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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 2020/08/24APPROVED PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW CITY COUNCIL CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA Regular Meeting August 24, 2020 Mounds View City Hall 2401 Mounds View Boulevard, Mounds View, MN 55112 6:30 P.M. 1. MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER Mayor Mueller reported due to the COVID-19 pandemic this meeting was being held virtually. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL: Bergeron, Gunn, Hull, Meehlhause, Mueller NOT PRESENT: None. 4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A. Monday, August 24, 2020, City Council Agenda. MOTION/SECOND: Bergeron/Meehlhause. To Approve the Monday, August 24, 2020, agenda as revised adding Item 8G. A roll call vote was taken. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 5. CONSENT AGENDA A. Approval of Minutes: August 10, 2020. B. Just and Correct Claims. MOTION/SECOND: Meehlhause/Hull. To Approve the Consent Agenda as presented. A roll call vote was taken. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 6. PUBLIC COMMENT None. Mounds View City Council August 24, 2020 Regular Meeting Page 2 7. SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS None. 8. COUNCIL BUSINESS A. Updating the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy in the City’s Personnel Manual. Human Resources Coordinator Ewald requested the Council adopt a Resolution which would update the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy in the City’s Personnel Manual by removing the reference to an affirmative action plan. Mayor Mueller asked if this was a simple housekeeping matter. Human Resources Coordinator Ewald reported this was the case. MOTION/SECOND: Hull/Gunn. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9297, Approving an Update to the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy in the City’s Personnel Manual. Council Member Bergeron recommended the Council table action on this item for the time being because the City would not be sending the right message and the Council’s actions may be misconstrued. Council Member Meehlhause requested further direction regarding the action before the City Council. City Attorney Allsot explained from a legal perspective the City has no legal obligation to have an affirmative action plan in place. He reported the affirmative action policy has numerous requirements and the City would be streamlining its hiring processes if this policy were removed from the Personnel Manual. He explained there were still protections within the policy to protect minorities. Council Member Meehlhause questioned if an affirmative action policy would have to be reimplemented if the City were to have a contract with the State. City Attorney Allsot stated this was the case. He indicated it was not difficult to put this type of policy in place. Council Member Hull inquired how long this language has been included in the City’s Personnel Manual. City Administrator Zikmund estimated this language has been included for the past 12 or 13 years. He commented further on how the City has been working to find gender and ethnic diversity within City staff. Council Member Bergeron commented one of the benefits of having an affirmative action plan was to require expanded recruiting efforts beyond traditional means, which could assist in attracting a broader base of applicants. He believed it was a positive thing for the City to have an affirmative action plan in place and the perception to drop it would be very poor. MOTION/SECOND: Bergeron/Mueller. To Table Action on Resolution 9297, Approving an Update to the Equal Employment Opportunity Policy in the City’s Personnel Manual to the Mounds View City Council August 24, 2020 Regular Meeting Page 3 September City Council Worksession meeting. A roll call vote was taken. Ayes – 4 Nays – 1 (Hull) Motion carried. B. Revising the Vacation Donation Policy in the City’s Personnel Manual and Separating to an Individual Policy. Human Resources Coordinator Ewald requested the Council adopt a Resolution revising the vacation donation policy within the City’s Personnel Manual by making it an individual policy that is separated from the Vacation policy. She discussed the proposed changes in detail with the Council and recommended approval. MOTION/SECOND: Gunn/Meehlhause. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9298, Approving Revising the Vacation Donation Policy in the City’s Personnel Manual and Separating to an Individual Policy. Council Member Meehlhause stated he supported the proposed changes to the City’s Personnel Manual and he thanked staff for their efforts on this manual. A roll call vote was taken. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. C. Approving a New Job Description for Executive Administrative Assistant. Human Resources Coordinator Ewald requested the Council approve a new job description for the Executive Administrative Assistant. She reported Barbara Benesch has been working for the City without a job description in place. Council Member Meehlhause asked if this position would require Hay point evaluation. Human Resources Coordinator Ewald explained this position would not be pointed. She noted Ms. Benesch has been doing this job for the past three years on a part-time basis and would continue doing the same job on a part-time basis. MOTION/SECOND: Meehlhause/Hull. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9299, Approving a New Job Description for Executive Administrative Assistant. A roll call vote was taken. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. D. Resolution 9300, Approving Storm Sewer Repair on Ardan Avenue. Public Works Director Peterson requested the Council approve a storm sewer repair on Ardan Mounds View City Council August 24, 2020 Regular Meeting Page 4 Avenue. He discussed the sink holes that have occurred along Ardan Avenue and the work that would need to be completed. He reported the work would be completed by VisuSewer and the project would be paid for by Storm Sewer Funds. Council Member Meehlhause asked if the street would have to be torn up. Public Works Director Peterson explained the work could be completed without tearing up the street. He reported this sewer line was no longer under warranty. Mayor Mueller questioned if the excessive amount of rain water over the past two years has impacted this storm sewer line. Public Works Director Peterson stated this was tough to say, but could be a potential cause. He noted this was a shallow storm sewer line and he was uncertain as to why it has failed. Mayor Mueller requested staff put information on the City’s website regarding sinkhole s, and encourage the public to contact City staff if sinkholes are located in the City. MOTION/SECOND: Hull/Bergeron. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9300, Approving Storm Sewer Repair on Ardan Avenue. A roll call vote was taken. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. E. Resolution 9301, Approving the Proposal from KLM Engineering for Roof Repairs on the Ground Reservoir. Public Works Director Peterson requested the Council approve a proposal from KLM Engineering for roof repairs on the Ground Reservoir. He discussed the roof work that had been done on the Ground Reservoir and how it failed. For this reason, additional work was required in order to secure the roof. He commented a dome roof was considered but it was determined a rubber membrane roof would be the best solution. He noted the rubber membrane was projected to last 20 to 25 years and the cost would be $143,000. Staff recommends a 7% contingency be included for the project. Council Member Hull asked if the rubber membrane roof would come with a warranty. Public Works Director Peterson reported this roof would have a 5 to 10 year warranty. Council Member Meehlhause questioned if this project expense would be included in the water treatment/well upgrades. Finance Director Beer reported this roof replacement would be included in the water treatment plant project. MOTION/SECOND: Meehlhause/Bergeron. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9301, Approving the Proposal from KLM Engineering for Roof Repairs on the Ground Reservoir. Mayor Mueller thanked Public Works Director Peterson and City Administrator Zikmund for addressing this concern. Mounds View City Council August 24, 2020 Regular Meeting Page 5 A roll call vote was taken. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. F. Resolution 9254, Approving Funds to Complete the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Community Development Director Sevald requested the Council approve funds to complete the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. He explained the 2040 Comp Plan was a 20 year plan that addresses housing, transportation, along with storm and sanitary sewer. He reported the City’s draft plan was submitted to the Met Council in September of 2019 and there were a number of items that were either incomplete or missing. He indicated staff requested a quote from Stantec to complete this work and the quot e was for $16,000. He noted the Council tabled action on this item in March and staff was bringing this matter back for further consideration. He noted Stantec has revised their expense to $12,000. Council Member Meehlhause asked what the City’s degree o f confidence was that the Met Council would approve the revised plan or find more issues with the Comp Plan. Community Development Director Sevald stated there was always a chance, but it was his hope staff and Stantec would have the majority of the issues addressed. Mayor Mueller questioned if Stantec was familiar with doing Comprehensive Plan’s and Stantec lead the City in the right direction. Community Development Director Sevald reported Stantec staff was fairly experienced, while the associate members were younger and inexperienced. He explained there were delays at the Met Council level given the fact they were overwhelmed by receiving all of the Comp Plans at once for review and comment. Mayor Mueller inquired if the $12,000 bid was the best Stantec could do for the City. City Administrator Zikmund reported this was the case. Mayor Mueller stated it was quite a disappointment that the Comp Plan came back to the City requiring the expenditure of additional consulting funds in order to meet Met Council requirements. She appreciated the fact staff had requested Met Council to complete a survey on the amount of money each City had spent to complete their Comprehensive Plan. MOTION/SECOND: Hull/Meehlhause. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9254, Approving Funds to Complete the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. A roll call vote was taken. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. G. Resolution 9302, Authorizing 2020 CARES Act County-Municipal Grant Agreement. City Administrator Zikmund requested the Council authorize the 2020 CARES Act County- Mounds View City Council August 24, 2020 Regular Meeting Page 6 Municipal Grant Agreement. He reported this agreement would allocate funds to the County to assist with election expenditures. Mayor Mueller indicated this grant was in the amount of $6,033.09. She asked if this amount would cover the total election cost, or if this amount was just covering the COVID-19 expenditures with respect to the election. City Administrator Zikmund explained this grant would only cover COVID-19 expenditures with respect to the election. Mayor Mueller stated she was pleased to see the poll workers would receive an increase in pay for the upcoming election. MOTION/SECOND: Meehlhause/Gunn. To Waive the Reading and Adopt Resolution 9302, Authorizing 2020 CARES Act County-Municipal Grant Agreement. A roll call vote was taken. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 9. REPORTS A. Reports of Mayor and Council. Council Member Meehlhause provided the Council with an update from Twin Cities Gateway. Council Member Meehlhause stated he looked forward to the day when Tara Jebens-Singh from NYFS could be invited to an upcoming City Council meeting. Mayor Mueller reported her son was to be married this summer and this wedding has been postponed to September. She stated she was looking forward to attending this event. Mayor Mueller explained on Monday, August 17th she met with a small group of residents at Greenfield Park where concerns regarding the trail were discussed. Mayor Mueller stated on Tuesday, August 18th she attended the bike parade at Greenfield Park. She thanked all of the residents that participated in this event and made donations to the Ralph Reeder Food Shelf. Mayor Mueller indicated she participated in a candidate speak out forum at CTV. She explained it would be difficult to campaign this fall given the fact some candidates would not go door knocking. Mayor Mueller reported she attended a Minnesota Mayor’s Executive Board meeting on Friday, August 21st. She explained the Minnesota Mayor’s Annual Conference has been pushed back to September of 2021. B. Reports of Staff. Mounds View City Council August 24, 2020 Regular Meeting Page 7 Finance Director Beer reported he attended a Finance Director’s Meeting with Ramsey County last week and preliminary numbers were provided to the City Council. Public Works Director Peterson updated the Council on the 2020 Street Improvement Project. He explained the water treatment plant project was behind schedule and noted the contractor has been made aware of this fact. Public Works Director Peterson reported Ramsey County would be completing storm sewer work across Mounds View Boulevard near Spring Lake Road. He noted the County hoped to complete this work over a weekend. He explained once the County had a detour plan in place, he would report back to the City Council. He indicated warning signs would be posted by the County to make the public aware of the upcoming project. Community Development Director Sevald reported census numerators were out in Ramsey County. He encouraged residents to fill out their census information online or via telephone as soon as possible. He explained information regarding the census was available in the City’s most recent newsletter. City Administrator Zikmund stated he would be emailing the City Council on Thursday morning regarding a potential special meeting. City Administrator Zikmund discussed the items that would be addressed by the Council at the September worksession meeting. C. Reports of City Attorney. City Attorney Alsop had nothing additional to report. 10. Next Special City Council Meeting: Thursday, August 27, 2020, at 6:00 p.m. Next Council Work Session: Tuesday, September 8, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. Next Council Meeting: Monday, September 14, 2020, at 6:30 p.m. 11. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m. Transcribed by: Heidi Guenther Minute Maker Secretarial