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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC MINUTES 12102013I 2 3 4 CITY OF ST. ANTHONY CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 10,2013 5 CALL TO ORDER. 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 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 P ledge of Allegiance. ROLLCALL. Present: Mayor Faust ; Council members Jenson, Roth and Stille. Council member Gray. Absent: Also Present: City Manager Mark Casey, Retiring Fire Chief John Malenick, New Fire Chief Mark Sitarz, Police Chief John Ohl, Finance Director Shelly Rueckert, and Liquor Operations Manager Mike Larson. Guest: Wendy Webster (SANB Community Services Director). CONSIDERATION, DISCUSSION, AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON ALL OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. I. APPROVAL OF DECEMBER 10,2013, CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA. Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Counci lm ember Roth, to approve the City Council Meeting Agenda of December 10,2013. Motion carried 4-0. II. PROCLAMATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS. A. Recognition of Retiring Fire Chief John Malenick for his years of serv ic e to the City of St. Anthony. City Manager Casey stated that Fire Chief Malenick started with the City in 1982 as a part-time liquor store employee and was promoted to full -time store manager shortly thereafter and in 1988, he joined the Fire Department as a part-time firefighter and one year later became a full- time firefighter and in May 2004, he was promoted to Fire Chief. He announced that Fire Chief Malenick will retire on December 13, 2013, after 32 years of service and extended his congratulations to Fire Chief Malenick for his many years of service to the City. Fire Chief Malenick thanked the City Council and citizens and stated he has had an incredible career, thanks to the environment provided by the City that allowed him to grow and learn. He stated they were able to hire within the ranks to fill his position and that is a testament to the talent that exists in the Fire Department. He again thanked the City Council and residents for his 32 years with the City. I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes December 10,2013 Page 2 Councilmember Roth thanked Fire Chief Malenick for his service and stated he has been impressed with the way Fire Chief Malenick has handled himself in difficult situations, adding he has always felt that the City and its residents were in good hands. He thanked Fire Chief Malenick for his professionalism and dedication to the job. Councilmember Stille thanked Fire Chief Malenick for his years of service and stated he appreciates how conscientious Fire Chief Malenick has always been and how personable and approachable he has always been with residents. Council member Jenson thanked Fire Chief Malenick for his years of service and stated Fire Chief Malenick's commitment to the Fire Department and his desire to serve the residents of St. Anthony has always been evident. Mayor Faust thanked Fire Chief Malenick for his years of service and stated it was important that the City promote from within whenever possible and the fact that there are people who are qualified to follow in succession comes in no small part from Fire Chief Malenick's leadership. He expressed appreciation to Fire Chief Malenick for his compassion and service and stated the City feels a deep commitment to him and wishes him the very best in his retirement. Fire Chief Malenick requested that the City Council acknowledge all of the City's firefighters and their families. Mayor Faust and City Manager Casey presented a recognition fire hydrant plaque to Fire Chief Malenick. B. Recognition of New Fire Chief Mark Sitarz. City Manager Casey stated it was his great pleasure to hire the new Fire Chief and introduce Mark Sitarz. He stated Fire Chief Sitarz was selected through a competitive process and indicated Fire Chief Sitarz is a resident of St. Anthony and started as a paid on call firefighter in 1998 then became a full time firefighter in 200 I. He stated Fire Chief Sitarz is probably most proud of his role as a trainer and he and Fire Marshal Chris Fuller were recognized as Trainers of the Year by the State Fire Marshal's office last year. Fire Chief Sitarz expressed thanks for the opportunity to serve as Fire Chief and thanked Retiring Fire Chief Malenick for leaving the Fire Department in a very positive state and one that is welcoming to him. He also thanked his wife, Sarah, for her support during this process. He announced that Jay Olson has been named Assistant Fire Chief and Chris Fuller has been named Fire Marshal. Mayor Faust extended the City Council's congratulations to Fire ChiefSitarz. C. Recognition of New Fireman Joe Benik. Fire Chief Sitarz stated that Joe Benik came from the Fire Department's part-time paid on call ranks and was the top in his class. He then introduced Joe Benik as the City'S newest full time firefighter and also introduced Mr. Benik's wife, Britanny, and son, BJ. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes December 10,2013 I 2 3 Page 3 4 III. 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 IS 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 IV. 31 32 V. 33 34 VI. 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 Mayor Faust welcomed Mr. Benik to the Fire Department. CONSENT AGENDA. A. Consider November 26, 2013, Council meeting minutes ; B . Consider licenses and permits; C. Consider payment of claims; D. Consider Resolution 13-078; a Resolution Approving the Appointments to the Parks Commission; E. Consider Resolution 13-079; a Resolution Approving the Appointments to the Planning Commission; F. Consider Resolution 13-080; a Resolution Accepting Donations and Grants; G. Consider Resolution 13-081; a Resolution Approving the 2014 Salary of Mark Casey, St. Anthony City Manager; H. Consider Resolution 13-082; a Resolution Approving the Submission of the Ramsey County Score Grant; and I. Consider Resolution 13-083 ; a Resolution Authorizing Transfers and Closing of Specified Funds. Mayor Faust thanked outgoing Parks Commission C hair Doug Koehntop and Vice Chair Mike Sholl. He also thanked outgoing Planning Commission members Paul Cincoski and Pete Chaput. Motion by Councilmember Roth , seconded by Councilmember Stille , to approve the Consent Agenda items. Motion carried 4-0. PUBLIC HEARING -NONE. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF -NONE. GENERAL BUSINESS OF COUNCIL. A. Community Services Update. Wendy Webster, SANB Community Services Director. presenting. Mayor Faust Mayor introduced Wendy Webster, Community Services Director. Ms . Webster discussed the community education philosophy of education as a life-long process and stated that 75% of their budget comes from program fees , with approximately $800,000 in program fees brought in during the 2012-2013 budget year. She stated they are required to have an Advisory Council and thanked Councilmember Jenson for serving as the City Council representative on the Advisory Council. She discussed the Early Childhood Family Education programs and stated they served 204 parents and 238 children last year. She stated the School Age Care program provides an engaging and welcoming environment for grades K-6, the Middle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes December 10 , 2013 Page 4 and High School program 's youth enrichment had approximately 2,600 participants in the after school classes and the open gym program keeps kids engaged in healthy after school activities . She discussed adult programming and stated they have started a family learning program to learn English skills and this program is intended to reach out and connect with families who have recently immigrated to the United States. She stated the senior citizen programs include trips, classes, and special events, adding the card groups are some of the most popular. She advised that the residential survey conducted by Decisions Resources in June 2013 surveyed 400 randomly selected households in the St. Anthony-New Brighton School District and 38% of those surveyed were community services users with 31 % participating within the past year. She stated when survey respondents were asked how they felt about renewing the $2 million operating levy, 80% said they would support or strongly support renewing the levy and that support jumped to 94% among community services users. She stated 61 % of residents also said they would support the capital projects levy to support technology in schools and that number jumped to 83% among community services users. She discussed the partnerships with the City and with many local businesses, including Chandler Place that has a "grandfriends" program with the preschool. She stated that a program was recently started for families at Equinox that is held every Tuesday afternoon at Culver's. She stated that Diamond 8 Terrace Apartments has also been supportive of their programs and recently set up program activities on Thursday mornings where families work on ECFE activities. She added the Chamber of Commerce, St. Anthony Kiwanis, and St. Anthony Library have also been great partners. Council member Stille thanked Ms. Webster for the update and thanked her for all the work she does to engage the community. Councilmember Jenson thanked Ms. Webster for her commitment and enthusiasm. Mayor Faust thanked Ms. Webster for her hard work and expressed appreciation to Ms. Webster for her passion and stated she is a dedicated servant and the City is grateful for her work in the community. B. Resolution 13-084; a Resolution Authorizing the Application for Metropolitan Council 2013 Clean Water Fund Inflow/Infiltration Grant Program. City Manager Casey presented a resolution authorizing the City to apply for grant monies up to $2,000 to reduce clear water from entering the sanitary sewer system. He advised that if the City receives the funds , staff will come back with a plan for how the dollars will be spent. Motion by Council member Roth , seconded by Councilmember Jenson, to approve Resolution 13-084; a Resolution Authorizing the Application for Metropolitan Council 2013 Clean Water Fund Inflow/Infiltration Grant Program. Motion carried 4-0. C. Resolution 13-085; a Resolution Setting the 2014 General Operating Budget and Property Tax Levy. Shelly Rueckert. Finance Director. presenting. Finance Director Rueckert presented the 2014 General Operating Budget and Property Tax Levy and explained that the 2014 budget parameters include maintaining the present level of City City Council Regular Meeting Minutes December 10 ,2013 Page 5 1 services, salary increases of2% to reflect cost of living adjustments, a 13.3% increase in health 2 insurance premiums, and for the first time in several years, the City will receive LGA. She 3 stated the overall levy increases by $206 ,218 or 3.8% and pointed out that the overall levy would 4 have increased by 6.9% without LGA. She stated that 37% of LGA will be used to provide more 5 resources for unmet capital needs, 25% will be used for property tax relief by negating the 6 impacts of annual wage adjustments, health insurance premiums, and increased energy costs, 7 24.5% will be used to address severance obligations and litigation risk, 10% will be used for 8 property tax relief by supplementing anticipated decreases in General Fund revenue and police 9 state aid, and 3% will be used to slow the growth of the road improvement levy. She stated that 10 in 2014, the average homeowner cost for City services is $813.14 for a home valued at $208 ,000, 11 or a pproximately $68 per month. She advised that in 2013 the City issued road improvement 12 debt of $1,775,000 and in 2014, the average homeowner cost for road improvements is $460.77 13 or $38.39 per month. She indicated that since 1999 the City has used grants/donations and 14 partnerships to mitigate the impact of the annual levy and since that time has received over $17 15 million in grants and donations or $2,090 per resident. She stated the 2014 general operating 16 levy totals $3,140,501, the proposed 2014 capital equipment budget total s $299,100 , liquor 17 operations transfers total $347,444 , and the increase in all levie s totals $206,218 or 3.8%. 18 19 Councilmember Roth noted that the City has made a significant investment over the last 15 years 20 on the City'S infrastructure and a large portion of what residents pay in taxes is intended to make 21 the City a very livable place and a better community, adding he felt this investment would pay 22 dividends in the future as public buildings are paid off and the City gets to a point where road 23 projects are coming off and no new road projects are coming on. 24 25 Motion by Councilmember Stille, seconded by Councilmember Jenson , to approve Resolution 26 13-085, a Resolution Setting the City ofSt. Anthony's 2014 General Operating Budget and 27 Property Tax Levy. 28 29 Motion carried 4-0. 30 31 VII. REPORTS FROM CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. 32 33 City Manager Casey reminded residents of the retirement celebration for Fire Chief Malenick on 34 Thursday, December 12th , from 3:00-6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. 35 36 Councilmember Jenson reported on his attendance at the City Council worksession on December 37 2 nd 38 39 Councilmember Roth reported on his attendance at the City Council worksession on December 40 2nd • He also reported on his attendance at the December 9th Parks Commission meeting. 41 42 Councilmember Stille -no report . 43 44 Mayor Faust reported on his attendance at the City Council worksession on December 2nd • He 45 also reported on his attendance at the December 6th League of Cities planning meeting for the 46 annual conference. He also made reference to his attendance at the Regional Council of Mayors 47 meeting on December 9th . I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes December 10,2013 Page 6 VIII. COMMUNITY FORUM. Mayor Faust invited residents to come forward at this time and address the Council on items that are not on the regular agenda. Hearing none, Mayor Faust moved forward with the agenda. IX. INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS. Mayor Faust stated that this is the last City Council meeting for 2013 since the City Council has completed all its business for the year. X. ADJOURNMENT. Mayor Faust adjourned the meeting at 8: 14 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara Hughes (TimeSaver OjJSite Secretarial, Inc.) ATTEST: ~LLb~ City Clerk