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HomeMy WebLinkAbout33- Minutes of the November 5 2018 Work Session Proceedings ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 5, 2018 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a work session of the Rosemount City Council was held on Monday, November 5, 2018, at 5:02 p.m. in the Conference Room at City Hall, 2875 145th Street West, Rosemount. Mayor Droste called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. with Councilmembers Freske, Nelson, DeBettignies and Weisensel attending. Staff present included the following: • City Administrator Martin • Parks & Recreation Director Schultz • Public Works Director Erickson • Finance Director May • Chief of Police Scott • Recording Secretary Barikmo • Public Works Coordinator Watson • Community Development Director Lundquist • Public Works Supervisor Koslowski • Fire Chief Schroeder DISCUSSION 2.a. 2019 Budget Update Administrator Martin provided an update on the budget and the positive quotes received from the City’s insurance broker. In order to retain our business, Medica gave the City a 0% increase. There is a 2-year lock-in rate for dental insurance, assuming the City is willing to switch dental insurance companies to MetLife. With the insurance updates, the levy increase is reduced by about 1 %, becoming 3.58%. There will only be a $42 increase on the median value home taxes. Rosemount will be the 3rd lowest tax rate in Dakota County. A home valued at $279,300 would pay the 3rd lowest city tax, county wide. Mayor Droste requested that Finance Director May explain the Enterprise Funds and why it was showing a decease and now an increase. May explained that the Chippendale Water Tower was originally scheduled to be done this year but was postponed until 2019. The money will not be spent in 2018. The funds are now shown in 2019. May explained that staff increased the building permit revenue for 2019. The City is expecting 250 new residential units and a small number of commercial/industrial units. Mayor Droste questioned why the projection numbers were low. City Administrator Martin explained that they try to be conservative on the revenue projections, so they will not be missed. With Meadow Ridge and Newland Homes coming, the additional permit revenue will be extra. The average new home building permit is $3,000. For 2018 at the end of October, there have been 235 new home permits pulled. City Administrator Martin and Community Development Director Lindquist were unsure if the permit number would reach 300 by the end of 2018. Mayor Droste asked what the City will end up with at the end of the year that is beyond budget. May said that there will be 4-5 departments that will be slightly over budget. There will not be any departments that have a large excess in revenue. There will be some extra in revenues from building permits, slightly larger than budgeted for. May predicts there being about $300,000 in excess revenues over expenditures at the end of the year. 6.b. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 5, 2018 Council Member Weisensel questioned how much of the SKB funds are included in the General Fund. $625,000 of SKB funds are still in the general fund and $125,000 is in the Street CIP. The 2019 Budget will be going to Council on December 4th, 2018. 2.b. Public Works Quality Standards Update Public Works Director Erickson provided an update on the changes to the Public Works Quality Standards. Due to the amount of changes there were made, Erickson wanted to bring the Quality Standards to Council for review before final approval. Standards were added to some of the parks, such as the disc golf course. There are different standards for the small parks since they require less maintenance. Sanitary sewer preventive maintenance will be completed differently than in the past. Typically, one third of the city would be jetted each year. Due to the amount of staff time this task required, staff has started televising the lines. After reviewing the tapes to see if the lines need maintenance, they will then be jetted if necessary. Council Member Nelson wanted confirmation that Public Works was jetting one third of the city each year whether or not it needed it. Erickson confirmed. Erickson explained that the city does not own a camera truck to complete the televising on our own. The previous televising work was contracted out. Public Works Coordinator Watson added that for each of the segments that were televised there is the video footage and a PDF report. Each of the files will be added into Cartegraph. In the Snowplowing Policy, there will be a slight change to the “bare roads” standard. The policy currently states that it strives to meet bare roads on all roads. Erickson recommended that the policy be changed to state that the city will strive to maintain bare roads that are on the priority routes, as well as hills, curves and intersections. For the neighborhood roads, there may be some snow and ice packed down depending on the weather. Roads will be treated with salt as appropriate. The Mayor requested there be real-time info for plowing on the website that residents can reference. An additional point on the Snowplowing Policy is allowing resident to repair their mailboxes before winter to reduce the chance of it getting hit by a plow. A Public Works staff member inspected mailboxes throughout the city and gave residents notices whose mailboxes did not comply with city standards. Residents were give a certain amount of time to repair the mailboxes. If the resident repaired their mailbox by the deadline and it passes inspection, and it gets hit by a City plow, the city will repair the mailbox for them. If the resident does not repair their non-compliant mailbox and it gets hit by a city plow, then the City will not repair the mailbox. They will instead receive a temporary mailbox to use until they replace their own. Public Works Coordinator Watson explained the process of what happens when a resident calls in to report their mailbox has been hit by a plow. A Public Works staff member will go out to inspect the damage to make sure it was from direct impact from the plow. Mailboxes that are damaged from the weight of the snow are not repaired by the City. If the mailbox is showing signs of direct impact, City staff will build a new mailbox that complies with city standards. Residents also have the chance to repair their own mailbox to city standards if hit directly by the plow. If the resident repairs their own to City standards, the City will reimburse the resident up to $120 with proof of receipt. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 5, 2018 The Boulevard Policy includes proposed mowing changes along boulevards, back yards and county roads, specifically on CSAH 42 and Diamond Path. The City is currently mowing along the east side of Diamond Path, the north side of CSAH 42, and the center medians on CSAH 42. These roads are technically the County’s responsibly. The County’s policy states that they will mow once a month. The City mows more frequently to fill in. Council Members agreed to keep mowing these sections to maintain the appearance. Public Works Supervisor Koslowski also mentioned Akron Avenue. With future development, there will be more traffic on that road and it will be the same issue as CSAH 42. Mayor Droste advised Koslowski to not start mowing on Akron Avenue. Residents will be used to the County mowing once a month on Akron Avenue. Letters will be sent to Home Owners Associations about the minor changes in the mowing policies. Council Member Weisensel brought attention to the sidewalks in the downtown area and how the cracks and divots are being inspected and addressed. Erickson explained that sidewalks and trails are inspected each year. The ones that have been identified as trip-hazards are added to a list for future repair. Council Member Weisensel asked how Public Works is addressing tree removals in the policy standards. Erickson did not believe that tree removal processes were included in the Quality Standards. Council Member Freske requested that there be something posted on social media about when hydrant flushing is occurring. Mayor Droste requested that there be a weighted average on collector streets. They should be rated at a higher standard than neighborhood streets. Public Works Coordinator Watson thought that there was a standard the City Council put in place to ensure that collector streets were rated differently than neighborhood streets. There is one staff member that completes the ratings of the streets be consistent from year to year. 2.c. Water & Sewer Fixed Rate Phase Out Public Works Director Erickson discussed how the Utility Commission wanted the Water and Sewer Fixed Rate models to be brought back to Council for approval. The Sewer Utility fund balance as projected by the proposed rates does increase slightly faster. Council Member Weisensel expressed concern about what the additional $1 million is being held for. Administrator Martin explained that the funds are being reserved for a water treatment facility and other utility projects, such as expanding the water and sewer system. Public Works Coordinator Watson included that there are about 300 sanitary sewer manholes that need maintenance. They have all been identified and mapped out. To complete all of the necessary repairs, the estimated amount is $250,000. This dollar amount is not in the model yet. Some of the additional funds created in the phase-out model can be used to address these issues. There are two fixed charges for water that would not be phased out; the meter maintenance fee and the water surcharge. Staff recommends not to remove those charges. If Council approves the phase- out rates, this would be the first year of a three-year phase-out. ROSEMOUNT CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION PROCEEDINGS NOVEMBER 5, 2018 Mayor Droste would like the staff to work on a plan to let the residents know about the changes to the rates. Council members would like to revisit the topic at the next Work Session on December 4, 2018. UPDATES ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the City Council, with a motion from Droste, second by DeBettignies. The meeting was adjourned at 6:51PM Respectfully submitted, Jessie Barikmo Recording Secretary