Loading...
11-09-05 WSNovember 9, 2005 Page 1 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION -November 9, 2005 A work session of the Hopkins City Council was called to order by Mayor Gene Maxwell at 6:30 p.m. on November 9, 2005, at the City Hall. Council members Brausen, Rowan and Thompson were present. City personnel present were City Manager Rick Getschow; Facilities Manager Jay Strachota; Finance Director Christine Harkess; Public Works Director Steve Stadler; and Performance Evaluation Committee members Jim Genellie, Gordy Klingbeil, Pat Weigel, Stacy Unowsky, and Mike Lauseng. Also present for the Depot Coffee House discussion were teen board members Mattie Jones, Karen Gullikson, Vlad Gruin, Anna Hull and Dylan Bauer; Teen Coordinator Ted Duepner; Bertrand Weber of Hopkins School District and Royal Cuisine; Fran Hesch; and Community Education Director Katie Lee of Hopkins School District. Depot Coffee House Update Facilities Manager Strachota said there was a positive fund balance for the Depot at the end of this year; the 2006 budget estimates there will also be a positive balance of $10,000 this year. Ms. Jones said the Teen Board had a retreat last week where they discussed expansion of the Teen Center and new projects. Mr. Duepner was a great help; the Teen Board feels it is a benefit to have his office in Hopkins City Hall. Site Improvements Mr. Strachota said discussions have been ongoing for a few years; it was decided a master plan was needed. Money has become available through the Three Rivers Park District; then they were told by Katie Walker of the Southeast LRT that "if all falls into place" construction of the line could start in 2010. This would affect some of the planned improvements so everyone is waiting for LRT drawings. Now we are looking more at the building itself. Mr. Stadler said the LRT would definitely have some site impacts so the plans are important; he hopes to get them within a month. Mayor Maxwell asked when the impact study would be done: Mr. Getschow said in 2006. Ms. Hesch asked who was coordinating everything and expressed concern the Depot Board might get left out. Mr. Strachota said Three Rivers is coordinating; Mr. Stadler added the city will make certain the Depot board is not left out. Mayor Maxwell expressed concern Three Rivers might back out due to the LRT issues; Mr. Stadler said he feels that would happen only if the whole site became unusable. Mr. Strachota added Three Rivers loves the Depot site as it is at the meeting point of four trails. When building improvements were brought up, they said to bring the ideas to them. Ms. Hesch emphasized the Depot board and the city need to know what is negotiable in the plans. She later added the Depot Board sees no reason for the proposed wall, but really sees a need for brick tuck-pointing inside the Depot. Mr. Gruin said the alternative energy planning has to be put on hold until the LRT plans are seen as they might affect placement of the proposed solar panels. Mr. Brausen said he felt the LRT would not be built that soon but it must be considered; he feels if Opus builds on the North Annex site, this will have a major influence on Depot usage. Normal wear and tear on the building must be looked at so that it is attractive. Mr. Thompson agreed building improvements make sense. Mr. Rowan commented the situation was a microcosm of "smart growth." Mr. Getschow said Three Rivers does plan to spend the money on the site; the LRT plans would only "move things around." Mayor Maxwell commented he thinks the city and the Board need to get together. Mr.Weber commented it is important to know the vision of Three Rivers - is it to improve the trail, the park system or the Depot? Mr. Gruin said he feels it is important to actually sit down with Three Rivers personnel, to not just give feedback. Mr. Stadler said he thinks that once Three Rivers is comfortable with the LRT situation, all parties will meet together. It is important for everyone to keep in mind this is a trailhead and to present things November 9, 2005 Page 2 from that focus. Ms. Hesch commented Three Rivers had already indicated that alternative energy might be good for a trailhead. Alternative Eneray Mr. Gruin said he wishes to set up an alternative energy task force if the project can be done. In essence, the Depot would be an alternative energy use lab. He thinks it would bring the public in more and help the Depot make a profit. He would like to install one or two solar panels. If the proposed LRT track is elevated, the projected panel site would not be usable. Thus the alternative energy plans are on hold till the LRT plans are received. The panels from Innovative Power Systems would have an up-front cost of $40,000, but rebates would bring the cost to $26,000. Ms. Hesch added the Board is waiting for a bid; it would have been received except Hurricane Katrina has overloaded the company. There is a group of students eager to work on the project. A letter of intent has been sent to McKnight Foundation for a grant. It is possible there will be options for wind energy after a year. Mr. Duepner said the Board has already had an energy audit by Centerpoint, changed to more efficient lighting, etc. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Gruin said the panels would not be installed on the roof as they then could not be mobile, which is an integral part of the project. Ms. Hesch added Hennepin County owns the building and is really behind the project; they could perhaps use land to the west if moving the panels is necessary. She said one' thing the grants require is that the foundations want to know who will be responsible for maintenance of the panels. Would the Council entertain the idea of the city being responsible? She added she was not asking for a definite answer immediately. Mayor Maxwell said he would like to see figures for a maintenance contract; Mr. Brausen and Mr. Rowan both said they would consider it. Royal Cuisine Management Agreement Mr. Strachota said the present agreement is fully operational. There are two areas of concern -raising income and lowering salaries. Royal Cuisine has proposed that Kathleen Taber become a Managing Liaison rather than a Depot Coffee House manager. This would result in a net savings of almost $10,000. Miss Gullikson said she appreciates that $10,000 is a lot of money but has some concerns about the cut-back in manager hours. Mr. Weber said in the past, of the 40 hours the manager worked, 30 were behind the counter. He feels one cannot really manage when one is a counter worker. Of the other 10, 2-3 were for the classroom, so actually only 7 hours were truly managerial. The proposed 10 hours for management would be strictly management hours. Mr. Getschow noted this means actual managerial hours would not really change then. Mr. Weber said he has always wanted the Depot manager to be a link between the school and the Depot; this arrangement would accomplish that. Mr. Getschow added that the marketing class had come up with ideas that could not be put into action; at the meeting on this, it was felt the change would help that situation. Miss Lee said the school district supports the Depot as an educational learning facility; there needs to be a connection between school classes and the Depot. This would help. Mr. Thompson asked if Miss Taber would need teacher certification; Ms. Lee said she would be a coordinator, not a teacher. She added the more the school/Depot connection can be expanded -such as through the alternative energy program -the better it is for both parties. Miss Gullikson asked if Ms. Taber is only required to show up at a class or if she needs preparation time; Mr. Weber said there would be goals set for her to achieve. Mr. Brausen said he has not always understood the dollars and cents side of the Depot; however, he is glad to see it being connected to the classroom, not only because it has helped the Depot financially, but because of the experiences for the students. Mayor Maxwell commented as long as the Teen Center is successful, he is satisfied. Teen Coordinator Mr. Strachota noted Mr. Duepner was hired as Teen Coordinator in March 2005. His salary is paid by the Y, but he offices in City Hall. Mr. Duepner noted the Y connection allowed the retreat to happen because of the discounts available. Mayor Maxwell asked if the city could November 9, 2005 Page 3 help in any way. Mr. Duepner said officing at city hall has been a real asset; officing at the Y would be "tough." Ms. Hull updated the Council on the Battle of the Bands this year, which will start November 25 and run five consecutive Friday nights. The "finals" will be New Year's Eve at HCA. Only five spots remain open. Ms. Hesch added it would be helpful if the city would use their newsletter, etc. to advertise the need for chaperones for New Year's Eve. Performance Evaluation System Mr. Getschow said the committee tried to assess both the culture (how often, when, crossing departments) and the mechanics (forms, etc) of performance evaluation. They realized internal customer service (getting along with other city employees) was as important as outside customer service. They felt the city mission and vision needed to be fit into the goals. Training for those doing evaluations was deemed critical. He noted "supervisors will be evaluated on how they evaluate." They wanted to find a way to use feedback and felt the 360° review was met by the peer evaluation. There would be anonymous feedback in special areas and aself-appraisal. They discussed the merit pay issue and thought time off might be appropriate. The committee has met regularly since July and looked at forms from 7-9 other cities. They developed new forms, and feel peer review and team work are an important part of the review process. Ms. Weigel said she feel the new system is a more positive system, as well as being more personal. The old system was more mechanical and looked just at job elements. She has high hopes for this system as even "needs improvement" has positive elements. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Getschow said training would be important; the consultant said that the front line supervisor has often had no training and the committee feels it is a critical element. The review of the reviewing supervisor would go up one level so there would be "another set of eyes" in the process. When Mayor Maxwell asked if staff would have a chance to give feedback, Mr. Klingbeil said they have had feedback all along; that is how peer review along with the amount of contact became incorporated. He added being able to stay anonymous in peer review is important. He feels the big thrust is that this system would look at internal customer service as much as external customer service. Mr. Genellie added the committee continually tried to get feedback; however, they realize the system may need to be modified in a year. Answering the mayor, Mr. Klingbeil said the form takes about 20 minutes to do; the discussion about it might take an hour. Therefore, he applauded this effort. Mr. Thompson agreed. Mr. Lauseng said when performance evaluation started in 1989 it had a really bad feeling that never really went away. He sees this as a positive change. Ms. Unowsky said how the feedback is given is a critical component. Mr. Rowan noted the purpose of the evaluation - to improve - is clear. His only concern is. the "overall rating" at the end; it seems too much like a grade. Strengths and concerns should get the focus. Mr. Brausen said the way it is laid out, he thinks it will promote discussion between reviews. Answering Mayor Maxwell, Mr. Getschow said evaluations are done on anniversary dates of hiring. He asked for feedback on the use of time off as a form of "merit pay." Ms. Weigel noted this would be for such things as special projects, not just for doing a good job. Mr. Rowan said he thinks an incentive is a great idea. Mayor Maxwell thanked the committee for the time and work they had put in. 2006 Budget Finance Director Harkess said the Council's goal was to keep the levy increase at 4%. That goal has been reached with a levy increase of only 3.98%. This was accomplished by reducing the General Fund levy by 1% by reducing expenditures and by reducing the Debt Levy by using the money left from the facilities project to write down the debt levy over the next four years. The General Fund reductions were accomplished by four things: Terry Obermaier worked with Hennepin County, which agreed to fund the 9 HAVA (Help America Vote Act) election machines; capital items for the Activity Center were moved to the ERP; employee benefit line items were adjusted to reflect more accurately the actual costs; individual department November 9, 2005 Page 4 line items were also adjusted. A new factor impacting the levy is that for the first time Hopkins is now a net contributor to the fiscal disparities program. The amount of the fiscal disparities distribution is a direct offset to the tax levy; that amount has gone down the past two years so that now we contribute more than is distributed. This impacts our tax capacity rate. However, the tax capacity rate will be less than last year. If houses maintained the same value, their tax would go down; however, the assessor has told her that Hopkins houses are increasing in value an average 15% or more. Therefore, she estimates the median valued residential property will see a tax increase of about $127. There is a contingency of $175,000 in the General Fund budget to support salary increases, etc. as well as unexpected expenditures. Mr. Getschow noted the 2006 General Fund budget is a 0.4% decrease over the 2005 budget. Assistant City Manager Jim Genellie noted that health insurance costs will go up approximately 20%; a family policy would be $1200 per month. He actually had expected a 33% increase. New options are being made available, which he hopes will help some employees. He added he had checked with other insurance companies and found no better carrier. Mr. Getschow said he wants to emphasize at the truth in taxation meeting that half of the 2% drop in the levy is due to the facilities project coming in under budget. New Finance Software Ms. Harkess said the complete InVision program will cost $124,952, which includes training; $135,000 had been budgeted in the ERP. She is familiar with the system and says it is much better than what Hopkins has now. All modules will be integrated. The new program will have e-commerce capabilities secured by INCODE for utilities, etc.; customers will be able to check their accounts and pay their bills on-line. Mr. Thompson asked what added cost would there be for the secured site. Ms. Harkess said the present support system costs about $9000 per year; she does not see that going up much, if at all. She noted the additions will be done in sections. She wants to order it right away as company orders are already backed up to March. Mr. Getschow noted the purchase had already been approved in the ERP. Mr. Genellie said city staff gets "a ton" of calls on utility accounts; he feels the e-commerce ability would help that. Ms. Harkess added one city noted a 50% drop in such calls. Mr. Getschow noted the Truth in Taxation will be December 5. Ms. Harkess said she plans to use "user-friendly" charts, and she will emphasize the lower levy. Mr. Genellie said the notices will go out tomorrow. Mr. Thompson thanked Ms. Harkess for her promptness in supplying the depreciation information. City Council Vacancy City Manager Getschow said the process to replace Ms. Johnson will be much like that used in 1999. There will be a public notice process. Applications will be taken through December. The appointment would be made at the end of January by the new Council. He noted a special election is not needed as the vacancy occurred after the first day to file affidavits for candidacy. Other Mr. Thompson asked if the changeover to the new meters is being pushed. Mayor Maxwell noted another letter had been sent and it was in the update. Mr. Getschow said he will make sure that staff is certain everyone affected knows. He asked if a congratulatory letter had been sent to the teachers. Mr. Getschow said they had been sent. He will put them in the update. He mentioned the flag letter. November 9, 2005 Page 5 Mr. Brausen suggested thank you letters be sent to members of the Performance Evaluation Committee. Mayor Maxwell also asked that thank you letters be sent to those who worked on the Citizens Academy. Mr. Brausen said he is concerned about the cutting of the manager hours at the Depot since finances were not good when she was there 40 hours. He asked if the city could actually provide the police presence at the Depot, perhaps by using reserve officers. Mr. Getschow said he would discuss this with Chief Reid. Council discussed the tiered system of performance evaluations used by the City of Minnetonka. That system would be difficult to implement in Hopkins, with merit pay for individual, department and city-wide goals. Mr. Rowan suggested Keith Burgess of 101 Homedale be sent a board and commissions packet. He asked when the next Citizen's Academy would be. There was a short general discussion. General Consensus was April would be good. Mr. Brausen added the graduation on television was a "real high point." Mayor Maxwell said there will be an event on December 10 for the wounded Iraq soldier from Hopkins. Mr. Getschow reminded Council there will be a Main Street noise meeting next Monday night at the police station. He also mentioned the Hopkins Honda celebration Thursday; Mayor Maxwell added the ribbon cutting is set for 6:00 p.m. On motion by Mr. Thompson and second by Mr. Brausen, the meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. on a vote of 4-0. Kasey Kester, Secretary ATTEST: Eugene . M ell, Mayor