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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022.01.24 CC Agenda-Goal Setting A. Call to Order B. Roll Call C. Overview 1. Highlights of 2021 2. 2022 Goals 3. Discussion on Fire Department Staffing 4. Discussion on ARPA Funds 5. Discussion on Council Dias Microphones D. Direction to Staff E. Adjournment Agenda HUGO CITY COUNCIL GOAL SETTING SESSION HUGO CITY HALL MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2022 – 5 P.M. 2022 City Council Focus Goals •Evaluate water reuse projects and study their effectiveness on water conservation.  •Address impacts of the White Bear Lake Lawsuit Court Order •Continue to promote conservation practices through education and incentives •Be a leader in regional activities related to water resource management •Strive for City‐wide self‐reliance on water Conservation  Efforts •Work with developers of the Egg Lake property on Hwy 61 •Continue working on programs to encourage new businesses and expansions •Strengthen partnerships with Washington County, HBA, and marketing entities •Seek infrastructure improvements to promote economic development •Evaluate costs and benefits of street and utility improvements near 165th Street Economic  Development •Update shoreland, subdivision, and PUD sections of the code •Construct north City entrance sign •Review design guidelines for commercial and industrial development •Discuss area planning near 165th Street and Highway 61 Community  Development •Complete construction of new Public Works facility •Reconstruct Oneka Parkway •Complete ongoing maintenance activities on JD2 and JD3. •Participate in study of Hwy 61 expansion with MnDOT and Washington County Infrastructure •Complete construction of Lions Park •Develop plan for management of Lions Park Pavilion and other city facilities •Begin planning for Oneka Lake park property •Work with White Bear School District on extension of trails to new facility Parks  Projects •Evaluate staff needs of the Fire Department including a full time fire chief •Conduct regular evaluations of emergency services •Target recruitment efforts toward daytime firefighters •Evaluate staffing needs of the Washington County Sheriff's Department Public Safety •Evaluate organizational structure of the Public Works Department •Determine future of Hopkins Schoolhouse •Hire intern for administrative assistance/social media management •Revamp City website •Prepare plan for use of ARPA funds •Create policy for use of security cameras Administration 2022 Ongoing Priorities •Continue to provide training and education opportunities •Continue firefighter recruitment and retention  •Continue internship program •Recruit qualified citizens for commissions •Provide adequate resources and technology •Monitor development activity and adjust staffing levels Maintain Quality  Staff •Hold joint workshops with each Commission/Board •Continue training new Commissioners and Council Members •Continue to promote leadership within the Commissions/Boards  Work   Collaboratively  with  Commissioners •Develop long‐term strategies for industrial development •Proceed with street reconstruction program •Share services with neighboring communities •Manage growth responsibly Build a Diverse  and Stable Tax   Base •Provide transparency by keeping up‐to‐date postings in newsletters,  website, and cable bulletin board •Maintain relationships with HBA, Senior's Club, Lions Club, American  Legion, Food Shelf, YRN, recreational and other civic organizations •Continue annual citywide bus tour •Expand social networking where possible •Continue open meetings with residents Continue  Community  Outreach Efforts •Keep apprised of legislative issues that impact budgeting •Remain involved in LMC and Metro Cities activities •Work with Greater MSP and other regional entities Maintain  Legislative  Relationships •Continue discussions with school districts, counties, watershed districts,  neighboring municipalities and other local and state agencies on regional  issues •Review police protection services annually Build and  Maintain  Regional  Partnerships Approved by the EDA at its Tuesday, __________, 2022, meeting 2022 Goals Economic Development Authority (EDA) •Assist and encourage redevelopment of properties in downtown•Evaluate and review downtown area beautification•Partner with MnDOT and Washington County on a Visioning Plan for Highway 61•Discuss and encourage small area planning in the area of 165th Street and Highway 61•Explore renenue streams for economic development Development and Downtown Redevelopment•Continue low development costs•Continue business visits and the BR&E Program•Continue assisting businesses to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic•Provide resource lists for business•Encourage the extension of high speed internet through-out the City•Promote Washington County CDA grant and Open to Business ProgramMaintain a Business Friendly Environment•Continue memberships of economic development associations•Install the City north entrance monument sign•Encourage businesses to identify themselves as being located in Hugo•Attend Technology Corridor (I35E) meetings •Continue to encourage and monitor infrastructure improvements to promote economic developmentMarketing / Promotion of the City •Continue partnering with local businesses and the HBA•Continue to partner with Washington County on its Economic Development Strategic Plan•Meet with property owners with property for sale to see if there is any way the City can helpPartnerships 1 Michele Lindau From:GARY CYNTHIA SCHOONOVER <GSCHOONOVER04@msn.com> Sent:Thursday, January 20, 2022 3:34 PM To:Michele Lindau Subject:Goals, No Feb HHC mtg Caution: This email originated outside our organization; please use caution.   Hi Michele  1) Goals:  perform Inventory of archives.  Need a larger storage area.  Increase social media presence, utilize city  website  2) Please cancel the HHC meeting in February, as 3 out of the 5 members are out of state.  We also will not be in  the Oneka Room on Feb 2nd for the workday.  But we will be in March.   Thanks much.   Cynthia        2022 Goals Parks, Recreation and Open Space Commission Approved by the Parks Commission at their January 19, 2022 meeting. •Address trail and greenway connectivity with new developments. •Finalize the North Star (Oneka) Trail Feasibility Study and pursue funding and construction. •Construct passive trails near Oneka Place and Hugo Meadows. •Support Washington County in completing the Hardwood Creek Regional Trail. Develop a network of multi-purpose TRAILS connecting neighborhoods to parks and open space •Provide for the changing recreation needs of our diverse population through partnerships •Seek partnerships with emphasis on the teens and youth to utilize park facilities. •Update the facility rental policies and practices to make the new pavilion available for public use. •Host the Tour de Hugo and other community events. Utilize facilities to provide active and passive RECREATION options for all Hugo residents •Continually inspect existing parks and trails and maintain and enhance as necessary. •Draft a park sign and landscaping replacement plan. •Evaluate grading at Val Jean Park for neighborhood ice rink. Manage and optimize all EXISTING PARKS AND TRAILS. •Finish construction of Lions Park. •Evaluate the Bernin property. Review and expand on the vision for the future community park. •Continue to evaluate Clearwater Creek Preserve trail improvements. •Continue to evaluate Sunset Lake Park. •Continue to evaluate vision of Irish Avenue Park. Expand COMMUNITY PARKS •Approve a new Memorial Policy and review the Park Naming Policy. •Actively utilize the Comprehensive Plan as a planning tool. •Respond to resident input. •Review development applications with respect to the Parks, Trails, and Open Space Plan and Park Dedication Policy. Administer the Parks, Trails, and Open Space PLAN and POLICIES 2022 Goals Planning Commission Approved by the Planning Commission at its Thursday, _________, 2022 meeting. • Schedule regular Ordinance Review Committee (ORC) meetings• Evaluate and revise the shoreland, subdivision, and PUD sections of the City CodeZoning Ordinance Text Amendments• Review and evaluate the Commercial and Industrial Design Guidleines related to new trends for building materials. • Monitor trends in planning and developments• Keep updated on land use related topicsTraining/Presentation Topics • Implementation of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan• Update ordinances/policies to be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan• Discuss small area planning on 165th Street and Highway 612040 Comprehensive Plan One of the highest priority goals of the City’s 2021 goals is to study and address fire service staffing  needs. The City Council authorized Fire Chief Jim Compton Jr. to create a staffing plan for how to  address staffing issues within the department. Chief Compton’s vision was to grow the department with  a growing city.    The City of Hugo has a population of approximately 16,000 and encompasses 36 square miles. City of  Hugo is in Washington County, 20 miles northeast of St. Paul. The City has experienced a rapid rate of  growth, with its population growing steadily over the last decade and is projected to continue a high  growth rate to 2040. The City has a diverse landscape with rural lands, subdivisions, commercial  establishments and municipal buildings.  Background  At the present time, the department has 22 members which include 3 Chief Officers, 1 Captain, 3  Lieutenants, 1 Fire Marshal, 1 Chief Engineer, and 13 Firefighters. The Department operates out of one  fire stations and the current ISO rating is 5/5Y. The Department responds to over 325 calls annually with  an average yearly increase in call volume of 11%. Prior to 2015 the Hugo Fire department provided basic  life support on all emergency calls in the City of Hugo. In July of 2015, in order to help provide better  service to the citizens of Hugo, the fire department reevaluated the Emergency Medical Service (EMS)  partnership with White Bear Lake Fire Department. The city decided to cancel agreement with White  Bear Lake in order to provide better service, lessen the burden on the paid on call firefighters, and help  with firefighter retention. The city at that time decided to use North Memorial Ambulance for EMS  services in Hugo. In 2020, M Health Fairview took over the PSA from North Memorial, and M Health  Fairview provides EMS services in Hugo today.   The administrative duties to keep the department operating effectively is distributed amongst 11 paid  salary positions. The extra time needed to complete these duties has continued to increase year after  year, regardless of an increase or decrease of call volume. Training requirements, personnel issues,  technology updates, vehicle maintenance, fire code questions, site plan review and inspection,  equipment ordering, and personal protective equipment maintenance are just some of the areas of  duties split among the 11 paid positions. These tasks and the duties associated with them have  City of Hugo Fire Department 5323 140th Street North Hugo, Minnesota 55038 PH: (651) 762-6362 FAX: (651) 429-3212 continued to increase and have reached a point where it is no longer sustainable for part time  employees to manage.   The emergency services are the most demanding of volunteer activities today. The physical and time  demands associated with training; responding to incidents; maintaining facilities, apparatus, and  equipment are grueling if not managed properly. In today’s hectic world, strong leadership is required to  make the fire department that will attract volunteers. Fire departments can no longer count on the  children of current members following in their parent’s footsteps. Nor can they count on a continuous  stream of community people eager to donate their time and energy to their local volunteer fire  department. Adding to the problem, departments cannot rely on members staying active in the  volunteer fire service for long periods of time.  The continued increasing difficulty in recruitment and retention of day time available firefighters has put  a strain on the day time available staff and the department response has suffered. Therefore the fire  department day time staffing needs to grow with the growing community.   Staffing Plan   FY23  In fiscal year 2023 the Fire Chief recommends that the department moves forward and hire a full time  Fire Chief. This position is needed with the rapidly growing community and the many hours spent on  administrative duties to keep the department operating. Routinely the part time chief spends numerous  evenings at the fire station, even as late at midnight, working on department operations. Trying to  manage and run the department while still working 40+ hours per week at a full time job, while also  managing family obligations, leaves little time for the chief to spend the needed time and effort to  effectively manage a department of 22+ people. The fire chief routinely spends numerous hours during  their normal job work hours, conducting fire department business. Whether it is responding to emails in  a timely fashion, or responding to staff or citizen inquiries. Additionally, the fire chief is unable to work  collaboratively with other city staff. With the fire chief unable meet during the day when other staff are  working, this limits the collaboration the fire department can have with city staff. This also limits the fire  chief’s ability to effectively manage people during the day.   Additionally during this time, some salaried staff will need to remain. The duties of 11 different people  would certainly overwhelm the daily work of just 1 full time Chief. Therefore even after a full time chief  position is filled, the salaries of the Deputy Chief and the Assistant Chief should remain. Even though  some of the duties that the Deputy Chief and Assistant Chief are assigned would be completed by the  Full time Chief along with the duties of the Fire Marshal, Administrative Captain and Administrative  Lieutenant.  Duties that the Safety Captain, Training Captain, Safety Lieutenant, Training Lieutenant and  Chief Engineer would need to be absorbed, and the Deputy Chief and Assistant Chief would continue to  assist the Fire Chief in completion of these duties.          After a full transition the Fire Department would best be supported with the following positions:   Fulltime Fire Chief  The following duties are normal for this position. These are not to be construed as exclusive or all  inclusive; other duties may be required or assigned.  1) Responsible for overall department operations    2) Responsible for HR/personnel issues within the department    3) Oversight of department annual budget and planning for future budget items and Capital  improvements    4) Grant application and management    5) MNFIRS reporting, payroll for paid on call staff and percentage tracking for attendance    6) Emergency call response    7) City, county, and regional meetings    8) Fire Marshal duties    9) Hiring and on boarding new firefighters    10) Coordinates and overseas the pubic fire prevention education programs    11) Technology equipment management    Paid on Call Deputy Chief  The following duties are normal for this position. These are not to be construed as exclusive or all  inclusive; other duties may be required or assigned.  1) Emergency call response  2) Provides administrative reporting duties to the Chief  3) Assist Fire Chief with hiring and on boarding of new hires  4) Gear, PPE equipment ordering and management  5) Assist Fire Chief with personnel issues  6) Manages vehicle maintenance and repairs  Paid on Call Assistant Chief  The following duties are normal for this position. These are not to be construed as exclusive or all  inclusive; other duties may be required or assigned.  1) Responsible for emergency call response  2) Responsible for planning the training for the department  3) Managing education, certifications and MBFTE awards  4) Assist Fire Chief in hiring and on boarding of new hires  5) Building maintenance and repairs   6) Assist Fire Chief with personnel issues  Benefits  As a result of implementing the Fire Chiefs recommendations, the City staff, the Fire Department and  the citizens living in the City should realize significant tangible benefits needed to justify the  recommended investment. The following tangible and intangible benefits should be realized as a result  of implementation of the plan recommendations:   Improve the confidence and abilities of emergency response personnel to handle emergency  incidents, by increasing the time spent on improving the Hugo Fire Department operations and  administration policies and procedures.   Provide a long‐term approach to operational and capital needs for the City to use as a planning  guide for budgetary and operational considerations. This approach improves efficiencies by  reducing repetitive processes and provides for a structured management plan.   Provide a pro‐active approach to planning for the future development of the community by  detailed evaluation of the fire department services, which is then revisited periodically.   Improve coordination of information between the City and department, outside departments,  such as adjacent municipalities, public works departments and other organizations.   Increase and improve the level of service to citizens by providing staff with the ability to have  quicker response to any requests or inquires.   Provide the City management with timelier accurate information and decision‐making tools,  which should result in improved and effective policy decision making.   Increased time and resources spent on grant applications. Providing possible budget savings  from offsetting costs for equipment and personnel with grant funds.              Budget Impact  The budget impact to hire a full time chief would be done by eliminating 9 of the officer salaries to offset  the cost of the full time chief’s salary and benefits. Currently the fiscal year 2022 budgeted officers’  salaries that would be eliminated are $51,060. The Fire Chief position would be a Police/Fire PERA plan  position.   The salary range was based on departments of similar size within the metro area. The salary range, plus  benefits would be between $181,418 and $194,580.  Therefore a total budget impact for fiscal year 2023 would be within the range of $130,358 and  $143,520.  The Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds provide a substantial infusion of resources to help turn the tide on the pandemic, address its economic fallout, and lay the foundation for a strong and equitable recovery. The American Rescue Plan will deliver $350 billion for state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments to respond to the COVID-19 emergency and bring back jobs. Eligible Jurisdictions & Allocations Direct Recipients •States and District of Columbia ($195.3 billion) •Counties ($65.1 billion) •Metropolitan cities ($45.6 billion) •Tribal governments ($20.0 billion) •Territories ($4.5 billion) Indirect Recipients •Non-entitlement units ($19.5 billion) Funding Objectives •Support urgent COVID-19 response efforts to continue to decrease spread of the virus and bring the pandemic under control •Replace lost public sector revenue to strengthen support for vital public services and help retain jobs •Support immediate economic stabilization for households and businesses •Address systemic public health and economic challenges that have contributed to the inequal impact of the pandemic Address Negative Economic Impacts Respond to economic harms to workers, families, small businesses, impacted industries, and the public sector Premium Pay for Essential Workers Offer additional support to those who have and will bear the greatest health risks because of their service in critical infrastructure sectors Replace Public Sector Revenue Loss Use funds to provide government services to the extent of the reduction in revenue experienced due to the pandemic Support Public Health Response Fund COVID-19 mitigation efforts, medical expenses, behavioral healthcare, and certain public health and safety staff Broadband Infrastructure Make necessary investments to provide unserved or underserved locations with new or expanded broadband access Water and Sewer Infrastructure Make necessary investments to improve access to clean drinking water and invest in wastewater and stormwater infrastructure Example Uses of Funds