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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.c. Minutes of the September 12, 2016 Work Session ProceedingsROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a work session of the Rosemount City Council was held on Monday, September 12, 2016, at 6:30 pm in the Conference Room at City Hall, 2875 145th Street West, Rosemount. Councilmember DeBettignies called the meeting to order, with Council Members Nelson, Demuth and Weisensel. Mayor Droste arrived a few minutes into the meeting. Staff present included City Administrator Johnson, City Clerk Hadler, Communications Coordinator Cox, Parks and Recreation Director Schultz, Interim Director of Public Works / City Engineer Morast, Director of Finance May, Community Development Director Lindquist, Fire Chief Schroeder and Chief of Police Scott. 2.a. Rosemount High School – Centennial Celebration Parks and Recreation Director Schultz introduced the discussion and described some of the events that are tentatively planned for the Rosemount High School Centennial celebration in 2017 and how the City might support those activities. The celebration is tentatively scheduled for September 22 – 23, 2017. Mr. Schultz inquired about what way Council would like to support those activities and if they would like there to be a service agreement of some kind. Council members discussed the event, potential activities, potential fundraising for the new Foundation, and city staff support. Council members generally expressed support for the event and City participation. Mr. Schultz stated staff would work with the Foundation and bring back a service agreement for further discussion with Council. Mike Manning, Rosemount High School Athletic Director, stated the kick-off would begin as early as next week. Ms. Adriana Henderson, of the RHS Foundation, invited the Council and staff to like the Foundation page on Facebook and visit the new website. 2.b. Summit Envirosolutions – Hydrogeologic Services and Aquifer Visualization Interim Director of Public Works / City Engineer John Morast introduced John Dustman, of Summit Envirosolutions, and the discussion regarding the monitoring of the City’s eight wells. The budget for pumping wells is approximately $313,000, of which $219,000 is pumping and lighting. The cost of the first two monitoring tasks is approximately $7,200. Mr. Dustman gave an overview of the technology utilized to monitor the wells, well use visualization, and well drawdown concepts. Mr. Dustman expressed concern over the aquifer drawdowns and equipment that is seemingly not working properly. Council members inquired about the purpose of the data. Mr. Dustman explained how the data can be utilized to make the city’s system more efficient and potentially save electricity costs. Mr. Dustman discussed the possibility of the city receiving a complimentary “smart pump” the company is developing. Council members and staff discussed the benefits of the monitoring and smart pump, how to communicate benefits to the public, and how Flint Hills affects the aquifer. 6.c. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 Mr. Morast inquired what options Council would like to pursue. Mr. Dustman suggested applying for the MDH grants for the equipment, which are due very soon. Council member Demuth suggested that instead of waiting until 2017 to begin monitoring, that the city begin monitoring in 2016. Council member Weisensel asked if any other consultants would be able to provide the same services. Mr. Morast stated that the technology is proprietary and he would need to look through the consultant list. Council members expressed support for moving forward in 2016. Council member Weisensel asked for a report about how staff is using / not using the current data. 2.c. Additional Budget Discussion Council member Nelson asked for clarification on the issue of the police sergeant budgeting and if Council members were supportive of adding the sergeant sooner than June even if the grant is not received. Mayor Droste invited Chief Scott to comment on the reasons for short-staffing and the potential for similar issues in the future. Chief Scott gave reasons for actual and potential staff changes. Mayor Droste inquired if a flasher-sign might help with deterring traffic crimes. Chief Scott stated that traffic stops are actually a deterrent for other crimes. Demuth stated support for hiring an officer right away in January with or without the grant. DeBettignies and Weisensel stated they were under the understanding that the agreement was to start the sergeant in June, unless the grant was received. Mayor Droste inquired about what could be done administratively to allow officers more time for patrolling. Chief Scott stated the DARE program and Facebook page were the only things that don’t require a licensed officer. Council members discussed ways to budget for the extra officer sooner than June. Mayor Droste summarized that the Council will use 2016 surplus funds or General Fund reserves to pay for it in January, however, the levy will remain at the recommended level. Finance Director May provided data on levy increases of other cities. Apple Valley is the only city in Dakota County proposing a lower levy increase than Rosemount. Mr. May stated that the 2017 levy will be less than 2008, and other cities have increased substantially during that time period. 2.d. Replacement of Fire Department Pagers Fire Chief Schroeder gave a summary of the need for new pagers for the Fire Department. The current pagers have a single frequency. The new dispatch system, TriTech, allows for multiple frequencies, which provides a backup system, and for monitoring radio traffic, but only with pagers that incorporate that technology. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 City Administrator Johnson stated the pagers were originally planned for 2019, and that the proposed equipment is much less expensive than what was planned for. Mr. May asked about how many times a year fire staff needs to visit the vendor. Chief Schroeder stated it was approximately 12-15 times per year. Council members recommended going with Ancom, due to the closer location. Staff stated the item would be on the September 20th Council agenda. 2.e. Discussion of Public Notification for Planning Applications Community Development Director Lindquist gave an overview of the potential change in the planning notification policy. Ms. Lindquist stated that the reason for the discussion is due to complaints during the Harmony apartment application. Ms. Lindquist discussed difficulties in tracking changes in the Homeowners’ Associations for direct contact to those organizations. She gave an overview of current communications efforts, including signage at the property, website, Facebook and Twitter. She stated that staff cannot arbitrarily decide to send notice to additional residents. Council members DeBettignies and Weisensel stated support for the current policy of 350 feet, but increasing the other communications. Council members Demuth, Nelson and Mayor Droste expressed support increasing the notification radius to 500 feet in the residential areas. Council member Weisensel expressed that the city should try and do more with the HOAs. Mayor Droste stated that the new developers should also meet with the HOAs. Ms. Lindquist stated that the change will require a public hearing and a revised ordinance. 2.f. Ice Resurfacer Replacement Parks and Recreation Director Schultz recommended purchasing a new Zamboni ice resurfacer. The purchase has been postponed for several years. The new machine is battery powered, so there are zero-emissions. The budgeted price for the machine is $140,000. Staff has found one at list price for $129,000. The city can also get a trade-in of $24,000. It will take about 9 months for delivery. The current machine is in need of new batteries and other repairs. Council member Nelson inquired about the Olympia brand. Mr. Schultz stated the Olympia was a little more expensive and that staff was more familiar with the Zamboni. Council member Demuth inquired about the advertising for Phil’s Auto Body on the current Zamboni. Mr. Schultz explained the current advertising contract. Staff is bringing in a firm to expand the advertising in the rink to more national companies. Mayor Droste suggested we move forward. Council members were generally supportive. Mr. Schultz stated the item would be on the next Council agenda for approval. 2.g. Dog Parks and Off Leash Areas ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 Parks and Recreation Director Schultz gave an overview of the item. The Parks and Recreation Commission recommended the following; using the grass hockey rinks, locating off-leash areas in four different areas in the city, fencing in the off-leash areas, not requiring a permit, and requiring a dog license. Council members discussed each location. Council members were generally supportive of implementing the hockey rinks immediately. Mr. Schultz suggested neighborhood meetings to get resident feedback. 2.h. City Hall and Central Park Sign Parks and Recreation Director Schultz discussed the two designs for the sign at City Hall / Central Park. The additional cost for the brick column is $800. The base cost is $38,000 for the 3x7 digital sign, which includes five years of modem service. Mayor Droste was not supportive of the $800 for the additional brickwork. Council member DeBettignies stated there is signage needed at the Community Center more than Central Park. The rest of Council members were generally supportive of the staff suggestion. 3.a. Other Updates Ms. Lindquist noted that Opus offered to purchase 158 acres of UMore next to Highway 52 for $14 million. There was an article in Finance & Commerce. The purchase will need to be approved by the Board of Regents in October. Council member Demuth stated a Junior at Rosemount High School went to a free heart screening and found a whole in her heart, and has since had heart surgery. Council member Nelson stated Rosemount girls’ soccer is ranked 4th in the state. Council member DeBettignies gave an update on the Facilities Task Force; good group, a lot of ideas, will be reviewing the CIP, received a needs analysis from the PD, and asked for information from other departments. The will be completing and inventory and how it is used, and making recommendations on where to build or not build based on infrastructure. Mayor Droste noted the Chamber Luncheon at Celt’s, debates on Thursday night, Mayor’s Meeting, sign the Monarch Butterfly petition, climate change group breakfast, Flint Hills fire station anniversary, and a meeting this week with Flint Hills. He asked about the pipeline going through wetlands. Ms. Lindquist explained the permit was approved administratively as the wetland is being restored. Mayor Droste suggested road construction updates be included in city communications. ADJOURNMENT ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 There being no further business to come before the City Council and upon a motion by Droste, second by Demuth, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 10:25 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Clarissa Hadler, City Clerk