2009-09-30 CC Minutes Joint ISD 885ST. MICHAEL — ALBERTVILLE SCHOOL DISTRICT 885
CITIES OF ALBERTVILLE AND ST. MICHAEL
SEPTEMBER 30, 2009 — JOINT SPECIAL MEETING
The St. Michael -Albertville School Board met in a joint session with officials from the City of
Albertville and City of St. Michael on Wednesday, September 30, 2009, at 6:00 p.m. in the
conference room at the new high school.
School Board Members present: Chairperson Charles Lefebvre, Treasurer Drew Scherber, Clerk
Carol Steffens, Douglas Birk, Co -Chairperson Gayle Weber, and Jeanne Holland. Representing
the City of Albertville: Mayor Ron Klecker, Councilors Tom Fay and Larry Sorenson; and City
Administrator Larry Kruse. Representing the City of St. Michael: Mayor Jerry Zachman,
Councilors Dean Eggert, Joe Hagerty, and Cindy Weston; City Administrator Bob Derus, City
Engineer Steve Bot, and Community Development Director Marc Weigle. Also present were
School District Superintendent Marcia Ziegler, Aaron Brom of the Crow River News, and St.
Michael City Clerk Diana Berning. Chairperson Lefebvre opened the meeting and welcomed
those present.
Lefebvre described several highlights of the new high school. He noted an article in the Star
Tribune comparing the St. Michael -Albertville High School with three other new high schools
opening in Minnesota in 2009, with the capital costs of the St. Michael -Albertville School
approximately 20% below the other three schools it was compared to.
Albertville City Administrator Kruse added an update on a new Hockey Arena. The agenda was
set as amended.
Social Host Ordinance.
A group of concerned parents recently presented separately to the Albertville City Council, St.
Michael City Council, and St. Michael -Albertville School Board and have corresponded with
both city attorneys in an attempt to have the cities pass a social host ordinance for the area. Both
cities expressed apprehension of the ordinance, since it could potentially hold innocent parents
liable. It was stated if a minor is caught drinking, there are other laws in effect that would be
violated. The cities have directed the group of parents to gather more information regarding the
social host ordinance and gain support for the ordinance from both the County Attorney's Office
and Wright County Sheriff s Department before further consideration.
Decision Resources Survey Results for School District.
There was brief discussion regarding a recent survey completed by Decision Resources for the
St. Michael -Albertville School District. Dr. Ziegler said the survey is posted online if anyone is
interested in viewing the results. Lefebvre said the goals of the survey were to see what forms of
communication parents within the school district use, if the school could do a better job of
engaging parents, hear resident's attitudes toward a levy referendum and their confidence in the
management of school finances, etc. Decision Resources conducted the survey and compared
the results with other area school districts. Lefebvre said the survey was very valuable and
provided good results for the board to consider in the future. In general, the St. Michael School
District compared well to the other schools. It was determined the Crow River News and the city
newsletters are a good way to communicate with residents, and the school board suggested the
cities consider allowing the school district to publish a few items in their newsletters in the
future.
Joint STMA, Albertville, St. Michael Meeting 09-30-09 — Page 2
Update on Jamison Avenue Street Improvement Proiect.
St. Michael City Engineer Bot reported the Jamison Avenue project has gone well and is on
schedule to be completed by the end of the week of October 4th. Initially there were a few issues
with timing on the traffic signal at Jamison Avenue and County Road 18, but it has been adjusted
to respond more timely to traffic at the intersection. A temporary speed limit of 45 mph was
posted until after the official speed study is conducted. Bot complimented the school for
educating students to not drive through the south end of Jamison until it is completed.
Surprisingly, there were no students driving through the construction zone. There was
discussion on a walking path along County Road 18 from Kahl Avenue to Fieldstone
Elementary. Albertville Administrator Kruse indicated Albertville is considering applying for a
federal grant to complete the gap in the trail, although there is a trail system internally through
the neighborhood that connects to Fieldstone Elementary. Lefebvre noted at the dedication
ceremony it was acknowledged how well the two cities worked together with the school district
for this project.
Family Youth Community Connections (FYCC) Update
St. Michael Administrator Derus provided a brief update on the status of FYCC. He said new
bylaws have been approved, new board members were recently approved with more city
representatives, and there are regular monthly meetings. With the new changes, FYCC now
qualifies for liability insurance through the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, which
will save a considerable amount of money. There is still good collaboration with the school
district and community education.
St. Michael Civic Building (Library, Senior Center, City Hall) Update.
St. Michael Community Development Director Weigle said St. Michael recently opened bids for
a new civic building and has been working with the cities of Albertville and Hanover for joint
participation of the library portion of the project. The building includes three uses: library,
senior center, and St. Michael city hall; however, the St. Michael City Council could opt to not
finish the city hall portion until a later date. The St. Michael City Council set a special work
session to discuss the project and whether to move forward at this time. There was discussion
regarding the $400,000 library grant the city received, which is still included as part of this
project, and the Recovery Zone Bonds (offered through Wright County) which will increase
savings for the project. The apparent low bidder for the project is Ebert Construction from
Corcoran, which will hopefully help to stimulate some of the local economy.
School Board Chair Lefebvre mentioned the new school fitness facility is open to the public for
annual memberships. The hours available to the public are limited based on school hours and
needs, which is not real convenient for membership. St. Michael Mayor Zachman expressed
some concern with a private fitness facility trying to compete with the school district. Lefebvre
replied that at the time a private fitness facility actively pursues locating to St. Michael or
Albertville, the School Board would be willing to have more discussion regarding their facility
memberships. The school district wanted to allow the public access to the new facilities.
There was also discussion regarding the Kids Play program offered by the school district,
particularly in regard to four year olds. St. Michael Mayor Zachman has received several
concerns from local daycares stating the school's program is competing with their business, since
the school can offer the service at lower rates. Lefebvre said the school board discussed this at
its last meeting, and agreed to research the rate to determine whether the school district is too
low. The school's program is limited to 60 kids, and there are likely four hundred more four year
olds in the community. The school's four year old program has been offered for the last four
years, which no complaints until recently. The current economic recession probably has more
Joint STMA, Albertville, St. Michael Meeting 09-30-09 — Page 3
effect on local daycares, with parents being laid -off and staying home with kids more. It was
clarified there is no plan to open the Kids Play program to three year olds.
Weigle explained that in regard to the civic building project, there is a limited amount of time to
make a decision this year so that construction can start before winter. Weigle briefly answered
questions from Albertville regarding the memo of understanding to be approved by the
Albertville city council. Kruse acknowledged the Albertville council is generally approving of
the library project and will likely approve the memo of understanding soon.
Update on the Hockey Arena.
Albertville Administrator Kruse reported the Youth Hockey Association recently started
researching whether a Sprung building, which costs half as much as a standard hockey arena
would, could be used for a second sheet of ice. There was discussion regarding the Sprung
building; it is a lower quality building and the interest rate to lease it would be triple the amount
a city could receive by bonding. Kruse spoke of a long-term plan that would slowly add features
of a hockey arena as money is available. It could start as an outdoor rink on a graded surface,
then add a concrete floor, then a compressor, then a building shell, etc. It was noted the school
board would likely be open to supporting part of the costs for seating in a new arena to
accommodate high school events.
Lefebvre asked if the youth hockey association has looked into the possibility of having hockey
arenas added to the state bonding bill. School Board Member Birk said the constituents in
Wright County have quite a bit of influence on republican legislatures. The group also discussed
the summer ice hours, noting summer hours are harder to fill because people have other priorities
in the summer, although this year the arena did not lose money on summer ice.
The next joint meeting was set for Monday, March 29, 2010, at 6:00 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:29 p.m.
Attest:
City Clerk
St. Michael Mayor