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CITY OF ST. ANTHONY
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
JUNE 26, 2018
CALL TO ORDER.
Mayor Faust called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
Mayor Faust invited the Council and audience to join him in the Pledge of Allegiance.
I TO 11KW4:1 "
Present: Mayor Faust, Councilmembers Gray, Randle and Stille.
Absent: Councilmember Jenson
Also Present: City Manager Mark Casey.
Guests: Scott Bentz, Parks Commission Chair, and Peggy Moeller, Redpath Ltd
CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING
ITEMS.
I. APPROVAL OF JUNE 26, 2018 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA.
Motion by Councilmember Randle, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to approve the City
Council Meeting Agenda of June 26, 2018.
Motion carried 4 -0.
H. PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS — NONE.
III. CONSENT AGENDA.
A. Consider June 12, 2018, Council meeting minutes,
B. Consider licenses and permits; and
C. Consider payment of claims.
Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to approve the Consent
Agenda items.
IV. PUBLIC HEARING — NONE.
V. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF.
Motion carried 4 -0.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 26, 2018
Page 2
1 A. Resolution 18 -050, a Resolution Approving the Installation of an Organics Drop Off Site
2 Located on the South side of City Hall /Community Center near the Police Department.
3 Scott Bentz, Parks Commission Chair presenting_
Mayor Faust recognized and welcomed Park Commission Chair Scott Bentz.
7 Chair Bentz stated he was in attendance tonight to present the recommendation of the Parks
8 Commission related to the organics drop off site. He stated in keeping with the City's goal to
9 become more sustainable and reduce garbage going to the landfill, the City would like to start an
10 organics recycling program to collect food waste and compostable material.
11
12 Chair Bentz noted a central drop off site has been used by other cities to start an organics
13 collection program and in many cities has transitioned to curbside recycling. He reviewed that
14 on April 24, the Council tasked the Parks Commission with determining a location for the
15 installation of an organics drop off site. He described the Commission's research of potential
16 sites and five sites that were identified. Chair Bentz stated the Parks Commission recommends
17 using the City Hall /Community Services parking lot, which is just south of this building. He
18 explained this site was selected as it is a central location, provides easy access, is close to the
19 Police Department to decrease vandalism and illegal dumping, has good visibility from Silver
20 Lake Road, and there are no residential areas nearby (though odor is not an issue).
21
22 Councilmember Stille stated this is just a request to identify a location and asked about next steps
23 such as tracking usage and monitoring the site. Chair Bentz stated the next step is to contact
24 Ramsey and Hennepin Counties about their programs. He noted the recommended site is in
25 Hennepin County but in discussing with Ramsey County, they will most likely be okay with that
26 given St. Anthony straddles both counties.
27
28 City Manager Casey stated staff will work with either county but ideally it would be Ramsey
29 County and handled through a Joint Powers Agreement. He noted the City Clerk already tracks
30 usage for grants that may be available.
31
32 Mayor Faust explained that if approved, staff will work out the specifics of the program
33 including potential for grants.
34
35 Lona Doolan, 3511 Harding Street, spoke in support of the Parks Commission recommendation.
36 She stated the Citizens for Sustainability plans to promote the organic collection program at
37 Village Fest, hand out cards and buckets during the parade, and review different promotional
38 material offered by Minneapolis so the program can be promoted within the Village.
39
40 Mayor Faust warned about moving too quickly to hand out buckets before the site is prepared,
41 noting the City Manager will work on the process.
42
43 Dan Kunitz, 3305 Skycroft Circle, representing Citizens for Sustainability, spoke in support of
44 the program and stated they are willing to help educate and communicate with residents to
45 promote this site and increase interest.
46
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 26, 2018
Page 3
1 Motion by Councilmember Randle, seconded by Councilmember Stille, to approve Resolution
2 18 -050; a Resolution Approving the Installation of an Organics Drop Off Site Located on the
3 South side of City Hall /Community Center near the Police Department.
4
5 Councilmember Stille stated the goal is to have a curbside organics pick up but to give equal
6 access for residents of multi - family or apartment, this site will still be needed. He noted
7 providing equal access for this opportunity is a good thing. Councilmember Stille encouraged
8 Ms. Doolan, when talking about marketing, to also consider marketing to people living in multi -
9 family so they are not forgotten.
10
I 1 Mayor Faust stated the City will probably have a new organized collection contract in 2020 and
12 the goal is to have organics picked up at residences by then. From equity point of view, he
13 agreed this site will probably stay. Mayor Faust noted the City is not required by the Hennepin
14 County Plan to provide organics recycling until 2020 but this would move the City in that
15 direction sooner. He considered it to be a pilot program to create visibility and get residents
16 ready for when curbside is offered.
17
18 Motion carried 4 -0.
19
20 VI. GENERAL BUSINESS OF COUNCIL.
21
22 A. Presentation of 2017 Audit, Peggy Moeller, Redpath, LTD. Presenting,
23
24 Ms. Peggy Moeller, representing Redpath, Ltd. presented a PowerPoint of the 2017 Audit
25 Review for the City of St. Anthony. The reports that were issued included the Comprehensive
26 Annual Financial Report, State Legal Compliance Report, Report on Internal Controls and
27 Communication with those Charged with Governance.
28
29 For the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Ms. Moeller noted the financial statements are
30 the responsibility of management, the role of the Independent Auditor is to report on the fair
31 presentation of the financial statements and a clean opinion was issued on the 2017 financial
32 statements.
33
34 Ms. Moeller reported the State Legal Compliance Report is required by Minnesota Statute 6.65.
35 The OSA audit guide covers seven categories including contracting and bidding, deposits and
36 investments, conflicts of interest, public indebtedness, claims and disbursements, other
37 miscellaneous provisions and tax increment provisions and there were no findings of
38 noncompliance.
39
40 Ms. Moeller stated for the Report on Internal Control, consideration of internal control as a basis
41 for designing audit procedures, no opinion was provided and there were no findings for 2017.
42
43 Ms. Moeller reviewed the financial results including the General Fund and noted that the fund
44 balance in the General Fund increased $80,447 during 2017 and the total fund balance was
45 $2,400,114. She reviewed Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund, noted the City increased water and
46 sewer rates for 2017, and also reviewed the Liquor Fund.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 26, 2018
Page 4
Ms. Moeller reviewed the Communication with Those Charged with Governance required
communications and indicated no change in accounting policies, no difficulties encountered in
performing the audit, as well as no disagreements with management. She noted that there will be
a change in accounting policy for 2018 with a GASB 75 statement that needs to be implemented
in 2018 for OPEB. She reviewed some upcoming accounting policy changes effective in 2020,
including a GASB 87 with regard to leases.
9 Mayor Faust asked Ms. Moeller to explain for the viewing audience what the acronym GASB
10 stands for. Ms. Moeller explained it stands for Government Accounting Standards Board, which
11 establishes the standards the City has to follow in order to do its financial statements.
12
13 Councilmember Stille asked Ms. Moeller if she anticipated that the new GASB rules will cause
14 the City to have any findings. He noted there had been times in the past where there have been
15 findings due to the small size of the City and its staffing. Ms. Moeller stated that she did not
16 believe the new GASB requirements will cause any findings for the City.
17
18 Councilmember Stille stated that the Council hires Redpath and Ms. Moeller to conduct the audit
19 and establish the integrity of the City's numbers, which translates into the City getting a bond
20 rating every year.
21
22 Mayor Faust stated that he wanted to emphasize to the residents that the Council hired Ms.
23 Moeller and Redpath, not the Finance Director, to conduct the audit. He gave a shout out to the
24 Finance Director because for many years there had been an issue with internal control as part of
25 the audit findings because there weren't segregated duties due to their small staff size. He stated
26 for the last two audit cycles, that has been addressed and segregated and no findings were noted.
27
28 Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to approve the 2017 audit.
29
30 Motion carried 4 -0.
31
32 B. Resolution 18 -051: a Resolution Ratifying the Pension Benefits for the St. Anthony
33 Village Firefighters Relief Association. Mark Casey, City Manager, presenting.
34
35 City Manager Casey reviewed the resolution with the Council and request of the St. Anthony
36 Fire Relief Association (SAFRA) for approval of an increase in pension benefit level from
37 $3,300 to $3,500. Mr. Casey stated staff has reviewed the SAFRA's model that calculates
38 funding levels using escalating benefit levels, noting this policy has been in practice for several
39 years and uses the State's computation of pension liability and therefore a conservative practice
40 for determining benefit level increases. Mr. Casey noted the proposed increase reduces the
41 funding level as of the beginning of the year from 123% to 116% and explained a benefit level of
42 $3,500 still yields a healthy projected surplus of $142,202. Staff recommends approval of the
43 request.
44
45 Councilmember Stille clarified that this is an annual payment and funding is also coming from
46 other sources.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 26, 2018
Page 5
City Manager Casey confirmed it is an annual payment and noted a significant amount of the
funding comes from the State.
Mayor Faust explained for the viewing audience that this is for retirement for the part-time
firefighters. City Manager Casey noted that it was also used as a retention tool for the paid on-
call firefighters.
9 Motion by Councilmember Randle, seconded by Councilmember Stille, to adopt Resolution 18-
10 0051; a Resolution Ratifying the Pension Benefits for the St. Anthony Village Firefighters Relief
11 Association.
12
13 Motion carried 4 -0.
14
15 C. Resolution 18 -052; a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Sign Additional Solar
16 Garden Subscription Agreements with United States Solar Corporation Mark Casey,
17 City Manager, presenting_
18
19 City Manager Casey reviewed the Council's past action in 2016 to approve Solar Garden
20 Subscription Agreements with United States Solar Corporation and SolarStone Community LLC,
21 which was step 1 in community solar gardens. He explained the City is now at steps 2 and 3 to
22 get this process started. He explained that step 2 is the subscription agreement.
23
24 City Manager Casey stated the third step is to authorize him to sign the Subscriber Agency
25 Agreement and Consent Forms (SAACF) for each of the community solar gardens to which the
26 City has been assigned. It was noted this is an Xcel Energy document that permits them to link
27 the City's utility accounts to the products, thus enabling the process of bill credits.
28
29 City Manager Casey noted the City has approved agreements with United States Solar
30 Corporation and SolarStone; however, the SolarStone solar project site is not currently ready and
31 it is estimated to be operational in 2019. The contract agreements had been reviewed by the
32 legal staff at the Metropolitan Council as well as staff and are recommended for approval. He
33 noted that the agreements for the Council to consider are just for the United States Solar
34 Corporation.
35
36 Councilmember Stille gave a brief explanation of how the tax credit system works with this
37 agreement and noted that 25% of our City facilities are being powered by renewable resources.
38
39 Motion by Councilmember Gray, seconded by Councilmember Stille, to adopt Resolution 18-
40 052; a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Sign Additional Solar Garden Subscription
41 Agreements with United States Solar Corporation.
42
43 Motion carried 4 -0.
44
45 VII. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.
46
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes
June 26, 2018
Page 6
1 City Manager Casey reported that last week, at the League of Minnesota Cities conference, the
2 City was recognized for being a Green Step City at Step 5, which is the highest level that can be
3 achieved. He stated that the City newsletter will be mailed out soon.
Councilmember Stille stated he had no report.
7 Councilmember Gray stated he attended the League of Minnesota Cities conference in St. Cloud
8 and reviewed the various sessions he attended.
9
10 Councilmember Randle stated he attended the League of Minnesota Cities conference and felt
11 much of the information was very beneficial and hopes to be able to pass some of it along to
12 others, especially regarding race and equity.
13
14 Mayor Faust stated on June 14, 2018, he along with the City Manager, City Engineer, and the
15 Public Works Director conducted a sustainable tour for the League of Minnesota Cities. He
16 stated that same evening, the Police Department gave an update on their community- oriented
17 policing and unveiled their pyramid for their goals and objectives. He encouraged everyone to
18 go on -line and take a look at their mission. He stated that he also attended the League of
19 Minnesota Cities and reviewed the sessions he attended. He stated that the League of Minnesota
20 Cities allows the elected officials from both urban and rural areas to get to know one another, the
21 issues that are important to them, and help bridge the divide. He stated that he was honored to be
22 asked to be a guest speaker to discuss strategic planning for the Master's degree program at
23 Hamline University on June 23, 2018.
24
25 VIII. COMMUNITY FORUM — NONE.
26
27 IX. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS — NONE.
28
29 X. ADJOURNMENT.
30
31 Mayor Faust adjourned the meeting at 7:40 p.m.
32
33 Respectfully submitted,
34 Kayla Rokosz C
35 Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc._,
36
37 Mayor
38 ATTEST:
39 Citf derk
40