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06-08-04 WSJune 8, 2004 Page 1 ,. \MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION -June 8, 2004 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:10 p.m. on June 8, 2004, at Hopkins Center for the Arts. Council members Brausen, Johnson, Rowan and Thompson were present. City personnel present were: City Manager Steve Mielke, Assistant City Manager Jim Genellie, Police Chief Craig Reid, Captain James Liddy, Police Administrative Services Manager Connie Kurtz, City Planner Nancy Anderson and Finance Director Lori Yager. City Manager Recruitment Process Mayor Maxwell asked each Council member give his or her thoughts about the process of hiring a new city manager. Mr. Thompson said he wants to know about fees charged by search consultants and would like the search limited to the Midwest. He would like someone who delegates, yet holds people accountable and would let someone go even if nearing retirement if necessary. Mr. Rowan asked if a city manager's job includes letting someone go if they are under a supervisor. Mayor Maxwell said a city manager can step in and hold the department head responsible to do what is necessary. Mr. Rowan said he agreed with Mr. Thompson, adding he also wants someone who would work on redevelopment as Mr. Mielke has. He would like someone from Minnesota who would understand the legislative situation. Mr. Brausen said he agreed with the previous remarks on accountability and the importance of legislative knowledge. He wants someone with "people skills" like Mr. Mielke. He added the city manager needs to hold the supervisors responsible, and the Council needs to hold the city manager responsible. He feels an important interview topic is how they would handle personnel problems, how they would deal with supervisors who are not doing their jobs. He would like someone younger, who has not absorbed "the government culture," someone who has "fire in the belly." Ms. Johnson agreed the search should be Minnesota first; if no one is satisfactory there, then the search could be widened. She said experience is essential. Mr. Thompson added, it need not be city experience, but definitely management experience, and should be someone moving up, rather than making a lateral move. Mr. Rowen said looking at new star cities and how they made that designation might be helpful. Mr. Rowan said he would like staff involvement. Mr. Brausen said that after the way the budget work affected staff, he would not want the process to go on too long. A general discussion followed. Consensus was staff input should be involved. The general process could be that supervisors would be asked to encourage their staff to attend a voluntary, general employees meeting, explaining what the Council plan was. Then there would be department meetings for regular employees (not supervisory staff) where they would be asked for feedback, either in person or by writing. Then supervisory personnel would be asked for input. All agreed it was important that city employees feel their input had been asked for and they had been part of the process. It was also agreed it was important to get input from past council members and officials. This would give Council a list of traits they are looking for when they approach consulting firms. There was some discussion about including designated city staff, past officers/Council members, and business people on initial interviews. Council took a recess at 7:00 p.m. Council re-convened at 7:45 June 8, 2004 Page 2 Police Pre-Budget Discussion Chief Reid gave a power point presentation. He briefly summazized changes in the department since he came, noting 2000 personnel had 12 officers, 3.5 sergeants and 10 hour shifts; now there are 16 officers, 4 sergeants and 12 hour shifts. He also summarized changes in responsibilities that allow better follow-up of cases and increased accountability. Whenever he gets staff to full strength, he wants to start a "power shift" from 3:00 - 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. He has shifted most training to in-house, saving $10,000 a year. This includes a Leadership Development of Officers in Charge program. He is partnering with the County and`Dow Towers for training sergeants in dealing with EDP's (emotionally disturbed persons). The department now has two Tazers; one was used last week successfully with an EDP. Drivers training is still handled at St. Cloud; Hopkins has no space for such an area. Retention is a continuous problem, with each replacement costing $30-50,000. He had the PSO's get medical emergency training. They are license eligible in 2005; however, they may then move on. His current Field Training Officers are burning out; more need to be trained. Patrol and officer issues that directly impact budgeting include: 1. Squad Car purchases. They have 3 criteria: interior and trunk size; electrical load capacity at idle (cars have died at accident scenes due to overload); extended warranty. The latter is important, as it is normal for 2-3 cars to be "down" on weekends. Impala and Ford are the only manufacturers now. Fords do cost more initially; however, they have more trunk and interior space, come with trunk mounts for the computer equipment, have higher amp loads, have extended warranty available, and have fewer maintenance problems. Old equipment can be moved over to new Fords; that would not be so with Impalas. Replacement of the high load light bars would result in less electrical draw. The 2 squad cazs in the 2005 budget must be ordered in September 2004. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Captain Liddy said extended wazranty costs $945 for 3 years, 75,000 miles power train warranty; regulaz warranty is 1 year, 36,000 miles. 2. Tazer and EDP training. These are 5-day schools. He would like to train 10 officers each year, costing $10,000. A problem here is these are regional schools and getting enrollments is difficult. He noted there are about 50 events with EDP's every year. This may be a 2006 issue. 3. Internal investigation monitors. This is an in-squad car video with remote microphone. It would automatically turn on when the red lights go on, recording all that happens. The city attorney is very much in favor of this as cities with them find DUI cases are rarely fought. They are very helpful also in domestic abuse cases as the microphone records everything said on the call. It would cost $2500 per car and would be on a 7-yeaz replacement cycle. Mayor Maxwell asked about using digital camera recorders; Chief Reid said digital records aze now on "sticks" that don't last very long. He will keep checking if better digital recording becomes available. 4. K-9 program. This was dropped last year. There is high officer interest. He does not recommend restarting it now. 5. Leadership development. He will be losing 3 sergeants and a captain in the next three years. Recruiting costs will be high. He is concerned about the drug investigations program. President Bush is talking of pulling that money out for terrorism, etc. If the Byrne grant money disappears, Hopkins cannot afford to keep on. This is a critical issue as drug cases were up 46 % last year. The HEAT (High Risk Entry and Tactics) program needs 2 more officers; training is expensive. There are 8-12 callouts a year. Hopkins belongs to a consortium of 5 cities, and has to call at least one other city for each callout. Snipers need to be trained. Dispatch will cost a lot of overtime this summer due to family leaves and staff shortages. He noted CAD is the 7~' computer-based system in this department; they are training 4 officers (former June 8, 2004 Page 3 dispatchers) on CAD to cover the summer shortages. The new dispatch center will require more training. Ms. Kurtz added that the $900,000 radio project budget was helped by an original $169,000 Home Land Security grant. Later another $157,000 was gotten. Chief Reid praised Ms. Kurtz and Ms. Magdal for the hard work they put in on getting the 2nd grant. He said the biggest problem last week in the mock disaster drill was communications. The new system will solve that. He mentioned the policy manual is now on an internal web site so it can be updated easily. Answering Mayor Maxwell, he said it could be put on the city web site if that is desired. He asked what the Council would like to do about the PT cruiser. The free lease, even with an extended year, will end Apri12005. Buying out the lease would be $8,000; the vehicle has 3700 miles on it. Mayor Maxwell said he thought it should be bought with such low mileage. Chief Reid brought up two other budget-impacting issues. He noted the new building would require much more maintenance. If it is not cleaned and maintained better than the old one has been, it will "be junk" in five years. He would like to see a carpet replacement plan. He says the radio system is not a police radio system. It is a c~ radio system, serving public works and the fire department as well as the police. He thinks it should be a separate program in the budget. He then gave the newly developed Ethics Statement of the Police Department: Service to our community with honesty, integrity and respect. The department will move into the old fire department building in November; the new radio system should be on-line. The second phase opens in 2005. This will be the 100"' anniversary of the Police Department; he hopes to make "a century of service" a theme for the dedication. The police budget will be on the September 14 work agenda. Ms. Yager asked that there be identification of the $20,000 for cameras, etc. as a detailed list as well as the line items. Site Plan Review Ordinance Ms. Anderson said Council had asked for three changes in December. These have been incorporated in the new draft. Some projects may require both a CUP and a site review under the new program. Discussion followed. General Consensus was HBCA should be asked for comments. The new draft was good. Ms. Anderson noted if future changes are needed, they could be implemented in a 30- day period. This will go to Planning and Zoning in late June, then back to the Council in July or August. If there are any questions or comments, Council members should get them to Ms. Anderson before the end of June. Other Mr. Thompson asked about the sale of the Interlachen property. Mr. Mielke noted the possible buyer could build without the city property. He and the other neighbor are talking of splitting the lot. In any case, the city would retain an easement for utilities. His concern is what price to ask. Mr. Thompson said he felt other neighbors should be contacted. Mr. Mielke said it could be put out for bid with the right to reject all bids. He will contact the other neighbor and come back to Council with a fair offer. Mr. Thompson asked for clarification of the August 5 League of Cities meeting in Rochester. No one has gone before. He asked about a letter from a student; Mr. Mielke said it had been responded to. He said he felt Ms. Kurtz and Ms. Magdal should receive special recognition for obtaining the second grant for the radio system. Mayor Maxwell mentioned that a letter he received asking that Hopkins recognize the June 8, 2004 Page 4 Bloomington Housing evaluator's test. Staff will review. Ms. Johnson asked about water quality testing; Mayor Maxwell said results went out in the last newsletter. At 10:05 p.m. the City Manager, Assistant City Manager, and the recorder were excused. Replacement Plan The Council discussed the replacement of Mr. Mielke. On Wednesday June 16~', the Council will hold a meeting for the employees of Hopkins. At the meeting they will announce to staff that Mr. Genellie will act as City Manager. They will also announce a method of getting input from staff on the search process. Various search organizations will be contacted to determine an approximate cost of using a consultant. A consultant will be selected in July. Past council Members and Mayors will be invited to a meeting on June 28~' to discuss the replacement. The Council will meet with the Fire Department on June 24'~ and the Department Heads on June 15"'. It was decided to offer Mr. Genellie a temporary increase in salary to act as the City Manager. The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m. Kasey Kester, Secretary ATTEST: Eugene .Max 1, Mayor