Loading...
2014-01-06 CC MinuteslbertAjle smo. rs «, *q uM ALBERTVILLE CITY COUNCIL Monday, January 6, 2014 ADOPTED MINUTES ALBERTVILLE CITY HALL 1. CALL TO ORDER — PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Hendrickson called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL 7:00 PM Present: Mayor Hendrickson and Council members Olson, Sorensen, Vetsch, and Wagner Absent: None Others Present: City Administrator -PWD Adam Nafstad, Finance Director Tina Lannes, City Planner Alan Brixius, Public Works Supervisor Tim Guimont, Streets /Parks Maintenance Worker I Mike Jenkins, and Wastewater /Water Maintenance Worker I Jacob Kreutner, and Darla Guimont 3. RECOGNITIONS, PRESENTATIONS, INTRODUCTIONS A. Recognition of Tim Guimont's Years of Service Nafstad read a letter outlining Mr. Guimont's hard work and contributions to the City. He congratulated Guimont on his years of service and Hendrickson presented a Certificate of Recognition to him. Guimont thanked the City Council. He credited the other members of the department and stated he enjoyed his work in the City. 4. PUBLIC FORUM There was no one present to speak. 5. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Motioned by Vetsch, seconded by Wagner, to approve the agenda. Ayes: Hendrickson, Olson, Sorensen, Vetsch, and Wagner. Nays: None. Absent: None. MOTIONDECLARED CARRIED. 6. CONSENT AGENDA All items under the Consent Agenda are considered to be routine by City Staff and will be enacted by one motion. In the event an item is pulled, it will be discussed in the order it is listed on the Page 1 Consent Agenda following the approval of the remaining Consent items. These items will be approved by a separate motion. A. Approve the December 16, 2013 regular City Council meeting minutes as presented B. Authorize the Monday, January 6, 2014 payment of claims as presented, except bills specifically pulled which are passed by separate motion. The claims listing has been provided to City Council as a separate document and is available for public view at City Hall upon request C. Approve Resolution 2014 -001 designating officials and consulting firms and approve Resolution 2014 -002 appointing City Council members to various boards and committees for 2014 Sorensen pulled Consent Item A, the December 16, 2013 City Council meeting minutes. He removed his name from STMA Ice Arena update and corrected it to read Council member Wagner. He also requested a separate motion on the item, since he was absent from the meeting and would like to abstain from approving the minutes. Motioned by Wagner, seconded by Olson, to approve the December 16, 2013 Council meeting minutes. Ayes: Hendrickson, Olson, Vetsch, and Wagner. Nays: None. Abstain: Sorensen. Absent: None. MOTIONDECLARED CARRIED. Motioned by Wagner, seconded by Sorensen, to approve the Consent Agenda as amended Ayes: Hendrickson, Olson, Sorensen, Vetsch, and Wagner. Nays: None. Absent. None. MOTION DECLARED CARRIED. 7. PUBLIC HEARING — None 8. DEPARTMENT BUSINESS A. City Council 1). Committee Updates (STMA Arena, Planning, Parks, Fire Board, JPWB, etc.) There were no updates. B. Public Works and Engineering 1). Snow Removal and Outdoor Ice Rink Update Guimont reported there was a decent snow pack on the roads. He stated that in the month of December they have already used approximately 70% of all salt that they would have used in recent years. He stated they have kept overtime to a minimum. He stated the equipment has been running well with only a few minor repairs needed. Guimont reported it has been difficult to clear the outdoor ice rink this year and it has required some overtime to keep it open. Hendrickson stated that she has heard nothing except positive comments. Wagner agreed. Wagner would like to see the rink in a bit better condition, but he City Council Meeting Minutes page 2 Regular Meeting of January 6, 2014 understands that the recent snow events have prevented the regular maintenance of the rink. Council advised Guimont to keep working as is and feels staff has continued to make good judgments. 2). Resolution of Support for 70th Street NE Improvements Nafstad reported that this is a follow up to the agreement with Wright County and surrounding cities to apply for federal dollars for Region 7W transportation needs. Otsego has packaged a grant application for Otsego, Albertville and Wright County and it has been designed to score well. It includes improvements to the 70th Street NE /CSAH 19 intersection and reconstruction of 70th Street NE from CSAH 19 to MacIver Avenue NE. If funds are received, they are to split the difference between the three agencies. He stated they did not want to miss a grant deadline. Motioned by Yetsch, seconded by Hendrickson, to adopt Resolution 2014 -003 Supporting the Construction of and Participation in a portion of the funding for improvements to 70th Street NE from LaBeaux Avenue NE (CSAH 19) to Maclver Avenue NE. Ayes: Hendrickson, Olson, Sorensen, Yetsch, and Wagner. Nays: None. Absent. None. MOTIONDECLARED CARRIED. 3). Joint 57th Street NE Church Improvements Update and Concept Map Nafstad reported the Church of St. Albert project will be an expansion of their existing parking lot, improving the existing pavement, and relocation of driveway access points to Lander Avenue NE from 57th Street NE. The City's portion of the project will be a complete reconstruction and widening of 57th Street NE and addition of sidewalks. He stated the right -of -way impacts do not allow for a green space boulevard. Nafstad reviewed the project costs. He stated he looked at land valuation from Wright County's website to calculate right -of -way cost and he will continue discussions with the Church on compensation for the right -of -way and loss of parking stalls. Hendrickson asked how much extra it would be to have a green space boulevard and Nafstad estimated costs would be about double. Hendrickson asked if a sidewalk is needed on both sides of 57th Street NE and Nafstad stated there are currently sidewalks on both sides and this would complete those sidewalks. Vetsch asked if the Lambert Avenue NE and 57th Street NE intersection would be included and Nafstad replied he would include it in his notes to address. Sorensen clarified this sidewalk will tie into the existing sidewalk west of the Fire Hall by the new boardwalk. Nafstad stated no action was needed at this time. C. City Clerk — None City Council Meeting Minutes Page 3 Regular Meeting of January 6, 2014 D. Finance — None E. Planning /Zoning — None F. Building — None G. Legal — None H. Administration 1). STMA Ice Arena Improvements Cost Share Agreement Nafstad reported School District ISD #885 and St. Michael have agreed to the estimated costs of the improvement project for insulation and dehumidification at the Arena. $110,000 will be used from the Arena reserves and the three entities will split the cost thereafter. Motioned by Sorensen, seconded by Hendrickson, to approve the agreement for insulation and dehumidification improvements to the STMA Ice Arena, between School District #885 and the Cities of St. Michael and Albertville, and titled, "Agreement Governing Repairs to the Joint Powers Ice Arena' : Ayes: Hendrickson, Olson, Sorensen, Vetsch, and Wagner. Nays: None. Absent. None. MOTION DECLARED CARRIED. 2). Personnel Committee Recommendations Nafstad reported the Personnel Committee met several times and formulated several recommendations. He stated the Personnel Policy updates were: • Minor grammatical and routine corrections • Clarification of pay for City Employees while working as Firefighters • Inclusion of weapons at the workplace language • Updates to FMLA to match Federal and State law • Update to the amount of sick leave to be accrued and a tiered scale for payout at termination or retirement • Increase the employer contribution to the Health Care Savings Plan Vetsch was concerned about the increase to the Health Care Savings Plan and felt that all increases eventually add up. Nafstad stated the increase to this benefit will help to prepare employees for retirement when the time comes, rather than them working longer for insurance purposes. He also stated that the employees must also agree unanimously on the amount of the employee contribution. Sorensen asked if there was a liability to the City for the increase of sick time that can be banked. Nafstad stated that currently employees can be paid out a quarter of their sick leave if they reach the cap of sick days. Under the proposed update, it will also take several years for employees to reach the new max. The liability will instead transfer to when an employee terminates their employment and the liability is not 100% and is capped. City Council Meeting Minutes Page 4 Regular Meeting of January 6, 2014 Hendrickson stated the Personnel Committee moved forward with the recommendations to keep with the benefit averages of the surrounding cities and the Committee had asked Nafstad to provide city -by -city comparisons for the changes that are recommended. They want to make sure they are competitive with other cities to retain employees. Sorensen wanted clarification on the weapons at the workplace. Hendrickson stated that it is comparable to other cities. Hendrickson felt that it would not benefit the City if an incident was to occur and the City did not have the language in the policy. Motioned by Sorensen, seconded by Hendrickson, to approve the updates and recommendations to the Personnel Policy as presented Ayes: Hendrickson, Olson, Sorensen, and Wagner. Nays: Vetsch. Absent: None. MOTIONDECLARED CARRIED. Vetsch wanted it on the record that he voted nay because he did not support the Health Care Savings Plan increase. Hendrickson asked Nafstad to inform the Council when staff agreed on their employee contribution percentage. Nafstad stated that annually a salary survey is to be conducted to make sure wages are competitive. The City looked at the average high and average low pay ranges of surrounding cities and compared it to Albertville's high and low pay ranges. He indicated that there are several new hires that were hired at Council directed pay ranges, so they focused on two positions that were at the Albertville high pay range, but were below the average high of surrounding cities. The two positions are the Finance Director for a proposed increase of $3,305.49 and the Wastewater /Water Supervisor for a proposed increase of $9,430.92. Sorensen inquired if this is just adjusting the upper limits of the pay ranges and if increases would be given this year. Hendrickson stated that it is proposed to increase the salaries to those limits for the two positions for 2014. Nafstad clarified both positions are at their top step of their pay range and they would then remain at that new upper limit. Hendrickson stated that they had considered pay steps over time to implement the increase to the Wastewater /Water Supervisor position, but she felt that was unfair for a position that was very underpaid according to the salary survey and she wanted to avoid having a valued employee go to another city for a higher salary. Olson stated the City's current high for the position is lower than the average low and this is an employee that is very experienced. Sorensen inquired how they arrived at this situation; Lannes replied that generally every year or two the salary survey is done and normally only a couple of positions are done each time, so it is not such a big impact on the budget. The last positions reviewed were for a public works position and an utility position two years ago. Vetsch inquired if both the Public Works Supervisor and the Wastewater /Water Supervisor should be at the same pay scale. Nafstad stated that is what is proposed. Hendrickson stated they also reviewed the City Administrator's pay scale at the same time. The Committee did not recommend a change for this year, but felt if the City Council Meeting Minutes Page 5 Regular Meeting of January 6, 2014 Administrator's review goes well next year, they should consider some type of percentage change. Motioned by Olson, seconded by Hendrickson, to approve the adjusted pay scales for the Wastewater/Water Supervisor and Director of Finance positions as presented. Ayes: Hendrickson, Olson, Sorensen, Vetsch, and Wagner. Nays: None. Absent. None. MOTION DECLARED CARRIED. 3). City Administrator's Update Nafstad reported the STMA Ice Arena communications have been down over the weekend. Staff continues to work on the communications upgrades and is waiting on switches to arrive before they can go live. Nafstad stated they have not heard anything further from the League regarding the June 23, 2013 flood claims other than the League's offer for a compromise settlement. Nafstad stated that as part of the Guardian Angels development, Guardian Angels is required to clean the ditch. He anticipates some residents that depend on that buffer may be upset when the activity begins. He stated he has sent letters and made phone calls to those that will be impacted. 10. ANNOUNCEMENTS and/or UPCOMING MEETINGS Hendrickson thanked the Council for the time they have spent serving on committees this last year and thanks them for the same this coming year. January 13 STMA Ice Arena Board, 6:00 p.m. January 14 Planning Commission, 7:00 p.m. January 20 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, City Offices Closed January 21 City Council, 7:00 p.m. January 27 Joint Powers Water Board, 6:30 p.m. Parks Committee, 8:00 p.m. January 28 I -94 Coalition State of the Cities, Rogers, 1130 a.m. February 3 City Council, 7:00 p.m. February 11 STMA Ice Arena Board, 6:00 p.m. February 12 Planning Commission, 7:00 p.m. February 17 Presidents' Day, City Offices Closed February 18 City Council, 7:00 p.m. February 24 Joint Powers Water Board, 6:30 p.m. City Council Meeting Minutes Page 6 Regular Meeting of January 6, 2014 11. ADJOURN MEETING Motioned by Wagner, seconded by Sorensen, to adjourn the meeting at 8:21 p.m. Ayes: Hendrickson, Olson, Sorensen, Yetsch and Wagner. Nays: None. Absent. None. MOTION DECLARED CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Kimberly A/ Olson, City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes Page 7 Regular Meeting of January 6, 2014