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06-29-04 WSJune 29, 2004 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION -June 29, 2004 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:30 p.m. on June 29, 2004, at the City Hall. Council members Brausen, Johnson and Thompson were present. City personnel present were: Acting City Manager Jim Genellie; Police Chief Craig Reid and Captain James Liddy; Chief Don Beckering; Public Works Director Steve Stadler; and Finance Director Lori Yager. ERP Discussion Finance Director Yager said she is continuing to increase the charges to the general fund for equipment replacement incrementally by 2 % each year to a maximum of 10 % ; this year the increase is $10,280. This will allow the purchase of expensive items in the future without having to issue capital notes. The transfer of $649,215 to the Pavilion for mezzanine costs will start getting transferred back in this yeaz. All anticipated changes have been incorporated into the cash flow. The ERP was then gone through by line items. Ms. Yager commented that computer changes are decided by a committee that works with Mike Noe. Annual lease cost for the large City Hall copier has gone down. Answering Mayor Maxwell, she said leasing computers from Dell would be more expensive in the long run. Chief Reid commented that when he looked into that option for the Police Depaztment the long-term cost of leasing would be four times purchase price. The refrigerator at the Activity Center was gotten second-hand in 1980 and must be replaced in 2006. Chief Beckering said the Luverne pumper is no longer certified. It had been moved back in the past ERP, and is not lasting that extra time. Thus it was moved to 2005 and the chief duty vehicle and Stuphen Aerial refurbishing moved back each a year. The extracation tool is the Jaws of Life; the present one is too old; new ones are 15 pounds lighter, which makes a big difference at an accident scene. Answering Mayor Maxwell, he said grant money is not likely as the government classifies it as a tool rather than equipment. Chief Reid said the patrol cazs are on a regular 3-yeaz rotation. The best of those aze kept as reserve cazs or transferred to the fire department. Captain Liddy added one vehicle is on a 4- yeaz rotation. There was a question on the $89,400 for 2007; Ms. Yager will check what it entails. Chief Reid said the parking enforcement vehicle will need to be moved up in the plan; last year maintenance was $3,000. Mayor Maxwell directed him to check out replacement costs for next year. Answering questions, he added one citizen is still not satisfied with his choice of patrol vehicles, but he has no doubts about Ford for now. Dodge will enter the mazket again in 2006 and he will check with other cities as to how they last. Leasing a Harley for $1 a year would not be wise for Hopkins as hidden costs aze too high. Buy-out on the PT Cruiser would be about $7500 next April; Ms. Yager added that would be general fund money. The logging recorder was bought in 1998-9 and records 911 calls. There are 5 or 6 network servers; one is replaced each year. Public Works Director Stadler said the pickups with plows are used as regular vehicles when they are not plowing. The large front end Cat loader has 8200 hours on it; most need major June 29, 2004 Page 2 work done at 10,000 hours ($25-30,000). Tier 3 EPA will have new emissions requirements in 2005 or 2006 so it makes sense to replace it now before the state contract goes up about 5 % in March. Answering Mr. Genellie, he said he did not know what resale value would be; usually that is done by advertisement. There was general discussion on maintenance needs in the new facilities. Chiefs Reid and Beckering and Mr. Stadler all agreed that a scrubber would be much more useful than a sweeper. Ms. Yager said a scrubber would be about $6500 and would be a general fund item. Mayor Maxwell asked what problems the three departments had experienced with the cuts last year. Chief Beckering said his biggest was that Engine 3 was pushed back and is not non- certifiable. Chief Reid and Mr. Stadler said they felt they had done all right. Chief Reid said to get the new patrol cars he has to place orders in September. General Consensus was he should proceed to order them. Chief Beckering said he would try to get requests to the manufacturers in time to get 2004 prices for 2005 vehicles. Capital Improvement Plan The CIP projects for 2005 were gone over by line item. The $2,000,000 listed for East Excelsior is a projected amount for East End redevelopment. Mr. Genellie added nothing is planned at this time. Ms. Yager said this encompasses the whole district and is included so Council knows what is available for North Annex, etc. Mr. Stadler said vinyl wall covering in City Hall is peeling. He would like to remove it and paint. Mayor Maxwell felt it would cost more than the listed $23,000 and suggested the city should get bids. Mr. Thompson suggested doing only some areas. General Consensus was to put bids out. Mr. Stadler said the concrete cylinders at City Hall are crumbling, and the railings are rusting. The improvements are for the First St. side. Mr. Genellie noted that a portion of one railing is no longer attached; this is becoming a safety issue. A project plan would come before Council before work is done. When Mr. Brausen commented after doing $13 million in improvements, he hates to add another $100,000, Ms. Yager noted that the CIP is also for upgrading and maintenance. Mr. Stadler said the Park Board is comfortable with the plans for Valley Park; this would be additional parking and hockey rink upgrade (paving). After discussion, General Consensus was the Pavilion message sign should be put on hold until discussion with the school district as it is a 50/50 project. Mr. Stadler said the beautification of Co. Rd. 3 corridor includes a miniature golf course, which he has some reservations about, but which the Park Board wants. After discussion General Consensus was this should go on hold until the city knows what Three Rivers will be doing in the area and sees how the area evolves with the new development along County Road 3. The money for Burnes Park is for a permanent rink. Mayor Maxwell felt the city should check with the church first as their parking lot is used for the park; he added he feels it gets so much use because of its openness. Ms. Johnson asked about usage the past year; Mr. Stadler will check on that. She suggested the money might be better spent at Oakes park for better lighting. General Consensus was to look at this further. Mr. Stadler said the proposed street improvements for 2005 are West Park Road, and on June 29, 2004 Page 3 2na St. N and 218` Ave. An engineering contract will be done this fall. He said he is waiting for a proposal from the landscape architect for Excelsior Blvd. This would include the 9`~/Excelsior parking area. He plans to bring an agreement the 2nd meeting in July. Mr. Thompson wondered if this should be put off until Hopkins Honda is done and asked about county money. Mr. Stadler said about $200,000 of the $750,000 would be county money. He said Lot 800 on the north side of 18` St. N. is the one to be improved. This had been discussed earlier because of assessment issues. He is still trying to figure out this as "you can't assess the same people twice." He is not sure if he wants to keep the storm drainage system maintenance in 2005 or not. This is for work on Nine Mile Creek banks. $60,000 is for preventing erosion; he will get back to the Council if that needs to be done this year. The other $14,000 is for repairs to the concrete alleys project. Mayor Maxwell asked about membership on the Watershed committee. Mr. Genellie said that had a July 23 deadline. Mr. Genellie and Mr. Stadler will check that out. Mr. Stadler would like to look into the feasibility of eliminating lift station #1 at Shady Oak Road. Minnetonka has a very large sewer line there and it may be possible to connect to it with a gravity line. He will look into this possibility and report back. Mayor Maxwell asked about the 2006 Historical Society roof replacement. Mr. Stadler said he thinks that is for just a section. Mayor Maxwell said he felt it would be better to bid it all at once. Mr. Stadler said he would like to do the Fifth St. South culvert replacement next year, but it could wait until 2007 to keep the city from having to sell bonds for the job. Whenever it is done, he feels it should be done in concrete. Ms. Yager noted some changes in the budget projections. If the mini-golf is removed, Capital Improvements would be lessened by $40,000. She noted under Municipal State Aid Fund the $2,000,000 for bond issue in 2004 is still waiting on word from the County. She is not looking at issuing bonds in the near future for PIR. The Capital Improvement Fund got $100,000 from the general fund in 2004 and 2005 so there is money for the parking lot and City Hall improvements. She added this fund should have a levy program set up for it. Council had eliminated one Park Capital Improvements Fund project so that number will change. The figures for Facility Improvements Fund 2004 and 2005 are only projections; any money left over would go toward paying off the bond. She is recommending a 20C water rate increase. Hopkins has a very low rate compared to other cities. This is needed for $200,000 debt service costs, the 15 year bond, etc. She recommends a SOC sewer rate increase in 2006. Metro Waste charges $900,000 yearly to treat Hopkins sewage. Answering Mayor Maxwell, she said if the lift station is eliminated, this increase could possible be pushed out. Mr. Thompson said 20% sounded like a big increase. Ms. Yager noted the Storm Sewer Fund would be borrowing from the Sewer fund in 2006 and 2007. In 2011 the bond will be paid off, which will help then. She recommends a refuse pick-up fee increase; there has not been an increase for 10 years. She noted refuse revenue dropped in 2003. The 2004 figures include a new truck, radio system share, facility share and arear-loader refuse truck which was formerly in the ERP. She will come back in two weeks for further discussion. Shady Oak Road Project Mr. Stadler said the County's consulting engineer is currently preparing a preliminary June 29, 2004 Page 4 report which should be completed by July 21. He suggests reviewing this at the July 27 work session, then later having a joint session with Minnetonka about it in early August. Staff would like to work with Minnetonka on this project, but needs to know what Hopkins City Council wants first. On July 27 he would like a decision on the public process, goals, feedback on the proposed alignments. He feels from Highway 7 to Crosstown will be a 3-year project, but the County has to reapply for federal money. June 29, 2004 Page 5 Other Ms. Johnson asked Mr. Stadler if anyone would be retiring from Public Works. He said no one has said anything. Mr. Brausen said an additional maintenance employee makes sense. Mayor Maxwell asked about the restructuring of supervisors. Mr. Stadler said a couple Public Works employees are interested in assistant supervisor positions, but he would still like to wait until he loses a supervisor. That would be three years at the longest. Mr. Brausen asked about work on removing Dutch Elm trees. Mr. Stadler said the workers are pacing themselves and feel they have it under control without any overtime. Mayor Maxwell said he is worried about injuries. Mr. Stadler said he will keep checking on the situation. Mr. Brausen said he really appreciated the patch work done on an apron on 12`''. Mr. Stadler said Fifth Avenue was patched on Friday. Mayor Maxwell said the Northeast catch basin was still running over. Mr. Stadler said he would check it when it next rains. Mr. Genellie asked what Council wanted to do about Pat Sanders, who agreed last winter to move her RV onto an improved surface and to screen it, but has done neither. There has been a complaint. General Consensus was to send her a letter. He said Council had wanted to review city attorney services. The firm has just hired a new prosecutor so the police department would not be able to evaluate the services. Mr. Brausen said he would like a discussion about what is expected by the parties. General Consensus was to put this off for three months. He asked about a City Manager meeting with the department heads. General Consensus was to have it July 20 before the Council meeting. He said Chief Reid has not yet rewritten the liquor ordinance mandatory compliance check language. Mayor Maxwell added he still needs to talk to the store owners, etc. Mr. Thompson asked if there is a travel budget for national League of Cities leadership training. Mr. Brausen said he would like to attend such a session. He asked about a letter from Mr. Fisher on food and beverage tax. Mr. Genellie said Mr. Brausen had copied him, and he had responded. He will copy the rest of the Council. He asked if a Council member responds by a-mail to someone, if the rest should be copied. Mr. Genellie said it depends on the situation. He asked about Interlachen property status. Mr. Genellie said he has talked to the city attorney. There is an easement along the south part of the properties for utilities. The exact location of the north/south waterline still needs to be determined. Mr. Stadler would want an easement over anything the city sells. He still needs to look into the cost of getting an appraisal. He had a question on getting work done on his retaining wall. Mr. Genellie will have Mr. Stadler check with him on it. Ms. Johnson asked if the meeting with consultants for the city manager search could be moved as she will be out of town. General Consensus was to have it at 5:30 or 6:00 on August 4, depending on the HRA agenda and the number of consultants to interview. Mr. Brausen asked about the Chuck Huebach letter. Mr. Stadler will make a response on the split rail fences. Mr. Brausen had been contacted by the Locomen family with some issues on the lot overlay by Cornerstone. Mayor Maxwell said Ms. Elverum should look at the agreement and follow up. Mayor Maxwell asked about Ms. Yager's position. Mr. Genellie said she gave notice a June 29, 2004 Page 6 week ago Friday. He put an ad in the paper for 2 Sundays and also in the League of Minnesota bulletin; that would close the position July 7. Sid Inman has said he would serve on the interview board. He will try to get another finance person from another city. There have already been 8 or 9 applicants, but only one he felt was qualified. If necessary, the city can readvertise and reopen the process. He is hoping, however, that there can be interviews July 15-16. Mr. Brausen moved adjournment. Mr. Thompson seconded. On a 4-0 vote, the meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m. Kasey Kester, Secretary ATTEST: Eug a J. axwell, Mayor COUNCIL MEMBERS: