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HomeMy WebLinkAbout6.a. Minutes of the November 13, 2017, Work Session ProceedingsROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 13, 2017 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a work session meeting of the Rosemount City Council was held on Monday, November 13, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. at Rosemount City Hall, 2875 145th Street West, Rosemount in conjunction to a special work session meeting of the Rosemount Planning Commission. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm with Council Members Nelson, Weisensel, Freske and DeBettignies attending. Staff present included the following; o City Administrator Martin o Finance Director May o Community Development Director Lindquist o Parks & Recreation Director Schultz o Public Works Director/City Engineer Erickson o Assistant City Administrator Foster o Chief of Police Scott DISCUSSION 2.a. HealthEast Ambulance Service Chief of Police Scott introduced Tom Edminson and Tom Dunn of HealthEast Ambulance Service. Chief Scott stated that he and HealthEast staff have been meeting monthly to discuss ambulance responses. Mr. Edminson stated they are both new to the organization and having been working to build relationships and address declining response times in recent years. He discussed the merger with Fairview, types of emergency calls overall and specifically to Rosemount, mutual aid, and response times. Mayor Droste inquired if they thought Rosemount would be better aligned if we teamed up with Farmington and Lakeville. Mr. Edminson responded he did not think that was necessarily the case, because Rosemount would be on the far end of that response area, as it is with HealthEast. Council member Weisensel inquired if the merger made the two companies into one company. Mr. Edminson stated he felt they would most likely be moved toward a single brand in the future. Council member Weisensel inquired what has changed to allow the response times to drop so significantly. Mr. Dunn responded that new management and more resources has helped the most. Mr. Dunn noted the importance of examining data from numerous angles each time and often. Council member Weisensel asked if there was a goal for response times. Mr. Edminson stated it is under 6 minutes for emergent responses. They are currently at 6.59 minutes for overall responses and 5.5 minutes for emergent responses. Response times are tracked from the point that HealthEast receives the call. Council member Nelson inquired about an issue that happened with a sports injury at the school. Mr. Edminson discussed efforts to clarify the locations with the schools. Mr. Dunn discussed the quality assurance data that is tracked and looked at for ways to improve. Mr. Edminson discussed the predictive software they use to estimate where the trucks might be needed in a particular timeframe. Mayor Droste inquired about the difference in times between arrival at a patient and arrival at the medical facility. Mr. Edminson stated it will depend on the preferred facility of the patient, except for emergent responses. Council members and staff discussed distance to hospitals and air lifts. 6.a. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 13, 2017 2.b. CIP Review City Administrator Martin introduced the 10-year Capital Improvement Plan, highlighting various Parks & Recreation Projects, Major Road Projects, and Public Works & Utility Projects. Council members discussed the issues around the potential roundabout at 140th St. & Diamond Path in 2022, stating it is more important to add one at the high school. Mr. Martin stated the CIP will go to the Planning and Parks & Recreation Commissions and back to Council for approval in December. Council member Weisensel clarified that the Flint Hills improvements does not include a concessions building at this time. Parks & Recreation Director Schulz stated that it does not and noted some of the issues that will inform the decision of when that gets built. Weisensel noted it might be beneficial to have a 2-story building there. Council member Nelson inquired about adding batting cages to the CIP due to the two large tournaments that are hosted in Rosemount. Mr. Schultz stated staff could examine that and the cost would be approximately $40,000 - $70,000. Council members and staff discussed the potential for the water storage and water treatment facility, and the planned future expansion of water infrastructure. Mr. Martin noted that the new squads are currently planned for purchase, but staff is examining if these should also be implemented with the fleet lease, though they would not be part of the service agreement. Chief Scott noted some of the issues and benefits of adding those cars to the lease program. 2.c. Budget Review City Administrator Martin discussed the 2018 Budget. He noted some of the changes since the September work session. The increase in the health insurance will be only 6% instead of the 9% planned for. Council members and staff discussed health insurance premiums and benefits. Union negotiations continue and staff expects cost of living increases around 2.5% - 3%, based on other cities and current discussions. $75,000 of the SKB funds that were going to be directed to the general fund will now be directed to the Building CIP, leaving the additional amount going to the general fund to $50,000. Staff and Council discussed the use of SKB funds historically and in the future. Mayor Droste inquired about population projections and revenues. Ms. Lindquist and Mr. May discussed the projections and actual growth Rosemount and neighboring communities. Council members and staff discussed the value of various metrics. Council member Nelson noted the quality of developments as a factor of slow developments. Mayor Droste discussed the importance of amenities. Council members and staff discussed the Night Out downtown shopping event last week. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 13, 2017 Mr. Martin reviewed the impacts of the changes on the tax rates, compared Rosemount to other Dakota County cities, and tracked tax capacity and rates over time. He discussed some talking points; the 3.91% levy increase is 3rd lowest percent increase and lowest increase in dollar increase in the county, the median value home is still paying $44 less in city taxes than in 2008, the tax rate reduction of 2.18%, is the 4th lowest in the County thanks to 6.3% increase in taxable market value. Mr. Martin discussed the staff recommendation to add a full-time Economic Development Specialist starting in July. The new position would engage in marketing, outreach, business retention and attraction efforts. Mayor Droste discussed the fact that the additional staff member is a permanent embedded budget impact, as compared to paying an outside firm. Ms. Lindquist addressed the plans for the staff member. Weisensel prefers Retail Strategies. Ms. Lindquist explained that Retail Strategies usually works more with filling retail spaces, but Rosemount doesn't have a lot of empty retail. Council members would like to discuss the options at a future work session. Council member Freske inquired about the UMore property timeline. Ms. Lindquist provided a potential timeline, but it would depend on a number of factors. 2.d. Legislative Priorities Mr. Martin reviewed the 2017 Legislative Priorities to determine what to retain for 2018. Council members discussed the potential of adding a request for funding for a roundabout at the High School, and where the additional funding for the Family Resource Center would come from. STAFF & COUNCIL UPDATES Council members noted some upcoming community events. Council member Weisensel outlined his experience over the weekend at ArtLab. Mayor Droste discussed the Yellow Ribbon dinner he attended. Council member Nelson inquired about the Steeple Center lighting project. Mr. Schultz provided an update on the progress. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the City Council, with a motion from Droste adjourned the meeting at 9:55 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Clarissa Hadler City Clerk