state budget issues. 27 28 Finance Director Hansen indicated the financial report for year-end is very preliminary and more 29 numbers will be coming in. He then said that it appears there will be a surplus in the general 30 fund to be used toward offsetting the proposed cuts to cities. 31 32 Finance Director Hansen indicated the City needed to work on a long range financial plan and 33 said that Bob Thistle of Springsted has offered to come and make presentations on the issuance 34 of debt and long range financial planning. He then indicated that the presentations would be 35 about an hour and a half long. 36 37 Council asked Staff to schedule the presentations on a night with a light agenda. 38 39 Council Member Marty pointed out that the amount actually paid for City Council salaries was 40 higher than what was budgeted and asked why. 41 42 Finance Director Hansen indicated he would need to conduct some research into the matter as it 43 appears that something was inappropriately charged to the account. 44 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 13 Mayor Linke asked for the last four years worth of five-year capital improvement plans to use as 1 a guide to start the process. 2 3 Finance Director Hansen indicated he would need to go back a few years as the last few years 4 there was a fairly limited plan for capital outlay and not a full-fledged financial plan. 5 6 Finance Director Hansen asked whether Council would like to begin work on the long range 7 financial plan in February or March. 8 9 Mayor Linke requested that it be pushed back until April to allow time for the hiring of a new 10 City Administrator. 11 12 Council Member Stigney pointed out that the YMCA is $160,000 over revenue and asked if 13 anyone had talked to the YMCA about this or if that would happen at the upcoming YMCA 14 meeting. 15 16 Finance Director Hansen explained that the transfer from the general fund to the Community 17 Center had not yet been done so the revenues would get better but said there would still be a 18 negative net operation. He then said that he had not attempted to discuss the matter with the 19 YMCA as he felt it best to leave that up to the Committees. 20 21 Council Member Stigney asked if there would be new figures prior to the meeting with the 22 director. 23 24 Finance Director Hansen indicated he did not anticipate that he would be producing this report 25 with updated numbers until some time in March and that would be after the meeting with the 26 YMCA. 27 28 9. REPORTS 29 30 Public Works Director Lee reported that the Park and Recreation Committee met and made a 31 motion to vacate seat number 2 as the person occupying the seat has not attended a meeting in at 32 least 13 months. 33 34 MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Gunn. To Accept the Vacancy. 35 36 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 37 38 Council Member Stigney indicated there is still an opening on the Cable Commission. 39 40 Mayor Linke indicated he would make his recommendations for all vacant commissions at the 41 first meeting in February. 42 43 Council Member Gunn had no report. 44 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 14 Council Member Quick had no report. 1 2 Council Member Marty suggested Council discuss and fine-tune the policy for turning in 3 expenses for reimbursement as he would like to see a 30 day time limit to reduce the amount of 4 time spent by Staff on the matter. 5 6 Council agreed to look into the policy for reimbursement while discussing the personnel manual. 7 8 Council Member Marty commented that Council had asked for a presentation from the Cable 9 Department concerning the current equipment and a plan for the future for the department. He 10 then asked that this be kept in the forefront and not forgotten. 11 12 Council Member Marty clarified that the Mayor makes a recommendation for appointment not 13 the appointment. 14 15 Council Member Marty indicated he was at the Community Center this weekend and overheard 16 that one of the treadmills is inoperative again. 17 18 Mayor Linke had no report. 19 20 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated the North Metro Mayor’s Association is sponsoring 21 a meeting on Wednesday, January 29, 2003 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the North Metro 22 Legislators at the State Office Building. 23 24 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated he had received a copy of the final Federal 25 Environmental Assessment for the Anoka County Blaine Airport and any written comments are 26 due to MAC by Wednesday, February 26, 2003. He then indicated he had asked for an executive 27 summary for Council and said he would make the full document available for review. 28 29 Council asked that the City’s representatives on the Airport Commission be given the 30 information. 31 32 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated that the Hammerschmidt wrongful termination 33 matter was concluded and the City expects a ruling within four to eight weeks. He also indicated 34 that the issue of unemployment compensation was settled in favor of the City. 35 36 Council Member Quick asked if there was a copy of the ruling. 37 38 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated he did have the ruling but indicated it was his 39 understanding that the document is a private document. 40 41 Council Member Quick indicated that in a similar circumstance with Mr. Kessel the City 42 Administrator had read the ruling. He then asked if Staff could read this ruling. 43 44 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 15 City Attorney Riggs indicated that the document itself is private but the information contained in 1 it can be read if Council feels it is part of Council business. 2 3 Interim City Administrator Ericson read the ruling into the record. It is as follows: 4 5 Findings of Fact 6 7 John Hammerschmidt was employed with the City of Mounds View from January of 1996 to 8 June 6, 2001. He was employed as Golf Course Superintendent. 9 10 In the fall of 2000 a new City Administrator was hired for the City of Mounds View. Over the 11 course of several months Mr. Hammerschmidt’s working relationship with the new City 12 Administrator deteriorated as he felt she was micromanaging him and the golf course operations. 13 14 On January 25, 2001 he sent a memo to the City Administrator indicating that after February 5, 15 2001 he would not attempt to communicate with the City Administrator or attend Staff meetings 16 unless they were meetings with agendas. He also advised the City Administrator that he would 17 not respond to commands by voicemail to contact a person within specified timeframes. 18 19 In March of 2001 Mr. Hammerschmidt sent out memos to the Assistant to the City Manager and 20 Mayor venting his anger about others looking at the golf course operations which memos raised 21 issues of whether there was authority to look at the operations and suggested conspiracy. The 22 memos contained such phrases such as “why are others nosing around in my personal matters” 23 and “is your hand on the knife too.” 24 25 On March 26, 2001 the employer issued a written note to Mr. Hammerschmidt which he signed 26 that provided that he must exhibit professional behavior in communications with City employees 27 and others, including members of the City Council. He was also informed that if this was not 28 corrected further action would be necessary. 29 30 In May of 2001, in response to the continued investigation of golf course operations, Mr. 31 Hammerschmidt hired a private investigator to investigate the Mayor and his contacts with a 32 particular business. 33 34 On May 22, 2001 Mr. Hammerschmidt sent out a press release to others because he was upset 35 about a newspaper report that raised issues about golf course operations. The press release was 36 sent out without the authority of the elected leaders and the City Administrator to whom he 37 reported. The press release was also sent out in contravention of a directive by the acting City 38 Administrator that he not send out anything to others until he had spoken to the City 39 Administrator. The press release stated Mr. Hammerschmidt was appalled about the Mayor’s 40 actions in not using the City’s Golf Course Committee to resolve issues and further noted that 41 meetings had been arbitrarily cancelled. 42 43 On May 31, 2001 Mr. Hammerschmidt was suspended immediately because of his failures to 44 follow City directives, which included acting in an unprofessional manner by handing out an 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 16 unapproved press release to patrons of the golf course. His action constituted an intent and 1 evinced an intent to ignore the warnings and directives of the employer. 2 3 On June 6, 2001 Mr. Hammerschmidt was discharged by the employer because of his pattern of 4 failing to follow directives of the employer in various matters dealing with the golf course and 5 interaction with the employees and the public. Mr. Hammerschmidt was not discharged because 6 of any potential or actual union activities on his part. 7 8 Reasons for the Decision 9 10 John Hammerschmidt was discharged from employment with the City of Mounds View. When 11 an individual is discharged from employment he is disqualified from payment of unemployment 12 benefits under Minnesota Statutes Section 268.095, Subd. 4 if discharged for reasons amounting 13 to employment misconduct. Employment misconduct is defined under Minnesota Statutes 14 Section 268.095, Subd. 6 as intentional conduct in violation of standards of behavior the 15 employer has the right to expect or negligent or indifferent conduct which shows a substantial 16 lack of concern for the employment. A disqualification from unemployment benefits under 17 Minnesota Statutes Section 268.095 begins the Sunday of the week of the applicant’s separation 18 from employment and lasts for the duration of the applicant’s unemployment and until the 19 applicant has had earnings from subsequent covered employment of eight (8) times the applicants 20 weekly benefit amount. 21 22 Mr. Hammerschmidt failed to follow the directives of the employer. Specifically, he was 23 informed that he must not act in an unprofessional manner in his communications with others. 24 Despite that explicit warning, he sent out an unauthorized press release that essentially impugned 25 the integrity of the City Administrator and the Mayor. He did this even though he was told he 26 must review any potential press release with the City Administrator prior to its issuance. 27 28 It is clear from the record that Mr. Hammerschmidt was upset about the new City 29 Administrator’s actions reviewing more closely the golf course operations. He was upset about 30 interference in a municipal golf course that he had been operating fairly independently. Because 31 of developing directives regarding the hiring of seasonal employees and issues regarding budgets, 32 Mr. Hammerschmidt was unhappy. He engaged in discussions with others as to how he could 33 undermine the credibility of the City Administrator. While the extent of this was probably not 34 known to the City Administrator prior to the time of the discharge, it is relevant because it 35 provides a context within which to better understand Mr. Hammerschmidt’s actions in failing to 36 comply with his warning note and a directive not to issue a press release without the City 37 Administrator’s approval. Because Mr. Hammerschmidt apparently believed that others were 38 conspiring to have the golf course operated in a different fashion he hired a private investigator to 39 conduct an investigation of the Mayor’s relationship with an outside entity who was being 40 considered as a potential operator of the municipal golf course. 41 42 Mr. Hammerschmidt’s actions in failing to acknowledge the authority of the City Administrator 43 and in failing to follow directives, constitutes insubordination. It is employment misconduct. An 44 employer has the right to expect that its employees will follow its reasonable directives and, 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 17 under the circumstances, the directives of the employer tightening up the procedures and controls 1 at the golf course and the directives as to how Mr. Hammerschmidt should handle himself in 2 communications were reasonable. 3 4 The preponderance of evidence demonstrates that Mr. Hammerschmidt was discharged because 5 of intentional conduct that disregarded the standards of behavior the employer had a right to 6 expect. Furthermore, his actions evinced an intent to disregard the directives of the employer on 7 a number of issues, including the style and method of his communications with others. 8 9 Finally, Mr. Hammerschmidt’s actions also constitute negligent or indifferent behavior that 10 shows a substantial lack of concern for his employment. Mr. Hammerschmidt argues that his 11 actions and employment were guided by an employment agreement however, even if true, that 12 does not obviate his need to comply with the appropriate laws, ordinances, and City polices that 13 is set forth specifically in his agreement. 14 15 Decision 16 17 On June 6, 2001 John Hammerschmidt was discharged from employment with the City of 18 Mounds View because of employment misconduct. Mr. Hammerschmidt is disqualified from the 19 payment of unemployment benefits. If Mr. Hammerschmidt satisfies the disqualification, any 20 benefits paid shall, under Minnesota Statutes Section 268.047, Subd. 1, be charged to the 21 reimbursing account of the City of Mounds View because the employer has elected under 22 Minnesota Statute 268.052 to reimburse the Minnesota Unemployment Insurance Program Trust 23 Fund for any benefits paid to its former employees, regardless of the reason for separation from 24 employment. 25 26 Council Member Quick asked if Mr. Hammerschmidt has to pay back the unemployment he 27 received. 28 29 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated that he would need to but said he has the right to 30 appeal. 31 32 City Attorney Riggs indicated the 30-day right to appeal date began when the ruling was mailed 33 on January 16, 2003. 34 35 Council Member Quick asked when the right to appeal runs out. 36 37 City Attorney Riggs indicated the matter could be appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, if 38 the Court chooses to take up the action. 39 40 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated the City would not be involved in defending this 41 appeal. 42 43 City Attorney Riggs indicated the Commissioner of Employee Relations would handle the 44 appeal. 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 18 1 Council Member Stigney asked to be informed when the appeal process is expired. 2 3 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated he had received proposals from five executive 4 search firms and has more that are interested. He then asked how many proposals Council 5 wished to review at the work session. 6 7 Council indicated that Staff could accept all proposals and they would be reviewed at the work 8 session. 9 10 Interim City Administrator Ericson indicated that the Mayor had asked that the City Attorney 11 provide information on ongoing litigation issues. He then handed out a report provided by the 12 City Attorney. 13 14 City Attorney Riggs indicated the report was brief and invited Council Members to contact him 15 with any questions. 16 17 Council Member Marty provided information he had obtained from other cities as well as the 18 League of Minnesota Cities for the process involved if the City were to hire its own City 19 Administrator rather than use an executive search firm. He then indicated he would like to 20 discuss having the City hire rather than spending the money on an executive search firm. 21 22 Mayor Linke asked for a copy of the information read. 23 24 10. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 25 26 A. Minutes for January 13, 2003 27 28 Council Member Gunn requested the following change: On Page 6, Line 21 change “coves” to 29 “covers.” 30 31 MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Stigney. To Approve the Council Meeting Minutes for January 13, 32 2003 as Amended. 33 34 Ayes - 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 35 36 B. Minutes for January 6, 2003 37 38 Mayor Linke asked if Council liked the line numbering feature. 39 40 Council agreed it would make suggesting changes easier. 41 42 Council Member Marty asked that Staff enter the names of those administered the oath of office 43 and the motion. 44 45 Mounds View City Council January 27, 2003 Regular Meeting Page 19 MOTION/SECOND: Marty/Gunn. To Approve the Council Meeting Minutes for January 6, 1 2003 as Amended. 2 3 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 4 5 C. Minutes for December 30, 2002 6 7 Council Member Marty requested the following change: On Page 16, Line 681 change “1/12” to 8 “1/2”. 9 10 MOTION/SECOND: Quick/Stigney. To Approve the Council Meeting Minutes for December 11 30, 2002 as Amended. 12 13 Ayes – 3 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 14 15 Mayor Linke and Council Member Gunn abstained from voting. 16 17 Council Member Marty thanked the recording secretary for her work. 18 19 11. Next Council Work Session: Monday, February 3, 2003 20 Next Council Meeting: Monday, February 10, 2003 21 22 12. ADJOURNMENT 23 24 Mayor Linke adjourned the meeting at 9:33 p.m. 25 26 27 Transcribed and recorded by: 28 29 30 Joan Lenzmeier 31 Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 32