CC MINUTES 12131983 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1. 1 -5- Mayor Sundland indicated he had realized how far ahead of other • municipalities St. Anthony was when it came to marketing the community when the main speaker at a .recent Mayor's Association meeting had emphasized that such marketing efforts had not been demonstrated by the majority of municipalities . Councilman Marks commended- George Wagner and Rosemary Franzese for attending the recent Planning Institutes for new commissioners , say- ing he believes their efforts to keep abreast of- new planning con- cepts could -be viewed as a real asset . for the entire City. He recommended encouraging more and more of those involved in City planning to become exposed to all the new aspects of planning which are available . Councilmen Ranallo and Enrooth were in agreement that the five day conference in Washington D.C. had been invaluable from the perspective of enabling them to compare the City 's problems with those experi- enced by municipalities all over the nation. Councilman Ranallo reported that after attending the conference, he saw some value in considering a City membership in the national league, having seen the values of workshops like the one which proposed ways of raising revenues other than taxes and because the City is not a member, we do not have voting rights . The main thrust of one session seemed to be that it was of vital importance that cities charge realistically for such services as sewer and water . Another workshop emphasized the importance of coming to grips with payment of equal pay for comparable work , which the Councilman said,. the City has already accomplished when it adopted the Stanton program. The conference had adopted a resolution recommending- more , not less , local control of cable franchises , but the resolution favoring -the retention of Indust- rial Development -Bonds with some restrictions , although passed unanimously by. the committee, was voted down on the floor, according to Councilman Ranallo. Councilman Enrooth agreed that it had been evident to him that in spite of the high investment .for joining the national league , it would probably be worthwhile for City officials to have the opportunity of getting different perspectives on vital issues . He said he certainly concurred with the seminar conclusion on risk management that there- should always be careful selection of City personnel to assure all are qualified for their jobs because he ,had some personal questions about whether that policy had been followed when he had witnessed some of the damage .to lawns following a recent snow plow- ing in his neighborhood. Councilman -Ranallo-concluded his report by reiterating the harm which he perceives for the .Kenzington Project 'if IDB funding is cut back too- drastically and urged the City to cooperate with the developer to 'get the first half of the Phase I units sold as fast as possible. The recent Planning Institute -in Owatonna had impressed Councilman Marks with the importance of setting .up periodic planning sessions with City staff, and business and school representatives to formulate • the strategic planning for the community and to update the City ' s Comprehensive Plan.